Monday, 15 April 2013

Freezing Season one



 

Title - Freezing
Language - Japanese
Genra - Ecchie, harem, Sci fi, action

















Freezing is set in a future where mankind is under attack from the Nova, inter-dimensional creatures who are able to freeze everything in their path. To combat the Nova the humans have genetically engineered girls known a Pandora who have enhanced speed and healing and can use special weapons. The Pandora are teamed up with their male counterparts who are known as Limiters who have the ability to cast freezing which will canter that of the nova.

The series follows Kazuya Aoi a young Limiter and the Pandora Satellizer Bridget (the untouchable queen).

I found Freezing via recommendations, it was liked by people who liked Sekirei but I have to say that I had trouble getting into to it to begin with. Freezing has 12 episodes and is a show of 3 parts, the first episode starts with the Pandora students who are in their second year of the ‘West Genetics Academy’ having their annual tournament to see who is the strongest in the year, Satellizer Bridget is winning the tournament until Kazuya bumps into her, surprised by the similarity to his sister, a Pandora who was killed in the last battle with the Nova. The next three episodes consist of Kazuya trying to make up for his mistake and Bridget getting into fights with other students and, I found that there were no likable charters to begin with, Kazuya is you typical bumbling male lead of a Harem anime and Bridget is the typical uncaring ‘Tsundere’ with most of the other characters being equally cruel and manipulative, the only attempt at making any of the characters likable seemed to be in the some of the secondary background characters. The violence can at times be quite brutal and is in some scenes used to humiliate Bridget and, of course quite often involves at least one of the characters loosing the clothes, I’m not quite sure if breast enhancements are included in making some one a Pandora but every student at West Genetics is very well developed.

The fist few episodes do show a bit of development between Kazuya and Bridget as Kazuya decides he wants to be paired with Bridget as her Limiter but, as Bridget will not let any one touch her (although Kazuya seems to manage this most episodes) she will not allows her self to under go the baptism to normally needed to have a Limiter (It’s not really revealed what the baptism is but a Limiter normally has a meeting with their prospective Pandora in her room with no one else around). I was finding Freezing a bit hard going up two episode 4 and was tempted to stop watching but I had bought the DVD and was going to watch it till the end, that and Boobs.

The character of Bridget begins to get more likeable from Episode 5 when a new transfer student is introduced. Rana Linchen is a Pandora from Tibet who, on seeing Kazuya decides that she is destined to be paired with him making Bridget realise that she does like Kazuya and, as she can never allow herself to lose sets about trying to win him over. The scheming 3rd year students pick up on this and try to set Rana & Bridget against each other but when Rana realises she has been used she teams up with Bridget to get back at the 3rd years whist still trying to get Kazuya. These 4 episodes begin to make Freezing more watchable as they develop the characters and make some of them more likeable with Rana, Kazuya and Bridget becoming friends and beginning to fit in at the academy until… Episode 9, the Nova actually attack, for an invading force they have been noticeably missing from the show, being seen only in a few flashbacks but hay they are here now and there are 4 of them where as in the past they have only attacked one a time and now all of the Pandora have to team up stop them. With the Pandora fighting the Nova, who are giant male esq. aliens you would think that there would be less opportunity for the fighters to lose their clothes (I’m not even sure the Nova start with clothes or have some kind of exo skeleton) but that is soon remedied when the Nova use a new attack, they absorb the Pandora from the East genetics academy and then return them possessed to fight the West academy Pandora.

I am glad I stuck with Freezing but for any one who is going to watch it off the back of recommendations from sekirei bare in mind that it has a lot less humour, this fights can be more brutal and there is a lot more nudity. I could see why Sekirei fans would like it but I also found similarities with Divergence Eve but a lot more Ecchie.

Freezing has been left open for another season and I have heard that it is being made, after my initial doubts I think I will be giving it a watch

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