New Anime Series! Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo episode 1

SHHHHH! We will just pretend this post was up on Thursday like I said it was going to be. Pretend folks. Pretend with me. XD Also I have watched the last of my maybe animes of the season. I might have to watch it a second time as apparently I wasn't following it very well or it was just confusing to me a nonJapanese person. So I am slightly caught up? Oh wait the manga store anime has episode 2 out already? GREAT! Go me!

Soon the main character will be riding something else....wait that sounds really naughty. X___X

But for now have a new anime post. One before dinner time! Shocking isn't it? Here is episode 1 of Cross Ange.....and a lot more words. Spoilers for a lot of evil people and no one to really root for yet?

Friendship forever! Or at least for 12 more hours....

Episode Summary: Flying high in the sky are a bunch of girls with mechas that can be two way vehicles. They get word that something is about to open up and it is battle time. Everyone seems to know the drill and don’t freak out too much when a giant portal opens up and various size dragons come through. The girls seem okay with this and switch to battle mode and start taking out the dragons that know magic as well. Everything seems to be going well as a blond hair girl seems to be ignoring everyone else as she sings to herself. She thinks of happier times on a horse with others instead of this mecha fighting dragons. She is given orders but takes matters into her own hands and fights off the biggest dragon alone. Like a badass I might add with a shot gun as well as her mecha. She seems successful and then the scene changes sometime in the not so distant past. This girl (with longer hair) is playing in a sport that requires one person using mana to pilot and another person to go after the ball. Her name is Angelize and she also is the princess of this happy Empire. Her school is currently losing the battle but she vows a victory. They get set up for the next point as everyone seems to watch, including her creepy looking brother and happy looking sister. Right before they are able to win someone on Angelize’s team starts to fall to her death. Instead of going after the ball Angelize goes after the girl. They lose the game and the girl is so upset. But Angelize busts out the inspiration speeches that makes even the other team stop and listen. We learned a great thing today people. All of this just makes Angelize a more amazing Princess that is loved by all. She promises to remain a good captain despite having to go through her confirmation ceremony as she is turning 16 soon. Angelize travels with her maid (Momoka), younger sister, and brother in some magical car on the way home. The brother is acting really douchey but Angelize is too busy feeling bad she couldn’t bring her team to victory. The younger sister is cute and happy that the entire city is in love with her sister and Angelize promises to help lead the nation once her Light of Mana is revealed. The brother smirks and can’t wait for the ceremony. The car suddenly stops and soldiers guard the car like crazy people as something awful is happening outside. Of course Angelize eats danger for breakfast and goes outside anyway. It turns out a mother has had her child taken from her and a test performed on the infant. She is able to break someone’s Light of Mana which means the kid is a Norma, a human being who is unable to use magic thus is a disgusting monster. The mother tries to get her baby back but Angelize in her pretty dress and nice smile is like no…that is a monster, not human. They reject our lovely Light of Mana so you need to forget that kid and have a proper human baby KAY? XD The mom is none too happy with this as the crowd watches and the baby is taken away.

You still hate Normas?

That night Angelize chills out on the balcony of the palace in her questionable nightwear singing the royal song. Her mother in an equally questionable sleep attire joins her and they talk about how the Light of Mana makes everyone happy. Still Angelize wants more in life, mainly to discover why Normas exist and why they are always girls. The mother seems conflicted and gives Angelize her ring. Soon it is time for the Baptism Ritual and Angelize is waving at her adoring public while her father is seen by her brother Julio messing with something. Everyone gathers in the square as Angelize gets in this giant tubey thing that is to activate when she uses her Mana. But surprise…it doesn’t go off which surprises her parents. The King just stands there is shock as the Queen tries to get her out. The cops from earlier see that Angelize is registering as a Norma. Julio is like HAHA Father I have disabled your disguise since you were allowing this monster into the royal family. While Julio is hahaing to the public the Queen gets Angelize free and she uses her Mana to get Angelize into the palace. They run through the halls but are eventually caught outside. Angelize is put in the head cop’s Light of Mana but she breaks it, revealing she is a Norma. She puts up a struggle while being arrest which ends in the main cop dude shooting and killing the mother. Her teammates gather and declare the Princess a monster as she is hauled away. Julio is like oh…have a funeral for mom and place dad under arrest. He then proceeds to tell a very upset and unconscious little sister Sylvia that things are about to get busy. Much is implied and grossed out. Angelize is taken to a prison where other Normas are kept. The lady in charge can use Mana but there is another person in office that is a Norma and intends to break Angelize of her stubborn streak of I AM THE PRINCESS! She (Jill) is not impressed with Angelize acting like she isn’t a Norma and that her family hid her inability to use Mana all these years. The mother died for this sin and now Angelize will pay the price by losing her clothes, name, and apparent virginity by how awful things got in this prison. Apparently Ange is supposed to fight something now but it is more important to violate her in the name of a stripsearch? THE END!

