Metallic Rouge

This one was a major letdown for me, probably one of the biggest disappointments from the winter season. I'm usually a fan of Studio BONES, and this was their anniversary project, so I was expecting at least a 7+/10 experience. Instead, what I got was a half-baked Blade Runner mixed with mecha suits straight out of Ultraman, and a main duo of girls who were trying way too hard to have chemistry (because Motonobu Hori gave us Carol and Tuesday), but even that fell flat. Their relationship lacked a solid foundation, leaving me wanting more in terms of their interactions and gradual development to make me believe in their feelings and trust for each other, especially during those moments when it seemed like they were just pbetraying each other. The same goes for the other nine Neans, supposedly once part of a big family with very fragile relationships that were supposed to carry the weight of the story towards the end. But building connections to characters and believing in their bonds based solely on a few flashbacks just didn't work. Take Rouge and Cyan, for example - trying to establish a deep sisterly bond in two episodes is just not realistic, and I couldn't buy into it. It feels like character development was rushed because the creators tried to cram in as many fights and classic sci-fi questions about the line between human and robot, and what free will means (basically Mars: Become Human)... but even that felt rushed. There were so many characters, so many side plots that I initially enjoyed, but they mostly turned out to be inconsequential. And the final twist, thanks to all those side plots, lost its impact. Building up the mysterious puppeteer behind it all was unnecessary because it was obvious who was under the mask from the start, especially since the story didn't provide any other viable options. And with all these layers and twists, the core of who is really behind everything falls completely flat, because the viewer is so tangled up in all the "onion layers" without proper exposition while being told that the story is still clever and delicate... It needed at least 24 episodes to fully explore and unfold everything, to allow the viewer to experience every layer of the story thoroughly and make it all meaningful. The beginning was promising, capturing that cyberpunk atmosphere perfectly. Everything seemed simple yet full of potential. Actually, the only thing I found lacking after the first episode was the underutilized music side (I was expecting some booming synths, a distinctive soundtrack, given the Blade Runner vibes). Some later episodes were decent, showing me the setting and developing characters, but it all started to feel overcrowded from around the fourth episode. It seemed like the creators weren't sure where to focus their attention, throwing too much into the pot at once, and it started to burn and fall apart. As I mentioned, the ending wasn't particularly surprising, and when it did try, the twists felt forced or had no emotional impact on me. Or they were accompanied by a line that made me want to facepalm ("The one who killed me was me!"). But okay, enough of the negativity. Let's mention some positives. Animation-wise, the series was impressive. The fight scenes were good, especially in terms of the use of colors and effects. I did manage to relate to the main duo at times, but it wasn't always easy. That's about it. Metallic Rouge was supposed to be this grand project, something I was looking forward to, something I believed Studio BONES would put effort into. But in the end, it was just a messy and half-baked series with a promising start but a dull and unimpressive finale. Rouge MIDStar - 5/10. (04.04.2024) (vähemmän) (lisää)