Battle Girl Time Paradox
In this re-envisioned version of the Romance of the three Kingdoms we find a story about a young girl named Hideyoshi. Stumbling upon a time warp created by a supposed stranger, Hideyoshi suddenly finds herself transported to another dimension located within the distant past. To Hideyoshi's surprise, she finds that only women and girls exist in this universe. Chief amongst them are the war lords that lead the chaos in these warring states. Throwing her lot in with Oda Nubunaga, a big breasted warlord who aims to conquer the land by acquiring a crimson set of armor that is fabled to make its wearer invincible, Hideyoshi must figure out a way to make it back home.
This anime had an interesting concept by re-envisioning the classic Romance of the three Kingdoms into an all-female universe, but this was also the perfect set up for tons and tons of fan service. This anime was definitely directed towards a more mature audience. Most of the armor designs for these female warriors hardly covered anything, let alone providing any adequate protection in battle. It was clearly designed for fan service. It's common to find massive breasts practically overflowing from miniscule breast plates and crotch guards squeezing thighs so tightly that it's a wonder that anyone could move at all. This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.
Hideyoshi has definitely earned the award for most annoying protagonist in the world. She whines, complains, squeals, and is just a general hindrance throughout the entirety of this short series (thirteen episodes), but somehow Oda Nubanaga can't seem to conquer the land without her. It was a bit of a turn off quite frankly, but focusing on other aspects of this anime can help you bear with it.
It's a bit funny that for an anime that revolves around the warring states, there was an extraordinary lack of action. Don't get me wrong, there was action and it was quite spectacular to behold, but there was not nearly enough of it. This anime could have been so much more, so much better if they had thrown in some more of those beautifully choreographed action scenes that we seemed to get every other episode.
The plot left much to be desired. Overall, the general goal was the retrieval of the crimson armor, but the group was so bogged down with silly antics and miscellaneous adventures that by the time they got back on track, the series was practically done. On that note, the pacing could have been spaced out a bit more. Spreading this anime out between two seasons not only would have helped the plot not feel so rushed, but it also would have helped the character development considerably. Due to its thirteen episode length, everything kind of fell together with no significant struggle. There was no sense of real achievement or accomplishment.
The artwork was absolutely beautiful. From the character design to the backdrops, Battle Girl Time Paradox definitely knew how to impress visually. With a dramatic soundtrack to back it up, this anime was definitely a grade 'A' production.
Battle Girl Time Paradox was an okay anime. It definitely had its flaws, but they didn't completely cripple the anime as a whole. There was quite a bit of humor present that made me crack a smile from time to time, so I can't in good conscious completely condemn this anime. I'm giving Battle Girl Time Paradox 6 out of 10. I recommend this one to the action fans who don't mind distracting fan service.
