Friday 10 March 2017

Rigged Play (Dimension W review)



Opening Songs
OP 1 - Genesis (Stereo Dive Foundation)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Contrast (Fo'xTails)

Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction

Episodes: 12



We all have shows like these, don't we? "Dimension W" is yet another show set in a sci-fi world starring an anti-hero protagonist that lives to do things his way, even if its not considered "just". How many times have we seen this setting being re-used? Anyway, if Sci-fi isn't your thing, hop out now, as "Dimension W" brings a lot of things that can be extremely confusing, especially if you're not exactly interesting in learning a new fictional world's complex lore (which "Dimension W" certainly bears). Its certainly not something everybody can enjoy...that much I'll say right off the bat. The animation and visuals are certainly impressive, the characters...some of them can be endearing, but the most disappointing thing here is "Dimension W"'s plot. There's surely immense potential here, but the show is squandered by uneven pacing and an ultimately unsatisfying ending. If you're looking for a sci-fi story featuring androids, there are better alternatives out there, but if you insist on this one...



Eh, one of two good things in the show.

Ah, one good thing about "Dimension W" is, for sure, its opening theme. Now THIS is some catchy stuff! The opening theme is "Genesis" by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION, and for an opening theme, its amazing. It's electro...the good kind, it really fits for a show like "Dimension W". Plus, the song itself is incredibly catchy, the opening animations are great too. The ending theme is "Contrast" by Fo'xTails. It certainly pales in comparison to the opening theme, but for an ending theme, it isn't bad. It's certainly rather upbeat, but not to the levels of "Genesis".



Rating: 7.0/10



"Dimension W" tells the story of a washed up, demented, veteran man who has already lost everything dear to him. It is in this light of things and the perspective of this protagonist that makes the show a very unique one at the beginning. However, the show never truly makes proper grasps of inspiration to make it truly different from many other shows out there right now, and the story ends up going nowhere really. For such a character driven show, almost every other character with the exception of Mabuchi and maybe Loser is...poorly fleshed out. For f**k's sake the villain of the series is pretty shitty, in my opinion. The pacing of the show is also incredibly uneven, with some segments, especially towards the end, breaking the immersion with some boring, lengthy explanation bits. Otherwise, the show itself isn't bad. Our two central characters, Mabuchi and Mira are a nice combination, the action scenes are well directed, and the show itself is visually impressive. Animation is consistently good, though it gets a lot less impressive towards the end....the production values are really nice here.



Ah, but its hard to call you rubbish looking like that.


In a world where technology has taken a second step forward, things truly have changed. Coils have been invented, which are a new source of power within the world, making things that have previously been impossible seem like nothing but a minor fleeting problem of the past. This was all made possible by professor Yurisaki, a revolutionary scientist who pioneered the Coil technology. However, he was betrayed by the government and defected, going into hiding. He made an android that was capable of human emotion named Mira, and often sent her out to collecting coils. Then there's Mabuchi Kyoma, an retired army veteran who, due to an old incident, refuses to use coils in his daily life. He is an expert in his field, being an anti-tech mercenary that can hunt down any mark without the use of any coil related technology. It is on one fateful day during a job where he runs into Mira, and the 2 find themselves intertwined with one another.


"Dimension W", at least to me, was one of the more disappointing titles of 2016. Where it showed bursts of inspiration, the show fails to deliver and chooses to take safe, generic approaches to the story. Unless you're a huge fan of the sci-fi genre, this one might not appeal to you.