She, the Ultimate Weapon (2002) User Reviews

I'm Sorry... This was rather good

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 4 August 2008]

I hadn't heard of this anime till it was recommended to me on Amazon at a good price, after watching the first episode on line I decided to give it a go and buy it on DVD. I'm glad that I did as it was pretty good. While it is set in a war and there is plenty of action it is at heart a love story, not just between the two protagonists but involving many of the characters.

Shuji is a typical high school student and Chise is his somewhat klutzy girl friend who is always apologising. Everything seems to be going well for them, although Japan is at war it doesn't seem to effect their town. Then one day when Shuji is out shopping with his friends in the city enemy aircraft attack killing one of his friends. Suddenly something else appears in the sky and destroys the enemy aircraft. When the dust settles Shuji sees that the object that so easily defeated the enemy is Chise. The rest of their friends remain unaware that Chise is in fact the ultimate weapon. As the story progresses they struggle to keep their relationships going as the war keeps taking Chise away on duty and another woman takes an interest in Shuji. Chise grows stronger as a weapon but also loses more and more control, activating to counter any threat in a way that makes her as much a danger to her own side as the enemy.

As well as the thirteen part series there is a two part OVA, this concentrates on Chise's predecessor, Lt Col Mizuki who unlike Chise is keen to fight, unfortunately for her she is damaged from all the fighting she has been involved in. We also learn more about Chise's evolution as a weapon.

The animation was all well done in a pleasing style with the pastel colours a soft feel despite the fact that it a war story. The characters are likable and it is sad when certain ones die. If you don't dislike sad stories this anime is well worth watching.

These comments were based on watching both the series and the OVA in Japanese with English subtitles.

Possibly the most depressing anime ever

[elonmusk-is_a_moron · 7/10 · 22 August 2022]

This is by no means a bad show, but the plot is way too depressing to the point of being almost unbeareable at moments.

No matter what they do, all the characters end suffering horrible fates and dying violently.

I guess the point is pretty clear: There is nothing "cool" or "glorious" about war, the effects of war are always horrifying, causing a lot of pointless deaths of innocents...

A very bleak, very hopeless series. At the beginning there are some moments of humor, with after some episodes, the show gets progressively more and more tragic.

The animation and the soundtrack are good. But try not watching this if you don't want to get sad, because this is an utterly sad series, possibly even more than Grave of the Fireflies, if you can believe that.

She, the Ultimate Weapon

[WeAreLive · 7/10 · 28 May 2018]

To be honest I have mixed feelings for this anime. It's not the worst or the best I have watched. It's just not what I had in mind.

It realise too much on romantic then action which is a real shame because we rarely got glimpse of Chise in action. Apart from seeing her body turn into a terminator like weapon and her slowly losing her humanity of her becoming a robot.

However, this wasn't always the case because we actually got to see blood, people get killed and mature themes like characters having sex and characters sleeping together. But what I really hated was that Shuji cheats on Chise by making out with her sister or best friend can't remember which one Akemi and a woman by the name Fuyumi who was a seragents wife. However, the sargents makes out with Chise which was worse.

In terms of voice at least I know Melissa Hutchison actual voiced in anime before she ever started voicing in Yo Kai Watch. Since the level 5 issue with that show has happened its a real shame because as Katie would have got older she would have sounded similar to Chise and I think Walking Dead the telltale series is finishing soon I honestly wouldn't mind seeing her do more anime from Bang Zoom or Funimation. Her voice as Chise was good she nailed both her evil and cute side. If this show was ever to get a redub or remake I would honestly choose some one like Kira Buckland, Alexis Tipton, Christine Marie Cabanos or even Cassandra Lee Morris. I had no idea who Mark Atherlay was until I watched this anime. He is a pretty underrated voice actor if I had to be honest. He was decent as Shuji but his lines would sometimes come off very campy for the character. If a redub or remake were to happen I would choose someone like Eric Vale, Kaiji Tang, Ray Chase, Robbie Daymond or Vic Mignogna to voice Shuiji better.

