Pumpkin Scissors - Vol. 1: Honor & Blood Review

            Taking place three years after a great war ended by something referred to as the ‘Thin Ice Treaty’. After the end of the war though, relations between the military and the citizens is strained as soldiers from the war have begun to turn their weapons on ordinary citizens as soldiers of fortune. In this country, the class system is still in effect and nobility and commoners do not intermingle. Our heroine is a young girl named 2nd Lt. Alice Malvin who has been assigned to the Imperial Army’s Intelligence division, Section Three, otherwise known as “Pumpkin Scissors”. Her mission is simple, work with her team to discover nobility who prey on the poor and deliver justice and war relief to those struggling to rebuild.   

            After finding a village in trouble, Alice and her team are joined by another former soldier who was part of a very mysterious and powerful unit, Randle Oland, before moving onto a rich nobleman who hunts his own people for sport. Next up for the team is convincing a village to assist with a reconstruction project but the real intrigue begins near the end of the volume when it is discovered that the weird noble who was hunting commoners was in possession of some pretty advanced technology… technology that even the Imperial Army doesn’t have and Pumpkin Scissors is put in charge of finding out who has created that technology and something new about Randle is revealed that is makes others question who he is. 

The Good And The Bad 

            Produced by Gonzo studios, I knew right away that the animation was going to be absolutely stellar and while it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it’s still very nicely designed and pleasing to look at. The battle scenes in particular were quite interesting to watch when Randle began his lantern routine. It was really quite something to watch. The dream sequence in the fourth episode was also really quite well done.

            Either way I found it quite amusing and laughed at it more often than not so this was an interesting take on the writing. Though it took a little bit for me to get really comfortable with the setting and the characters, after that I found it really easy to buy into the class system in a post war society. I also found that the stories that were told in each episode were actually quite touching because of the conflicted characters that were being featured. 

            These stories wouldn’t work at all if a strong character wasn’t established in the beginning and Alice really fits that mold as a noble who joined the military and is fighting to bridge the gap between the classes. By having this major conflict of interest introduced right away, the audience really has something to connect to the heroine. Very good storytelling and character development right away which really caught my interest and attention early. Using the first three episodes to develop Alice like this was a really nice move.  

            The secondary and supporting characters have also established themselves as entertaining with Randle showing some interesting history and the rest of the team providing the solid comic relief. Just in case though, they even made sure to throw in an office mascot to keep every single subsection of the audience happy.  

Music 

            Just like the rest of the volume, the music could be very over the top in some places but in other places it was soft and subdued lending a very nice quiet atmosphere to some of the smaller village scenes. They paid very good attention to details here for their situational music which I enjoyed.

            The opening and ending themes are definitely going to be an acquired taste for most of the audience. The closing theme in particular I know is going to take me awhile before I can say I really enjoy it but I’m sure that by the end of the series the little bugger will manage to insert itself into my head. 

Dub vs. Sub

            After the huge deal that ADV made out of announcing this title, I was really surprised to see so many new names in the cast list. Kaytha Coker gave a very impassioned and fun… albeit slightly over the top at times, performance as Alice and Adam Dudley gives a very interesting and intriguing performance as Randel Oland.  

Extras

            Just clean animations.             

Overall

After seeing this first volume I can understand why the buzz became so huge right away. This opening volume really set the stage for a story that I’m going to be interested in seeing more of. The characters were fun and this volume started some mystery that I’m now just as curious as the characters are to solve it. This is one that I’m suggesting everyone keep a close eye on.