Buddy Complex

When ordinary high school student Aoba Watase is suddenly targeted by a giant robot known as a "Valiancer," he is saved by his mysterious classmate Hina Yumihara. After revealing that she and their robotic enemy are from the future, Hina suddenly propels Aoba 70 years forward in order to prevent his death.

Upon arrival, Aoba finds himself in the cockpit of a Valiancer called "Luxon," stuck in the midst of a firefight between the military forces of the Free Pact Alliance (FPA) and Zogilia Republic. After he shows high compatibility with an FPA pilot named Dio Weinberg, the two perform a successful "coupling," allowing them to share experiences and subsequently increase their capabilities and skills. Although Aoba is able to survive this unexpected battle, he is taken into custody by the FPA ship Cygnus, who wishes to interrogate him. While the student's main concern is whether he will ever be able to return home, what he doesn't realize is that he is about to get caught up in a war to protect the world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yumihara, Hina Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Watase, Aoba Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Weinberg Junyou, Dio Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Nasu, Mayuka ing

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Gerafil, Bizon ing

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Rossetti, Anessa ing

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Soeharto ing

Miyashita, Eiji Japanese

Vantarhei, Fromm ing

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Vasily, Tarjim ing

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Junyou, Fiona Weinberg ing

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Hirayama, Tadashi Producer

Makimoto, Yuki Producer

Tanabe, Yasuhiro Director

Tsuruoka, Youta Sound Director

Reviews

Jun 10, 2024

spacenewtype

Recommended

Nice little show, though it feels like it had enough steam to go at least for a 25 episode run, if not a full 50. I don't know why it wasn't longer... Amazingly, it does manage to wrap the story up well enough in a two-parter which is quite impressive. I wish there were more, though, and as a result there isn't as much to dig into and love as there might have been if it were longer.

It is very competent in just about everything it tries, though it does not break new ground anywhere really. If you've ever enjoyed a Sunrise mecha anime ... in the past, you'll likely enjoy this one too.

The Japanese performances are excellent as you'd expect, the music is good - especially the opening theme. The strongest element in this show for me was the character designs. There's something about them I find really appealing, something like a cross between Cross Ange and Eureka 7.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Nov 16, 2024

kottadragon

Mixed Feelings

Buddy Complex is okay. It’s fine. This show has serious potential, but it fails to deliver on any of it or knock you out of your seat, so what you’re left with by the end is a fairly bog standard anime that leaves no lasting impression, to the point where reviewing it actually took a fair bit of introspection just to tackle what it does wrong and what it does right.

The main critique I would level at Buddy Complex is its story and its main cast. I have never seen somebody so slow on the uptake when it comes to the mechanics of a time ... travel plot; it’s one thing that Aoba does not grasp the exact nature of the situation thrust upon him, but he spends so much time repeating the exact same talking points to people about events they clearly have no knowledge of, due to not experiencing them yet, that you are left with the impression Aoba grew up under a rock. It’s the kind of handling that blows straight past portraying somebody ignorant of a trope into a denial of common sense and basic deduction.

Then there’s Hina, who has a whole lot of problems and is a pretty big can of worms that’s difficult to tackle while remaining spoiler-free. Suffice it to say, I’m surprised she’s portrayed as having any real loyalty to Zogilia, our main antagonist, when it seems to mean nothing in the face of her defection—an inevitable story point you will be aware of by the end of episode 1.

Ultimately, to praise Buddy Complex after ragging on it for a minute, the cast of side characters are rather likable for what screen time they get. The only real complaint in regards to any of them is that they would have benefitted from time in the spotlight that was wasted on the main cast without really adding extra dimensions to them.

As things progress, you definitely feel that things are picking up momentum. But the highs of the climax were damaged by the inane nature of Hina’s arc, to the point I was actually sympathizing with Bizon who was feeling more and more like the lone sane man in a mad world.

As for the visuals, Sunrise was once again doing what they do best. The artistry of the show is consistent, there is never a noticeable drop in quality and said quality is quite good for the year it was released without being anything exceptional. However, they do deserve praise for delivering more 2d mechs rather than resorting to taking the lazy, easy way out with CG.

The mechs themselves are sadly nothing to write home about on this one, which is the biggest mark the show has going for it after the characters. Bradyon and Luxon are some of the most generic and forgettable MC suits I’ve seen in a long time, and as for other ‘Valiancers’, they sadly don’t get enough time to leave an impression. For the most part, fights spend as much time in the cockpit as they do showing you the actual battle, so you never really get the chance to appreciate what you’re looking at.

Fights that could be much worse. Enemy commanders do a good job of not falling into the same tactical rut. Once something loses its tactical edge, they tend to approach the issue from a different angle, so you are exposed to a nice bit of variety at least in that regard. Praise that I have to immediately damage because every fight ends in the exact way. The MCs break out their special technique, the show’s one piece of memorable music kicks in, and then it’s over or time for a retreat.

That sums up Buddy Complex pretty well. It does something good, then it does something to damage that. 8s? 7s? Buddy Complex is no higher than a 6 and it gets a 5 from me. There are much better pickings out there for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 12, 2014

Dark_Sister

Not Recommended

Second season? Seriously? I will probably watch it because it’s gonna be hard to make it more boring than first one, so maybe I won’t be so disappointed next time, but why just 4?
Story: 2/10
What story? Only the first and the last episode were really worth watching - even though the whole “time travelling” thing doesn’t make any sense… Hey, I’m really curious how Aoba got into the future first time? Cause there must have been reason for Bizon to find him in the past, right? But I expected too much – the whole plot aimed to explain how Hina got in Aoba’s ... world and that’s all. Rest of the story is vague and we would have not lost anything significant if they had cut off this 11 episodes.
Characters: 5/10
Sorry, but cuteness is not any determinant for me. Characters are 100% schematic and their decisions tend to be reckless at least – with Aoba at the helm, and there’s nothing worse that irritating protagonist.
Art+ Animation: 8/10
The only point to watch this anime. If you like to watch fighting mechas and colorful, bright and precise animation that’s anime for you. Plus – pretty girls and fancy uniforms;)
Music: 5/10
Not bad, absolutely neutral. I have to it that I am not able to call in my memory anything which could disturb my reception in some way.
Enjoyment: 4/10
… Which was powered by unceasing expectation for something MORE than next the same looking battle or another character who disappears on following episode and doesn’t play any role in the series. As I wrote earlier – only animation met with my expectations.
Overall: 4/10
This anime is wasted. It could be really great mecha series with some dose of mystery bound up with time travelling, which is just perfect instrument to make a little mess in our heads, but…
It wasn’t such a waste of time after all, but I think this effect was possible only if you watch it week after week, because if you watch it at once there’s a danger that monotony will kill your enthusiasm.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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