(L) Time Travel Girl: Mari, Waka and the 8 Scientists

[Kismet-chan]

The music sounds great, but the visuals don't exactly inspire confidence in me...

[Stark700]

Episode 1:

I think it was okayish, felt more like watching a cartoon though and animation quality wasn't too great. However, there's the time travel gimmick that Mari experiences already. Speaking of which, I wonder what other historical settings she'll visit or possibly places in the future as well.

Theme songs are okay, nothing impressive so far imo. I'll keep watching this to see where it goes.

[Random Wanderer]

And of course that piece of music from the preview that I really liked was only used during the few seconds of the time travel scene. The rest of the music was not so impressive.

felt more like watching a cartoon though and animation quality wasn't too great

There is something about this art style that makes me think of certain late 90's, early 00's era cartoons. Western cartoons, not anime. Also, the way it seems to be heading towards "we'll teach children SCIENCE! while pretending to have an exciting plot so they'll keep watching!" is also very reminiscent of that material. I suppose it's possible that sort of thing has never gone away and I just stopped noticing it because I stopped watching almost anything made in the west...

Anyway, this seems... inoffensive so far.

[Dop]

There's obviously a sniff of "Educational!!" in this (and i guess Mari's exam results will improve as a result of her adventures), but there was stuff to like.

The way they got around the language barrier - everyone's speaking their own language and hearing a translation of others into their own, kind of like the TARDIS translation field as a handwavey plot device.
Also the servant putting Mari into costume, because it'd look pretty weird wandering around 17th century London in a seifuku...

Seem to be some emerging developments, so I'll stick with it for a while, at least.

[Router25]

Upon some light googling, it seems that the book that transported Mari was the actual book the anime was adapted from and the reason for the 80ish art style was because the book was published in 1983.

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Router25

Upon some light googling, it seems that the book that transported Mari was the actual book the anime was adapted from and the reason for the 80ish art style was because the book was published in 1983.

Googling the title gets me no hits. Where did you find this information?

EDIT: There's a textbook called "Magnets and Electricity" from 1983, but that's very clearly not this book. This book is "The World's Greatest Discoveries & Inventions of Magnets & Electricity." Is there something else?

[quigonkenny]

So, a time travel anime where they meet historical figures... Needs more Noble Phantasms...

[Router25]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

Googling the title gets me no hits. Where did you find this information?

EDIT: There's a textbook called "Magnets and Electricity" from 1983, but that's very clearly not this book. This book is "The World's Greatest Discoveries & Inventions of Magnets & Electricity." Is there something else?

I only found it at MyAnimeList, actual title was in japanese so there might be a small chance this could be uploaded on the internet since this might have been a school textbook.

[Triple_R]

I thought the first episode was pretty good. Yes, it definitely has an "educational kids cartoon" feel to it, but that might actually make it a smarter show than many of the late-night anime shows aimed at young adults.

One thing I liked was how Mari's highly unusual attire for 17th century London wasn't just hand-waved away, and she in fact was forced to wear attire more fitting of that time and place. The language issue is conveniently taken care of, but at least it's not ignored as Mari and William Gilbert addressed it.

The cast also seems reasonably likable.

The plot has a certain leisurely feel to it that might cause my interest in the show to dwindle over time, but I was satisfied with Episode 1. A decent start, and a good introduction to most (all?) of the "modern era" characters, especially the two lead girls.

I'll also say that I'm looking forward to seeing this show's version of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Looking at the character designs for the show, they were very kind to Franklin.

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I'll also say that I'm looking forward to seeing this show's version of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Looking at the character designs for the show, they were very kind to Franklin.

And Edison's intro in the OP is like a shonen hero or something.

I'll admit I may have sounded a bit harder on this series in my previous posts than I actually meant to be. I did rather enjoy watching it, despite some of its peculiarities.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Waka and Shun get more involved in things. Certainly the implications are that Waka, at least, will be joining Mari on some of these trips through time, which will be interesting because she is implied to be smart enough to likely know the answers to the questions the historical scientists are going to be asking.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

And Edison's intro in the OP is like a shonen hero or something.

It is! Of the historical figures, he definitely had the best OP moments. He looked really cool, and it would be neat if he actually plays a big role in the show's main conflict (as the OP also hinted at serious antagonists/villains). That OP is a nice homage to these historical figures. I also really like the OP in general.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Waka and Shun get more involved in things. Certainly the implications are that Waka, at least, will be joining Mari on some of these trips through time, which will be interesting because she is implied to be smart enough to likely know the answers to the questions the historical scientists are going to be asking.

Good point. Hopefully Waka will join Mari at some point.

