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| Platform: |
Series |
| Episodes: |
24 (15 minutes each) |
| Genre: |
Sci-Fi, Adventure. |
| Publisher: |
Anime Works |
| Released: |
1998 |
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This title appeared a little strange, and for some reason I decided to get it. Maybe it was out of sheer curiosity of not having heard about it before on the forum. Heck, I thought to myself maybe, just maybe, it might be an undiscovered gem, and boy, was I right! It’s a tale of Haruka, a young jovial hopeful innocent girl, who lives in the post apocalyptic era on Earth, amidst 5 special robots (who she considers her family). The show takes you through some of the difficulties they face living in that age, having to battle robots left over from the human-robot war, while also carrying out their search for other human survivors.
While it has it’s fair share of action, the series focuses primarily on the characters and their progression. Kurogane Communication starts a little slow, but only to familiarize the audience with the situation faced by Haruka and her robot family, who’re as good as human, emotionally. You’re introduced to Reeves – the homely cook, decision maker who also incidentally looks like the Terminator; Cleric – the know-it-all robot who also helps in their maintenance; Angela – a lady battle robot who looks like Major from Ghost In A Shell; Spike – an overprotective-always-worrying boy; and Trigger – an explosive loud character with a gun, who’s also incidentally responsible for most of series’ humor. You’re soon taken on their journey of unpredictable adventure, with less of the over-the-top violence. Mid-way, the plot does thicken quite a bit, and I’ll leave it at that so as to not spoil anything for the reader. However, this isn’t a show where you’re given a depressing theme or the entire ‘our world’s gonna end’ outlook. No, it’s about coming through and overcoming the technology-responsible-annihilation-of-the-human-race.
Be warned – there’re a few scenes in the middle of the series where there’s a showering scene innuendo and a bit of lady robot naked chest showing, but they’re neither derogatory nor an unnecessary inclusion. As far as the animation and character drawing goes, there’s very little to complain, although you may find it a little dated. The robots look very convincing; while the human character drawing is not very sharp, but well enough for you to find Haruka cute. The detail on all the backgrounds used, whether it’s the ruins of Tokyo city or an island, are very high, which comes out as fresh. The overall theme, while not very intoxicating, does pretty well to keep you driven to hang on with each episode. The Japanese voice acting is top-notch, especially those for Haruka (who comes off as totally sweet), and Trigger (with his titanic spontaneous outbursts). The English voice actors aren’t far behind, but they simply lack that extra bite of emotion, which comes off as dull sometimes. While the show has some minor yet outright flaws such as tears flowing when a particular robot cries or lush grass on top of a freshly dug grave, it’s isn’t outright noticeable and doesn’t appear consistently throughout the series.
Although it spans 24 episodes, it's actually a short series with each episode just 15 minutes long (inclusive of the opening and closing songs). If you have a penchant for dreary endings, you'd be disappointed to say the least. On the other hand, if you're a fan of unique sensitive characters, emotion and a thick plot with an affirmative view, do yoursef a favor and get this.
© 1998 Anime Works
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| Kurogane Communication - Image 1.
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| Kurogane Communication - Image 2
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| Kurogane Communication - Image 3
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| Kurogane Communication - Image 4
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| Animation: |
7.4 |
| Sound: |
7.2 |
| Voice Actors: |
8.6 |
| Characters: |
8 |
| Plot: |
8.2 |
| Overall: |
7.9 |
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