So monstrous that child.

This show was surprising in several ways. Some good, some bad. Like I try to check out a show before I watch it and weigh in whether or not it is worth my time and if it is something that I like. I tend to be picky which is hard when a lot of animes are geared towards men. You know, huge boobies and questionable outfits. So when I saw the Norma piloting their mechas I was like….hmm this could be questionable but I can give it a try. One episode won’t kill me right?

There were more oh scenes but you know...

Then I saw the opening theme song and I was like OH this is way more than questionable. And the ending song too was mighty special. Not too much in the actual episode itself. Queen and Princess could have picked more modest sleepwear when talking to family members but you know. The opening and closing though made me go X__X with the true nakedness. I am sure in the uncensored DVDs and BluRay releases the girls will actually have nipples but for now everyone is naked and proud. I guess some people could argue with me that the human body is beautiful and wonderful and sometimes it just makes sense to be naked and if it’s not in a sexual context I shouldn’t get bent out of shape about it and hey there was a naked boy too. Well when all of that starts being more true and equal I guess I can agree with that. For now I am side eyeing this show.

Oh this could be a problem...

On the other hand, the main character did something in this episode that made me stop and think. Or really go WOW I can’t believe the main character is being portrayed like that. Something that gave me faith that this show might not be super generic and all about the boobies. But that happened a bit into the episode. We must go in order yes. So at the start of the episode we must go into the future, a preview of what is to come. We can’t start off with happy, skippy land right away. Well in a way we did. The main character Ange is singing a song and thinking of happier times with her family, riding a pony and being a beautiful blond without a care in the world. That is shown side by side with how Ange’s life is going now….wearing a skimpy costume while piloting a mecha so she can fight giant magic using dragons. Don’t you hate that when it happens? We don’t get too many details on what is going on. The humans seem to have technology that can sense when the dragons are coming (from a different dimension) and they have weapons that can fight the magic welding things. The people piloting the mechas are all girls because….girls are magical. It seems as if everyone else is working together to fight the dragons, like they have experience whereas Ange is off doing her own thing. Either because she is new or because she is a rebel. That doesn’t look to be appreciated much but she is getting the job done against a huge dragon so you know….

How dare we get in your way of flawless victory!

Then POOF we are back in the past, to explain why this is all happening. Ange is now riding some kind of vehicle during a game, not a mecha fighting dragons. Everything looks amazing and wonderful. The game really isn’t explained and what we find out later…doesn’t make sense. But this game seems to be powered by mana (magic) and Ange is in the position on the vehicle that doesn’t require mana. In any event Ange(Angelize in the beginning of the show) is referred to as Princess but is still playing the sport which I find a bit cool. A princess of the people, attending high school like a normal girl and playing on a team sport. I am not sure how many kingdoms are in this show, if there is one main one or two given the names of the school. And it does say Empire. There could be other Empires. But in any event Ange isn’t given much special treatment. I am sure some of the people on the other team feel X__X about beating her. Like oh snap off with our heads time but Ange has to open her mouth and let her goodness flow. Like instead of winning the game I will make sure I save my friend from dying. That makes me a good person. And when all of my classmates/maid apologize for holding me back I will break out the inspirational speech. Like guys…we learned more than winning today. We learned that when someone is crashing to their death we should save their lives instead of saving the ball from dropping. Look at me with my long blond hair and gorgeous smile. Truly I am loved. Even the girls on the opposing team were touched by her Princessness. Bravo. Bravo for doing the right and incredibly easy thing. I think there was more to the speech but you get the gist of it.

