Glass Fleet - Vol. 1 Review

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The Story

This anime follows the story of the lower class struggling to break free from oppression in deep space. The people of this society were ruled by a corrupt upper class until it was overthrown by another led by Vetti Sforza. When this second upper class proved to be even more corrupt than the first, a new hero emerged by the name of Michel Volban.  

            Leading the people in yet another revolt, Michel prayed for a real hero to emerge. This hero appears in the form of a ship bearing the symbol of the fallen royal family and piloted by the mysterious Cleo. After being taken aboard the mysterious ship, Cleo and his crew, Michel finds that his ‘hero’ is less than enthusiastic about the new label putting the two of them into a battle of wills while they are both hunted by a new mutual enemy.

Good and the Bad 

            The series wastes absolutely no time in showing off it’s animation with the opening sequence looking quite nice but being animated by Gonzo you had to expect that from the start. The very first battle sequence took me by surprise with its sheer magnitude. Unfortunately this wasn’t always the case as a short time later the wedding scene played out on my screen and I found myself rolling my eyes at a very poorly sequenced battle scene involving the masses.  

            The statements made by the staff in this series really lack in any kind of subtly. The party scene in episode two was a prime example of this in how extravagant and pretentious it presented itself. While I’m well aware that this was an intentional plot device meant to lead the audience to the obvious conclusion that the current ruling upper class is wasteful, I really think that this idea could have been presented in a much more delicate way.   

            The presentation of Michel also took some serious getting used to. The character is presented and designed as though he were a she and Vetti even consistently shows romantic interest in the character but being that the character is male this just didn’t strike me as making a lot of sense. I’m hoping that this is elaborated on in the future.

            While it wasn’t always stellar, the writing really had some great gems in terms of one off jokes and deep observations including one very poignant observation from Vetti in episode two regarding the masquerade ball and a joke from Vetti regarding religion in episode three.  

            The pacing of this opening volume was very well done though which I enjoyed. Every episode moves at a very brisk pace and never feels like its dragging and it never left me wanting them to hurry up and get to the next plot hook.

Music 

            The music in this series tends to be very subdued. I did enjoy the musical pieces though and the harmonica solo that Cleo plays during the second episode was unexpected and fun. It’s not often that you hear a harmonica solo in the middle of a space anime after all.   

Dub vs. Sub

            The one thing about this cast that I thought was an interesting choice was how the minor characters and lower class characters of the series are presented with lower class English accents. This was certainly unexpected and took some serious getting used to but in the end I do have to admit that it makes perfect sense. With the class system being used so heavily throughout the accents do provide a very nice balance.

            The one member of the dub cast that I had the most trouble getting used to though was Brina Palencia as Vetti’s young Imperial Guard, Ralph. With the lower class English accent on this character, I couldn’t help but mentally draw parallels between her performance something that I would expect to hear in a performance of Oliver and was almost waiting to hear ‘Please sir, I want some more.’ While I won’t say that I am won over by the performance yet, it did make me smirk a few times and hasn’t turned me off from the dub cast or the character.

Extras 

            There are two interview clips on this volume to go with the clean opening animation. Both interview clips are with Japanese cast members and as always, fans that are looking for an inside peek at the making of the anime and the actor’s thoughts and impressions of their characters and the story will be pleased with what they see here.         

Overall 

            With these first five episodes, the series manages to start us off in a distant world and introduces a solid story. While the story isn’t the most original or innovative, it is just engaging enough to make me want to see more. The characters haven’t completely won me over but there is certainly enough here to say that it’s worth picking up and seeing if it’s your cup of tea (I admit that joke was intentional). 

Final Grade: 81% - B