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View Poll Results: Infinite Stratos - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 6 5.88%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 11 10.78%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 18 17.65%
7 out of 10 : Good 28 27.45%
6 out of 10 : Average 13 12.75%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 11 10.78%
4 out of 10 : Poor 4 3.92%
3 out of 10 : Bad 6 5.88%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 3 2.94%
1 out of 10 : Painful 2 1.96%
Voters: 102. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2011-04-07, 00:20   Link #1
Kairin
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Infinite Stratos - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Infinite Stratos ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:
  • General impression of the series.
  • Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
  • Thoughts about the animation quality.
  • Characters/Character Design
  • Voice Acting

  • Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.
  • What the show meant to you.
  • What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Soundtrack: 1-10
Editing: 1-10
Enjoyment: 1-10
Emotional Involvement: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Feel free to discuss and more importantly, have fun
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Old 2011-04-07, 00:35   Link #2
serenade_beta
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What was good about this anime:
The character designs


...............
QB: Anything else?
Me: ............;;;;;;-_-)

For one thing, the story was terrible. Heck, it wasn't just terrible, it was atrocious. It probably rose to my "Worst Plot" award, beating famous ones like Munto and Gonzonauts.

Heck, a plot-focused episode being "boring" is a compliment, because in general, whenever it tries to attempt some kind of plot, it does so bad that I start breaking into cold sweat... For real! How can a plot be so bad?! It isn't even in the "Laugh at it"-type of bad... Just... bad. Can't even make fun of it.

The last thing with the ship and all of that was bad enough, but what really stood out was the reasons why a couple of the girls fell for Ichika. Yes, I know that harem anime in general don't have "realistic" reasons, but in general, it still doesn't make you go straight out, feeling at least a bit logical. But here?! Cecilia was bad enough, but Laur or whatever the Eyepatch was named was absolutely a different person! I wouldn't be surprised if she was later diagnosed with multiple personality disorder... Forget realistic reason, there was no reason! No "in-between"! No nothing! The same feeling you get when you read the first page of a book and then suddenly the last.

So the plot sucks.
How about the harem part? The main part of this anime?
...To be honest, I can't really say it was that good either. One reason is of course the ways two of the girls fell in love for Ichika, but another is that it feels so... omnibus? Especially around when Charles was introduced, it was like all of a sudden, she was the major focus and everyone was background. At least have the other characters some on-screen time...
To be honest, I wouldn't have minded this part as much if the author didn't shout out to the world he didn't know what to do with his own characters.
(PS: He seems to come from writing eroge... Figures)

Okay, so that part is out too.
How about the animation?
The first half was good.
But... What happened to the second half? When the cour reached the half-way point, the quality dive-bombed. Wow, it sure dive-bombed.
For instance, this:
http://img714.imageshack.us/i/8a280056s.jpg/
I'm just glad the battles weren't as bad though.

And as for the music, nothing in particular. Part of the OP is nice to listen to, but I only like about half of it.


So anyways, a 6/10, I guess. A lot of it sucked, so maybe I should give it lower, but I did have fun watching the characters... Kind of.
Ichika absolutely sucked though, no doubt. What kind of pairing do I like in this anime? Ichika x Grim Reaper
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Old 2011-04-07, 01:38   Link #3
Haak
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Spoiler for my full review:
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Old 2011-04-07, 08:41   Link #4
Seihai
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Animation Quality: 7/10
First half + second half, that is.

Voice Actors: 7/10
It did have an all-star cast but whaddaya know, it's not about them but their voice. And except Hanazawa Kana at times everyone wasn't really better than "Good".

Script: 3/10
Nice boat.

Soundtrack: 5/10
Nothing that caught my ears. The use of it in the last episode wasn't bad though.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Ichika no ecchi. Houki's Imagine Breaker. Naked Laura. And so on.

Emotional Involvement: 7/10
More like harem magnet.

Unreasonable bonus point so 7/10 altogether.
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Old 2011-04-07, 08:44   Link #5
felix
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Plot was half-decent.
Setting was amusing.
Character design and animation was good, sometimes great.
A good part of the female characters were actually likable (when they weren’t in Ichika-mode).

