Seeking to find purpose in her life, Hisone Amakasu enlists in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and is stationed at Gifu Airbase. During a visit to a part of the base she did not know existed, she stumbles upon the JASDF's largest secret: the Organic Transformed Flyer (OTF), a dragon that has the ability to camouflage itself as an aircraft. After being swallowed up and spit out by the OTF, her commanding officers inform her that this encounter means that she has been chosen to be the next in a long line of Dragon Pilots.
Together with her fellow pilot cadets and "Maso-tan," her own OTF, Hisone must overcome her insecurities in order to discover her true potential as a Dragon Pilot and unravel the secrets behind the OTFs.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
syncrogazer
It isn't too often that an anime can promise so much with its presentation only to vomit out a big nothing. This anime is a big, bland pile of nothing. However, this doesn't mean the anime necessarily goes the way of many other shows, staying the course and playing it safe as it fades into obscurity forever. And it isn't as if the writing is conceited enough that it makes it out to be more important than anyone would care. The problem lies in that while the anime does (at times) try to be original, relatable and emotionally engaging, it does so in the mostunfocused and impersonal way possible. (Meaning: it doesn't really do any of those things).
Yes, I think it's pretty obvious that this anime tries to be a character driven show. The military setting is a personal favorite of mine because the setup allows for a cast of characters of various importance and personality to interact in a way that might not seem natural in any other story. Maybe it's the way the military is almost like a workplace, with its rigidness countered by the personalities of the cast that makes it so endearing to me. Bonding over alcohol, hard work, silly antics, and drama these are all things I can expect from a good military/unit/team-based anime. And, let me be clear, we do get some downtime. However, it is only included as part of the bigger picture, and never seems to exist for its own sake.
This lack of organic interaction mixes poorly with characters who feel inadequate. We never get to know these people, and it's weird because it isn't as if the cast is so huge that they ran out of run-time to try and expose us to them. Amakasu's personality gimmick can barely sustain itself throughout the series, and we end up with another character having to remind us that it was something that defined her. And maybe it is the reliance on these gimmicks, which masquerade as depth, that makes the characters so hollow. I will give credit to the staff in that they clearly engineered each female character to be immediately 'relatable' in an obvious way. They're not written in the way most anime fans are used to seeing female gimmick characters, so it makes sense that it would trick people. But these ladies are still pretty boring, it's only that a female audience might actually like them (and as far as I can tell they do). But, gimmick personalities can be incredibly endearing if written well, and it is very possible for characters like these to have a strong, static personality that can be rewarding to witness. Sadly, the interactions and their personalities don't really make for anything interesting aside from the faux realism that they emphasize.
In this way, truly great characters are often written with simple personalities, but alongside this there is always an underlying capacity for them to reveal real human emotion, which should be apparent even when they express themselves in the most pedestrian way. A 2D caricature with a soul, now that is what a good anime character should feel like, especially when they're drawn so expressively and cartoonish, as in this anime. However the characters we get are written only to mimic humans in both personality and emotion, in the most basic and superficial way, which is why the expression always seems hollow. For, how can anyone expect to be moved by the words of a character who has no soul? They are caricatures who make caricature of emotion and expression.
And, it isn't as if the ritual/mythological element to the story was focused on in any great detail that a character focus would need to be sacrificed. If anything, the anime did a pretty good job of not expositing too much about the mysterious and existentially important ritual, keeping it understandably mysterious. However, it never feels mystical. Perhaps because the anime treats it as more of a natural disaster, like an earthquake or typhoon, which makes sense for the story.
So, what does the anime actually focus on then if not some semi-serious story element or the characters? I couldn't tell you. Having watched this weekly, I'm drawing a blank. However, the general movement of the story is a military slice of life to contrived romance drama that all of a sudden becomes super important to the plot (because we all really want to see Aquarion EVOL again, right?) to the ritual that unravels the previous point.
Despite all of my complaining I wouldn't say the anime is egregiously or offensively bad, it's just tasteless. This makes the designs; characters and art style (which I do like) to feel like such a waste. A waste of setting and design. I should also be up front about my bias as well though. I didn't like the dragons. Now, I knew there was going to be dragons going into this, but this ended up being deviantart:the animation, with dragon vore being the method of piloting, with vomit as the icing on the cake. Maybe this is why I liked Hoshino so much in the beginning, if she got her way this anime might have been about fighter pilots instead. And speaking of Hoshino and her romance, it was quite funny seeing the weekly reaction from the peanut galley: people clearly would rather get angry than use their heads. All in all I couldn't recommend this. However, it is clear that at the surface level a lot of anime fans seem to be happy. For me, this is just a very bland anime that doesn't really leave too many lasting impressions or say anything interesting. And even with the great art and visual design, it was still aesthetically uninspired.
TakaCode
If there was one anime that consider to be a sleep hit of year it would Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan. Despite being done by Studio Bones who are well known for My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven this beautifully crafted series unfortunately fell below under people radars as they all interested of watching My Hero Academia Season 3 as well some other hits like Megalo Box, Steins Gate 0 etc. Also this was the anime I was looking forward the most from the Spring 18 season because this show in my eyes had the potential to be truly great. Thankfully this seriesdidn’t disappoint me one bit because not only this show is a beautifully done character drama that puts Darling in the Franxx to shame but it also manages to be a wonderful fun series that I really liked.
Now with that said Hello Everyone this is Shawn aka KurataLordStage and welcome to my review of Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan.
Story.
The story follows a rookie named Hisone Amakasu who is part of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, where she is situated at the Gifu air base. She decided to join the force to distance herself from people as, her whole life, she had found it difficult to interact with others due to her candid style of speaking and oftentimes hurtful words, despite that not being her intention. Hisone's decision leads to her life being changed when the concealed "OTF" – Organic Transformed Flyer, or dragon – inside the base chooses her to be his pilot, leading her to discover her destined role as a dragon pilot during their ascension in the skies together. According to legend, dragons are thought to possess a key to unlocking the future of the world.
Despite this being the anime version of one of my favourite animated movies How To Train A Aragon I thought the story to be pretty good for the most part
Right on the bat Dragon Pilot Hisone and Masotan does something that not a lot of anime like to do and that is actually start with a bang. Most series including anime originals feel comfortable taking it slow because they either want adapt the source material carefully as possible to avoid filler or slowly introducing its characters and setting. Dragon Pilot Hisone and Masotan doesn’t go any of this as it’s immediacy gets straight to the point by introducing its characters and setting in a way that is magical and interesting. By the end of the third episode, I got hooked.
The character drama in this show is brilliant and well executed. Unlike Darling in the Franxx where the character drama was nothing but contrived bullshit the drama actually matters to the overall narrative where we see characters going thought mini character arcs and development.
The show is well paced for the most part that keeps the audience interested with the shows events. Not only that the show does a great job of tacking themes and topics such as trust, loneliness, friendship, commutation, love etc. Plus the way the character developed with theses themes are great.
The only issues that I have with this show is that it show is quite predictable as having too much foreshadowing and at times meh writing but don’t you worry they are not as that the other character drama show Darling in the Franxx.
Besides thoeses minor issues I thought the story was pretty good for the most part.
8/10
Characters.
The characters in Dragon Pilot Hisone and Masotan are all fantastic they own ways.