We don't even know how the military even turned Chise into a weapon or how she even learned to control her powers because it's natural seeing a rocket come out from someone's shirt isn't it. On top of that the end was just confusing.

In terms of character designs, animation and art style they were good for the time it was made but they could learn how to draw a noses better.

==Edit 30.06.2018== There are also two OVA episodes called Another Love Song which answer some of my questions for the actual series. On how Chise became a weapon and how she slowly lost the human part of her. However, unlike the actual episodes of the series itself these episodes are a bit more mature for example we see a person smoke and Chise's boobs.

I don't normal watch anything which has boobs or dicks in as I am not a found of them whether if it is live action, animated or even anime. But this was a one off occasion since I had questions which the OVA's answers.

Saikano

[nekotakuto · 9/10 · 31 August 2006]

Saikano was plainly put: astounding. At first when it starts out it feels like it could go along a generic storyline but it doesn't. Instead it becomes a depressing and emotionally impacting tour-de-force.

To put it in a brief non-spoiler summary, Saikano takes place amidst a huge war. Our main characters are Chise and Shuji who lived in a peaceful small town that is not affected by this war...yet. However, Japan needs a weapon to turn the tide of the war and Chise becomes this weapon

This anime successfully depicted the true site of war: not all-the-time glorious gung-ho fighting seen in some movies or video games. But the cold long days of war, filled with death and fear. While going through the series, its just character after character dying in what appears to be a World War going on.

Much character development was present as the characters grow up and move on. All the changes happening around our main character Shuji creates another depressing aspect added to the anime. Yet such things happen in real life, these parts make anime even more realistic and human.

The interaction and relationships between characters is beautifully orchestrated and human. The uncertainty and fear that troubles are main couple Shuji and Chise are those that occur in many normal relationships, and not just those that have a weaponized girl.

As characters die, the way their friends try to move on and coupe is completely natural. Again it is no surprise that this anime has been adapted to a live-action movie (released earlier this year in 2006). I have not yet seen it but definitely looks good, rather than such flops like the live action Sailor Moon.

Voice acting in both English and Japanese was well-done and full of emotions. One of the better English dubs I've watched among anime I've seen.

The pacing of each episode was great just like of IGPX which was one of the aspects that made that anime enjoyable. Episodes all feel fulfilling and keep on with the story. No filler episodes with this 13 episode anime at all. With the story never stopping with the episodes, can be a plus or a minus. Some may not get as attached to the characters as much and thats a plus to filler eps in such series like Inuyasha or Full Moon. Yet by never side stepping from the story, it makes it makes its impact just more powerful.

This is definitely a more mature-titled anime with many deep themes of violence, some sex & gore, and scenes of massive destruction. Again, this isn't a happy-go-lucky love story but about, as the tagline says, the last love song on this little planet. Beautifully animation and story is executed into the downward-spiraling waltz that is Saikano.

I give Saishu Heiki Kanojo (Saikano) a 8.5 out of 10. ~ NekoTakuto

Few minor complaints: - It's short...Maybe too short? - No explanations of how Chise works as a weapon

Sad and moving series

[scarlet478 · 2 February 2005]

SaiKano is a sad, sad series. And yet somehow uplifting by the end. The message of the series really sticks with you afterwards- it's that moving.

I love the characters the most- they're all so admirable in their own ways, and they each make their own sacrifices for the sake of someone special to them. That's what it's about; loving and trying to receive love, getting hurt in a confusing and quickly changing world but still struggling to go on despite these difficulties. I'll never forget a moment near the end that made me realize that the series started off in a vastly different world. It really brings home the irreversible effects of war, and the changes that the main characters have experienced.

This series is a good mix of pathos and cute moments (mostly courtesy of Chise) not to be missed. I haven't read the manga, but as a series alone, it is quite excellent.

Love Song of Sorrow

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 24 June 2012]

The worst thing that could happen other than the world ending and death, is loneliness and no love at all. It wouldn't stop the end from coming but it makes it feel less painful because you know your not alone.

