Arad Senki: Slap Up Party

This anime is a hidden jem: it's not perfect nor the best anime ever made, but it is worth your time.

First things first: this anime's plot is generic and a bit bad; and it's a shame that the first half of the fist episode is dedicated to set up the plot and introducing characters that are not important until later in the series.

But the shows knows this, so instead of boring you with the same generic plot of "let's travel and save the world", the show focuses on traveling though the fantasy world and the character interactions; and only specific episodes are plot ... "heavy", and even in those episodes there are more than enough gags to keep you entertained. Althou, my problem with this approach is that you'll forget why they were travelling in the first place (but you'll have so much fun that you won't care)

Almost every episode is set on a different city/town and focuses on the adventure that the party has on each location. The location themselves are normal (houses with normal people), but the interesing part of them are the adventures the party in the city: maybe they'll have to defeat a monster using the power of a pumpking-god, or maybe they'll do random jobs (like fishing flying piranhas) so to gather money to buy supplies and don't starve to death, or maybe they'll have to help a gunsmith to save his sister because he is alergic to the guns he creates, or maybe one of the party members just scews something up and the all the party has to fix the problem they caused.

But the most important thing about this anime are it's characters and their interactions: all of them are idiots (with good or bad intensions) and they're pissing each other off for the hell of it but, at the end of the day, they can't stay mad because they are all friends that care for each other.

By the way, this show is a comedy. Without spoiling anything, the "fights" are not real fights... but, at the same time, they are there so that the conflict is resolved. Also, since the last a cople of seconds, they won't bother you.

A side note; this show handles fanservise in the good way: most women are really hot, but their boobs are not the reason for why they exist.

Its visuals and its sound are good: both of them are deliver a good experience but they are not remarkable enough to point them out.

But maybe you'll read this review and ask yourself "if this anime has so many problems, why does this guy gives it a good review?". Basically, because it is that funny! It is hard to review this anime without spoiling anything because the things that heppens in it are hillarious and ridicule!

If you've read this review and you have doubts about watching the show, go to Youtube and watch it's second opening. It doesn't contain any spoiler, it is a short adventure that shows how goofy and hillarious this anime and it's characters are.

I hope you have found this review helpfull. Any type of feedback is welcome (send them by PM).

I'm probably being too generous giving this 8/10 overall, but I quite liked it. Before watching it, I heard many complaints. The priest's certain "habit", some "Gonzo" company made it, people said it was boring, and just made negative comments in general. Throughout watching it, I heard several comments about how people hated "party call" and a lot of other things. Some of the positive/negative comments people made led me to believe they didn't really understand the show.

This show loosely follows the storyline in Dungeon Fighter Online. The show has many of your favourite NPCs from the game, which is just something fun to see ... if you've played DFO. GSD definitely looks like he's able to see, Bwanga wasn't in here at all, and there are a bunch of other inaccurate things.

Anyhow... I'd have to say the show starts off horribly. The first part of the first episode is awesome since it involves Roxy and Aganzo. It's interesting since we don't know much about them even from playing DFO, just the little hints that they loved each other from some of the comments on newb equipment and that Aganzo is "The Grey Slayer". The show has a pretty serious tone at this point, which is also pretty cool.
After that, things start to get a little silly and trivial. The show isn't really going in any direction and they're just sort of building up a party. I say the show starts to pick up around episode 5 or 6, by which time the party is assembled and we start to meet some NPCs. Now, in a good anime series, the introduction of a new main character would be an extremely interesting episode. Here, however, it was pretty boring and a bit of a grind to get through.

