Tough guy meets tougher girls in this zany action-comedy series.
While we’ve seen typical boy-meets-girl anime shows before, there are a few that place a wacky spin on the formula, with the latest being Sentai Filmworks’ Armed Girl’s Machiavellism. Featuring some cool lead characters along with some crazy action and comedy, this is a fun anime you’ll want to jump into the fray with.
The plot follows Fudo Nomura, a young guy just trying to make his way through the new high school he’s transferred to. The thing is, the school used to be an all female one until recently when boys were allowed to attend, and let’s just say the girls didn’t take too kindly to the change. So much so, they made a governing student team known as the “Supreme Five Swords”, five powerful ladies armed with weapons and skills that run the school and keep the guys in check by making them dress up as women to hide all masculinity.
Fudo isn’t the kind of guy that goes with the flow and of course he refuses to dress up, causing the five swords to set their sights on him and take him out. Luckily he knows a thing or two about martial arts and has his own set of special skills to fight back with. Now he must fight the supreme five swords to stop this madness and acquire a stamp from each of them to fill out his student pass that will allow him to leave the campus when he wants. If you know anime like I do, then you know this isn’t going to be easy or sane for that matter as Fudo gets into one wacky situation after another and the girls start to fall for him and his laid-back ways when all he wants to do is leave.
While it’s all been done before, I still had a fun time watching this series, as I couldn’t wait to see what action-packed weirdness was going to happen next. From a little girl with a giant bear that does sumo wrestling, to learning more about Fudo and his past, there was always something crazy and interesting to keep you watching. The characters are also a lot of fun and reminded me of old school anime I used to watch such as Ranma ½, etc.
Since it’s on Blu-ray, the audio and visuals are great. I was surprised at how much I didn’t mind the English dub, as most times they can be hit or miss. Once you’re done with the twelve episodes, there’s also some nice bonuses such as an OVA episode, original Japanese promotional videos, and some clean opening and closing animations.
If you’re looking for a fun and simple action-comedy anime, you’ll want to jump into the crazy fights of Armed Girl’s Machiavellism. The characters are funny and cool, and the wackiness is off the charts while also having some serious and tender moments mixed in. Toss in a bonus OVA and some other cool extras, and you’ll want to arm your anime collection with this release.