Some character backgrounds were entertaining at least (Charlotte, Laura), while others felt second-hand: 1st childhood friend, 2nd childhood friend, 1st school friend, neighborhood friend. Really? That’s the best background the writer could think for them.

Character development was horrible.
Male lead was F-ing TERRIBLE!
Female / Male lead interaction was garbage.
Overarching story (meaning what it was all about) was lame and unimaginative.
Story elements were garbage.
Plot progression was disappointing.

Sub-plots:
  • Ichika super pilot: FAIL. Swing a K.O. sword around FTW? Not amusing.
  • Harem: FAIL. Why do they like him? There’s nothing in the story about any “good qualities”. His gayness and siscon ain’t helping the cause either. If you’re gonna fail at least fail the right way, by overusing fanservice or something.
  • Genius sister. Not buying it, too crude.
  • World Nemesis. So it’s all just the little sister playing pranks and getting everyone killed? Har har. Way to go steal what thunder the whole robo-IS premise still had…
  • The power struggle. Apparently Ichika’s equipment is hax, so much so one has to wonder how he can fail so hard.

  • Charlotte’s background: good. But was starting to get screwed over near the end. Should a second season come, I have no doubt it will get completely desecrated in the name of cheap plot.
  • Sister backstory (minus the Ichika moments) was interesting. Too bad we only got a few pans at most.
  • Laura’s story. Pretext was nice. Execution was terrible. Emo character development and forced one at that, how she just turned into Ichika’s little slave over night I can’t be bothered to understand.
  • IS techno-babel. Decent, though slipped a lot. So very convinient and boring that a new generation just pops up every week.
  • Houki’s plot. Lame!
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Old 2011-04-07, 08:58   Link #6
justpassingby
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My stand over the anime adaptation is the same as it's novel counterpart: Cut the harem antics and focus more on the relevant characters (Ichika, Houki, Chifuyu, and Tabane)
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Old 2011-04-07, 10:36   Link #7
kramerica
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- Lost points for omitting some key plot events (why Cecilia liked Ichika all of a sudden for example)
- The NewType or whatever events where the pilots go into a subspace to talk was weird to me
- Plot was missing a real antagonist

+ Jelly was dished out in very comical fashion
+ Ichika, while dense, was still somewhat likeable to me
+ Character designs were very cute
+ Facial expressions are totally amazing; Houki's reaction to anything really, yandere Cecilia/Rin, Charlotte's awareness of the harem, etc.

Overall 7.5 / 10 rounded up. It's a harem comedy that features mecha. Not a mecha anime that features a harem, if that makes sense.
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Old 2011-04-07, 13:47   Link #8
Archangel Roy
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Animation Quality: 10
Voice Actors: 7
Script: 6
Soundtrack: 7
Editing: 8
Enjoyment: 9
Emotional Involvement: 4

Average = 8.5

I gave the script a 6 because who ever came up with Ichika being a dense and slow character to love angers me. I gave a 4 for emotional involvement because there wasn't enough emotional scenes to begin with. (Also, not enough Charl action :P) Overall, the animation was great, I loved watching it in 720p. Editing was good and the music was fantastic. I just wished Ichika was more of a romantic ; __ ;
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Old 2011-04-07, 14:28   Link #9
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Animation Quality: 7

It was ok for a the level of this show.

Voice Actors: 6

Acting was good,nobody had an annoying voice which delivers apart from Cecilia.


Soundtrack: 6

ED was delightful to listen to, OP was nothing serious and for OST I didn't hear it at all.

Enjoyment:6( 8 for the first half(before Laura) and 4 for the second half)

Emotional Involvement: none

Scrip/plot: 4

-First 2 episodes were good, I was hoping for more Houki/ Ichika alone in the room interaction, but it didn't happen+Char-Ichika interactions were also good
-What's with Rin,Cecilia and Laura? Stupid inferior semi-tsunderes and Laura. Completely irrelevant to plot.