Baron, the slayer, has been hated and discriminated against ever since he received Kazan's curse. Every normal person wants him dead. He simply wants to find a cure for it and doesn't really blame people for hating him; he just tries to ignore them and leave them be. His character was fine at this point... but then they turned him into a gold hearted hero who goes out of his way to save every single person he can despite how he was treated. It was just very poorly written and had no emotion at all, especially how he gave confidence to a little girl who just lost her parents. She was breaking down, but a thumbs up from Baron was enough to make her cheerful and hoping to meet this great guy again someday since he saved their town. Stupid. He's the main character and he was done the worst... Big mistake. He should've been a bit more badass.
Capensis, the gunner, is pretty much just comic relief. He complains a lot, hits on women, gets treated like a slave, gets hurt the most, and nobody cares about his wellbeing at all (or even likes him). I found him to be pretty funny.
Ryunmei, the fighter, was a pretty decent character overall. The show had to sneak in the extremely typical and unfunny joke about a flat-chested girl commenting on her large breasts... However, they actually had a good gag involving her large breasts somewhere in the middle of the series.
Ixia, the mage, was introduced poorly. She was a total brat who was wanted captured. And our party did capture her. Then scolded her. Then... Then they let her go without resolving anything after she deeply insulted all of them. Guess what? They decide to treat her as a precious comrade out of the blue. They should've done a better job of converting her to the good side... She might as well have remained a spoiled brat since she only joined them because they accepted her, not because she understood that what she did before was wrong. She's a pretty decent character after that, though, and it's kinda fun to see how she gains new familiars/summons.

Just had to get all that out there... Anyhow, the art takes a little getting used to. The animation is pretty average, maybe a little below average since the shading isn't too fancy and the animation is still only at this level. The battles are weak. Capensis takes out all the grunts, Ryunmei and Ixia help out with that and/or pin the boss, Baron finishes the boss off with an aerial attack, a single triple slash, neutral wave sword, or (for the final boss) ashe fork. Better than dragging battles on for 3-10 episodes, though, right?

I found the ending theme to be particularly cool since it's done in a retro pixel art style.

Last, but certainly not least, PARTY CALL~! Some people really hated this about the show, but I think it was my favourite part. This really made the show unique and added a good amount of humour. It's not a kind of humour that everyone an understand or appreciate, though. Some people take it a bit too seriously, but it's clearly a joke in itself. Some say it ruins the mood of battles, but the pep talk itself is funny and it lets them get the battle over and done with. If it weren't for the party call, how would you end an even match? Fight till both sides are totally exhausted, then the good guys use some kind of finishing move. Party call skips straight to the finishing move.

If you like DFO and can find the party calls amusing, then you'll probably like this show as much as I did after you get past the first few episodes.

"WE ARE PARTY!"

There's a curious phenomenon occuring in the entertainment industry, one that blurs the line between what you read, watch and play, and while we may all be familiar with the weird, wonderful, and sometimes downright appalling world of the adaptation, in truth the dividing line between the mediums is beginning to fade.

Where am I going with this? Well, in recent years games and gaming, especially on consoles, has moved to the forefront of the entertainment industry, and in order to capitalise on the popularity of a given title various production companies and writers have begun to produce adaptations of games that have ... proven themselves cash cows. One recent example of this is the latest Hollywood release, "Prince of Persia", a movie which clearly signifies Hollywood's desire to make more money cashing in to the current games market, especially after the debacle that was "Super Mario Brothers" and the recent glut of superhero affairs.

The problem though, is that game adaptations aren't really the best source material, especially MMO games.

Slap Up Party: Arad Senki (or Slap Up Party: Record of the Arad War), originally began life as a Korean multiplayer fighting game called "Dungeon & Fighter" that incorporated certain role playing aspects, however the popularity of the game was such that it quickly expanded to include a more immersive RPG system. Now while the game itself is copmparable to the likes of World of Warcraft, the main problem with any adaptation is that in orderfor it to work, the story would not only have to fit into the game world, but also be accessable enough for those unfamiliar with the title.

Unfortunately, Arad Senki seems to have fallen into the same trap as titles like Ragnarok, Ar Tonelico and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, amongst others.

The story follows a young man named Baron through the land of Arad as he travels from place to place seeking a way to cure his particular affliction, namely a demon arm, which was caused by a curse that affected the land some time before (it's never clear when). Along the way he is accompanied by a small floating spirit named Roxy, and is later joined by several other companions.

Sounds familiar. right?