Every single character in the show is likeable, relatable well written for the most part and they are all fun to watch from start to finish. Like with A place Future than the universe the show does a great job with character interactions where the anime how different and unique the characters just based from they character expressions from the aggressive Nao, the soft and subdued Liliko to the straightforward and innocent Hisone. Some people may find some of theses chararater annoying in the beginning but least they redeem themselves as they all go through chararter which is more than about any character from the Thireenth Planation from Darling in the Franxx where they don’t even any character development for shit.
Overall the characters in Dragon Pilot Hisone and Masotan are all great and well thought out.
9/10
Visuals.
Gorgeous is honestly the best way to describe the visuals Dragon Pilot Hisone and Mastoan.
Studio Bones really did a wonderful job with the overall presentation from its great use contrasting heavy strokes on the character designs, the warm soft colour palette to the overall great shot composition and camerawork.
The animation is fantastic. While it may not be in the same level as some other Studio Bones works My Hero Academia or Blood Blockade Battlefront the actually is still great enough to be one of the best looking of 2018 with it’s smooth movement, and well animated fights.
9.5/10
Sound.
The soundtrack is amazing.
Instead of having a generic music score that you have seen before from many anime this year the show’s mostly uses classical orchestral song pieces to give the show more life and atmosphere. There are however a couple of moe light-hearted tracks in this show but I thought it fitted well the show tone.
The opening theme Soujo wa Ano Sora wo Wataru by Riko Fukumoto is fantastic opening theme that perfectly captures to tone and setting of the show. Plus the visuals for the opening was fantastic and well animated.
The ending theme Le temps de la rentrée by D Pai is by far the most catchiest and ending theme of the year. I really adore that song with a passion.
The voice acting is top notice. Every single Seiyuu did a fantastic job with the roles that they were given and it really made the anime more alive.
Sadly this show hasn’t got an English Dub but I hope Netflix will dub it sometime soon.
10/10
Final Thoughts.
Dragon Pilot Hisone and Mastoan is a wonderful anime that I really adored. It may not be as masterful as Hina Festival which was my favourite anime of the season it was still a great show that deserves to be loved.
The story while mainly character driven was pretty. The character is all great and enjoyable the visuals are fantastic and the soundtrack is brilliant.
The show may not be for everyone but if you want to a watch a great character drama that is filled with charm I would strongly recommend Dragon Pilot Hisone and Masotan.
Final Score 8/10
Goober-fish
"Never laugh at live dragons." -(screw off Tolkien) Hisone to Maso-tan, or, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan as the gringos say may get a bit personal for me, but it wouldn’t be a genuine review otherwise. I consume anime like candy. It’s not so much for the sport of it, or for the sake of investing time in my hobby, or for a...primal need for self-flagellation. To me, watching anime has become my niche, obviously not to an unhealthy degree, although you could potentially say that subjecting yourself to 30+ seasonal anime in an average season with a strict no-drop policy is anything but healthy. It’sa fascination really, when something special comes out, no other entertainment medium can give you that high of a truly great anime. That’s what I got out of Hisomaso, a series that checked nearly every mark on my rubric for what could potentially be one of the best shows I’ve seen in years.
Bones has been batting 500 since its inception as an animation studio. Paired with Shinji Higuchi and Hiroshi Kobayashi’s very unique visual direction, and Bones may have just struck what could be one of their most visually interesting and ambitious projects to date. Obviously since the average viewer has been tempered by standard character models, washed-out color-palettes, and layers upon layers of polish, the cartoony nature of this series may alienate some. However, I found almost every visual and technical aspect of this series to be incredibly refreshing when paired up against some of its peers.
Not to suggest that Hisomaso has an average score, but it’s perhaps the most unassuming component of this series’ technical aspects. The soundtrack has a few standouts, namely the more emotional pieces, but overall I’d say that it did a fine job of conveying the absolute serenity of piloting a dragon and the loopy militaristic percussiveness of the daily JSDF grind. The opening sequence is serene and muted, but nothing that I’d go out of my way to listen to on its own. The cover of France Gall’s “Le Temps de la Rentree” was groovy as hell and paired nicely with hilariously dorky dancing from the main cast, this ending theme has become a fast personal favorite of mine. As far as voice performance goes, I think Misaki Kuno is the star (in a literal sense as well) and provides a sheepish yet infinitely personable portrayal as Hisone. No English dub as of yet, for you dub purists.
Technicals aside, this show has no shortage of personable and deceptively interesting characters. When Hisone Amakasu is first introduced, my expectations were for the most part subverted when at first glance she appeared to be yet another milquetoast protagonist dealing with your run of the mill young-adult ennui. But quickly, that switch flipped when she proved to be an exceptionally cheeky and likable dork who was not afraid to run her mouth in situations that would typically leave her in hot water. The emotional centerpiece of this series is derived from Hisone’s relationship with the titular Masotan, which indeed paid off in the end. However, I was shocked at the thematic scope that this series experimented with, namely the concept of militaristic dedication. On the whole, Hisomaso is actually prone to surprising tonal shifts which might throw some viewers off-guard with just how cartoony of an impression it might seem at first glance. But it pays off with some pretty effective and earned character drama. This wouldn’t nearly be as possible if the cast wasn’t so damn great.
Obviously I can go into the personal journeys of the rest of the pilots however in my opinion that should simply be left to experience with a viewing rather than some bum on the internet spoiling great character development. All of the cast members, even the seemingly innocuous ones who mostly inhabit more understated roles shared such excellent comedic chemistry with each other. On top of this, there is no shortage of hilariously cartoony visual gags to break tension.
One of the only real grievances I’ve seen directed at this series is that it derives too many concepts and ideas from other sources. Shinji Higuchi for instance, who has previously worked on friggin Eva of all things and was clearly inspired by certain aesthetics and storylines. Does Hisomaso borrow concepts and ideas from other sources? Sure, and I could sit here and divulge those sources, but none of that really has any bearing on this show’s quality. Hisomaso is incredibly comfortable in it’s own skin and is stellar in its execution, which is what I look for most in shows that borrow things from other sources. Look at My Hero Academia for crying out loud, it’s incredibly derivative but fresh in its execution on top of being one of the most popular anime to come out in years.
To me, Hisomaso was a beautiful balance of visuals, comedy, drama, and unfiltered vibrance. It is a series that for years to come I will defend with my life as both a personal favorite and one of the best anime to come out of the 2010’s. It’s shows like these that remind me why I come back to this site nearly every day to check those little marks on my watchlist. I loved this series, plain and simple, no fancy words required, and I recommend it to everyone.
CodeBlazeFate
Flash back to your childhood: a time where planes were sick, robots were epic, and dragons were the coolest thing in the fucking universe! The paper and the costumes were what let the imagination soar! Games were your blood, pop-culture was your life! Candy was a delicacy rivaled only by pizza! Saturday morning was your weekly holiday! Wasn't all that fun? Wasn't that cool?! Don't you wanna relive some of that childhood wonder?! In the cold hard world where nostalgia is ruled by cashgrabs and rewatches, finding an experience that earnestly harkens back to your glory days is in somewhat short supply. Thankfully, Hisone to Maso-tanseeks a new path to fulfill your childlike desires: combining planes, dragons, and giant robots to create a charming experience unparalleled in the industry!...at least at first.
