Chrome Shelled Regios is set in a post-apocalyptic polluted earth that is overrun by mutated beasts called Filth Monsters (Contaminoids in FUNimation's English dub). Because of these beasts, humans are forced to live in large mobile cities called Regios; also, people must learn to use weapons called DITE. A major setting in the series is Academy City Zuellni, a University City that is governed by its students.
Layfon Alseif comes to Academy City Zuellni as a Liberal Arts student in the hopes of starting a new life and moving on from his past. Unfortunately, Karian Loss, the head of the student council, witnesses Layfon's abilities when he saves another student from danger. Karian blackmails Layfon to join the Military Arts, and even upgrades his scholarship to rank A and waives his scholarship fees. Layfon also catches the attention of Nina Antalk, a Military Arts student and Captain of the 17th Platoon; she gets Layfon to join her squadron.
I watched the first episode of this series, which featured a fractured reality to its storytelling. The episode opens with a group fighting with a Filth Monster for a few minutes, and then switches to the story of Layfon going to Academy Zuellni and ending up in the Military Arts. Then, the episode returns to the battle in the opening of the episode. Unfortunately, there really wasn't a framework for the fractured reality, and so much was being thrown at the audience in the first episode, that it made it very hard for me to truly follow and understand what was going on.
When it comes to the animation, there's an attempt to combine traditional animation with computer graphics. Unfortunately, the computer graphics were done in such a way that they stand out so much from the traditional animation that it ends up drawing too much attention to itself. In fact, I found myself being distracted by the computer graphics whenever they appeared on the screen.
There was some violence in the episode that I viewed, and the only blood I remember seeing came from the Filth Monster during the battle sequences at the beginning and the end of the episode. However, if the storytelling continues with the fractured reality that was seen in the first episode, then I would have to say that it's a series that's better viewed by older teens and adults. Personally, I would recommend Chrome Shelled Regios for anime viewers who are 15 or 16 years of age and older.
| Chrome Shelled Regios | 24 | 2009 | Itsuro Kawasaki | Zexcs | FUNimation Entertainment |
