Aoi Sekai no Chushin de: Episode 1: The Hard Wars of Consume

Aoi Sekai no Chushin de has an interesting premise. From what I understand, it is essentially a allegory for the console wars of Sega and Nintendo, with various characters representing the likes of Sonic or Mario and set to the backdrop of a war between the Segua (Sega) and Ninteldo (Nintendo) Empires. Being a fairly avid gamer, I was persuaded by this fact to start this show, although in my lifetime, I have only witnessed the console wars between Sony and Microsoft.

Right off the bat, we witness the death of Til, who is the friend of our main character, named Gear (unusual, but memorable names) in a melodramatic sequence that set the tone for this show, which I assume is not to be taken too seriously, given its subject matter. I thought that this sequence was an appropriate satire to he overblown deaths and cliche back stories of most video game characters, which was a positive. After a generic title sequence that unfortunately disappointed me after the exquisiteness of Girlish Lover and the Oreshura title sequence in general, we are given a little bit of back story on the war, which has gone the way of the Ninteldo Empire for the most part, under the rule of Marcus, who is representative of Mario.

I won't give away too much of the rest of the story, but rest assured, it is every bit as generic as it sounds. Gear, being the equivalent of Sonic, is determined to help the Segua Empire win its war against the utterly ridiculous generals of the Ninteldo Empire. If there was a comparison I could make to accurately describe the scenario, it would be with Dynasty Warriors, which I was constantly reminded of throughout the show. From its overpowered and exaggerated personalities, especially of the Ninteldo side, and its hard rock soundtrack which has lulls in between fighting scenes, which sounds almost identical to something out of a Dynasty Warriors battle, I was immediately reminded of a video game.

Considering its source material, I thought that this was the correct feel for the show, which was a fairly entertaining piece of work, in a campy and over-the-top way that appealed to my sophomoric sense of humor. I understood that Aoi Sekai no Chushin de wasn't meant to be anything more than what it appeared to be initially, which was a shallow piece of action anime.

On the animation side, it isn't anything really special. The characters look good enough, with distinct appearances that ranged from acceptable to utterly generic. I was actually disappointed with the fact that Marcus had a far more unique character design than Gear did, which I thought should have been reversed. The colors are rather dull, and I can't shake the feeling that this anime came out much earlier than its 2013 release date would suggest.

As far as the dialogue and characterization goes, it won't win any awards soon, and I'll leave it at that. The dialogue is nothing more than some fodder for the plot to proceed, and there isn't much attention paid to consistent characterization. The most glaring example is Opal, which switches gears from being a strong independent female who does not want to rely on men and instead, her own strength, to a weak, submissive, and oddly perverted girl who falls for Gear the moment he defeats her. And that change isn't gradual, which I could understand more if it was revealed that she was covering up for some sort of insecurities with a tough demeanor or something along those lines. Instead, it is radical, occurring in a matter of minutes, and I was jarred by the sudden shift in personality.

Other than that, the rest of the characters are serviceable. Gear is not a particularly intriguing protagonist, and the rest of the cast is forgettable, except for Tejirof, a mercenary hired by the Segua Empire. However, given that his defining feature is his lechery and perverseness, I don't think that it's necessarily a positive for me to remember him (literally, his first line is, "Sorry I was late. I was busy pleasuring myself." Not the best way to greet your future coworkers). I will give him credit though. He does have a knack for finding a way to plug in a joke about poking his stick into something in basically every scene he is in, which I suppose is some sort of achievement on his end.

Overall, Aoi Sekai no Chushin de is nothing special, despite the interesting premise of a representation of the console wars. Unfortunately, it falls victim to poor writing and characterization, which ultimately drags it down from being anything more than a generic action anime with some ecchi moments. If you go into this show with an open mind and low expectations, there is some entertainment that can be found. But this show likely won't be getting any more views from me in the future.

Rating: 5.5/10.0

Aoi Sekai no Chushin de is not going to win any awards soon, but if you enjoy sex jokes and that sort of thing, then there is some value to be found. You just have to look closely.