Along with Monster Musume, I also received Rio Rainbow Gate (Reshuffle). 

This is a re-release of Rio Rainbow Gate with a new English dub. Since it’s only 13+1 episodes I watched it this week as well. I have to say this is relatively inexpensive for a “new” release (at least the English audio track is new which is quite an expense for a licensee). Compared to Funimation pricing… where a 13 episode series is listed for $60+, this is very reasonable. I stuck to DVD since when it comes to most anime, Blu-ray is unnecessary in my opinion.

Anyway, this turned out to be a delightful series. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, and don’t get me wrong, reviewers out there are probably not going to be impressed… but it’s light and fun (mostly) and a great way to pass some time (assuming you have some time to kill). It starts off episodic but half way through we get a villain who completely dominates the remaining episodes. On the bright side, there’s a satisfying conclusion, and the angst is relatively limited… although the tension is high from episode 7 to the end (not counting the bonus OVA), episodes 8 & 9 are where the real drrrrama is found.

Frankly, I was hoping it would keep it’s “mindless fun” / episodic nature throughout. That’s what I was in the mood for when I started it, and for the first half it looked like I was going to get just what I wanted. The fact that it changed tone half way through is not really shocking, a lot of anime do this… and that doesn’t make it a bad series in any way. I’ll definitely watch it again in the future. However, I’ll almost certainly favor the early episodes for the “feel-good” nature they exude over the angst-y second half which you’ll want to watch in a row together to reach the happy ending.

I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant about the gambling aspect of this show. I’ve seen some anime that have sacrificed entertainment in the name of near slavish accuracy when portraying some aspect of the story or setting… and I’m not a fan of gambling. I can understand and appreciate the technical merits of most games of chance where the goal is to manage or manipulate the system to tip the odds in your favor, but I find it barely interesting as an academic exercise and certainly not entertaining. Fortunately, this show effectively treats the gambling like a “magic black box” where winning and losing is not determined by probability management, but magic, spirit and/or will power. In other words, the gambling is a flashy and fun backdrop for, and setting to explain the competitions, but nothing more. So… the other side of that coin is that if you’re a gambler (or even just a fan of gambling) you may be offended by the way gambling is portrayed in this anime. I can’t really say since that’s not me, but I could imaging it may rub some people who appreciate the technical aspects of things like poker the wrong way.

So… to sum it up: Episodes 1-6 are light and fun and really easy to watch. Episodes 7-9 get progressively heavier and darker despite what I think is a clear effort to retain the up-beat feel of the first half. There’s just no way to tell the story they wanted to tell without it being depressing and unpleasant at times. Episodes 10-13 climb back up to happy, but it’s an up-hill battle. To be fair, the whole show has tried to ratchet up the tension at times all the way throughout, and the 7-9 arc is a reasonable progression of that. It’s not bad, and as I said, it pulls out and the mood improves as the series continues to a happy ending.

Finally I’d like to comment on the fan service (which is present throughout). In the early part, it’s played for laughs. All the girls know all about the pervy casino owner and put up with his ridiculous requests in a sort of sisterhood of those-who-must-endure-the-dirty-old-but-effectively-harmless-man. Again it comes off as harmless if a bit weird fun. While the fan service continues throughout, it’s so overshadowed in the second half by everything else, I barely noticed it… Objectively I know it was there… it just loses it’s appeal (and it’s comic effectiveness is reduced) as you wade through the drama taking place.

Well, that’s it. I did enjoy the series. Now that I know what I’ll get when I re-watch it, I’ll be sure to re-watch when I’m in the right mood for what it provides. That’s the whole point after all. First runs are always a gamble… you get what you get, rarely is it exactly what you want. In this case it wasn’t what I wanted but it wasn’t bad either and I’m sure I’ll want what it offers again at some point in the future. I do wish it didn’t go quite as dark as it did though. Anyway, c’est la vie.