Let's start with our protagonist, Hisone Amakasu. She is one of the most adorkable, relatable, and endearing protagonists I’ve seen to date. Seeing this beleaguered dolt in a constant edge of having everything thrust upon her so fast as she tries to wriggle her way out of overbearing situations as no one listens to her is an absolute joy. Watching her try not to let her blunt brain do the talking for her, only for that to fail, is some of the most fun I have with the show. Seeing her and Nao snap is a riot given the chemistry they and other characters have -all this regardless of the crass humor that bad LN shows often tend to pull-. Their parallels with certain characters early on are also wonderous to display, due to this show’s marvelous presentation that is akin to an adult recapturing the whimsey and magic of an astounded child. This presentation also makes it easier to overlook the plethora of sci-fi jargon and how absurd the premise truly is, with dragons requiring airplane parts in order to somehow transform and blend in, and whatnot. However, it doesn’t let me dismiss inconsistencies, occasionally clumsy dialogue, or any aggravating twists and set-ups. Having a bunch of characters with hit and miss traits and quirks won’t change that, no matter how funny the good ones can be.
It does lose that sense of wonder, much like children do. Soon after the rest of the main cast is introduced, Hisone to Maso-tan focuses more on its growing cast of characters and their problems. It does a decent job with that, but not one substantial enough to truly make up for that loss, especially with a few admittedly small errors in the script. Unfortunately, the concept is still too silly to work perfectly, and the humor’s highlights aren’t as high as they were before. The show also transforms into a calculated love map with some out-there twists, so take that as you will.
Studio Bones is famous for their slick visuals, only adding this to their monumental catalog. Frequent bad plane & pilot CGI aside, the flying sequences are an absolute joy to witness, feeling extremely lifelike and kinetic with all sorts of turns, loops, and fast movements done by the OTFs. Speaking of which, the OTF designs are wonderful, most especially Masotan’s. The rest of the character designs are well-done and immensely varied, with a wonderful, almost child drawing-esque aesthetic that is tailor-made for bouncy character animation and uproarious facial expressions. It all culminates into a unique visual style that makes this show even more of a joy to watch, even when it transitions past its initial phase.
While the music is less commendable, it holds up well enough. The background music is rather nice, fitting with the scenes and sometimes being an emotional listen in their own right. Nothing absurdly memorable stands out but it works well on the whole. The opening, "Soujo wa Ano Sora wo Wataru" by Riko Fukumoto, has multiple versions, with only the final one being one I enjoy. The ending, "Le temps de la rentrée", has multiple versions, sung by different people as well as an instrumental version. The song has grown more on me overall, to the point where not only is nearly every version enjoyable, but that it's preferable to the opening.
Such a shame the show lost what made is so captivating. However, while it never rose to the heights of its early episodes, it does still offer a worthwhile viewing experience, even if that one is more awkward. It even loses some of the bad humor presented early on, even though it lost the better humor on top of that. Spring-boarding off such a wonderful start into something grander is difficult, even with a likable main cast and superb main lead. The show grew to what felt like a teenage -perhaps even adult phase, for better or worse. It grows more contemporary, less spectacular, and while it that's a pity, it didn’t lose heart or soul. It simply lost its whimsey, much like we all do. Alas, it’s time to return.
Karhu
How to Train Your Dragon Plane starts off with a scene just about anyone can relate to. High schoolers ponder what to do with their lives. The amount of option is wide, maybe even too wide. There are so many different lines of studies and future careers to choose from, yet it all feels so limited and predetermined at the same time. It's saddening and shackling. Timeskip rolls and we find our main character, Hisone, working in a military facility where she seems to be no less and no more than just one more barely visible worker who is being dealt with the exact formalityand manner where she is exactly what she was hired to do. Small, replaceable fraction in the working class, a nobody to everybody. At this point, the series felt uncomfortable and almost depressing, but then, suddenly, Dragons.
The core idea behind Dragon Pilot is well-known. Practically every mecha anime, but now with new approach. The mecha itself is an animal who interacts with humans like a dragon would instead of being some mysterious living entity who the author can freely control occasionally whenever they feel like it needs to have "its own will". And like the unofficial name states, the dragon needs some training and taming. This time, humanity is not in mortal peril nor will intergalactic nazis fight against each others in space war, no. The driving motion and Hisone's reasons to control Maso are not very simple. To understand any of them is to understand that this work is a) rather experimental b) clash of several different genres c) heavily character-centric d) flawed and nowhere near perfect.
There are few problems with Dragon Caretakers writing that stand out. First one being how obviously everything in the series exists because Hisone exists. The series is clearly hers, and the very world seems to revolve around her as well. The second factor is our relatively weak plot which make the series seem rather slice of life with its lack of any clear objective or purpose. On top of that, the writing uses foreshadowing bit too much, making the series predictable when it comes to romantic subplots, for example. The third thing is tied to the slice of life factor as the series never makes it clear just how it should be viewed as. Is the series sol fraction, biography, comedy or less actionful version of Girls und Panzer, I cannot put it directly under any of these. We could go as far as calling Dragon Pilot so original that it can't be classified. Regardless how we label and honor it, the outcome is somewhat messy, confusing, and surely its creativity does not go hand in hand with its originality. Yet, these problems are not enough to make me think any less of the series because of several reasons.
One of these is our main lead. Hisone's character is rather interesting choice. She is practically semi-autistic, and the funniest type for that matter: an internet autist. She tries to limit and censor herself around others, but it proves to be hard due to her being so honest and direct that she always ends up saying what she is thinking. Personality wise, she is real wife material (not to be confused with waifu material). She is the type of person who will casually call you a pedophile if you happen to watch an anime starred by little girls. The problem is that her humor and genuine openness was not appreciated by her insecure school buddies who were sensitive and offended by harmless words, and this somewhat scarred her. After this becomes clear, we are left with 11 episodes where she learns to cope with the world and herself, make friends and experience the adventure that this anime is. This is what typically gets called "development".
The directorship is not very beginner-friendly. For starters, the pacing is ridiculous. Many viewers will drop out when the series does not give much time for world building and introductions. Instead, rushes from scene to another. Pros exist among this fast pace nevertheless. Especially during the beginning, there is not a single fraction of filler put in the series. Thanks to the art style (which we shall talk more later on), the atmosphere of the series does not need any extra work or time. Much is told with very little and simple tricks and manners. The first 15 minutes have given us a gasp of the series universe and its main plot line, as well as offered past story to Hisone and shown us what type of a person she is. Not only that, it also introduced 3 other important characters, 2 pop culture references and 3 jokes.
The execution is rather impressive considering how much content is shown and how they were able to execute several jokes in between scenes. Much like the widely loved and hated comedy show from last season, Pop Team Epic, Dragon Pilot also relies on pop cultural references and internet memes with its relieving comedy narrative. The comedic resolve is the type of creative-stupidity were the word stupid equals brilliant -- mainly looking like the series is written and directed by Shane Black (The Nice Guys) or Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Three Billboars Outside Ebbing Missouri, Seven Psychopaths) or even Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, The World's End, Baby Driver). Most likely inspired by these gems from the western industry. Good example of this is 30 frames (around 1 second) long scene where character is on the phone and says "we are fucked." and nothing more. The way this comes out makes it seems like being fucked in this situation is self-explanatory and no futher detail is needed. This is really my type of comedy right here.
Despite most of our characters existing solely for Hisone, one amazing side character is present in the series. Boss-bro (Ikushima), who has the skill of telling the hip, bust and waist size of any girl by simply hugging them from the butt (without being even 1 centimeters off) is a real man. Moreover, sick skills and talent. "But wait a minute, isn't this the usual fanservice trash I am supposed to hate or otherwise I have a bad taste?" No! The amazing thing about this is that boss-bro's job is to make suits, so knowing the dimensions of any pilot is part of his job. This is what I call well-thought. If only my school had given me this option for future career.
