I have a minor anime addiction. It also happens that anime series on Netflix happen to be packaged in under thirty minute episodes that I can sneak in without much disruption.
That is how I happened upon Aldnoa.Zero. It follows all of the standard tropes of the genre and is beautifully drawn. The action is satisfying. It ticks all of the right boxes.
What made it appealing to me was that it had the feel of the proto-anime from the late 80s and early 90s. It was dark but not hopeless. There were moments of touching emotion, humor, heroism, and ultimately redemption.
The female characters were not caricatures. They all had agency and talent and heroism. I wouldn’t mind my daughter finding any of them, except for one of the princesses, as a role model.
One other thing that I found appealing was that it ended its first season in utter darkness. Before I knew there was going to be a second season, I was truly shocked at how things ended. The fact that there was a second season and the unbelievable explanations does bring it back a notch. However, it was still a bold move.
Aldnoah.Zero is still anime and does not rise above its genre. It is, however, a finely crafted piece of work.
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