hontou ni » Chrome Shelled Regios

Bishoujo rankings – Top 10 ZEXCS girls

Stripey — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:07:17 +0000

The daily pilgrimage to my favourite 2D image board yielded this fabulous picture of Felli (by Cruizer) and triggered some reflections on Chrome Shelled Regios and ZEXCS's bishoujos. Chrome Shelled Regios didn't become the anime-great I have envisioned but it did have a memorable bishoujo cast most anime series can only dream of crafting. I attribute it to the ZEXCS touch.

While there are many anime bishoujos I like, ZEXCS bishoujos - I love. ZEXCS appears to have deeper insight to the female psyche and leverages on that to infuse greater character charm/dimensions to their girls. One of the things that ZECXS does very well is jealous girls which also explain their memorable tsunderes.

Anyhow, inspired by Felli as a tribute to ZEXCS girls, here's a top 10 ranking of my favourite ZEXCS bishoujo in ascending order of love.

10. Fujinami Tomoko (Canvas 2 ~ nijiiro no canvas)

Almost made my fav light haired loli list. We need a dedicated OVA ala Kotori's DCIF!

09. Momiji Miyabe (Wagaya oinarisama)

I was ensnared with Wagaya ep 13. No mortal is likely to resist her siren song.

08. Sagisawa Yoriko (Da Capo)

She made my upcoming favourite maids list too! Da Capo ep 22 is a BIG reason why she's on the list too.

07. Adilicia Ren Mathers (Rental Magica)

Undisputably the BEST Ojou-tsundere in all of 2D-dom. She's the reason why I pray for Rental Magica 2.

06. Kou (Wagaya no Oinarisama)

A inspirational figure for another list of mine. Kou is my favourite miko (Sadly there isn't enough miko love from me to make a list for her to head.)

05. Elis Housen (Canvas 2)

Blond, beautiful and sixteen. I'm sorry Kiri but I think Hiroki picked the right girl.

04. Emelenzia Beatrix Rudiger (Megadere)

Her confession ranks in my top 5 anime confessions of all time. Loli short twin tails FTW!

03. Shirakawa Kotori (Da Capo)

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! KOTORI IN 3RD PLACE??! Alright I confess. I only grew to LOVE Kotori in 2nd season where she's becomes the lead. Sadly DCSS is not produced by ZEXCS. Still she scored well with D.C I.

02. Felli Loss (Chrome Shelled Regios)

She who inspired this post. If you haven't seen Chrome Shelled regios, watch it. Felli alone is worth it.

01. Asakura Nemu (Da Capo)

*Dodges tomato/rotten eggs* I don't need to explain myself. I LOVE NEMU of DC!! In fact I think I'll wear twin ribbons in my hair for the week as a show of love.

Putting together this post has led to a startling discovery - ZEXCS has an ongoing anime production!

*Dashes off to download Umi monogatari*

The unraveling of Chrome Shelled Regios – Nina's arc

Stripey — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:18:53 +0000

I'm not going to make any excuses for Chrome Shelled Regios. The concluding eps made a mess of what could have been ZEXCS comeback series. Do note that I still regard the series very highly mainly because it achieved astoundingly (in the first 20 eps), the 4Cs upon which I grade anime on - Consistent characters, coherent plot, compelling pace and the congruence of the first 3 elements.

The first 20 eps were very well knitted indeed. The character development was deeply rooted in the main story arc which in turn drew strength from the intriguing premise. All 3 key facets of the tale were developed steadily and symbiotically. Throw in ZEXCS's Midas touch on crafting endearing characters, it should have been a winner. But this tight integrated storytelling was also the instrument that engineered the unraveling of the plot, specifically with Nina's path which also concluded the show.

With Layfon and Felli, the character development paths were pretty much carved out. Felli's interaction with Fon-fon and Layfon's contact with Platoon 17 resolved pertinent character issues which was laid out at the beginning of the series. In fact, I thought ZEXCS did a great job melding their development with the story. Nina's tale, however, was deeply embedded in the complex premise which did not rear its head until late in the story. I'm sure it's a bind for the series composer. With such a complex worldview, she must have been fretting over how much to reveal to prop up Nina's tale. And it is my opinion that she chose to reveal too much, too fast in the resolution of Nina's arc and also the series. The concluding eps cluttered much the good that the series had so painstakingly built, making it indigestible.

I dare not hope for a 2nd season even though CSR is in dire need of one to win back some love. But at least I'm contented with the journey I had with marathoning the first 20 eps and absolutely ecstatic to learn that ZEXCS still has it when comes to harem and tsunderes. Felli is currently in my top 5 light-hair lolis list.

ZEXCS latest triumph on the tsundere landscape – Felli Loss

Stripey — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:38:01 +0000

Few studios do tsundere like ZEXCS. And they do it right because unlike most others who shape characters out of a tsundere core, ZEXCS first lovingly craft credible characters and THEN coax out tsundere qualities ONLY IF they are aligned with her personality. ZEXCS understands 3 key things about tsundere -

1. No one is ALWAYS tsundere.
2. Tsundere is not character but an expression of it.
3. Any girls in love CAN be made tsundere.

Adhering to these basis, the audience would then be assured not to get tsundere-poisoning (overdoses of unnecessary, unjustified tsundere) and yet able to enjoy strategically released tsundere charm from any female in the cast.

ZEXCS most recent triumph in the tsundere realm is Felli Loss. Traditionally there are 2 characters classes that make good tsunderes - ojousama (with their tremendous 'royal' pride) and brother-loving imouto (who need to hide their taboo inclinations). Adilicia (Rental Magica) and Nemu (Da Capo) are classic examples of well-crafted tsunderes from ZEXCS. With Felli, we can now officially add EQ-challenged psychokinesis users onto the list.

I don't deny that my overwhelming love for Felli could be influenced to her light-hair attribute or Nakahara Mai voice but most of the credit needs to go ZEXCS for bringing out her endearing qualities. Underneath that seemingly violent, shin-bashing, disinterested facade lies a confused little girl, grappling with powerful feelings for Fon-fon yet having poorly developed avenues of expressing them.

For those who haven't discovered Hontounia's current top tsundere, do check out Chrome Shelled Regios - also my current favourite series airing. You may just find more than well-crafted, endearing tsunderes.