Common Name: Frame Arms Girl
Alternative Names: F.A. Girl
Score: 6/10, 5/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Action, Mecha, Slice of Life, Ecchi
Summary: Though she never asked for the opportunity to do so, Gennai Ao has been gifted a personified model kit mech unit created by Factory Advance known as a Frame Arms Girl. Supposedly, she was chosen to receive this unit because its artificial intelligence was based on her personality. Now it is Ao's duty to teach her Gourai unit F.A. Girl the basics of life and support her during battles with the other F.A. Girls that Factory Advance will be sending her. At least she'll be getting paid for all the trouble these tiny mech units will most certainly cause.
Review: If you're one of those people who read my review on Brave Witches a few months back, you're probably well aware of the fact that I'm one of those weirdos in the anime community that actually appreciates CG animation. It was, after all, part of the reason I actually liked Brave Witches more than its predecessor. However, I am also well aware that CG is still severely flawed in most cases. I'm inclined to believe those flaws mainly stem from a misunderstanding about how CG should be used though. What I'm also inclined to believe, though, is that Frame Arms Girls is one of the few shows out there that have gotten close to the "right way" CG should be used; which is kinda hilarious when you consider that it's a mediocre show in every other respect.
Yeah, don't go expecting any big discussions on transhumanism here.
I'm stretching the "depth" of this show to the limit as is.
To elaborate on what I mean by "a misunderstanding," let's examine the two ways most shows use CG--tacking it onto a show or making a show entirely CG. In most cases, CG is thrown into a series on a whim to either cut costs or try something flashy. Through this incorporation of CG into a show that primarily uses traditional animation, we get series filled with CG creatures or special moves that conflict with the show's standard art style. But the problems with the medium aren't necessarily resolved just by going all-out with the CG either, as evidenced by the mixed response to the most recent Berserk anime and the garbage fire that was Mahou Shoujo? Naria Girls. If a full-CG title doesn't put the effort in to make the animations believable or look good, stylistically, then you end up with an awful mess that would have likely been better off just using the traditional styles. Of course, there have been some shows that took both of these approaches and were better off for their use of CG--Etotama or Ghost in the Shell:SAC and Ajin or Knights of Sidonia being great examples of each approach respectively. So what did these shows do "right" and where does the "misunderstanding" come into all of this? Simple: these shows accounted for the differences that are inherent in this form of media and used them artfully and appropriately so that the presence of the CG was not only permissible but an added bonus to the show's overall quality.
To steal an idea from one of my favorite Youtube series that focuses on game and game design, Extra Credits, CG in anime is one of many tools the industry has incorporated into its various methods of presenting a show. It should be made clear, though, that a single tool cannot do every job well. Much like cut scenes in video games, CG has a specific purpose that can be used in a variety of ways but should never have been used as a simple, cheaper alternative to traditional animation styles. Where cut scenes were specifically designed to present a scenario that could not be replicated through gameplay--offering a wider range of action sequences or emotions in its characters--CG is designed to create a reusable and malleable model that can do much of the same, create action sequences or special effects that have the potential to flow more smoothly and realistically than standard animation. At the same time though, CG still struggles with creating convincing emotions on its models, creating a solid limit on the tool (unless, of course, each episode is running on a Hollywood-level budget). That means CG is fantastic for shows with copious amounts of fight scenes, so long as the show doesn't require the models to be particularly expressive those sequences. So, go figure that shows like Brave Witches and F.A. Girl used stylized CG models for their highly mobile action sequences that look somewhat similar to the character's appearance in the standard animation, thus bridging the gap between these two unique tools. It is worth noting, however, that there is at least one other great way to use CG in anime, but I'll save that method for my Seikaisuru Kado review since it captures that idea far better than F.A. Girl.
Alright, I think I've waxed poetic long enough now.
Time to get to what little meat this show has to offer.
As you've probably guessed at this point, there really isn't too much novelty to a show like this outside of the fact that it has some solid CG incorporated into the show. It's filled with tired and frankly moronic stereotypes and character archetypes that most certainly do the job, but don't inspire any amount of fondness for the show. At the end of the day, F.A. Girl could be boiled down to being a gag-filled comedy based on a popular, mecha toy brand that is given life for the express purpose of battling. The characters are pinned down to a basic personality with at least one signature quirk that is remarked on time and again until the show doesn't have much else to offer outside of creating various, absurd scenarios to bring a little a little more life to the series. The music is tolerable and the animation, well, I've kinda exhausted my point on that already. If I had to say there's anything particularly unique about F.A. Girl, it's the fact that the show does more than just use CG well. It also flips the show's established methods of using CG on its head when the show starts to use more and more traditional animation to make the characters far more expressive than their CG models allow. I take this to mean that the show was willing to acknowledge that there are limitations to using CG on a budget, but it also proves that working with and accounting for those limitations can lead to something uniquely impressive. Who would have thought a series based on a popular model kit brand would be the kind of show to figure that out? I know I didn't.
At least I can say I know why I find that fact somewhat galling.
So, where does that leave us as far as recommendations? Honestly, no matter how much I hyped F.A. Girl's thoughtfulness with its CG, I would recommend those show one that merit alone. It's really not that impressive. However, if you're one of those people who like absurd, gag-filled comedies that rely on sexual humor and being generally "so dumb it's kinda funny" then I guess I can recommend giving this show its day in the sun. I guess should just be glad there wasn't a "white washing" joke at any point. Trust me; if you don't know, you don't want to know.