[Review] Linebarrels of Iron

Written by Josh Dunham

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Linebarrels of Iron Review Ah, the story of the bond between a boy and his giant robot. A story that has been told countless times in many different ways since the very beginning of recorded history. Looks like Gonzo’s Linebarrels of Iron is going to step up to the plate and take a swing at telling one such story. Will they knock one into the rafters with a grand mecha story of epic proportions, or will they strike out? Continue reading to find out! The story begins with our young hero, Kouichi Hayase being relentlessly bullied by his classmates to run to town and buy them bread. Being the spineless whiny crybaby that he is, he quickly gives into their demands. On the way back from the store he decides to take a short cut through a path in the woods. It seemed like an ingenious idea, that is until a giant robot, being piloted by a woman whose mysteriousness is matched only by her nakedness, free-falls from the sky. Having landing right on top of him and squishing him like a bug, the mysterious naked woman feels very bad about the little misstep she and uses the power of her giant robot, the titular Linebarrel, to bring the poor guy back to life. In doing so, a bond is created between Kouichi and the Linebarrel that not only gives him super-human abilities, but also allows him to pilot it.

Soon after, other giant robots begin running amuck in town and Kouichi takes it upon himself to stop them. Eventually, the story takes a turn for the uninspired when he gets recruited by an organization of do-gooders who, of course, do battle with an evil organization of bad guys with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

This is a show that I actually really tried to like. I am a huge fan of mecha, so getting a chance to review this series was exciting. The story starts strong enough, might even get your hopes up that this could be kind of original, but as I said in my summary it eventually becomes the cliché mecha story, starring yet another whiny teenage boy who suddenly becomes a bad-ass as soon as he gets his hands on the cockpit controls of a giant robot. Many other character stereotypes decide to rear their ugly heads as well: the beautiful young girl that’s lost her memory; the creepy twins who spend way too much time with each other; and the ever-so-classic childhood friend who has a crush on the main character. There are a few laughs to be had in the show, but unfortunately they are few and far between.

Almost of the battle scenes in the show are rendered in CG. Now these scenes are a definite mixed bag. Some of them are very exciting, with cleanly animated attacks and nifty explosions. Other times it can look something like a drunken giant robot ballet. The look of the characters aren’t so impressive which isn’t surprising as this was directed by the same guy who did the character designs for Gundam Seed and Fafner. His work on those may have some fans but the softly drawn facial features don’t really show off any of the intense emotions the characters may be feeling.

After all is said and done, it isn’t right saying this is a terrible show, especially since we’re only at the first half thus far. It might well do a complete 180 in the second half. Fans who are inexperienced with the mech genre might find something that they like here, but I’m afraid long-time fans of the genre such as myself will be overcome with an overwhelming feeling of unoriginality. But if you’re just hungering for giant robots smashing each other into pieces and you’ve run out of other options, this show just maybe could satisfy that hankering until something bigger and better comes your way.

Rating: C
Produced by: Gonzo
Distributed by: Funimation
Review by: Josh Schaeffer