Konnichiwa Hivers, it's me, your ridgette again! For today, I'm going to share a review of the story of a girl who once lost people that she loved. Losing them was hard, but that didn't stop her from chasing her dreams—their dreams. Together with her best friend, they vowed to live in the sea, to protect the sea, and lastly, to sail on the sea. They both dreamt to be Blue Mermaids, but that dream is bound to be tested. With the emergence of an unknown threat, the depth of their friendship will be measured, and the strength of their dreams will be put to the test. Will they overcome the turmoil that they'll encounter? Or will they sink to the depths of uncertainty and sadness?
About the Anime
High School Fleet (Haifuri) is a seinen anime that premiered in the spring of 2016. It aired from April 10, 2016 to June 26, 2016. It's created under Production IMS, and its genre is action. The main themes of this anime were focused on the military and school. It has 12 episodes, and it doesn't have source material because it's an original TV anime series that later had a manga adaptation.
After a major war, the Japanese experienced a vast land subsidence. In place of the submerged urban areas, giant floating ships were constructed. These ships became floating cities, thus propelling Japan's seaborne development, and that's how Japan became a maritime nation. Almost all of the ships that were built for the military were put to civilian use, and from there came the legacy of seafaring women who became captains and protectors of the sea. The emergence of those seafaring women became the beginning of the Blue Mermaids.
Live on the sea!
Protect the sea!
Sail the sea!
That's the Blue Mermaids!
Nine years after both vowing to each other that they'd be Blue Mermaids, Moka and Mike met again at the entrance ceremony of Yokusuka Girls' Marine High School. Almost nearing their dreams, they were happy to finally meet, only to be separated again. Although they both hoped that they'd be on the same ship, they ended up on different ships, both of them as captains. Assigned to Harekaze, a destroyer-class ship, Mike was upset because she would be apart from her friend again, and somehow she's unconfident in her skills to be a captain. On the other hand, Moka was also melancholic about their separation, but Mike immediately consoled her. After that, they repeated their vows nine years ago, but this time with their promise to do their best, graduate, and become Blue Mermaids.
Still in doubt, Mike proceeds to their ship, and coincidentally, she meets again the sulky girl, who turns out to be the deputy captain of their ship. She met her before the ceremony, and their meeting was not that good. After all the formalities and talk of their instructor, they soon proceeded to their ship, and of 'course the crew on the deck proceeded to the usual introduce yourself session. They now started their first voyage, and the excitement was apparent in them, but soon their excitement died down as they encountered problems. Late for their first nautical training session, they sent an apology beforehand, but upon their arrival at the rendezvous, ammunition was fired toward them.
Thinking that this was maybe just a punishment, they quickly maneuvered and dodged the attacks. They immediately radioed an apology for tardiness, but there was no response. The attacks continued, and this time the aim is getting more precise. They also noticed that their instructor was using live ammunition. Perplexed and desperate, they decided to use their flags to signal their apology, but to no avail; the attacks didn't cease.
Left with no choice, Mike was forced to strike back to protect everyone on their ship. Intending to just stop the attacks, they launch a torpedo attack with a training shell on it. After stopping the Sarushima, they decided to retreat for awhile. The news of the incident spread, but it seemed a little off. Due to their counterattack with their instructor, their ship was mutinied. The crew was shocked and worried about that news.
Little did they know that this mutiny problem was just the tip of the problems they will encounter on the uncertain sea. They're going to face more problems—the ones that will test the characters they have, the bonds they made, and untimately the will they have to become fully-fledged protectors of the sea—Blue Mermaids.
This type of anime wasn't the usual kind I like. It was totally new for me to watch an almost all-girl anime because what I usually watched was shounen. I find it quite weird and interesting to see cute anime girls battling in the sea like badasses. It's really entertaining to see high school girls sailing and doing work that men usually do. Its plot isn't that heavy because, even though they're in the face of problems, I don't feel the tension that much because how could you possibly be stressed out while watching cute girls?
I've already watched cute anime girls before, but it's the first time I watched them dominate the show. It's refreshing because they're like a fresh break from the heaviness that I've watched lately. The plot, though not that unique, has a charm to it. It started with a mystery, and I guess I didn't expect it to end that way because I'm a pessimistic person. As for the characters, I'm glad that they have individual development because I don't like how their characters were portrayed at first. Although I know they're intentionally portrayed that way so that they can have character developments, I can't help but expect the worst to happen, which fortunately didn't. The characters were pretty diverse, and I like how the main characters didn't hoard all the spotlight.
The usual comedic gags were there, and I find some quite cringy (maybe I'm not just used to it), but anyway, I like how it adds to the wholesomeness of the story. As for its visuals, it was pretty neat. Honestly, I'm not really fond of this art style, but nevertheless, it suited its theme. Although it's a seinen anime, I'm quite surprised that it's a wholesome anime. It does have battles with a lot of naval terminologies and jargon, which took me a couple of episodes to get used to, but if you're not a fan of bloody battles, then this is definitely for you. The effects and music were placed adeptly, thus making the whole battle cinematic more exciting and enjoyable.
Overall, my personal rating for this anime is 7/10. It was pretty entertaining, yet I find it quite dragging to watch. I don't know, but it took me 3 days to watch all of the episodes, which was dismal for me because it only had 12 episodes. It started pretty interesting, but later my interest died down, so I guess that became the reason why it took me quite a while to finish it. Anyway, I finished it, and, for me, it ended satisfyingly. So if you're looking for a wholesome anime with cute characters and awesome (bloodless) battles on the sea, then High School Fleet is definitely a must watch!
Before I end this review, I gladly share with you its trailer, so—
That's all for now, Hivers. I hope you enjoy reading my anime review. See you on my next blog!
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne minna-san~
The pictures that didn't have a source were from the screenshots of the anime's episode, while the last picture was edited in Canva.