byBlazingLion on2014-05-17 00:11

I disliked the fighting 3D CGI apart from that it was a surprising watch that I'm sure I would have enjoyed more had I not been spoiled by other anime that have done what this anime did but better. Still that's my opinion and this anime was still great and you should form your own opinion!

bysilvergoku on2013-09-05 22:50

Awesome series, first few episodes are alright but when you keep on watching it, it gets better and better. Just wish it had more to it. Worst part is like this imagine world war 2, things start and in the middle of the war things change and you didn't know anything anymore. Anyways awesome show middle and ending. Must see.

byc3zar on2011-09-29 10:44

Try it you won't feel sorry

byblugaman on2011-05-02 04:35

MUST SEE!! in the first 6 episodes the main character is an arrogant idiotic brat but after the beginning episodes it gets so much better!! its a good comedy action love triangulary anime. well in the final episode theres a tiny detail that bugs me but probly not for others cuz im weird that way :D otherwise perfect ending! overall MUST SEE!!!

bydokudokugwoni on2010-10-13 05:15

I wished the main character would die in the first few eps... and wanted to stop watching... a friend told me to keep going and I was pleasantly surprised. Huge twists and turns, ended up being an amazing show.

bypredgb on2010-08-12 22:48

Comedy, action, nice music and a superb story. This is a MUST SEE.

bymoont14263 on2010-07-26 10:28

Awesome. Hayase rules.

byRovon on2010-05-30 20:28

In the first few ep, the main character is really dislikable, childish, etc. But thankfully (and slowly), he grows into the role. This is one of those series, where you need to give more than one chance to it, but it becomes more than you would expect at the beginning... I hated it first, now its one of my favorite series...

bysammy321 on2009-07-28 08:19

This is one of those series where you aren't expecting much but then this series delivers with comedy, plot and ecchi. Surprisingly enough, its a very good series

byirohma on2012-09-11 17:37

Review
This. This show. Because of it I barely watched anime for about two years. It was maybe the first show I've fully watched that annoyed me so much I started to look with different eyes to everything else I've seen since then. The good part of it is that my critical opinion about the japanese industry took a drastic change, something that I believe helped me filtering the sh*t shows and becoming somehow immune to most hype they create these days.

Yet, Linebarrels of Iron (Linebarrels) still bring back some terrible memories whenever I mention it. A dramatic tale, a shonen epic, a promising show that slowly learned how to become worse and worse. Nearly all elements that I've always disliked about the japanese industry are here, and the mix manages to extract the worst of each of them.

Linebarrels is the tale of Kouichi Hayase, a normal highschool boy who was always bullied and tormented. He is weak and submissive, only managing to survive in school because he is always saved by his best dude Yajima and cared by his (girl/childhood)-friend Risako. Yet, one day he is hit by a falling mecha, revived by a mysterious girl and granted super-human powers. At the same time the city is attacked by the Katou Organization and is up to him to save the city with his newly acquired power and the ability to summon the ultimate mecha: Linebarrels.

---

1. The Annoying Protagonist
   "A nice turn of events" as told by Hayase, is what the early episodes of this show is about. It is the cliche'd you'd expect from a shonen-mecha show, yet it has a nice twist to it: Hayase becomes absurdly annoying with his new powers, he turns arrogant, he ignores others and think he is the chosen one. Instead of a typical righteous boy or broken Shinji we have a different starting point for a shonen protagonist.
   
   Great Start
   Perhaps even more interesting than the protagonist's behavior is the initial chain of events. Joined to the typical "save the city from mysterious foes and join NERV... I mean, JUDA", you have some dark drama surrounding the main trio's past, a love polygon, and a slow but steady progression of Hayase's behavior that culminates into a interesting and promising death of an important character. But from there, my friends, the shows embarks in a one-way trip to the sewers of japanese industry.
   
   Want some harem or comedy? Dig in!
   Comedy is always welcome to break the mood in some serious shows and ecchiness can be kinda welcome if it comes naturally to the plot (like when having a bunch of horny teenagers for a cast typically does), yet Linebarrels completely miss the mark here. Why? Let's elaborate.
   
   Harem takes over everything in the mid part
   Tired of mecha shows? Linebarrels assumed you are after about five episodes and jumps in the daily life of Hayase and his chick-magnet. He turns from a promising annoying protagonist to the basic harem-lead template. He is aided by the stupid joke of his new boss, who is just an excuse for lame comedy and creating ecchi-scenarios so you can constantly see girls in lingerie, pantsu shots, gropping, swimsuits, even fuc*n tentacles.
   
