The "Unknown Enemy attacking Earth" is a tried and true trope, but scantily clad, pale and uncommunicative 14 year old girls seems an odd choice to represent the enemy, but even stranger is what defends humanity.
14 year old girls skating through the water with miniature Battleship turrets / parts hanging off their legs and backs. That is unless the girls are "Carriers" and then they have part of the Aircraft Carrier's deck hanging from their waists (and arms once they "equip").
The enemy "Abyssal" monsters were interesting, some appearing to be giant mutant demonic whales, others warped crabs or other creatures.
Combats seemed really odd as the girls tiny weapons fired disproportionately large shells and arrows fired from the "Carrier Group" turned into squadrons of what appeared to be "Zero's". Additionally the combats were without any real substance, there was no real danger. When the fleet groups were outnumbered massively and under fire they would escape nearly unscathed, but when convenient for the story a lone enemy fighter will "sink" one of the girls with a single shot.
Overall in a very broad brush way the story unfolds along the lines of "Strike Witches", a new addition to the group without combat experience, who's also supposed to be exceptionally powerful, performs poorly at first but makes the decision to work hard and train to become the best all the while being insanely cheerful. Add the typical stumbles, comic relief in the form of horrible performance while training, pair of extra supportive friends, an idol to look up to, random naval terms inserted into every conversation and you have a very silly trope filled series.
If you're a fan of the "Magical Girls" genre (yes they aren't magical but in every other way it fits) this will likely be enjoyable, but if not I'd suggest a hard pass.
Pros:
Cons:
The enemy "Abyssal" monsters were interesting, some appearing to be giant mutant demonic whales, others warped crabs or other creatures.
Combats seemed really odd as the girls tiny weapons fired disproportionately large shells and arrows fired from the "Carrier Group" turned into squadrons of what appeared to be "Zero's". Additionally the combats were without any real substance, there was no real danger. When the fleet groups were outnumbered massively and under fire they would escape nearly unscathed, but when convenient for the story a lone enemy fighter will "sink" one of the girls with a single shot.
Overall in a very broad brush way the story unfolds along the lines of "Strike Witches", a new addition to the group without combat experience, who's also supposed to be exceptionally powerful, performs poorly at first but makes the decision to work hard and train to become the best all the while being insanely cheerful. Add the typical stumbles, comic relief in the form of horrible performance while training, pair of extra supportive friends, an idol to look up to, random naval terms inserted into every conversation and you have a very silly trope filled series.
If you're a fan of the "Magical Girls" genre (yes they aren't magical but in every other way it fits) this will likely be enjoyable, but if not I'd suggest a hard pass.
Pros:
- Interesting monsters.
- Unique costumes for some of the ship classes.
- None of the random Ecchi moments of "Strike Witches".
- Above average and consistent animation.
- Flashbacks have a very noir feel, cleanly delineating it.
- English Dubbing.
Cons:
- Exceptionally predictable.
- Silly to a fault.
- Depends to heavily on "Deus Ex Machina" moments.
- Unexplained and random scantily clad "Bunny Girl"' (Ship groups typically have matching outfits / uniforms).