Girls battle against an alien threat and become partners destined for one-another.
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: TBA
Source: Original (part of a mixed-media franchise based on a line of figurines)
Summary: Half a century ago, Earth was attacked by terrible monsters called the “Huge.” Humanity’s only defense were the powerful Lilies, young women able to fight using weaponry called CHARMS, fusions of magic and Science. Riri Hitotsuyanagi was rescued by a Lily during an evacuation two years ago, and was inspired to become the very thing that she idolized. Unfortunately, her untrained skills meant that her entrance into Yurigaoka Girls’ School, a “garden” that raises future Lilies, was anything but assured. Luckily, she managed to make it off the waitlist and begin onto the path toward achieving her dream.
As Riri makes her way to the campus entrance ceremony, the politics of Lily life become apparent. The girls vie for partnerships with their powerful peers, while also-rans like Riri sit on the sidelines. Soon news of an escaped Huge specimen makes its way to the new students, and those with battle experience are called upon to help. Riri finds herself swept into the action with Kaede and Yuyu – the very girl who came to Riri’s rescue two years ago. Though Riri is inexperienced, her natural talents prove to be valuable and the threat is vanquished. Kaede is suddenly smitten with Riri, while Yuyu is left to ponder some complicated emotions.
Impressions: Screen captures are taken using the official legal stream of the series, when available.
Assault Lily Bouquet wasn’t really on my radar prior to the beginning of this anime season, but because I’m always up for anime-original stories and enjoy some fast-paced action when I’m in the right mood, I thought it could be entertaining. While I don’t know that this show is really “for me” (whatever that means; the older I get the more difficult I feel like it becomes for me to nail down my own tastes), it’s a pretty fun excursion into the world of yuri-flavored action anime.
This is a subgenre that I’m not as familiar with in terms of my personal completed anime catalog, but I feel like if you’ve seen any little bit of the Symphogear franchise, or can reduce anime like Revue Starlight or Flip Flappers to some of their component elements (aside from any greater thematic through-line), you have an idea of what this series might have to offer. It’s a bit like a magical girl ensemble series on steroids, with a focus on cool attacks and flamboyant weaponry, as well as a specialized interest in the characters’ relationships with one-another. There are conveniently no male characters to interfere with their interactions, and there’s a very obvious element of “will-they-or-won’t-they” that allows enough flexibility to ultimately be coy about whether this is a story about true love or just extreme closeness.
This opening episode feels fairly rote. The protagonist, a youthful, idealistic girl with unremarkable skills whose only motivation for walking her current path was a chance encounter some years ago, happens to find the person for whom she’s pining at her new school. The place is populated by all manner of flamboyant, unusual characters who are introduced at light speed during the first half of the episode. The object of the protagonists’ affections seems to have “gone through some stuff,” her previous heroic nature toned down to a sullen introversion in the ensuing years. The protagonist learns of some hidden well of power within herself, impressing those around her with her singular talents despite being almost wholly untrained. It’s a setup that crops up frequently in ensemble anime like this and this episode has very few surprises.
I think it’s tempting to look at this and assume a lack of inspiration on the part of the creators. With the freedom that comes with creating an original story, why choose to follow a very specific, recognizable formula? While it’s impossible to tell how the story will unfold at this point, I think one thing that bears mentioning is that sometimes formulas serve as good shorthand – they’re able to establish a lot of story and character elements in a very short amount of time so that the meat of the story can get underway. How many times have I criticized so-called “moé” entertainment, only to then go on and really enjoy the associated anime series? That said, I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong to point out and criticize (and be a little frustrated) when a property is following literally every story beat out of its own Anime 101 playbook.
Despite the constant rumbling undercurrent of deja vu, this episode is pretty entertaining. I’m kind of a sucker for huge, complicated anime weapons, and this show seems to have them in spades. The characters each have a different melee weapon associated with their CHARM, and for those that are unsheathed during this episode, they each receive their own transformation sequence and hero pose. As the characters battle this episode’s Huge (in the form of an orb-like entity that uses smoke screens to turn the characters against one-another), the series’ focus on “almost too quick to see” hack-and-slash movement takes center stage. There are some dynamic camera angles that make the scenes feel exciting and frantic. I would have preferred an editing philosophy where each individual action is more clear, but this feels urgent and is entertaining to watch in its own way.
Perhaps the elephant in the room here is the character framing that seems to visually define the episode. It’s clear that whoever handled the storyboarding has something of an… affinity for girls’ thighs. Once I noticed it, I lost count of how many scenes, whether dialog-heavy or action-oriented, seemed to go out of their way to feature the characters’ thighs prominently in as many shots as possible. It’s sort of like watching any Quentin Tarantino movie after learning that he really likes feet – you can’t un-see it. Far be it from me to criticize someone for having a fetish; I think many of us have things we enjoy in that manner. But I’ve tried to make the point over the years that the act of focusing on body parts to the exclusion of faces, especially in dialog-heavy scenes, has the effect of dehumanizing the characters doing the talking. There’s the subtle implication of placing more importance on what their body looks like than the words that they’re saying. But for those of us who have experienced this first hand, the feeling is a little too real.
For those who are looking for straight-up yuri content, I have a difficult time deciding whether this series is fooling around or is actually likely to involve those kinds of relationships. There are some playful moments where Kaede expresses her love for Riri (see above), but this reads more as the type of closeness one might find in any anime with a primarily female cast. Yuyu seems to be embroiled in… something with her battle partner, but it isn’t clear exactly what that is. The ED animation goes hard on the borderline-sexual content, though that could just be fanservice that doesn’t reflect the actual focus of the show. Far be it from me to make claims about gay-baiting at this point; I know about as much as anyone else watching this episode for the first time. I just wonder if it’s all a tease or if there might actually be some romantic relationships to hone in on.
All-in-all, though, I enjoyed this episode more than I thought I might. It’s debatable whether I’ll continue watching it at this point since there are a lot of other anime series I’m pretty excited about this season, but I like to give some credit when an opening episode impresses me more than expected. It was a fun watch with some nice aesthetics – the setting itself being sort of an interesting blend of typically modern buildings and overgrown ruins. I think for those who really enjoy yuri-flavored battle anime, this could be a good choice.
Pros: Some nice aesthetic choices. The action is frantic and exciting. There are some cool weapons and poses.
Cons: The first episode feels like it’s playing out of a playbook. It feels like there could be some “gay-baiting” going on. There’s a focus on thighs, sometimes to the detriment of dialog-heavy scenes.
Content Warnings: Mild sexual/suggestive content (primarily in the ED imagery). Violence (some blood).
Grade: C
