«©NCSX» Japanese animated serials come and go every year. Some become legendary like Evangelion but most just serve their primary purpose (ad revenue), tell an engaging story, and then lay dormant for future generations to rediscover. Along the way from birth to retirement, an anime might engender gobs of merchandising for additional revenue.
Disney cracked into the Japanese animated serial market earlier this year with a little number called Fireball which is designed to appeal to Japanese tastes. The main character is a robot-girl named Hatsune Miki who also goes by "Drossel" and she's accompanied by a spidery robot named "Gedächtnis" which is the German word for "memory." Drossel is a mech-girl, speaks with a strong yet feminine voice, and wears a twintail "hairdo" which is the similar to the one that's planted on the popular Hatsune Miku of Vocaloid2 fame. Drossel should have ruled Japan by the 13th episode but we're guessing she won't be gain much traction now that the series has concluded unless season 2 is announced.
Despite the obvious design conventions that appeal to lovers of robo-anime, Drossel doesn't really have a likable personality. Maybe she's too curt, too forgetful, and too discourteous. The episodes we've watched are dry with subtle jokes and Japanese wordplay involved. Either you get the humor or the jokes will fly over your head at 90mph. Every episode begins with Drossel calling Gedächtnis a different name such as "Sancho Panza" and Gedächtnis correcting her. From there, Drossel and Gedächtnis banter about varous subjects for less than 2 minutes until the abrupt conclusion of the episode. Despite our doubts about Drossel becoming a superstar, Max Factory starts the merchandising ball rolling with a Drossel figma figure which looks pretty good. The design is clean and the usual figma articulation allows the figure to be posed and tilted into various action poses. An assortment of accessories is also bundled in the package including a flight attachment called the Obruchev as seen in episode 3 and the Prospero reference book which Gedächtnis used in episode 7 to demonstrate some examples of human salutations which included a snippet of Ebonics. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2009 at JPY3000 or US$32.90 from NCS.
