UlasanAnime.com – Red Garden continues to be a compelling watch for me, and I admit to having a soft spot for angst-girl protagonists. I’ve always been a huge fan of characters like Priss and Robin from other series.
However, Claire, Kate, Rose, and Rachel are not quite like those prima donna lead figures. In fact, I believe they represent split personalities embodied by a Priss-type character. The interpersonal drama and the internal struggles occurring among the group, as well as within each individual member, seem to be the core of the narrative we’re being presented with.
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With Rachel acting the way she is, she’s definitely leading the pack in… well, something.
So, what’s truly ugly about Red Garden? It’s the fight scenes. Remember Uchuu no Stellvia? There was that one awesome episode about two-thirds of the way through the series where the girls had a pow-wow and cried a lot. Now, imagine that, but it happens every episode. Instead of self-acceptance and coming to terms with one another, you have psychotic terror intertwined with life, death, and grappling with existential implications.
This is far worse than any complaint you could level against its visual style or art form, in my opinion. In episode 4, Rachel goes a bit nuts, which is somewhat expected. But episode 6? Sigh. The only relief I find is that they’ve moved beyond that Gantz-like shock factor. The subtle conspiracy is beginning to unfold, and aside from the incessant wailing, it’s actually not too terrible.
Sigh, who am I kidding? It’s still over the top. Much like their dresses.