Watching this show is both emotionally draining and also romantically moving. What's interesting about the series is how much emotion you invest in the characters. Its rare to find romance in end of the world scenario the only other two I can think of are the underrated 80's gem "Miricle Mile" (ok thats not a romance but it has an element of it) and the recent film "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World", there's always something fascinating about using a dire backdrop for romance because it gives the characters freedom to utilize all their emotions.

I like the animation mainly the background animation captures the city , there is some gray color but it gives the show a moody sensibility. The music is also very good, I mainly like the theme song which is one of my favorite anime themes, it has both an romantic optimism as well as somber sensibility at the same time.

You care so much about them you actually could cry over whoever dies. The show is on concerned over plot, we never really now who their fighting against and why, let alone how they made Chise into a weapon, but that's part of the point of the series. This is about the characters Chise and Shunji as well as some characters around them like Akimi, and the emotions they go though which make you feel heavy pathos for them.

Shunji is brooding which makes him seem a little intimidating at times, soft spoken, passive aggressive, but we see on the inside like most people like him he's struggling to figure things out for himself like who he is in the fold of things and also is still young inside despite acting like an adult. Chise a sweet girl whom is shy, timid, slow both physically (litterally since she always has trouble walking a mere amount of blocks with Shunji)and mentally. She loves Shiji but feels unsure whether she's strong enough for him and herself and of course despite being kidnapped and used by the government as a weapon of mass destruction, she feels it has benefited her but little throughout the series does she discover the dire cost.

The relationship between both Shunji and Chise is almost similar toward a civilian and soldier, you feel pathos for Shinji's powerlessness in protecting and finding a way to comfort Chise's post traumatic stress that's taken it's toll. Chise struggles to make Shinji understand her post traumatic dilemmas, as well as control her body. Seeing the way her body works and transforms into a weapon is disturbing, the fear we see in her face makes us concerned for her because were never sure what more will happen to her body or how out of control it will get, much like in Croneburg's "The Fly". Knowing any organization is capable of doing this just shows the extent of their evil, their willing to endanger and use innocent lives for their own selfish and senseless gains. We see things get a heck of a lot hard for the characters at the war gets worse creating a slowly deteriorating enviorment and people dying one by one from Shinji's hometown is terrifyingly reminiscent of the film "Testiment". Their love becomes more and more challenged, their close to each other but also hurt one another and themselves from physical and mental distance created which leads these characters to divulge into inappropriate behavior to destruct and self destruct themselves and their relationship in order to avoid dealing with the difficulty. But it's not all sad the relationship with the two does develop into something more.

Most to all the episodes are unforgettable, the one I remember the most is Akimi, it was the most emotionally moving and devastating episode I've ever seen. I couldn't help but cry toward this episode because even though there was a sense of closure at the same time it's heartbreaking because you can't help but feel the two could of been a great couple together Shinji could of loved Akimi but their chance is cruelly robbed. It sort of made me wonder about all the other girls I've seen in my classes but never really talked to or were very close to, could some of them have looked at me and had feelings for me but I never knew it, were they waiting for me to make a move, if I talked or asked one of them out could it of been more.

The show is a bit of a cautionary tale about the senseless nature of war and holocaust, why we should never let the war machine and technology dominate our own free will. But most of all some deep philosophical and emotional concepts on loneliness, unspoken feelings, the difficulty and joy of loving another despite difficult times however depending on the bond between two people it's the most beautiful thing that can and should never be destroyed.

In a time when the world is falling apart it's love that gives us the will to live.

Rating: 4 stars

the last love song on earth

[k_alby · 8/10 · 18 December 2006]

Well, you'll read a lot of mixed reviews on this anime series. I haven't yet seen the OVA's or specials or movies or whatnot. I simply comment on the series, which i've seen on Spanish dubs (which aren't nearly as bad as English dubs are), and some episodes on JP.

Starts out as a story on Chise and Shuji, high-schoolers in love, except that later on the pilot you realize that Chise's Japan's Ultimate weapon (you don't know why). There is war all around and people being dramatically killed, Chise "wants to help it end".

