Review of Absolute Duo

Overview: "Absolute Duo" is definitely not what I would call a masterpiece of an anime, in any sense of the word. In fact, if you were to read the premise, you would most likely dismiss it as just another run-of-the-mill magic school harem series and, well, that's actually pretty accurate. Nevertheless, it does do just enough things differently that allows it to stand above a typical example of the genre, with great music, good action scenes and a very likable pair of main characters, all of which manage to make the anime quite enjoyable in spite of itself. Story (6/10): "Absolute Duo" follows two main characters- a youngJapanese boy named Tooru "Tor" Kokonoe and a strange Scandinavian girl named Julie Sigtuna, both of whom have recently enrolled in the prestigious Koruryu Academy, which trains teenagers in combat so that they can become future peacekeepers. For this, they are injected with a mysterious liquid that grants them the ability to manifest a weapon called a Blaze, which takes the form of a different type of weapon depending on the person, usually as a reflection of some aspect of their personality. However, Tor ends up being unique in that his Blaze manifests as a shield, making him something known as an "Irregular". After a rather brutal entrance ceremony, involving all of the students fighting each other and the losers being dismissed from the academy, Tor and Julie not only end up in the same class but get paired together as partners and roommates via the school's "Duo" system, hence the title "Absolute Duo".

Yeah, as I said, it's almost definitely something you've heard or seen before, and this isn't at all helped by the ridiculously fast pacing. Without warning and less than halfway through the first episode, we're thrown into a bunch of fights that happen all at the same time, with the only one that gets any real focus being the one between Tor and this girl called Imari. The series just doesn't seem to know how to slow down, which may have something to do with the fact that it tries to ram 4 light novels worth of content into only 12 episodes, when most light novel anime of the same length generally cover 2 or 3 volumes. As a result, some explanations to things are poor at best and non-existent at worst, and you will have to do a little digging outside the anime to get the full gist out of certain scenes or even characters. Furthermore, Kouryu Academy is shown frequently to be engaged in some pretty shady stuff, and yet aside from a few lines of dialogue, this is barely acknowledged and has no real bearing on the actual story, which I know will disappoint or even annoy some people.

That being said, the story does have one thing that manages to keep it bearable, that being the growing relationship between the two main characters, Tor and Julie. Going into the series, I was concerned that the story wouldn't treat a teenage boy and girl sharing a room like it's a big deal, but it actually treats it precisely as awkward as it sounds, at least initially, with Tor being extremely adamant to the entire thing and Julie not having a problem with it only serving to highlight how innocent and weird she is. After some awkward tension, however, Tor decides to become Julie's permanent partner after her failure to find a different one, and from then on, the duo become pretty much inseparable, with it being made clear that they wouldn't break up their partnership even if the school didn't forbid it. Furthermore, they soon discover that, despite their vastly different backgrounds, the two have both suffered a very similar tragedy, which is their whole motivation for enrolling at the academy in the first place. Their empathic relationship is certainly sweet, as you see the two of them slowly bond over their mutually tragic pasts, and I love a good tragic past. Unfortunately, the relationship's status as a saving grace is ultimately quite limited, especially since the series ends right when certain things begin to come to light, and with no second season planned as of now, it is unlikely that we will ever see this continued.

Art & Animation (8/10):
The visuals are relatively hit-and-miss. On the surface, the series looks great, with the character models and environments being very detailed and well-drawn, and there are some great special effects too, the manifestation of a character's Blaze being a standout example. Look closer, however, and you will start to see some pretty big problems. For example, the animations during fight scenes are fairly lacklustre, with there being more than one occasion when a moving weapon looks as though it was etched onto the screen, which, while not a deal-breaker, really takes away from the experience. There's also a good bit of deranged animation here and there, but that's thankfully saved for when it actually makes sense to use.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
If there's one thing "Absolute Duo" does really well, it's the music, in particular the opening theme "Absolute Soul", which is a fantastic opening theme that I found myself listening to every time I started a new episode and is used brilliantly during the climax of the final episode. The three ending themes, "BelievexBelieve", "Apple Tea" and "2x2" are great as well, and perfectly fit the characters of each of the four main heroines, with the latter theme being sung by two of their seiyus. The voice acting is very good as well, with Ricco Fajardo and Bryn Apprill delivering great performances as the lead duo and the rest of the cast doing good jobs as well, though some are definitely better than others. Whitney Rodgers' performance in particular really took me by surprise, as Tomoe is a far cry from the snarky tomboys she usually voices, yet she still managed to nail her character really well.