Like many anime of this kind, this tale oozes shounen sensibilities from almost every pore, from believing in one's friends to never giving up, and everything in between. The problem though, is that the plot has no real direction, and because of this haphazard approach the story proper takes a very long time to get going. However, even with the tale in full flow, there is still not enough substance to make one take the story seriously. Strangely though, this lack of focus and actual storyline doesn't impact one's enjoyment as much as one might think, as there seems to have been some realisation that the platform upon which the entire show stands is full of cracks. That said, these cracks have only really been papered over with a thin veneer of comedy that, in truth, is sometimes a bit hit-and-miss.

The main reason for the lack of focus is the fact that the anime is based on an MMOG, and because of this the writers have had to fit the story into the pre-existing world, something which limits their creativity. On the other hand, if this type of anime is approached correctly, then there is scope for improvement as the game allows for a phenomenal amount of content and ideas that could be adapted.

It's unfortunate then, that this hasn't been realised, however there is something about Arad Senki that makes it reasonably enjoyable viewing (more on this in a bit).

As far as looks go, the series is colourful enough, and the characters are designed reasonably well, however there is a comic element inherent in this that may not be obvious at first. The animation is generally pretty good throughout the show, and because of the nature of the series, Gonzo are able to show off a variety of styles, from comic to fast-paced action, something which serves the anime well come the end.

That said, the show lacks a degree of refinement where the visuals are concerned. While it may be argued that a good portion of the series is stylistically designed to enhance this or that comedy or action scene, the viewer may find that the show has a "rushed" feel for the most part.

Sound is also pretty decent throughout Arad Senki, with many of the effects being clear and well choregraphed. The acting is good for the most part, however some of the seiyuu really do ham it up, and in all honesty I can'tbe sure if this is by accident or design, as several scenes actually work better this way.

Arad Senki is generally well served as far as the music goes. The tracks used throughout the show enhance the atmosphere fairly well, however the comedy element means it's difficult to take the action scenes seriously, even with the ubitquitous dramatic music. The show has two OPs, "Party Play" by Sakura Nogawa and "Sokujin no Pandora" by Nogawa Sakura, both of which are decent J-rock tracks. The first OP is fairly typical with it's visuals, however the second takes a more innovative and humourous approach to golf (that's right, golf).

As for the EDs, "Hateshinai Sekai" by YMCK and "LEVEL∞" by Akiko Hasegawa, they are both made using music from what sounds like an 8-bit or 16 bit game. Of the two EDs, I have to admit that I do like the comedy Hateshinai Sekai's visuals, which feature the characters in a 16-bit game opening treasures and fighting monsters.

The characters are on of the issues with the series, as there simply isn't any real development given to them, and the little growth that does occur is often formulaic and "methodical". None of the characters really stands out in any way, however it's not all bad, as while there is a distinct deficiency in this department, they actually work fairly well when there's comedy about. Rather than focusing on developing the characters, the creators seem to have gone in a completely different direction. Essentially, the characters are treated as nothing more than toys that are wound up and let loose in a given situation, the results of which aren't always successful or effective.

I already mentioned that there's something about Arad Senki that makes it reasonably enjoyable viewing, and that something is the tongue in cheek nature of the show. Where series like Raganrok take themselves far too seriously, Arad Senki has made a concerted effort to add some fun to the mix. While the result isn't everyone's cup of tea, there's enough variation in the anime to keep the viewer interested at the very least.

Okay, so as a straight forward story the show doesn't work all that well, however if one treats Arad Senki as a series of short stories rather than one complete tale, it becomes far more palatable, and that's one of the things that it seems to actually encourage during the early part of the show. Unfortunately, there's only so far a series can go using this format before the viewer needs something more substantial to maintain their interest, and in this department the show doesn't quite deliver.

It's a shame, as the idea of making an MMOG based is a good one provided the effort is put in to make everything work. While Slap Up Party: Arad Senki may not be great, it's actually a lot more enjoyable than the likes of Ragnarok, and although it may not be to everyone's tastes, there are occasional flashes of what this show could have been like.

Still, at least it's not Super Mario Bothers again :)