At the beginning isn't even that big a love story simply because Shuji's character is very insecure about his feelings, and they even break up once. So the anime spins between his loving Chise and trying to protect their love and him not knowing how to handle the war situation.

And the war part, is the saddest. From the fight scenes, to the dialog on it, to how people uninvolved and involved in it die, will make you cry far worse than the love story itself. It'll remind you of movies like "Grave of the fireflies" and that's what's great about the anime. It'll depress you some, but you'll sure to appreciate those parts, even if the "love story" itself gets on your nerves at times. They are, after all, high-schoolers and behave childishly throughout the series, and respond to the war around them in not the sanest of matters.

As for the ending, if you didn't like series like "neon genesis evangelion", stay away from this one, at least in the last episode. Episodes 1 - 12 are touching and sad, and somewhat romantic, but episode 13 will lead you on an evangelion-like abstract quest to realize what really happens and it throws the anime in a totally different direction.

All in all, I for one liked it very much. I could've done with a little less crying from Chise and a better attitude at times from Shuji, but everything else works nicely. I recommend it to those who'll appreciate the action driven war scenes and drama, as told by a high-schooler in love, and his lover's diary.

a complete lack of personality

[IntraSting-1 · 4/10 · 20 May 2006]

I had to force myself to watch the last few episodes of this anime just so I could be done with it. I just could not stand it by the end. If you're going to create an alternate setting for an anime, you should at least explain it. It is never gone into why the country is at war, why it was necessary to change a little girl into an ultimate weapon, or why this "ultimate weapon" doesn't just end the war immediately. Not only that, but I simply could not stand the characters. They just had no personalities whatsoever, aside from reacting to the fact that she was an ultimate weapon. Everyone treats Chisu with a sort of reverent fear, the only difference in anyone being that Shuji "loves" her for no apparent reason. The visuals are okay and the music and voice acting are decent, but in the end, it's just sadness for the sake of being sad.

One of the best!

[destro8165 · 10/10 · 26 September 2006]

Definitely one of the best anime's I have seen. Very moving and just very, very good. I recommend this anime to anyone that can handle the emotional ups and downs. If anyone can do this than I salute you! I could barely handle the emotions when everyone was dying. It was that powerful to move a grown man to shed some tears. I don't know what's wrong with me, but, there'd actually a few good anime's out there that are so well written and animated with the story lines, that can have a profound impact on those who view them. I guess it depends on your state of mind etc. but do not pass this one up, I highly recommend it. I will compile a list of really good anime's that I recommend to watch.

Disappointing

[tunaspam · 5/10 · 11 February 2007]

I must admit, I had very high expectations for this show but it didn't turn out at all how i had thought it would.

Saikano is a Gonzo production and it's complete some gimmicky stuff. The characters are all very basic and none of them really seem to be exceptional. Shuji and Chise are the only ones who really have any distinguishing art in them, the rest kinda look like "Fillers" with blushed cheeks that will not go away. The backgrounds are alright; still the same kinda linear style of animation with no real flare to it. Their isn't a whole lot of action in the show so the characters don't really get to move around a lot; and when there is action, it's just basically little explosions in the sky with an occasional plane crashing toward the ground. Chise's "ultimate-weapon" animation was kinda poor, and underdeveloped, especially when she would "transform" into it. Overall, the animation is really very average and kinda half-baked; very disappointing.

The series is presented in 5.1 audio (at least the version I watched was) so it sounds crisp; but there's not really much to it besides that. The voice actors on both ends of the spectrum don't really accomplish much and, despite the few good moments, the music is pretty boring as well.

