Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Aquarion returns with a new series, new characters and a brand new adventure! Inspired by the classic mecha series of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Aquarion Logos is ready to serve up more high-flying robotic battles animated by Satelight, the same team that brought you Log Horizon, Fairy Tail and the first two installments in the Aquarion franchise.
Let me start by saying that I am coming into this series a little bias. Having seen and loved the original Aquarion series and its follow up Aquarion EVOL, I had high expectations for Aquarion Logos. Especially when you consider it was made by the same team who brought us the first two. Sadly, this didn’t live up to the franchise.
Synopsis
Twelve thousand years ago, human voices had defined the true nature of all things, yet the invention of text changed the status quo which created a “Logos World” between the realities of voice and the truth. Up until the modern day, advancements of civilizations have made the Logos World too big to control texts down to their very concept. Seeking to upset this fragile balance is a mogul and sorcerer named Sōgon Kenzaki, who creates monsters called the MJBK (Menace of Japanese with Biological Kinetic energy) who threaten the modern society.
To counter the MJBK, a group of young people blessed with the power of “Verbalism” is assembled by the organization DEAVA (Division of EArth Verbalism Ability) to pilot the vector machines, which are used to form the mechas dubbed “Aquarions”, and among them, a boy and self-proclaimed savior named Akira Kaibuki living in Asagaya.
The Aquarion Franchise
The series itself has no direct connection to the timeline or story of the original 2 series. As part of the 10th anniversary celebration this is a stand alone project and world. The story plot leaves a lot to be desired, as each episode passes with the battle won but no real stakes are felt. The series is certainly a celebration of the basic idea of the Aquarion mecha and the pilots but thats about it.
LOGOs focuses on destroying mutated Kanji that could destroy the world. The silly plot is not new to the franchise which has always had its fair share of silly antics from the characters. LOGOs continues that tradition but lacks the series over-arching plot. Both of the original series for all their silly antics did have an overall story that connected the worlds and had serious undertones. There was also links to various mythologies. LOGOs lacked all of that leaving you feeling rather bored with the series.
As a stand alone series it does not live up to any standard for being classed as a mecha anime, but more perhaps a slice of life series. I would give the series a C overall.
The OVA
As part of the new series an OVA titled Genesis of Aquarion EVOL was released. This OVA brought together both worlds and characters from the original two series. As a 10th anniversary celebrations, this 30 min OVA was far more fun then LOGOS. I wish they had made it go a bit longer, with characters from both worlds having to work together in mixed groups.
Now even though we have basically said pass on Aquarion LOGOS, if you have never seen the original Genesis of Aquarion or Aquarion EVOL, you really should. I would highly recommend both. Click on either of the links to get your copy today and catch up.