Characters (7/10):
For the most part, Tor manages to avoid the pitfalls you'd normally expect from a male lead of this genre. For one thing, he's not stupid- far from it, in fact. He is very smart and tactical and acts as the strategist between him and Julie, which is very necessary since, with a shield for a Blaze, he can't contribute much in terms of overall strength. Additionally, while he's very polite to people in general, he'll occasionally make a comment that implies that he doesn't particularly like or think much of a certain person, which helps flesh out his personality and shows that while he may be a nice guy, he's not a pushover. He's also shown to be able to notice the affection of the girls surrounding him, but thinks he isn't good enough for any of them because he isn't strong enough to protect them, which is all but outright stated to stem from grief over not being able to prevent the death of his younger sister, something he's clearly traumatized by despite mostly acting quite cheerful. Don't get me wrong, though. He's not the most engaging male lead out there, and there are a couple of clichés associated with him, but these are obscure enough that he's nothing if not likeable.

That being said, in true harem anime fashion, the real star of the show is not Tor, but the main heroine Julie. If you're tired of the main heroine always being a tsundere, then Julie will feel like a breath of fresh air, as of all the heroine archetypes, the closest she fits is dandere, being very shy, reserved and quiet, but also really sweet and gentle. She's very small with a doll-like appearance, which is noted in-universe, but is definitely not one to be underestimated, and does most of the heavy-lifting between herself and Tor. Basically, she's the muscle while he's the brains. As mentioned above, she can also be quite weird at times; for one, she has no problem being half-naked in front of Tor and doesn't seem to see anything wrong with sleeping in the same bed as him. She also occasionally says things with a clear innuendo behind them, though that's more due to the language barrier than not knowing any better, due to her being from Scandinavia. She also doesn't seem to be quite as affected by her past as Tor, with certain details not being revealed until the final episode of the series. Overall, however, Julie is just adorable, and I found myself being able to watch the series to the end for the simple fact that she was in it, let alone as the main heroine and of equal importance to Tor.

My feelings regarding the rest of Tor's harem are rather mixed. First, there's Tomoe Tachibana, who I definitely liked, more so than any other character besides Julie and Tor. She generally acts like a traditional Japanese lady, which is reflected by her Blaze being a kusarigama, a traditional Japanese weapon, and while does have a habit of jumping to conclusions, she's willing to admit she's wrong if someone explains the situation to her, though she's a bit too eager to apologise in those incidents. Overall, she's a very kind and polite girl who cares a great deal for those around her, which is shown to the fullest in the last few episodes. Her partner, Miyabi Hotaka, is not as good a character, as while she's quite likable for most of the series, she, without spoiling anything, ends up doing a bunch of things in the last few episodes that are rather poorly-explained, making her one of those characters where you'll have to dig outside the anime to get the full gist of. Last and least, we have Lilith Bristol, a British transfer student and Blaze wielder known as an "Exception", which basically means that rules don't apply to her, which she exploits to no end. While some may appreciate her being more honest and straightforward in regards to her feelings, that unfortunately manifests in the form of her being very entitled and acting as though Tor belongs to her, with no real consideration for how he feels or what he wants, which can be very annoying, to say the least. Besides the main cast, there are other characters of note, like Tor's childhood friend Aoi Torasaki, but they're not all that important, and overall I think I've said my piece on this category.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
While the fight scenes are not particularly well-animated, they're still very entertaining, especially since it's a joy to see how well Tor and Julie work together as a team. The comedy is very good as well, and there was more than one occasion where I found myself laughing for a really long time. The fast pacing can put a dent in the enjoyment at times, but never enough that I found myself wanting to give up on the series.

Overall:
"Absolute Duo" is the absolute definition of a guilty pleasure- a hackneyed series that manages to make the most out of its limited potential. The problem is that very fact is also what makes it difficult to recommend, and ultimately I wouldn't be able to blame you if you decided to give this one a pass. Unless, of course, you enjoy harem anime with most of the clichés you'd expect. If that is the case, then by all means try it.

Score:
6+8+8.5+7+7.5=37/50=7.4/10