Grenadier
Grenadier revolved around a world transitioning from steel weaponry to the deadly efficiency of massed produced firearms. Due to this highly volatile shift, many countries have become hot spots for violence. This is the stage where Tendou Rushina attempts to make sense out of a senseless world. Her strategy, considered the ‘ultimate strategy’ by some, of disarming her opponents will to fight with a smile (and smothering their faces into her massive breasts), defines her personality and character.
To begin with, the action was amazing. Though Rushina constantly preached of peace through non-aggression, she constantly found herself in situations where she is forced to use the pistol strapped crookedly to her waist. Her ability to shoot anything at any distance, coupled with her unwillingness to kill another human being, leave behind a trail of wounded, yet still breathing bad guys.
Now, keep in mind that this anime has plenty of fan service. Rushina’s massive tatas were a common sight throughout the series. They actually provided a rather convenient place for her to store her bullets. If you're an admirer of fan service, Rushina's character design won't disappoint you.
I hated the music. It was simply dreadful and generic as hell. I’ve heard better musical scores from mice squeaking in a sewer. The artwork wasn’t much to speak of either. I don’t know what it was, but I really could not bring myself to enjoy any aspect of the art what-so-ever.
The secondary characters were pretty much useless. Rushina ends up traveling with a samurai named Yajiro whose sword skills were the last thing needed in a world slowly being dominated by guns. He typically ended up only getting in Rushina’s way. The one and only time he proves his usefulness is in the last fight of the series, but that's a pretty sad compensation for being an ineffective character for the entire series.
Another thing that pissed me off about this anime, was the feeling of being rushed. The anime starts off slow and the audience is just getting to really know Rushina and Yajiro, but suddenly it’s like two seasons worth of action is stuffed into a measly twelve episodes. As a result, not only did the story line suffer, but so did the character development. The viewer really wasn’t introduced to the real Tendou Rushin. I just feel that the story should have delved much deeper into her past, so that the viewer could relate more with her character. You might as well forget about any of the secondary characters (Yajiro is the exception though only slightly).
Grenadier had its good points, but it definitely had way more faults. I feel that the anime could have been so much more then what it was, but what with its terrible character development and rushed pacing, I’m giving Grenadier 5 out of 10. I recommend this one for the action fan who is looking for a short yet simple anime.
