Azur Lane: Bisoku Zenshin!

"Fine, I'll do it myself." — Yostar, probably.

The first adaptation of Azur Lane was a disaster. Poor pacing, inconsistent animation quality, bad writing reducing a major faction (Ironblood) to a minor role...gacha adaptations aren't known for their quality, but that didn't stop Azur Lane from sinking in the Sea of Disappoinments. So, what does Bisoku Zenshin do to avoid the same fate?

Fluff. Loads upon loads of fluff.

Where the first adaptation struggled to find a balance between action and comedy, Bisoku Zenshin doubles down on lightheartedness. Each episode follows Starter Squad on their adventures around home port, encountering other shipgirls along the way while partaking in ... wholesome activities. Sleepovers, amusement parks, chocolate making, open-aired baths...there is no identity crisis to be found here, Bisoku Zenshin knows it's Slice of Life and delivers in full. Now, does this mean that punchlines will have you laughing into next week? Probably not, but the formulaic routine is enough to keep viewers entertained without throwing them for a loop.

The production quality of Bisoku Zenshin is an interesting conundrum. Animated by the newly formed Yostar Pictures alongside CANDY BOX, Bisoku Zenshin's animation quality can best be described as less impressive, but far more consistent than its predecessor. Warm colors, cute facial expressions, lewd close-ups...it's about what you would expect from a Slice of Life, but a few shots (best seen through character stiches) offer a glimpse into what a more refined production pipeline could create once YP gains more experience. As it is, Bisoku Zenshin doesn't do much to impress visually (especially with only an 8 1/2 minute runtime, 6 1/2 minutes if you exclude the ED), but avoiding the issues of its predecessor by starting from scratch and setting the bar low is a reassuring sign for the future. It's even in the name: Bisoku Zenshin, "Slow Ahead"!

The characters of Azur Lane are its bread and butter. Where Bisoku Zenshin triumphs here is in broadly characterizing a larger amount of shipgirls than its predecssor while treating Ironblood as it is: A major faction. To put this into perspective, Niimi / Z23 was only given ~3 minutes of screentime in the original adaptation, whereas here she's a main character. Frankly, it boggles my mind how the first adaptation failed at proper faction representation (it didn't even include cameos from minor factions; Bisoku Zenshin does) so to see proper representation now is a relief. As for the broad characterization, it's just that: Broad. Think of it like being introduced to some potential waifu candidates every episode, except that you actually get an idea for their personality instead of being stuck with a brooding, OOC Enterprise for 12 episodes. The character diversity each episode brings is refreshing, and it's unlikely you'll go through the entire cour without finding at least one shipgirl you like.

What else? Sound quality is nothing special (some cute tracks here and there; OP and ED are nothing special), voice acting is authentic (same VAs as the game), storyboards use the manga as a base and splice chapters / add new content without an issue...that's about it. Bisoku Zenshin doesn't stray from the pack; its key goal is fanservice above all else. Does that mean it's bad? Far from it, especially when compared to its dumpster fire of a predecessor. It's simply a decent, niche title that will satisfy Azur Lane's playerbase and pull in an anime-only or two with its wholesome moments and diverse cast. What matters is that Bisoku Zenshin knows this, and that's all it needs to stand out from the original adaptation.

What's better than waifu ships fighting? You’re right, just watching our cute little girls have a lot of fun in their everyday life.
When the previous main part of Azur Lane came out in late 2019, the hype was really big. After all, Azur Lane is a very successful mobile game, I mean who doesn't want to collect all the different waifus. But the disillusionment came quickly. From the entire animation to a break of several months in between, this anime has suffered a lot of criticism. With "Bisoku Zenshin!" the studio "CANDY BOX" is trying to do everything better and they certainly succeeded in their ... very first main work!

The plot in "Bisoku Zenshin!" is quickly told. It's a typical slice of life anime with a nice amount of fanservice. We experience the exciting and happy everyday life of our main characters Z23, Javelin, Laffey and Ayanami. Whether just going to a festival together or have a barbecue, there are always great moments where they can simply enjoy the day with their friends. It can be noted that they really enjoy their "time off from fighting". After all, our girls deserve a break too!

The personalities of the characters should already be known to many viewers, here we experience their typical characteristics again. We have a Z23 that worries a little more than the others and also takes care of her friends. Javelin who is always happy, cheerful and energetic. Our sleepy Laffey is an important part as well and Anayami who sometimes checks things a little slower and gives a cloud-cuckoo-land vibe off at times. All those can be seen here and that's how we like them. They're natural and cute in their own way.

The animation is certainly the point that gives us the most pleasure. The quality has increased significantly compared to the previous part. The colorful everyday life of our girls is sweetened even more with maid or bunny costumes. Even the classic “onsen scenes” are shown to us as well. A successful service for us fans!

The OP "Longing for!" and also the theme music "Mahiruiro Siesta" are very happy songs that you can simply enjoy. It's not as action-packed as the previously known "graphite / diamond". The soundtracks are just very relaxing to listen to. The background noises and also the voices or characters are on point.

"Azur Lane: Bisoku Zenshin!" is a perfect after-work anime. With its episode length of just 9 minutes, it is also significantly shorter than the standard time of 23-24 minutes. It's an anime to relax and enjoy. There's no such thing as a plot that requires a lot of thought, just watch your waifu ships and enjoy the fan service! All in all, that’s the Azur Lane we want!

To be blunt, the anime is made for the people who played the game. It is what they wished azur lane should be. Just a slice of life without any threats of war with the sirens, just peace within the factions.

Me, who has been playing the game for a long time who also just quit recently made me want to play the game again. Made me realize that it's all about the waifus and all. Although the game is pretty heavy now my phone can't even handle it so that's a consideration for another day.

For other viewers who have never played the game, ... this may be appealing to them for other reasons such as the heavy fanservice that is put into this show. but uhh sexualizing uhh lolis may be questionable.

Other things I will mention is the lack of explanation on the different factions, heck they didn't even mention the names of the factions themselves showing that the playerbase are truly the ones who can understand the show. There are 4 main factions in the show, the IJN, USS, KMS, and HMS. Laffey, Javelin, Nimi, and Ayanami are all from different factions being USS, HMS, KMS, IJN in their respective order.

Its really similar to gochuumon wo usagi desu ka, a show that also features lots of kids. I can see how people will enjoy the show but I don't think I've enjoyed this one very much although I do feel a little bit nostalgic because it represents the game.

6/10