The art and animation are worth a great deal. The first thing that needs to be said is the original style the series has. Practically, the cult manga series, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, would ideally have these production values if it was animated today. Those who have seen recent shows by Bones will be able to tell instantly that this is their art. Visually, Dragon Pilot is the simple type of beauty where less is more. Only those things that are relevant are there, and this way, viewers are directed to look only those things that matter. This is what we call aesthetics. For example, in one episode, several, old, manly army officers play in the background with toy planes. You don't see this type of greatness just any day. The animation detail --especially for comedy content-- in these simplistic scenes, is outstanding.
In the history of anime, there has only ever been very few series that are so clearly valued and loved by the production team as Hisone to Misotan is (such as Koi wa Ameagari (from Wit Studios) and Concrete Revolutio (from the same Bones team that made this very anime)). Practically, every animated moment screams that it was made for a reason, but not just for you, the viewer, but for the reason that the team behind the series truly beliefs in it. From that part, How to Lick Your Dragon is a genuine work, created not by creed but passion. Those who can appreciate magic like this, will be able to forgive just about any flaw its weaker sides suffer from.
From the sounds department, our OST is not very visible at first listen. The BGM varies from Legend of the Galactic Heroes tier more classical orchestra music to more generic wobs. Because of the fast scene transitions and pace, there can be 5 completely different music styles present during just about any one minute long fraction of the series. The more I started paying attention to this, the more this style started to fascinate me. This picked my interest so bad that I had to rewatch several episodes just in the purpose of listening how the series deals with its music. At the very least, it made me think how important role music plays in the series and how different it would be with different musical choices. To those who are interested in this subject, I highly recommend searching the following: The Marvel Symphonic Universe.
Big names were hired for the seiyuu work. From Kotomine Kirei to every loli tsundere ever, Rie Kugumiya, we have several common and recognizable voices here. Unfortunately, also the guy who did Guilty Crown's mc is also here which gives me nightmares, but other than that, it's all acceptable, but sometimes can kill off the immersion and remind the viewer that this is indeed an anime, a product of this industry. The best part is that these biggest names were not granted main roles which automatically makes Dragon Pilot sound original and fresh.The main cast is voiced by less popular seiyuus who have the habit of changing their own voice and giving unique sounds to all new characters they cast - which makes the person behind the character less noticeable.
Final verdict. Hisone's pros lie within the directing, art, comedy and Hisone's character. The weird pacing can ruin the fun for many. Same thing with the somewhat lacking, messy writing and problematic characterization for supporting characters that may or may not be factors that annoy some viewers to a point that this show won't seem very good -- bad even. I watched the series for its good sides, and they are indeed strong enough for me to see Dragon Pilot as a worthy series.
CarelessForce
Hisone to Maso-tan is a relaxing, feelgood anime, a bit different to most others. It has a charming style but the story, setting and characters are all pretty poor. It's about adults, but so much about the characters, the way they look, sound and behave, is childlike that the fan service, which there is a bit of throughout the show, is a bit unsettling. On the whole, Hisone to Maso-tan is enjoyable enough, it's a nice change of pace with a few laughs here and there, but I wouldn't recommend it because of the poor writing and the creepy fan service.
BowsahBabeh
Among the worst shows I watched this year. Characters consist only of quirks instead of having fleshed out personalities. Hisone is freaking obnoxious and most of the other characters are utterly useless. Plot gets going close to the final three episodes and does not make any sense whatsoever. The very little character development we get is predictable and bare bones. Tries to have so many tearjerker moments and each one falls flat on its face due to the persistent tonal dissonance between sudden wacky comedic scenes and super serial super sad scenes. So much for the objective assessment. What follows is a long, personal rant, mymain problem with Hisone to Masotan comes down to this aspect.
Sexism is rampant.
"Love is a lady's primary objective" is an actual line form the show... A sentence that vile is something a villain would say. All the male staff act like humongous jerks to the pilot girls and exclusively on the premise that they are females and must therefor be inferior pilots by nature. The old "women are governed by their emotions" BS gets brought up constantly. And the show never reprimands anyone who expresses this thought, it seems in fact to support that notion as the girls' inability to properly pilot their dragons is based on their emotional turmoil. One of the pilots main conflict is her struggles with being treated as a second class soldier due to her gender, and that plot point gets hardly explored and not brought to any conclusion whatsoever. There was a hint of an interesting sub plot with that premise, the male soldiers finally see the girls' skills and realize they've been wrong this whole time... But it just fizzles out, no lessons learned, nothing accomplished. I know it' pointless to complain about sexism in anime, might as well complain the sky is blue. But this is so egregiously "no girls allowed lol" that it gets my blood boiling.
Speaking of sexism. There's plenty of out of place and outright uncomfortable fanservice. The pilot suits being skin tight and making Hisone highly embarrassed by the pervy suit designer was a lengthy plot point. One of those cases where the show tries to have it both ways, making the audience empathize with the girls while unapologetically objectifying them. It's especially Hisone who gets shown off by the camera, panning over her buttocks in intrusive angles many a times. This does not work. You can't tell me to feel sorry for poor abused little Hisone while also telling me to lewdly ogle her like a stripper. Mixed signals much? Do you want to be a real story or do you want to be vore porn? Make up your mind you stupid anime.
And lastly, those fucking Yakult yogurt ad inserts. Seriously? Yakult? Who greenlit this.
Rant over.
If you wanna see a show that does "girl bonds with monster/vehicle" done right, watch Rideback instead. Not a single panty shot to be found in that show, Rideback respects both its characters and its audience. Or try Naru Taru if you like your stories with an extra slice of nightmare fuel. Stay away from Hisotan.
brainiac1530
"I've grown complacent in taking many things for granted. But when others look at those very same things, they brood on each one and stumble. Looking at Amakasu agonizing over finding her own answer, I think that there might not be even a single thing in this world that can be taken for granted." -- Haruto Okonogi, episode 10 "I was complacent. But when others look at those very same things ..." -- Haruto Okonogi, episode 12 Repetition is one key to memory. Advertisers use it to make you remember their product. My teachers in school would frequently repeat themselves whensaying something important that was likely to appear on the exam. So when a character in a show like this, which smacks of very deliberate construction in every area, repeats himself nearly verbatim in a span of three episodes, it must be important. Surely it must speak to something with thematic weight.
What had I taken for granted as the viewer? Looking back on it now, there were clearly some things. I'd like to think that now I have the benefit of the full picture for context, but I can think of a few things in particular that I actually took for granted. Firstly, Hisone Amakasu is a woman. This is a pretty minor thing to overlook, because it usually isn't very relevant. It does turn out to be so in this case, though.
In fact, all the D-pilots are female. This is something anime has trained us to take for granted. All-female casts are present in hundreds of anime, and usually this doesn't have any meaning in the context of the story. This isn't an all-female cast, though. There are many male supporting characters, and one I'd even consider a lead even though he doesn't appear so at first. In fact, the interactions between man and woman is a major thematic element in this story.