[SuitUp]

I'm yet to watch the !st ep, but Edison was a huuuuuge jackass, and if they somehow portray him in a positive light I wouldn't be pleased, at all

[BWTraveller]

Only watched part of the way so far and I'm not sure I buy the defibrillator part. The part of a heavy impact to the chest throwing the heart's rhythm completely off to the point of near-death is believable and is known to happen even with people for whom no problem can actually be found. But it's not a small, light little "thump" when it hits. The shock has a lot of tissue to go through and it has to hit pretty hard when it hits; when electricity runs through a muscle it makes them contract, so when the shock hits the person generally jumps really hard, enough to arc their back quite a bit and hold it there for a second or two. It's kind of scary to see, and again it's not something on the level of a friend giving you a soft slap on the back like they did with that Fuuta kid. But then again they probably don't want to scare kids. That said, in the real world Fuuta would be given a huge barrage of tests after this since even though it's thought to be possible generally speaking it's not likely for an impact to cause a V-fib, so they'd be inclined to test his heart very thoroughly and probably keep him off the field for a good while just to be safe.

Also, Mari's mother's love really impresses me. She must be incredibly loving and understanding to stick with a guy who disappears for half a year the day after their wedding, and has several other excursions without warning lasting several years at a time.

[Dop]

Have to admit, I'm wondering if Tesla will appear in the Edison episode.

[FateAnomaly]

Well mari dad is a time traveller so maybe she already spent the missing time in the past with him or something.

[chaos_animagic]

can't believe she doesn't know about the Earth's Magnetic field... what are they learning in Japan's school?... (or she's just "not-so-smart")

Well, guess it's part of the "plot" for solving things we already know (but they don't know in the past).

overall, I am actually looking forward to this series, can't wait to see all the Top most Famous Scientists portrayed in this anime and how they "solved" the "mysteries"

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by chaos_animagic

can't believe she doesn't know about the Earth's Magnetic field... what are they learning in Japan's school?... (or she's just "not-so-smart")

Folks may know about the magnetic field, but how many could explain the cause in detail enough to satisfy a scientist who's studying it? But yes, for the most part I suspect her issue is that she's just a baka. She is deliberately written to know nothing, so that there can always be someone who asks the scientists questions about the basic science the show is trying to teach, or who doesn't know the answers to the basic science questions they'll ask her.

[AnimeFan188]

Originally Posted by chaos_animagic

can't believe she doesn't know about the Earth's Magnetic field... what are they learning in Japan's school?... (or she's just "not-so-smart")

So, is this going to be the anime version of "B- Time Traveler"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGjKL9UZiMU

[Yamada II]

Episode 1

So Mari is an idiot. Lol her answer to that first question. That was pretty hilarious lol. Her father is a scientist and can time travel through whatever invention he made. It activates when that compass thingy and that book come close enough I think. It also has something to do with the scientist on that page as it sends the compass thingy bearer to that scientist. And she gets sent to William Gilbert, whoever that guy is. Well, if this show is gonna be serious about the scientists and whatever they did, this could be interesting. If anything, at least I'll find out who Gilbert was. I seriously have no clue who that guy is, maybe because I don't care about the scientist and only care about what that guy did.

Anyway, there are some people, probably in the government, who are after Mari's dad. They're probably after his research and want to use it for evil purposes or whatever. Maybe this is just to add some tension and not restrict this show to just a highschool science lesson or whatever.

This was a bit above okay level. The artwork could have used a bit more attention though.

[Random Wanderer]

Episode 2.

So, who here knew all the details of the workings of the Earth's core and magnetic field before the show told us? And if you knew once but had to be reminded, it doesn't count: you'd have been in the same boat Mari was when it came down to actually explaining things to Mr. Gilbert.

I admit I had to look it up after the previous episode in order to get the details down. Which I suspect, if we're being honest, is the case with most people. Unless you're specifically at the point where you're going over this in school and being tested on it (thus, you need to remember it so you don't fail), this gets filed into your brain under general knowledge of no real significance. "Earth has a magnetic field, it makes compasses work, it helps protect us from harmful radtiation from the sun, it's really pretty cool, I think I'll have pizza for dinner tonight, etc."

Interesting that both Mari and Waka's reaction to the weird time travel that sent Mari away for no reason they can discern and brought her back at no notable trigger is "Cool! Let's do that again!" I'd be worried about all the (many. Many many many many many) things that could go wrong.

I wonder if Mr. Gilbert's little spiel about people persecuting and murdering those who speak the truth is intended as foreshadowing about those seemingly ominous folks who are looking for Mari's father?