   As if it couldn't get worse, the plot is nearly forgotten, girls that thought Hayase was annoying magically start swarming over him, his childhood friend makes a return to the spotlight and all males in the vicinity somehow go away to leave Hayase as the only male-alpha in the pack (joined by two boys that could be easily mistaken as girls).
   
   What about the initial drama?
   Oh, you liked the first episodes and thought you were about to see a shonen with meaningful deaths and nice turns of events? You may still hope things will be on rails again after the mid harem-centered part? Ha. Ha. Ha. Unfortunately, Linebarrels never get back on its feet. In fact, whenthe plotline return in the late part you are gifted with stupid revivals, the protagonist turns out to be the only damn person in the entire world who can just put a fight against the enemy's random mob. Betrayals occur out of the blue without any kind of development, the female cast becomes a bunch of frail damsels to be saved by Hayase, and the small comedy input (that was barely fun anyway) is zeroed. Linebarrels mocks the death of its characters and never ever manage to build something nice out of it...
   
   It is Gonzo, after all
   Linebarrels production value is amazing.Gonzodoes an awesome job in both art, animation, and sound direction. It only fails in giving a better opening (seriously, this kind of music will always only work onRozen Maiden or similar stuff) and with the mechas sometimes being unfit to the rest of the art. However, asGonzodictates, the plot will be completely bizarre. It's an attempt to mimicEvangelionthat loses itself to ecchiness and just get as convoluted and unexplained as it could. Here, however, you have no easter eggs, no complex backdrop, or anything else... it's just about people from another world invading ours and a harem-lead using a super-magical mecha against them, while supported by an army of girls that love him somehow.
   

---

Comments
Linebarrels' most annoying factor is its attempt to make you expect a serious show with a deep initial drama and slowly taking everything away from you as the harem, ecchi, and nonsense takes over everything. Every episode from the mid-part foward surprised me in how they could worsen things. A beach episode with tentacles, a christmas episodes with minuscle dresses, pantsu everywhere, a stupid boss who only acts as a ecchi-catalyst, girls who never manage to do anything on their own, a protagonist that turns from annoying boy to harem lead, reviving characters whose death were the only events truly good in the show, making allies and foes switch sides for the sake of having fanservice combats. Hell, it's a neverending list of terrible choices.

The show grew more and more annoying to me, with fillers episodes to show the beach, another to put the girls in short christmas dresses, etc. What it really bothers is that none of these episodes are used to evolve the characters in meaningful way or to bring a better comedy. InFullmetal Panic! we had a beach episode, but with Sanada's completely lack of awareness to bring very comical moments and with a bit of development in his relationship with Akane. Here in Linebarrels is just girls in bikini and mindless scenes, nothing more. It returns to the plot later, but enduring 10 episodes or so of complete nonsense (and bits more of nonsense in the later episodes) is not something I can classify as good.

bydonvermo on2009-06-12 12:16

This show was not what I expected it to be, at first I got a bad
impression of the whole presentation but in the end it turned out to
be an ok show. I intend not to spoil anything so this entire review
is spoiler free, if you have doubts about this show during the first
few episodes then I recommend you keep on watching, the show
changes greatly as it progresses.


Animation Quality
The animation quality was so so, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't
great either. CGI used weren't too impressive but it managed to
get the job done.

Character Designs
The designs seemed ok most of the characters differed from each
other while two of the main characters showed great similarities
and one of them I still had trouble figuring out whether he/she was
male or female (dresses like a guy is refereed to as 'he' but shows
up in a bikini on the beach)

the personalities seemed shallow and uncreative at first but got
seemingly better as the show progressed, the main hero is
portrayed as a random wuss who becomes an ass after obtaining
power. He manages to change his behavior as he learns to look
around himself and accept other people.

Most of the other cast are all part of the echi train as some of
them manage to lose their clothes per accident every chance they
get, however this does not effect the show negatively but rather
positively as the show itself is quite humorous.

OP/ED Animation
The OP/ED combination was rather good, the OP in particular
changed slightly as the story progressed to reveal the plot thus far.
(the OP remained mostly the same but with different scenes)

Story
The story was so so, it's a regular random guy obtains power and
saves the world kind of story but it is mixed here with echi, humor
and life lessons (yeah there are some if you observe)

Enjoyment
Despite being nothing special this show was special for the very
same reason, it didn't try to be something big, it just tried to tell a
used formula in a new and refreshing way and as far as I am
concerned they succeeded, I laughed my ass off while watching
this show and it's a definite must watch for anyone who likes
mecha and echi combined.