An anime original series, was really looking forward to “Galileo Donna” after seeing its promotional video which looked very promising.
Some of the imagery and themes in the trailer suggested this show might be a bit like “R.O.D. The TV”or “Real Drive”, since it would depict a future world where advanced technology goes hand in hand with older gear, all mixed in a more unique style.
Have been enjoying “Galileo Donna” so far, but must admit it has not quite lived up to my expectations, more particularly in what type of series it would actually be. Also do think that this show, even though it is a solid production, will not achieve its full potential as its good individual parts just don’t seem to come together as a masterpiece.
To be fair, the series not (yet) living up to my personal expectations may be due to the fact had thought this series would be as enchanting as “Last Exile” or “Real Drive”, which sets the bar rather high. While “Galileo Donna” does create a peculiar and unique world, some inconsistencies and the overall styling make it fall short of those other shows.
Their use of a futuristic earth that is besieged by a new ice age and plagued by greedy corporations doing whatever they please is an interesting concept but the overall execution leaves to be desired and alas also highlights inconsistencies.
In an attempt to insert retro technology by giving the characters old pistols and machine guns, they create a jarring juxtaposition by also applying this to the police forces, this simply doesn’t fit at all with it being an era where piracy and terrorism are daily occurrences.
In the past few episodes, several key scenes were spent depicting the background of ruthless murderer and corporate lackey Roberto, which gave his character much needed depth and makes him far more interesting as well as a challenging character to try and define.
Wish they would actually flesh out the characters of the three Ferrari sisters like that too, would be interesting if the studio took some risks by having them evolve in a more interesting direction.
Of the three sisters, only Hazuki’s character has really been challenged and she changed the most, with Hozuki and Kazuki just barely breaking the basic limited character mould. A shame since both girls show lots of potential for interesting character development.
Animation by studio A1 pictures is quite good, there’s enough attention put into creating fluid action scenes but most care seems to go into rendering the three Ferrari sisters as they always look very well animated and as such irresistibly cute, especially Hozuki. In contrast, scenes featuring supporting or background characters can look less well cared for.
The youngest Ferrari sister Hozuki is voiced by Hidaka Rona, she previously voiced Nana in “Love Lab!”, Last Order in “To aru Majutsu no Index”, Yukino in “Accel World” and Anko in “Tamako Market”.
Ookubo Rumi voices Kazuki, she also voiced Chinatsu in “Yuru Yuri”, Touko in “Servant x Service” and Yuzuko in “Yuyushiki”.
Oldest sister Hazuki is voiced by Shindou Kei, she previously tackled roles like Kagami Kuro in “Kodomo no Jikan”, Gentoku in “Ikki Tousen” and Wang Lui Mei in “Gundam 00”.
Marina Inou voices Anna, she’s voiced many characters like Kana in “Minami-ke”, Laura in “IS Infinite Stratos”, Yozora in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, Matsurika in “Maria†Holic”and even male characters like Natsuru in “Kämpfer”, Wataru in “Hayate no Gotoku” or Armin in “Shingeki no Kyojin”.
Even though am still unsure how good this series will be overall and even less sure how it will end, regardless of the classic outcomes its current plot may have, do still recommend “Galileo Donna” as it does provide solid entertainment.
