[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Pumpkin Scissors episode 1: first impressions
My first taste of the autumn season is a new effort from Gonzo - a historical-ish military thriller with one of the most random names in anime I’ve ever come across. Past experience with their output has yielded mixed results but Pumpkin Scissors is, to begin with at least, not half bad at all.
A civil war has been raging but after a sudden ceasefire soldiers have turned to less honourable ways of making a living. The Empire isn’t faring too well in general, looking as dilapidated and austere as Europe did around the time of the First and Second World Wars. The Pumpkin Scissors are a small division of rookies given the task of relief aid in the war-torn villages but their hot-headed young commanding officer has a knack of leading them into trouble…
Gonzo series range from the awesome (Last Exile) through varying degrees of entertaining (Chrono Crusade, Full Metal Panic) to the downright dire less impressive (Kiddy Grade) - Pumpkin Scissors combines gritty realism of war and its devastating effects with an alternate worldview and some delightfully improbable weaponry. The shiny CGI visuals and this historical aesthetic are bound to draw comparisons with Last Exile but in truth this is something that’s a little bit different. Different is good, kids.
The small group of characters we’re introduced to here are likeable enough - the headstrong Alice comes across as utterly fearless but marching unflinchingly over the dividing line between valour and naive stupidity. Her comrades aren’t given much attention yet but the character of Orlando is the most interesting of the lot. He’s a burnt-out, battle-scarred ex-soldier with strong morals but a dark side that manifests itself as being an unstoppable, tough-as-nails war machine. I can see much of my enjoyment of this series coming from him alone: he has some major inner demons to see to as well as the inevitable ’shadowy past’ thing going on.
On the negative side, this is Gonzo we’re dealing with here so a promising start does not necessarily make for a good series overall. There is enough in Pumpkin Scissors for me to stick with it and see how things pan out but there are a few moments of humour that I felt detracted from the more serious messages that were conveyed. Such moments never seem to sit alongside darker aspects very comfortably but hopefully Alice and her fellow soldiers will be given enough character development to keep me watching. I’m cautiously optimistic here - there is the potential for a great story, the visuals are impressive and Kou Otani (of Haibane Renmei fame) is on board to provide the music. This could be good; I just hope it will prove to be.
Leave a Reply