Overall: 6/10
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Old 2011-04-13, 12:46   Link #10
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Instead of giving individual scores, I'll just give my general impressions followed by a summary score.

Infinite Stratos was a mixed bag. It had a lot of genuinely enjoyable moments, and some great characters. The plot was pretty much a backdrop; an afterthought. If you hold the attitude that it's all in good fun, this works out just fine, but if you're expecting a plot that delivers anything but the rudimentary, you'll be in for a disappointment.

Animation: Good. The CG was well implemented (and I really dislike CG, so this is high praise indeed), and the characters usually looked good consistently.

Voice Actors: Ah... this series makes me proud to name Hanazawa Kana as my favorite voice actor. She brings a performance that transcends cute, moe, or any other label you'd slap on it. Simply outstanding! A lot of other talents at work here as well, and though hindered by dialogue rife with cliche and insipidness, they all brought life to their characters.

Soundtrack: I have little so say about this. I can't remember a single track used, and I disliked the opening. The ending was alright, but not anything I'll be listening to.

Enjoyment: Waxed and waned. Charlotte was breathtaking, and Houki's sister was pretty awesome as well. The show's flaws are plentiful, including a terrible plot that felt tacked on and a horribly inept male lead. Sometimes these things really get in the way, particularly towards the end, but in between these islands of utter frustration, there's enjoyment to be found. The fun episodes are just that; fun. Some good interactions, and not to sound like a broken record, but damn, Charlotte, you're just fantastic.

Overall, I give the series a 5/10: Average. Frustrating at times, decent entertainment with lovely ladies at others. In other words, this means that when the series aspires to breach its harem roots and actually deliver some substance, everything collapses.
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Old 2011-04-15, 01:12   Link #11
grey_moon
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As long as I keep my brain mostly switched off I really enjoyed the show. Would have been nice if they focused more on the main character Charlotte....
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Old 2011-04-15, 04:20   Link #12
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I tried to watch the story but the fan service was in the way.
I tried to watch the fan service but the story was in the way.
I tried to see something special in this anime that I had never seen elsewhere and I failed.
It's not hentai.
It's not serious.
It's not complete.

4/10 just for the boobies
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Old 2011-04-16, 03:33   Link #13
Sheba
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Animation Quality: 7/10

This made it watchable, the character designs were "clean", the animation was okay, there were little times where it felt like they cut corner. That is worth hands clapping.

Voice Actors: 6/10

Other than Kana Hanazawa, which I really never paid mind to until now, most of the voice actors delivered the usual. Professionally done, but how to put it? Marina Inoue was Marina Inoue, Yukana was Yukana and Tamura was Tamura. Nice but nothing outstanding.

Script: 3/10

And that's really because I am being nice, due to Charlotte and Chifuyu. Most of the 180 degrees, Cecilia's and Laura's comes in mind, made me go "WHAT?". The Silver Gospel part really felt like it was crammed in after episodes of harem antics.

Soundtrack: 6/10

Really because nothing stood out.

Editing: 5/10

The part with Silver Gospel really came about abruptly with little to no foreshadowing, and the same could be said about the develoment of the relationship between Ichika and Houki. I mean, I know they are childhood friends, but come on, throw in some clues here and there that Ichika is a little more interested in Houki.

Enjoyment: 6/10

But that's really because the technique (character and background designs and animation), Charlotte and Chifuyu made it watchable. Those two characters deserves to be in a better series.

Emotional Involvement: 8/10

I have to say... It tells you something when a show manages to make you talk about it either because you are gushing over Charlotte or any of the haremettes, raging over the stupidity of the IS world, the stupidity of the development of the characters (Houki, Cecilia and Laura comes in mind) or the inanity of Ichika (sorry Ichika, but Tomoya have become the measuring mile of a "good" male in this kind of setup). And yeah, nerd rage.


Characters: 5/10

A really mixed bag. Did I say Charlotte and Chifuyu made the show watchable for me? Now you have an idea.