The story is Saikano is extremely half-baked and very confusing, even though it has such a simple core. The basic root of the story is Chise and Shuji's vow to fall in love and always be in love despite their terrible circumstances. That being said, if you only focus on that side of the plot, then you'll at least get a partly enjoyable story about a young couple searching for true love. But so much of the actual plot is left out that you don't really have a reason to care about what happens to Shuji and Chise and their relationship with themselves and others. Chise is the ultimate-weapon. Why? Japan is fighting a terrible war with other nations. Which nations? And why? When did the research for the ultimate weapon begin? What is it capable of? What are all its abilities? Why have it be incorporated into a young like Chise who has no military profile or reason to be in the war? Why? Why? Why? These questions are never answered in the series of Saikano and the plot suffers greatly because of it.

I did find, some of, the characters, and their relationships to one another, in this series to be enjoyable. Shuji's relationship with his old lover, Fyumi, and Chise's best friend, Akemi, are interesting and actually, at the end of them, have some substance. But that's about all there really is. There are several, too many in fact, characters, including the two leads, that simply display nothing more than teen angst. While this is not necessarily bad, because angst makes for some quite incredible film making, it's just not approached in the right manner. All of the characters just seem to be floating on, they don't really have purpose in their quest and that kinda makes the whole thing seem pointless because they don;t really have a reason to achieve anything. But despite all of the bad, there is some good character development in Saikano. Shuji changes from being a complete moronic teenager, to actually knowing, at least a little bit, about true love and relationships. Chise develops from a weak schoolgirl, to appreciating the value of love and knowing the consequences of her actions. There is also a great moment in episode 9 with Shuji and Akemi that really spoke to me more than any other part of the show.

Saikano had a lot of potential; it really did. But it just wasn't done correctly and, therefore, it fell to the wayside. So, in the end, i couldn't recommend this show to anyone, not with titles like Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days around, because it just doesn't get the whole love/romance/war/tragedy formula quite right.

Recommendation.

[xanothis · 18 November 2003]

Gah... I'm surprised that nobody's actually commented on this series before!

SaiKano (shortened and commonly used form of the Japanese title) is truly a wonderful story, very well voiced, with a very moving story. Set in a potential modern Japan, at first one would presume this is 'just another' Japanese High School story, about love and relationships. Until the end of the first episode. Of course, that's a major part of it, but this is by no means the same as any other. Within the second half of the first episode, however, we are shown that a lot of violence and action is to be included, of a very moving (and sometimes graphic) nature.

It's amazing how many emotions can be stirred up in just thirteen episodes, but this manages an awful lot. A wonderful series, very recommended. If you don't mind becoming depressed for a week.

A chore to watch...

[MisuBisu · 29 September 2007]

I can't believe that this series has such a high rating on IMDb. I reviewing the English dubbed version of the TV series... perhaps something was lost in the translation?? The dialogue is very corny... all of the characters are constantly apologizing to each other for the things that they are saying... and getting mad at each other for saying sorry all the time!! It's really quite ludicrous. And very hard to digest. Plus very annoying to watch. The premise of the story is what attracted me to it. Potentually a very engaging storyline.

Well, I have only watched about 10 episodes, and all ten were not easy to watch. Up until now, there has been *no* explanation of how the girl (the ultimate weapon) has become what she is. Some may say, the how it happened (to her) is not important, as the emotion behind what has happened to her (and how her boyfriend feels and accepts her) is what is important. But I disagree. They attempt to play on these feelings and emotions way too much, to the point where it is just boring. There in no buildup during each episode that drives you to want to watch the next episode. You watch the next one, because you are desperate for something to happen, to propel the story forward. But it never happens. Now I love a good emotional story as much as (if not, more than) the next girl... but this story is *not* emotional. It's just draining and as I said, very hard to watch. You don't get to love, or feel sorry for any of the characters. There is not attachment to them at all. Which to me is very unusual... I have watched a lot of anime, and am often drawn to the characters and feel for their situations. So I'm sure it's not me!!

I will continue to watch the series, but only because I have purchased the full DVD set... but I will only watch them when I have nothing better to watch... and only to see if it gets any better. If it does, I will revise this review. But something tells me, that this is as good as it gets. Plus I am curious to see how they are going to pad out the story for the next three DVDs. In ten episodes *nothing* has happened. A big thumbs down for 'She - The Ultimate Weapon'. Very disappointing!!