Look how fabulous I am. Please worship me in unhealthy ways.

After the sports event Angelize and her crew travel I guess back home. We get a first glance of the world these people are living in and how important Angelize is to this place. Mana, mana everywhere. It is hard to say how much in the future this show is based on the present because of the mana. Things might look high tech but that could just be with how easy mana makes things. Who needs dressing rooms when you can snap your fingers and poof instant clothes. Of course that sounds pretty awful now that I type that out… tough to be a girl. Cars are controlled by mana and everyone generally seems over the moon about Angelize. Like look at the Princess, this almost 16 year old girl. She is EVERYTHING! Her brother Julio and the main guard don’t seem that impressed with Angelize being amazing just because she is alive but the younger sister Sylvia and maid Momoka hang on Angelize’s ever word. What could go wrong folks?

LOOK AT THAT DANGEROUS CHILD!

As the car is traveling down the very empty road they have to make a stop for a dramatic scene. Don’t you hate it when there are 438943 cops in an area and not one can direct traffic? Just so amazing. Anyway the car has to stop and guards have to dramatically protect said car without even finding out what is going on. Like slow your roll. Well it turns out that a young child has been taken into custody for being a Norma. See in this brave new world the QueerRats don’t look like QueerRats, they still look human. Most people in this world have evolved to have magical powers while Norma are…normal human beings with no magical powers. But not only do Norma’s have no magical powers but they break down the Mana from other people. So when someone is suspected of being a Norma someone else uses their Mana of Life around them and if the person walks forward and breaks the shield…off they go. Normas are either very rare or Angelize leads a sheltered life because she is shocked to see her first ever Norma in that child. I am going on the sheltered life for obvious reasons.

XD Just throw your child away and have a new one. Easy as pie!

So in most animes this is the part of the anime where the Princess is shown to have some compassion. Princes get away with more things in animes. Like they can be cocky or a little bratty but overall Princesses are gentle and of the people, super nice even light of horrible situations. When Angelize starts walking towards the distraught mother who wants to run away with her Norma baby one is to expect that this is going to play out similar. Like yes this child is a Norma but we are all humans and we must take pity on the situation, not make it worse. Go and do good woman. No folks no. And for this reason alone I think this show might be a lot of fun to watch. Angelize comes out of the car acting…well smiley and angel like. But the stuff that comes out of her mouth….pure hatred and brainwashing. Like nope Normas are not human. They are vile mistakes that don’t deserve to live. Their very existence threatens us all. In fact you should allow us to throw this baby in the trash and you should focus on making a new baby, a proper one. X_____X And everyone ate this crap up like it was gold. All but the mother of the Norma. She was shooting dangers at the Princess of Crazy. Clearly Angelize is sprouting off things that have been drilled into everyone’s brains. She didn’t have an original thought tumble from her mouth. The fact that she could say all of this with a smile on her face and really believe it…we got one messed up Princess.

And then kill all the Normas!

But not as messed up as I first thought when I started typing this. It is revealed later (with other things revealed because OH BOY those night garments…) when Angelize talks to her mother that she really, really doesn’t have a clue. So while Angelize’s words were super harsh there was no…real emotion behind it? That might be not how I want to word it. I mean there are feelings behind it. People hate and fear these Normas as they can destroy their magic. Maybe people believe they can destroy the person doing the magic as well? So while Angelize has fear for these Normas it is nothing she came up with herself, it must have been put into her brain by society. Not her family members who…obviously are skirting the issue. That is probably no excuse as I get upset with people who are raised in very bigoted families and come out with the same views. At some point in life you need to open your eyes and see what you are doing is wrong. As Angelize turns 16 perhaps she sorta understands that. Sorta. Because while mom and Angelize stand there in inappropriate clothing Angelize talks about how this world is perfect but something is missing. Why are there Normas at all? Of course Angelize ruins what little goodness she produces as she wants to get RID of all Normas. Perhaps it would have been better if she has said she wants to stop them from being born “wrong” but you know…maybe steps.