Romance appears in many anime and this is no exception. It's familiar and thus we can take its presence for granted. However, the interplay of the sexes does a lot more here. It wasn't until I was writing this review that I realized the general level of power disparity between the men and the women in the show. Very few of the men are subordinate to any of the women, and this is pretty clear to see because of the military setting and its clear delineation of hierarchy. I don't remember the show doing anything specific to highlight this aspect. It could be this is one thing we are meant to take for granted.
One thing we'll never entirely overlook, hopefully, is sexual harassment. The level of it in this show is pretty tame, relatively. Surely there's nothing here that would be considered a firing offense in the real world, but its presence was strange and slightly off-putting. The scenes with the tailor, if you can call him that, followed the usual beats for this kind of thing in anime. It's played for laughs, and he comes across as pretty harmless in the end. This isn't the only place where this kind of thing appears, though. In another instance, it gets called out as sexual harassment on the spot, and it doesn't come across as funny at all. Given the context in which it occurs, it can simply be read as yet another thing making Hisone uncomfortable about her new position as D-pilot, and that's all it seemed for the moment.
However, these kinds of things continue to pile up to where they can't be ignored anymore. In retrospect, I have to respect Mari Okada for weaving this subject in so well. It's a slippery topic and she slips it in right under our noses. For me, the breaking point was when they explicitly stated that the D-pilots aren't allowed to fall in love. I knew this was wrong. This was not a thing that made sense, however justified the person saying it believed himself to be. In retrospect, I can see that this was done just right. If it had come any later, the Shinto elements would have been known and we could have easily written this off. It's normal in mythology for the gods to make unreasonable demands of men. But since these things hadn't been introduced yet, this comes across as a man making unreasonable demands of a woman. It has just enough time to settle in and make us a little uncomfortable.
Thankfully, this is far from my first anime rodeo, and I have a little outside-context knowledge of the topic being addressed here. Otherwise, I'd be unlikely to know the very specific "thing which was taken for granted" that the plot eventually addresses. (I've reached my threshold for how much of the plot I'm willing to directly reveal.) That is, married women don't work, at least not in Japan. I can remember instances in anime where women explained why they were quitting their job simply as, "I'm getting married." Not, "I'm getting married, my fiance already has a high-paying job, and I want to have children," but merely "I'm getting married." It doesn't require explanation, because it's taken for granted that married women don't have careers. They may have part-time jobs or do volunteer work or what have you, but having a career and supporting a family is for the man.
That's what "Hisone and Maso-tan" is about, to me. It's about the plight of the working woman. (I'm a true believer in the "death of the author" approach to literary interpretation, so if it meant something else to you, then that's fine.) It has elements that speak to Japanese culture specifically, but this isn't an anime made entirely for Japan. Continuing a recent trend of such shows, it will also be airing on Netflix.
Taking the theme of defying what was taken for granted into the metafictional realm, much of this show is designed from first principles, disregarding the anime status quo. The first you'll probably notice is the character design. Stock anime character designs simply don't lend themselves well to animation, so this production team abandoned them. What we get is something memorable and unique, and the animation team takes full advantage of the streamlined designs to make them much more expressive in practice. (See also: every Yuasa anime ever.)
This extends to the background art as well. We get something rather unique here, too. It looks something like watercolor. There's been a trend toward very digital, shiny, saturated backgrounds lately, and some of these are even quite good in their own right. This has something hazier, with more of a hand-drawn look. It fits very well with the character art and it just feels very good. To me, background art is a strong contributor to the feel of an anime. Many of my favorites have particularly good art design and it makes them a joy to watch.
Another element that tends to appeal directly on an emotional level is music. This has what's probably the best soundtrack of the season. Again, there's no regard for what's considered typical of anime. There is no J-Pop to be seen here. Even when they have the cast sing in character for the ED, it's an old French song that they sing. I wasn't expecting it to be relevant, but it is a song about taking a holiday in France. There is a moment where something like that comes up in context, so keep your eyes open for it.
All in all, this really seems like it could be an enduring classic. There have been numerous contenders lately. Megalo Box plays it too safe, never escaping its status as a tribute to a classic when it could have been one in its own right. Devilman: Crybaby had production quality issues which this lacks. (Though the dub hasn't been made yet, so that could still become an issue like it was for Devilman.) Koe no Katachi pulled its punches a little, and waters down its message by dragging on too long and including some unnecessary elements. This may fly a little under the radar, but it delivers its strike with laser-guided precision. I need to seriously reconsider my previous stance on Mari Okada if this is what she's really capable of when she takes the gloves off.
P.S.: When I say this anime made me uncomfortable, know that I don't consider that to be a bad thing. In fact, I consider it to be a rare and valuable thing. Youtuber MrBtongue made a video on this you should see if you haven't already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg_Lp5bO1U8
KarasuZ
It's always a mystery why some animes spend so much time on character design and special effects, just to focus on elements that doesn't have anything to do with these. "HisoMaso" or Hisone to Maso-tan is your tipical anime that you would like to watch on your evening, just to kill some time and chill. You aren't going for anything great, but its fun enough to keep some minutes of your attention, but dragging itself into a huge moe fest in the end. Characters that were fairly unique, are treated equality and end up with the exact same problems and the huge cliche that follows almostevery female character in anime: Love.
HisoMaso teases some action, at least that's what's expected after so much training and worrying, but after the initial stages, you get yourself wondering what make these characters so unique to be chosen by the VOT's, because the anime excuse is so generic that almost any character imaginable could fit into these girls shoes. Even their personality traits doesn't offer much, but maybe that's on purpose. The less personality and uniqueness a character hass, more people could relate to them and love them more; strategy really present in JRPGS when the MC doesn't talk at all so you could fit into their shoes. Here, it's all the pilots.
The military side can be left aside without any problem, and one has to wonder why they spend so much time hiding their secret, and why it never leaked up to the population. The dragons say fairly in the open, with huge hangars and a lot of people coming in going - from mechanics to the higher ups. The training and "military life" are just a plot device to some dialogues, with only one character that at least seemed to know it was in the Air Force. There is not a single trait that make them special, aside from the famous anime line "you are special" that everyone tells them, but they fail to make it worth it.
The end tries itself too hard. Even the climax moment is already left aside minutes after by all the other characters not caring much, because - as much as we - they know how it will end due to how obvious it is.
With the artstyle combined, HisoMaso looks like a cartoon from the evenings that just tries to be fun, while not going to any direction, be comedy, or action, or even romance. We have a character that's supposed to speak its mind without consequences, but even that the direction of the plot is so obvious that even the journey lacks the excitement factor to keep it engaging. It's a shame though, because the dragons design and the idea overall could lead into some really clever scenes and commentary, with a lot of room to explore from all the elements in the table.
nichijoudisciple
[SPOILER FREE SECTION] TL;DR - Hisone to Maso-tan was fun, but overall very shallow, and completing the show makes the viewer search under every rock to find the show's substance, and unfortunately that is precisely what this show lacks - depth. Hisomaso was an exciting anime to watch, and since the show isn't very long to begin with, binging it seemed like a fine idea for an anime that didn't promise much initially but soon became an exciting ride filled with kooky characters and exciting plot. After the initial completion of the final episode however, it reveals a lackluster story overall, peppered with meaningless subplots andcharacters alike. The show is a fun ride, but completing the anime means coming to terms with an overall shallow plot and even shallower characters.
