Not since Seikon no Qwaser has a blatant ecchi anime strived so much to be taken seriously.
Sunrise is no stranger to action drama. Sunrise has dished out fanservice too, even nudity on a few rare occasions. But this is probably the first time they’ve animated something in the Vividred Operation vein: a series where sexy fanservice trumps mecha fanservice.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Though the story is off to a dark and disturbing start, the show misses no opportunities for service. Zoomed T and A shots, nighttime négligées, sadistic “physicals”, endless cleavage. Even the prison wardens where showing off. I would say that bodes well for ecchi fans.
My early impression of Cross Ange is that it feels like an attempt to mimic the financial success of both Strike Witches (copying the idea of an all female group fighting bad guys in the sky) and Infinite Stratos (very similar mech design), while having a more serious storyline more in line with Sunrise classics such as Code Geass or Gundam .
And here’s the thing, all four of those anime had nudity in them. And most of them were anime original, just like Cross Ange is.
Whether or not this first episode looks like it will redraw for nudes or not, I have to say that I am reasonably optimistic about Cross Ange . It seems like a fairly ambitious idea to make a full on fanservice show like Strike Witches and attempt to pair it with a serious plot with twists and turns.
If nothing else, it’s been fantastic to see so many ecchi series try a new spin on the genre this season.
