Fresh from Studio Bones and direct onto the Netflix streaming service comes a musical number set on Mars. Teen runaway Tuesday seeks her fortune as a musician, fortunately she finds a down-on-her-luck pianist called Carole - together they'll set the new world on fire with their genuine, heartfelt melodies.
There's much to commend this show for off the bat - firstly, it looks stunning. Sharp and imaginative designs are featured everywhere, from Tuesday's luxury country home to Carole's loft and the city vistas, every effort has been made to ensure that this show is pleasing to the eye and screen-capture friendly. If I've seen a sharper looking anime this year, I can't think of it.
Character designs are above average too. The two leads are chalk and cheese in terms of style and movement, with Carole prim and stiff while Tuesday has an effortless air to her - when the animators have paid attention to details like these, it makes the world of difference to the final product.
The homage to Cyndi Lauper, Tuesday's idol in both the dialogue and the episode title, is also a nice touch. It at least shows that the creator cares about music enough to weave real-life stories into their own.
There are two reasons for this exceptional level of quality. The first is the 20th anniversary of Studio Bones is being celebrated with this release, and the second is the 10th anniversary of FlyingDog, a company that makes software for animated music. The extra level of detail seems to be in order to mark these two occasions. Of course, having a director the calibre of Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Beboop, Samurai Champloo) doesn't hurt either.
In the first episode, we meet not only the titular characters, but also Angela, a model turned singer who agrees to be used as a puppet by a music company with a history of creating virtual idols. The scene is clearly being set for a showdown between manufactured pop and singer-songwriters. Even though the intro narration tells us our heroines will make it big (kinda spoiling the ending there!) it'll still be fun to see how it unfolds.
The music in this episode is sparse (a single melody that brings the pair together) I was surprised to hear that the lyrics are sung in English in both the sub and dub of the show. I watched both languages and the English dub does stand up to scrutiny, making it a safe bet if you want an easy watch. The music is pretty nice too.
Though I like the leads and the world they inhabit, there is an air of convenience for the sake of plot that occasionally stretches credulity. That Tuesday could arrive in a strange city, have her bags stolen and still land on her feet finding a bestie on day one (with a spacious apartment to boo) is just a little too much, but it's really the only gripe in an otherwise solid show.
I'm certainly up for more of this - likeable leads, a fantastic setting and some lush animation make the experience enticing and rewarding. A solid dub with some great music sweeten the deal, so if you like an occasional anime that doesn't rely on your protagonist being killed and swept off to a fantasy world, then this could be just the escape you're looking for!
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