Hisomaso begins with slightly unique character; a character who's outward demeanor clashes with conventional behavior. That being said, if the only unique thing I can say about the main character is that "she acts weird" then this show isn't exactly getting off to a running start. With shows like Watamote, the main character's intense social anxiety is a main point of the story and is heightened by it. This show's main character's struggle with a pseudo-autistic personality is nothing more than a meaningless red herring placed at an attempt to spice the story up. Not saying that this character is simply irredeemable, but the overall value of this dynamic takes a drastic nosedive towards the end of the show where her personality is never truly resolved nor ever truly discussed in any meaningful fashion.
Main character aside, the dragons in the show are cute and worth watching if only because they are simply there to basically be cute, cool, and fun to watch. That being said, if you came only to see the dragons there are merely four of them anyway, and the dragons beside the main one lack any real time on screen divulging anything interesting.
Truly this anime's saving grace is its visual appeal and its lighthearted main point: that dragons exist in a modern day world and are hiding in plain sight by transforming by the help of the military, into fighter, carrier, or surveillance planes. However, when this anime wanted to take things into a more serious setting, the anime becomes boring at best.
Overall Hisone to Masotan was a somewhat fun experience, as the starting concept of the show was rather unique and fun, but as the series moved along I feel that perhaps only a handful of the 12 episodes were even remotely necessary. I binged this show in a day so I can't truly say it was a miserable day wasted, however I would caution any viewer who hasn't seen this show as to the miserable feeling of trying to decipher any meaning out of a show that inherently lacks any depth whatsoever.
WillNeot
But now, what do I think of this anime? Well, I've already said it: it's one of my favorite anime of my life. It's inventive where it can be, has a unique personality and a BEAUTIFUL production by Bones that elevates each episode and scene to the maximum, complemented by the incredible character design by Toshinao AOKI and Yoshiyuki Ito. After the anime finished, a short five-chapter manga adaptation was released. However, this time, the story is told from Nao's point of view in some of the series' key scenes. This gives us a more in-depth insight into her thoughts on everything and also allows usto get to know the character a little more. On the whole, however, it's just a treat for those who have enjoyed the series, with no major revelations or significant information.
Hisone to Masotan, for me, is a complete work. You could even argue that they didn't explain some things, but honestly, I didn't see much of a problem with that. The story is mystical rather than scientific, involving dragons, gods, monks and priestesses. At the end of the day, what matters are these five girls, each with their own unique personalities, but who talk to each other. They have something in common: the search for a purpose, the understanding of themselves and the search for their place in the world. This is what unites them with their dragons.
The anime is full of metaphors and references, but, in the end, what matters is how it hits you, how it questions you and, finally, how it answers those questions.
Hisone to Masotan tried to be something different, something more, and for me it worked so well. It's one of those anime that, even if I look at it or listen to it from miles away, I'll recognize it immediately. I'll never tire of talking about it, but I think that's enough for today.
It's a small, subtle and even simple series, but it speaks to you like few others do. At least, it spoke to me.
Hisone to Masotan came and left its message, but unfortunately, not everyone saw it. However, I hope that now more people will be interested in checking out this incredible work that I will carry in my heart forever.
AceValiant
A very good and light anime. while the art-style isn't the best to most of people, it combines perfectly with the premisse's non-sense . All the characters are likable and have their own importance in the plot...also how can you don't like these cute dragons(i mean, you need to be a total emontioless to don't like'em). All of them have their own personality that match with their pilots,while they only developed better hisone and yoshino, they did this very well and even redeeming yoshino's edgy attitude about their dragon that contrasting with the others. The whole plot change during the second half, turning the pilotsinto somewhat of guides of a gigantic dragon god who need to be put to sleep by some sort of priestress,who died inside the beast when it falls in sleep, and explaining why old pilots are rejected by dragons and even giving a good end to hisone and masotan, that doesen't mean to separate them, simply end the story very well and don't break the anime's mood. I recomend this series if you just want to have a good time watching something.
SeasideLua
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Maso-tan Overall Score: 9.5/10 Note: This is my first review. Send me feedback on how I can improve. I’ll refer to the anime in question as HisoMaso, Hisone to Masotan, Dragon Pilot, D-Pilot Story (8): At first I thought this was going to be one of those "Cute Girls doing Cute things" shows, but it quickly turned into something much more interesting. Granted, I should have noticed that since the people involved with this work is one of the most renowned in the industry. The story of Dragon Pilot is relatively simple. It is about a young woman named Hisone who joins theJASDF and from there, pilots her very own dragon. Despite it's fantastical premise and absurdity, HisoMaso truly is a mature character study (At least for the first half) on the reliance on others to better yourself and the struggles women face in a male dominated environments. This anime does an excellent job is developing it's characters in the first half of the anime. Putting their goals and apprehensions in the forefront to make them highly relatable. I feel like the biggest payoff to this development was in episode 5 and 6. This is coupled with an excellent balance of witty and smart comedy, and purpose built Drama that fits in with the main characters struggles without being contrived or out of place. The second half of the anime is less of a character study and more of a plot driven show. It fortunately does not turn into an action show and continues to be the drama it intended to be from the get go. It changes messages into a work balance that akin to the tough choices women make (Particularly in Japan) with balancing work and Love. The inclusion of the romance plot made me wary at first, but my worries quickly went away because of how much it fit in with the message the show and how much it put more depth into the characters involved in the romance plot without changing who the characters were. One problem I have with the story is its rather spotty world building when it comes with the dragons. It can be a bit of a mess sometimes when it comes to Hisomaso’s world. Another problem is the foreshadowing. Although I appreciated that all the twists that it pulled made sense and was not an ass pull, it was kinda easy to predict what that twist was going to be. It also needs to be stated that the pacing of this anime is lightning fast. Although it didn’t bother me because I appreciated how straight to the point it was, I don’t think this anime would be beginner friendly. Despite this, HisoMaso story is very purpose built and focuses on its core values which I find more important.
Characters (9.5):
The characters in HisoMaso are all broken or carry complexes similar to Kiznaiver. Unlike Kiznaiver though, the characters feel like they go through real change gradually throughout the show instead of rushing that in the end. On top of this the characters are actually likable and are not aggravating to watch like Kiznaiver. What makes HisoMaso have great characters is the characters having very real complexes and goals and them butting heads in a thoughtful, non offensive and non aggravating way. Despite this, the characters support one another and go through real development and build confidence in their profession despite outside snares and difficult situations. One small nitpick I have thought is that some of the background and supporting cast can be very sexist to our main female cast. I can understand why they did this because of the setting, but it can be very hard to watch at times.
Art and Animation (10):
The animation for D-Pilot is very excellent. It features very expressive facial animation akin to many BONES works and uses very effective use of 3DCG. The flight scenes in this show are breathtaking and very entertaining to watch. This can also be credited to the hand drawn backgrounds which gives the show a very distinctive look compared to most anime coming out today. Seriously most of the backgrounds in this show should be framed. The character designs are also very unique. They are less detailed compared to most anime, but are very pleasing to look at and instantly recognizable. Despite not having more reputable BONES animators on staff like Yutaka Nakamura, this is still one of the best looking anime of this year.
