Daphne in the Brilliant Blue is an anime series that features cute girls carrying big weapons and wearing very little. This description will no doubt sound familiar to many of our readers. But fortunately, this series has enough strong points to put it a notch or two above most of the other animes that share a similar concept.
Maia is an innocent young girl who by chance comes to join the Nereids Kamchatka Branch, a ‘secure, trusted, all-around service provider’. The team, consisting of Rena, Shizuka, Gloria and Yu, gets hired to carry out jobs ranging from trivial ones like finding lost pets and collecting debt, to daring missions like catching seriously bad criminals and terrorists. Constantly looking for business, these girls are beautiful, dangerous, and desperate for work…
The team members that make up the Nereids are an interesting and likeable bunch of characters. There is the boss woman Rena, the nerdy but cute mechanic Shizuka, Gloria the crazy chick who is very good with guns, Yu the tough fighter with a tendency for violence, and Maia the newcomer who is particularly good at deep sea navigation. Each of the team members has her own strengths and weaknesses, and the different personalities create much conflict and many fights, as well as more than a few laugh-out-loud moments and some really funny situations.
The story is an interesting one, and moves forward at a fast pace. It starts by introducing viewers to Maia, followed by each of the other members of the Nereids. Once all the main characters have been introduced, viewers get to see the team of girls go on many different missions. These are by far the most enjoyable and thrilling parts of the series. The final episodes are mainly concerned with Maia’s past, which is interesting but definitely not as fun to watch as the crazy adventures of the Nereids that come before.
This anime series is beautiful to watch. Every frame is saturated with colours. The backgrounds are detailed, while the characters, especially the main character Maia, are lively and beautifully drawn. The facial expressions look real, and the movement is fluid.
The fluidity of the animation is best appreciated in the action scenes, which are really cool. The fight sequences are fast and furious, and the gun battles are explosive and exciting. The only thing I am not so certain about is why the girls have to wear so little when they carry out their missions, which seems not entirely necessary. Is it for ease of movement? Is it to distract their male opponents making them easy targets? In any case, it will surely satisfy the fantasies of some viewers.
Overall, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue is quite a brilliant anime series. It is not just another anime featuring ‘hot babes carrying big guns’. The fantastic elements, such as the interesting characters, the wonderful visuals, the cool action and humour all fit together to make it work so well. This well-made anime makes for wonderful entertainment, and may well be one of the most enjoyable ways for you to spend 11 hours of your time.