Can we focus on this scum rather than Ange no having mana powers?

It is time for Angelize to take center stage though. I am sure this is only happening because she is the Princess. If everyone had this ceremony it would be special and would take way too long. Like okay just a constant stream of 16 year olds being confirmed. Angelize just has it happen because she is the Princess. Time to greet the people and be marked as a proper member of the royal family. Or so she thought. See it turns out Angelize is a Norma. Which is rather special when you think about it as a BABY is figured out to be a Norma so fast in life but Angelize got around this for 16 years. Yes yes the mana maid but still. A bit special. Plus Angelize never even tried to use mana on her own. The explanation that the parents covered things up can only go so far. It was enough though to make the brother Julio suspicious and sabotage the sabotage and expose Angelize for the MONSTER that she was. Like damn kid. I am going to guess that Julio, despite looking 25, is actually the younger brother and wanted the crown for himself. Also brainwashing against Normas.

:( Dad is probably next on death's list and Ange will blame herself for it I am sure.

Once Angelize is exposed as a Norma many things happen. The little sister who seems….okay with things, just shocked, faints. Which is good because when Julio decides to get creepy on her later she is not conscious to hear it. Or maybe she should have been awake so she could be to be taken to jail with her father so she didn’t have to deal with this insanity. Queen Mother is about to get Angelize free long enough to get her outside. But from there is police and sport teammates city. Like how DARE you lie to us. Angelize is either in denial or just don’t get it but she is insists she isn’t a Norma til the bitter end. Even after she destroys someone’s Mana and her mother is shot. Like bitches I am the Princess. The mother who had her Norma baby taken away cackles at the karma that is taking place before her on TV. Overall the scene is chaotic but not as chaotic as I would expect it to be after revealing the royal family is full of liars. Like how can they trust Julio? I wouldn’t but the masses are used to be brainwashed so who knows.

Perhaps we could have stopped here?

Angelize keeps her stance of I am a Princess, treat me as such routine. Even when she is dropped off by ship to some crappy looking island. I am surprised Normas aren’t killed because they are SO dangerous but then it is revealed they are used as soldiers, work that mana using people would never do. Oh I see slave labor. Well then they can’t be that dangerous if we can keep them alive enough to protect us from giant dragons in the sky. Although I don’t know if I would give people I treat like crap access to weapons. Also I might employee more….Mana using people at the place. Yes the Normas can destroy their mana but it seems as if the one guard might be outnumbered.

What part of that looks like a physical?

That might not be a problem though as we saw Angelize (now Ange) get the royal welcome by a fellow Norma. Jill is not impressed with the Princess act. Which is fine because I don’t think Ange was impressed with being stripped naked and rapped act. This is where the show went into SUPER grey territory. Of course Normas are treated like crap but by another Norma? Doing something that despicable to one of her own? Perhaps that happened to Jill but even the Mana using guard was disgusted with how far Jill took things. Just way over the top to get male viewers hot and bothered by this Non-consensual female on female act. As a female…not impressed. I think Ange might have gotten the same message by getting beat a few more times. But then this show wouldn’t be super edgy or whatever and we can’t be having that. So while Ange lies alone on the floor..I am guessing she is regretting treating that small child like crap. Dude is the baby at the prison too? Great now I have to watch next week to make sure Jill isn’t…being Jill on others. I hope the show doesn’t continue with this level of HMMMMness. I can handle getting off on tables and pointless bathing scenes with other females but this might be too much for my delicate sensibilities. Nor pardon me as I wait on baited breath for The Walking Dead to return to TV.