Sound (10):
The OST was composed by Tasei Iwasaki, who previously did the soundtrack of Kekkai Sensen. Like Kekkai Sensen, the soundtrack for this show is excellent and very noticeable while watching the show. Unlike Kekkai Sensen, the OST for this show is a lot less jazzy and has less international influences. If I could describe the OST in one word, it would be “atmospheric”. The OST for this show balances Military-esque trumpets and drum marches, traditional eastern world instruments, and whimsical tracks using pianos and violins. Considering the fast pace of the story, A soundtrack that mixed multiple elements was needed and I think it not only did a good job at that, but it also did a good job of sounding good. I love how the OST has multiple renditions of the opening depending on what the atmosphere was on screen. Speaking of the opening, both of the openings are excellent and feature fully orchestrated background music and beautiful singing from Riko Fukumoto .The intro changes at around episode 8 when the tonal shift of the show starts to change. The lyrics match up to the shows current situation in both openings. Also the ED is addicting. It’s a damn drug.
Enjoyment (10)
Consensus: Hisone to masotan is the antithesis of other similar anime like Kiznaiver and Darling in the Franxx in the way it handles its Drama and characters. Due to this, HisoMaso is not only one of the best original anime developed by BONES in quite a while, but also is in the running for the best original anime of the year. It achieves this with its strong cast of characters, striking art and animation, and writing and directing which has a purpose and focus throughout the majority of its run. I rarely give out ten’s, but this anime had such a big impact on me, I believe that it would be unfair to give anything less than that. I hope this anime gets more traction once it releases on Netflix because it completely deserves it.
Similar Anime:
Kiznaiver (A beta version of this anime)
Most Mecha anime like Eureka Seven, NGE, Franxx etc.
maiwaifuu
Its scary to think this anime almost passed me by. I had paid no attention to it until one youtube video made a heavy recommendation to watch it and the art style immediately jumped out to me for being different. I decided to give it a chance. It went from a show I almost missed to the one I was looking most forward to in a season with other interesting shows like Boku no Hero, Steins Gate and a continuing Darling In the Franxx. It grew on me and I have to say was my Anime of that season. Brought me to tears and heartfelt laughterall in the same scenes. The art style fits it so well and complements the characters fully.
My biggest shock is still how this show is still relatively unknown. I'd highly recommend watching it. I loved it so much that I decided I had to write a review on it having never done anything of the sort for all the other shows that i love. I really love this show BUELELELELELE!!
ABPAEAE
LIGHT SPOILERS (MARKED) AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW, DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING DIRECTLY ABOUT PLOT OR STORY. I never saw myself saying this in a million years prior to watching Dragon Pilot, but this anime truly is the most tasteful vore in the industry. What many see as an average or even below average anime, I see something fantastic. I've rated all categories a perfect 10 deliberately. Dragon Pilot is high up on my list of favorite anime, and has only been even more enjoyable watching it a second time. So many things are done right in this show, and my review certainly can't do itall justice.
The hook of the story is simple; a girl with no aspirations in life finds a meaning in life through becoming a dragon pilot. Dragon Pilot turns this relatively simple yet versatile prompt into 12 substantial episodes, without a single episode being considerably less enjoyable than the others. It's hard to say much about the story without spoiling anything, as most of it is developed in the second half of the anime, so I'll just leave it at saying it's definitely worth getting invested in.
The art is great. I'm no artist, so I really don't know what exactly makes good art good, but Dragon Pilot has a unique and memorable art style that doesn't feel like the creators sacrificed clarity simple for the sake of being different. One thing that particularly stood out to me in Dragon Pilot is the animation. Body animations and facial expressions are noticeably more expressive and realistic than many other anime, and it adds so much substance to the overall final product. And if you care about it, the aircraft look accurate, unless you're some kind of aeromorph lover who never got into trains as a kid instead. I'm sure someone like that could find flaws there.
The sound, more specifically, the sound track, is great. There are some repeat songs, but they still fit perfectly into the scenes they're used in, so I won't deduct any points from this category of the review. The music is memorable, adds so much emotion to scenes, and is good music even if you listened to it outside of the anime.
And finally, the characters. This is a character-centric show, and the creators pulled this off perfectly. Even characters only shown in a handful of scenes feel like they have a deeply developed character that fits well into the story and can have good synergy with other, more prominent characters. I think what makes the characters so perfectly in Dragon Pilot is ironically their imperfections. The characters aren't some invincible stereotypical anime protagonists who defeat all evil without ever breaking a sweat and can overcome any hurdle within the span of half an episode, rather everyone is unique and realistic, with believable strengths, clear goals, and unique yet realistic weaknesses. Altogether, these personalities create a diverse and interesting ecosystem of JASDF members on an airbase.
Overall, Dragon Pilot was a surprise gem for me, and I couldn't be happier that I chose to watch it. I've just finished my first rewatch, and I can see myself rewatching many more times in the future. It fulfills my need for an anime with a perfect blend of seriousness and lighthearted comedy. Media of any kind rarely captures somewhat realistic military slice-of-life well, so seeing it done well in an anime is quite satisfying.
--------------------LIGHT SPOILERS--------------------
Dragon Pilot carries a prominent message. It's not the forefront of the show, but it definitely feels like the creators wanted to say something through the medium of anime. Dragon Pilot encourages one not to blindly follow tradition or authority figures, especially if something or someone is at risk of being lost or harmed, particularly for an unknown "greater good". I don't wish to directly spoil anything from this absolute masterpiece of a show, so I'll just leave it at that. It's just something I found particularly interesting while watching that was made more clear when I rewatched.
FTBookworm
Really cute show. Has dragons and fighter planes and romance, I mean serious fun and a unique mixture of these categories. I really like how it ends and the messages behind the show - the will to never give up on what and who you love and care about, as well as to come up with unique solutions to problems. I hope others have enjoyed the show as much as I have and I hope others will try it out too. I mean, who doesn't want to watch a show where a girl must be eaten to then fly a dragon who, with thespecially made gear, transform into a fighter plane? ;)
AnimeSpaceBR2
- Finally my review of this incredible anime that is Hisone to Masotan; beginning with the story that is simply something inexplicable of so unique that it is, the story is simply magnificent and extremely unique; in general the story begins very confused but throughout the episodes it is becoming more and more unforgettable, with several surprises, as well as extremely exciting moments and even some fun moments, simply a unique story, and that totally escapes the cliches that I have seen until today; In short, if it were for me to summarize the story of Hisone to Masotan in two words it would be:Unforgettable and unique.
- Now about the technical part, which is a difficult point to explain since the visual itself, more precisely the designs of the characters, is an extremely simple design, but the technical part as a whole is simply magnificent, that despite the visual it stands out a lot, the animation in compensation, is simply excellent; now on the soundtrack, this is another point I would like to praise, the soundtrack is simply sensational, with highlight in more emotional scenes that made the perfect use of the soundtrack, in other words, the soundtrack is another point that Hisone to Masotan stands out ; and now I wanted to talk a little bit about the direction, which is also very good overall, you can create great scenes, however overdone here and there, overall the direction is great too, you can create perfectly amazing scenes, whether they are more emotional scenes, or even comedy scenes.
- About the cast of characters, it may seem like a lie but this is another point where the series stands out, the characters are simply '' real '', all are extremely charismatic and with their own personalities, both the protagonist and the supporting characters, all has its own personalities and of course, all are very well developed and very captivating; finally, the cast of the series is '' alive '' and full of personalities, simply an excellent cast of characters.
- Conclusion, no doubt Hisone to Masotan is one of the best animes of the spring season 2018, and without doubt one of the best anime of the year so far; the series has a simple look but an excellent technical part as a whole, along with a great direction and soundtrack, and of course, a sensational cast, but what stands out most is the story that is simply unique and unforgettable, finally, Hisone to Masotan is a unique and unforgettable experience, a true adventure and without a doubt I recommend it to everyone; Hisone to Masotan is simply unforgettable !! 💘😍🌺 !!