* Ichika

Way too often in this genre, the male lead is the weakest link. His density, and other many things that have plagued this character template. To his credit, he is a gentleman, in the way that he treats the girls as a part of a nakama of some sort, he knew when to stand when one of the girls have gone too far. But too often, "being nice" is not gonna save a character that can be infuriating and frustrating at times. He is not a totally bad character, he should have been better characterized with even more emphasis put on this gentlemanly part of him, and less on his denseness; also because the animeverse really don't need another Dark Schneider who is awesome, yes, but we really need only one Dark Schneider. Also, please, no more fight won on dumb luck.

tl;dr: Ichika, while being dense and carrying the torch of the male lead with a mix of dumb luck and conveniency, is not totally devoid of qualities. He is kind of a gentleman, no matter how his denseness lead to serious wallbanging, which is kind of commendable; he is willing to stand his ground when someone goes out of line which is kind of cool when too often other males just passively receive the abuse. Unfortunately, "Being nice" had been run into the ground since Tenchi Muyo as excuse for why girls flock to him. It's not going to cut it anymore for people who have grown weary of that kind of setup. However, Ichika becomes a little more acceptable if you decide to treat the IS team as a nakama with Ichika as the leader, and Chifuyu as Big Boss. In that angle, he then becomes a little more tolerable.

Score: **/**** if you see Ichika as Harem Leader
***/***** if you take the nakama angle.

* Chifuyu

The big sister who really plays the older sibling part. Harsh, head on shoulders, no non-sense and who really do care for her brother, in a tough sibling love way. Also voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi which is a bonus for me.

Score: ****/***** awesome big sister.

* Houki

The childhood friend with a perpetual frown that would make the whole cast of Hokuto no Ken cry manly tears. Also a tsundere. What a twist! Unfortunately, her character suffered from the "low grade tsundere syndrome" which result on being constantly frustrated over her character in a "MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND YOU B*TCH!". Also an example of why "First Girls Wins" is too often a BAD TROPE.

Score: **1/2/***** winning first girl trope had been run into the ground yo

* Cecilia

Rich Brit B*tch? I think that the hardest part to swallow about her is her "sudden friendliness" over Ichika after her defeat. I mean, she could have the potential for a rival figure that slowly and relunctantly accept Ichika as part of the school in despite of her big pride. But no, apparently a sudden 180 is the way to go.

Score: ***/***** 2 for hey I am generic rich b*tch who 180 when defeated by a male. +1 for the sunscreen oil hilarity.

* Fan Yin Lin (whatever you spell it)

The chinese girl who have no other reason to be here than being the local chinese girl. The fact that she slightly fade on the background... Well, perhaps it would have been better if she had been put in a bus. I dig her yandere side tho.

Score: ***/***** 2 for just appearing and kinda fade afterward. +1 for yandere bit.

* Charles/Charlotte

One of the saving graces of the cast, in my opinion. Not because she is french. But because she have this kind of soft elegance, "normality" and genre savvy-ness that is a breath of fresh in a cast of stereotypes. Too bad you are doomed to lose to Houki, girl.

Score: ****/***** The most "normal" girl of the cast. Petite, elegant and soft-spoken. Excuse me while I claw my eyes out from the frustration of "Girl, you deserve to be in a better series!"

* Laura

Raaar, I am German, I am a Not!Nazi, I am a genetically engineered super-soldier! Also voiced by Marina Inoue. Her backstory was kinda cool tho.

Score: ***/***** Really because I kinda dig militaristic girls. With eyepatches.

* Oppai-Sensei

Miss Exposition, nice girl, retired IS pilot that is good.

Score: **/***** That's the problem with Miss and Misters Exposition, it's hard to make them interesting. Well, nice big boobies tho.

* Tabane

I want to headbutt her, I really do. I usually don't mind "perky" nerds, I mean L and Abby from NCIS are two of my favorites weird nerds figures. But Tabane, it is putting too much in the cute and perky side, to the point it felt forced.

Score: */***** Forced perky nerd is forced. Voiced by someone who is not Yukari Tamura would have make her better and more tolerable, somehow.

Overall the character cast, even with a few standing out like sore thumbs, is not that bad and many are salvageable with a better characterization. I would like to have the impressions of light novel readers, possible in my public chat or through pm to tell me how they are characterized in the original source.

