Review - Jinki: Extend 01
Reviewed by Richard Brownell on 9.7.2007.
Score: 6/10
Anime and manga have been privy to many mech shows over the years. It's hard for a new one to stand out. But while many don't make an impression as strong as shows like Evangelion, they typically aren't that bad on their own. Jinki: Extend is the newest mech anime I've watched and while it doesn't leave the best first impression, it's still an entertaining mech show and with a female lead which doesn't happen in this overcrowded genre.
Aoba Tsuzaki is a 13-year-old mech fan. She builds and paints models as a hobby. So when a cross dresser kidnaps her and brings her across the world to Venezuela to be a mech pilot, it's only natural that she is immensely pleased. Alright, so maybe it doesn't happen quite that smoothly, but her hobby certainly makes her the ideal candidate to be a mech pilot. Her being a cognate, one who has a natural affinity for piloting, also helps quite a bit.
The organization that brings her to Venezuela is called Angel. They're in charge of dealing with the malevolent Ancient Jinki that are present in the region and they deal with them using mechs called Jinki adapted from the ancient technology. Nothing is clear (to us viewers anyway) about where these Ancient Jinki came from, only that they are the enemy.
Aoba adapts quickly to her new environment. Her grandmother passes away in the opening scene, her last true family, so she's ready for the change. She starts off as a mere helper to the mechanics that work at Angel, but through dedication and a freak accident involving one of the pilots, she gets the opportunity to pilot the Moribito 2. The piloting situation itself is one not seen in too many mech shows where two are required to operate the mechs. One person pilots the top half, another the bottom. True synergy is required to win battles.
This is where one of the key themes of the show comes in, which is family bonds. There are several duos in the show, father and son, mother and daughter, but most of these relationships are positive. Aoba has only one living relative in the show, her mother. She's one of the people in charge of Angel and their relationship is so tumultuous that Aobe will only refer to her by her name, not as any term of endearment.
Understanding family bonds and what happens in Jinki: Extend can be difficult. This is due in no small part to the fact that it's being told in multiple timelines. The two main ones are the present, 1998, and the past, 1991. This is rather unclear while watching the show and knowing it beforehand will help tremendously as the transitions between the two are not entirely clear. But so many mysteries are left untold that even knowing this beforehand won't help you truly understand what's going on. With five episodes of a 13 episode show, it seems like more should really be clear, but things are instead hazy.
While mech shows can vary greatly in aspects of the show-- the type of pilot, whether or not the mechs are seen as good or bad, the enemy they are fighting-- one thing is true of all of them. They have combat. And combat, in most cases, is meant to be exciting. In this regard, Jinki: Extend is competent but not strong. Dealing with the Ancient Jinki feels a bit more like garbage removal than part of a war, though the point of these earlier episodes is to see Aoba grow as a pilot (and person) rather than watching a war play out.
The designs of Jinki are fairly strong if not terribly unique. The pilot suits are also basically your standard fare, though thankfully not designed to reveal lots of pre-teen flesh. There is one character though who is 11 and is basically the jailbait of the show. Her design and attitude make her stick out like a sore thumb in a show that is otherwise serious about the subject matter.
Jinki: Extend's first volume has five episodes to make itself stand out. Unfortunately, while it isn't bad by any means, it doesn't do much to stand out above the crowd. It has a solid orchestral soundtrack, good pacing, and a strong female lead with some interesting side characters. But it also has an overly secretive plot told in a confusing timeline-jumping style. If things smooth out, it could end up a very entertaining show, but if it remains as it is, it won't be remembered alongside the great mech shows.
Special Features
· Character Relationship Chart
· Text Interview with Fumiko Orikasa (Aoba)
· Text Interview with Naoto Hosoda (Character Designer)
· Video Interview with Fumiko Orikasa (Aoba), Takuma Takewaka (Ryohei) & Kazuhiro Wakabayahsi (Sound Director)
· Glossary of Terms
· Venezuela Location Notes
· Clean Opening and Closing Animation
· On Air Opening and Closing
The included relationship chart is very handy for following the many characters of the show. Also included is a 15-minute video interview with Jinki: Extend's director and two Japanese voice actors, which are always entertaining, especially the part where one voice actor is told she could have done a better job.