- My favorite song from Hisone to Masotan 💕 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d86y5o5d3Mo
- My page about animes on facebook 💙 : https://www.facebook.com/pg/AnimeSpaceBR.050/posts/?ref=page_internal
💗😉💜 !!
tomatoejam
Such an underrated anime that deserves so much more love. I had dropped it previously after the first few minutes a few years ago, and I am so glad I gave it a chance. I binged the entire show in 2 days lol. The story is much more emotional than I thought it would be. All of the characters have their own quirks and charms, which is enjoyable to watch. Although there is an element of surprise with the vore thing, please give it a chance! The story and characters are amazing in my opinion. Also the voice acting is so good, especially Amakasu’s va.She perfectly captured Amakasu’s personality!
LegendAqua
Hisone to Maso-tan is the dark horse of Spring 2018 for LA for how much of a character study on love and of the self, and this is an anime about woman pilots getting eaten by dragons poising as planes and them piloting them! LA will get straight to the point and get straight to the main character Hisone Amakasu voiced by Misaki Kuno who does a stellar job in voicing Hisone and Hisone herself is easily relatable to what she goes through with her trials and tribulations in trying to interact with her peers in the military to her opening up and knowing herself andthe support she truly has once she becomes an OTF pilot (Dragon Pilot) and refreshingly enough, NOT trying to say that Hisone should change from her meek, shy self but that everyone can be meek yet strong at the same time. LA just loved Hisone as a character and what developments she goes through especially when the anime itself was shifting from a training arc to an intentionally forced romance arc that not only includes Hisone herself but her peers in the process.
With that Hisone to Maso-tan does a stellar job in terms of character interaction and development as a whole for the majority of the cast, from backstory to subtle yet great interactions from the majority of the cast and all their weird quirks here and there. From Nao Kaizaki voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa, the once rival to Hisone to getting her own development opening up to almost everyone in the cast and small crush on Hiroki Ikushima with some comedic results, Ririko Kinutsugai voiced by Satomi Arai, probably the least involved in the major character plotlines but like Nao has many comedic potential and was LA's second favourite character, Mayumi Hitomi voiced by Kaori Nazuka though doesn't have much involving the major character plotlines, but though she's the most static character in the anime along with Ririko her personality was definitely "quirky" and finally Eri Hoshino voiced by Maki Kawase the stern and no nonsense character who is entirely focused on her job as an OTF pilot, she like Nao opens up to the cast and is a great contrast to Hisone. Though the characters LA talked about, only half were static to say the least, but with the great amount of character interactions throughout the anime even from some of the minor turn major characters like Sada Hinomoto voiced by Romi Park the Joie lady to Remi Kakiyasu voiced by Rie Kugimiya, the OTF Pilot's Sergeant and direct superior, Hisone to Maso-tan manages to make for great character interactions to the point the majority of the main cast to be both likable as hell and memorable.
In terms of character development, Hisone and Eri gets the majority of character development especially when it it goes into what LA deems the "Romance subplot" and we get to see much more from both of these characters and how it GREATLY affects them as OTF pilots and heck even the OTF's themselves as much as they don't talk not to mention they only use at best motions and emotions to show how they feel, just seriously Hisone to Maso-tan does great on character interactions, even to the pint of the human to OTF interactions makes these dragons part of the cast indefinitely. Sorry if LA is gushing but getting back on track but the character development of Hisone especially (due to her being the narrative focus of the anime) both misguided and great development to Hisone due to how she looks at herself and how she feels about love herself and those around her, almost like a "work over love" or vice versa scenario though done for some level of melodrama, was done well in making LA like Hisone even more and became even more relatable in some sense of her wanting to love everyone but that damaging some of her relationship as a result, very much like you can't help everyone and smearing that in saying that you can!.
Now LA hasn't talked the major story plotline of this anime as LA had been focused on it's wonderful cast of characters, but the major plotline along with it's many interesting character plotline and romance subplotlines DOES interweave itself to the major story plotline quite well. The major plotline doesn't show itself and keeps itself a mystery for the first half of the anime but keeps subtle hints to the one really mysterious superior of Iiboshi voiced by Yoshimitsu Shimoyama and the major story plotline is quite the intense one at that. LA doesn't want to spoil but let's just say it took many plot twists and lots of intense moments for such a lighthearted yet great character focused anime and LA will leave it at that.
Hisone to Maso-tan's animation done by Bones was what got LA interested in seeing this anime from the simple yet expressive character designs to the great background work and the great Henshi OTF's animation was great. Bones outdid themselves with it's character designs especially with how expressive yet simplistic it's made out to be, it's mostly chibi expressions especially from Hisone but Bones managed to make a simple expression show so much from a character (and OTF's), almost like a different spectrum of Kyoto Animation where the simple animation that doesn't need to be detailed and show so much (and this isn't a hit at Kyoto Ani, LA is merely showing an example of how the simple expressions the characters do are similar in a ways to Kyoto Ani just using different techniques). Bones's animation is great as ever form character designs and beautiful background work especially with it's skies and "action moments". The animation was great all across the board.
With such great characters and interactions, the voice acting by Hisone to Maso-tan is AMAZING, as voice actors from Misaki Kuno, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Satomi Arai, Maki Kawase, Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya doing amazing in this anime, due to how expressive these characters are it matched with the brilliant voice acting and this is where most of the voice cast are doing lot of "playing against the type" characters like Misaki Kuno though doing a shy meek character she DOES have a quirky backbone to her which Misaki strides all the way through the anime to Tomoyo Kurosawa doing her rare delinquent-esque vocals in Nao and Rie Kugimiya doing an almost drill sergeant nasty but almost motherly figure to the OTF pilots, amazingly well. Joji Nakata and Yuki Kaji did great as well with Yuki Kaji has some semblance of a stake in the plot (both romance and story-wise) as well as "bro"-almost douchey Yutaka Zaito voiced by Yukitoshi Tokumoto doing a great job balancing douchey and likable all the better. The voice cast, seriously is amazing to the point LA will give MVP to Misaki Kuno as Hisone and Rie Kugimiya as Remi Kakiyasu (LA's bias LA knows).
Hisone to Maso-tan is a great dark horse contender for the best anime of Spring 2018 (you know excluding spinoffs and sequels) and this being a Bones ORIGINAL anime, just man Hisone to Maso-tan was one of LA's most invested animes as well as most relatable protagonist anime characters, great character development, interactions and interweaving major plotlines that greatly involves it's characters to great effect that LA hasn't seen this kind of anime in quite a while and no LA doesn't mean it's weird premise. Hisone to Maso-tan was quite the surprise of an anime that LA could get this invested in these characters and plot that LA couldn't wait for the next episode or the plot twists that comes along that shakes things up even more. LA is just gushing about Hisone to Maso-tan soo much that is because LA really couldn't find many faults about Hisone to Maso-tan as a whole, sure Hisone herself made lots of dumb mistakes but that only improved her as a character later on and many of the mysteries given is built up and executed to spectacular effect and finished the anime tying up loose ends (this being an original anime, LA thinks that needed to be said) and well because of everything LA said up til now, LA will easily give Hisone to Maso-tan, the best ORIGINAL anime of Spring 2018 and a good contender of anime of 2018.
