Infinite Stratos Complete Collection [Blu-ray] by Section 23

Actors

• Kouki Uchiyama
• Josh Grelle
• Yoko Hikasa
• Monica Rial
• Asami Shimoda

Format

• Animated
• Subtitled
• Widescreen

Editorial Review

Based on the light novels of Izuru Yumizuru, the comedy-adventure Infinite Stratos (2011) blends two popular anime genres: the mecha adventure and the harem comedy. Fifteen-year-old Ichika Orimura is the only boy who can activate one of the super-sophisticated mecha suits known as Infinite Stratos–and the only male student at the academy that trains pilots. (Although the Stratos suits represent a breakthrough in weaponry, international treaties dictate they only be used for Olympics-style matches.) Not surprisingly, Ichika attracts the attention of the top pilot cadets who set out to defeat him, then fall for him: Celia Alcott from England; Rinin Fan (China); Charlotte Dunois (France); Laura Bodewig (Germany); and his elementary school friend, kendo champion Houki Shinonono. In the best anime tradition, Ichika remains blithely clueless about being the object of everyone's affection, despite declarations of love and fan service jiggle scenes. Director Yasuhito Kikuchi choreographs the aerial duels with agreeable panache, and the designs of the Stratos suits are striking. Instead of forming enclosed units like the Gundam models, the segments of the Infinite Stratos fit like old-fashioned armor, leaving the head and parts of the limbs bare. Infinite Stratos may not be a particularly original or weighty series, but it is an entertaining one. The two-part OVA continues the characters' adventures outside the academy and includes the inevitable visit to a summer festival with yukata, games, cotton candy, and fireworks. The Blu-ray set comes with a soundtrack CD of related pop songs. (Rated TV 14 V: violence, violence against women, nudity, risqué humor, ethnic stereotypes, alcohol use) –Charles Solomon