Finally, months after shelving Simoun at the third episode, fansubbers got their shit straight and started releasing new episodes. I have no clue why Simoun hasn't been getting the fan support it deserves. Although it's shaping up to be a great series, enough negative reviews have been posted to Anime News Network to give it a spot on their Most Diverging Opinions list. Considering that it's currently ranked somewhere in between Princess 69 and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, something about this show must be pissing a few people off. I don't get it. The only criticism I have of Simoun is the initial incoherence caused by unexplained terminology:
I still don't know what this means.
Nevermind what a Simoun Simula is, or for that matter, how Chor Tempest forms a Remergion in the Tempus Spatiem. I'll admit that having all that crap thrown at me in the first episode was annoying, but a bad first impression doesn't justify writing a scathing review. In fact, I'm usually unimpressed by the first episode of a series.
Last Exile, the more well known anime about aircraft piloting duos, was an excellent show, but it pissed me off in the first episode with shitty battle tactics. In one particular scene, riflemen standing on platforms on opposing airships engage in organized crossfire. What the hell is that supposed to accomplish? Instead of using the troops to achieve a strategic advantage, such as damaging the enemy ship or forcing a retreat, the two dipshit commanders just ordered their troops shoot at each other for no reason. I'm not one to complain about pointless bloodshed, but that battle was so worthless that I almost stopped watching the series.
Rifles in an airship battle? Worthless.
Simoun kicks off when a nation plagued by industrial smog attempts to invade a mystical nation in order to learn the secret to their remarkably powerful yet emissions-free energy source. Little do they know that their much sought after alternative to fossil fuels is a simple inexhaustible resource: Lesbians. I kid you not -- all it takes to power their ships is a little girl-on-girl action. It's awesome.
This was not taken out of context. Or was it...
Still not sold? The checklist is in good shape after only 6 episodes:
| Well developed minor characters |  |
| At least one subplot | |
| Comical victimization | |
| Recurring random character(s) |  |
| Badass mid-episode transitions | |
| Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura | |
| Opening by Chiaki Ishikawa (Yuki Kajiura's partner in the musical duo See-Saw) | |
| Lesbians | |
| Stylish visual effects | |
| A consistently timed ending theme (22:45) | |
| Dinosaurs | |
| Graphic violence | |
| A character vaguely resembling myself | |
| A pimp in a white suit | |
| Self-parody | |