Overall 5/10

On the technical side, it is good. Nice eye candy and design, the animation was okay. But the rest, character cast, story progression and the rampant sexism of the universe (that is as bad as in Nanoha imo, but for other reasons), ranged from tolerable to downright enraging. But not all is that bad, the characters can get good if given the chance, unfortunately the show not being able to decide what it should be and the story progressed in a questionable pacing. If not for how the story progressed and the genre identity crisis, it would have been a 6. And with better characterization, it would have been a 7.

I admit it, I must have been feeling tsundere for the series at times.

PS: the 4 had been a mistake from me. Excuse me. So if a nice moderator can fix it, I would be grateful.
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Last edited by Sheba; 2011-04-16 at 03:47.
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Old 2011-04-23, 21:59   Link #14
Seihai
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanish View Post
Unreasonable bonus point so 7/10 altogether.
I rewatched it with a friend in one go and there's one thing I'd like to assign that bonus point to which I think was capable of upping it to a 7/10 "Good": Ichika's denseness, I think it deserves some focus and more importance. Throughout the second watch I felt much less annoyed because I realized that his denseness is not only part of his flaws, but also part of the intended comedy. And it's well-delivered imo.
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Old 2011-04-28, 11:24   Link #15
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I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I'd give it a solid 8/10 because I liked all the characters and the few fight scenes they had were actually pretty well done, and I would watch a second season.
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Old 2011-04-29, 06:58   Link #16
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Too predictable and it is nothing more than pandering to harem series. Even the light novels unable to give the show more substance. In few years time, someone else will repackage this story and make a new hit for next generation of anime fans.
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Old 2011-05-01, 01:22   Link #17
darkdarkdark
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Thumbs down

Man. When I first started watching the series, I thought, "This could be interesting." After watching it halfway, I lost quite a bit of interest. I was confused by they were adding new characters halfway through, it seemed kind of dumb. That isn't even the most bizarre part of the show. How can a Total Dope like Ichika get THAT many girls to like him? He's a total dimwit, that power for a man to get IS powers should have gone to Kamina/Simon from TTGL. At least then, some ass-kicking would have been done.

+1 for Houki, the only character I at least kind of liked in the show.
+1 for an attempt at an interesting plot (being generous)
+1 for no announcement of a second season

-1 for Ichika being a moron.

2/10.
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Old 2011-05-04, 08:56   Link #18
RWBladewing
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I gave this a 6/10 overall but it might be deserving of lower. The girls were cute and the "fun" episodes were enjoyable to watch, but the last couple episodes, and Ichika overall, basically ruined it in my opinion. I have not seen a lead character this dumb since Natsuru from Kampfer. Actually I think this series mirrors Kampfer pretty closely - a dense main character who can't recognize all the girls like him with a really poor "oh by the way" plot thrown into the last couple episodes. I think the plot here was slightly worse though because it actually tried to take itself seriously. Some of my main problems or things I just found kinda silly:

- The illegal fishing ship, the unnamed white-haired girl and the whole "power up dream" thing, the professor being behind everything...actually, I'll just say the entire last 2 episodes. I could write an essay about this but nobody would read it and I assume it was done to death in the discussion threads already so I'll just leave it at that.

- Making Charlotte the major focus of the middle episodes and then completely demoting her to background character who does nothing relevant for the rest of the series. Why? Her teamwork and chemistry with Ichika and background that could have been a major plot point were only there for the sake of a character arc?

Was a fairly enjoyable watch because of the girls and I wouldn't say I regret it but it could have been so much more.
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Old 2011-06-20, 13:05   Link #19
Aqua Knight
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If show was more focused on either Char or Houki it would have been better, but the creators spent time on all girls and failed.
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Old 2011-06-21, 19:15   Link #20
kenjiharima
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Giving it a 7 for a good harem anime.

Pro's

Char is super cute!
Nice mecha designs
Character art is good
lots of fanservice!

Con's
Main Female lead not too interesting
another harem anime
another anime with alot of fanservice
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