Final Approach / φなる・あぷろーち (2004)

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Final Approach (2004) - recenzja anime - rascal.pl
Final Approach (2004)

After the death of his parents, Ryou and his sister Akane live together. Despite their difficult situation, they lead a relatively happy and normal life. Everything changes one day when they learn about a secret Japanese government project. Due to a declining birth rate, the Japanese government is testing a program in which two young people are forced to marry after having their personalities matched by a supercomputer. Ryou has no intention of participating, but he has no choice. His new fiancée, Shizuka, surprises him late at night with dozens of bodyguards dressed in black coats. Unlike Ryou, Shizuka has no reluctance to join the test program and eagerly sets about her marital duties, despite Ryou’s objections.

Final Approach (2004) – Audiovisual design

Visuals

Two studios were responsible for the animation. Zexcs and Trinet Entertainment. I’ve mentioned many times that I love series from this period, also in terms of visuals. The whole thing was really enjoyable to watch. The character design simply amazed me. I really liked the detail of the drawing and the characters themselves. The animation in many places even exceeded my expectations. I also did not notice any objects realized in 3D. The faces of the characters in close-ups were particularly impressive. I also can’t help but mention the sensational, high-contrast shading.

Audio

The cast includes some very familiar names that I simply adore. Among them Tamura Yukari, Takhashi Chiaki or Minaguchi Yuuko and Nogawa Sakura, known more to longtime anime fans. They all perfectly embodied their characters. The soundtrack contains a few tracks that have stayed in my memory, and I will definitely get to know the entire soundtrack in the near future.

Final Approach (2004) – Plot and Characters

Introduction

Final Approach is an adaptation of a visual novel released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 console. The anime has 13 episodes in an abridged form. Each lasts between 12 and 16 minutes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to experience the original, but I assume the story there was much more stretched out, which would also probably give a completely different look at the various characters. What I was given to see in the anime surprised me a lot anyway. I was impressed by how much information and events the creators managed to pack into such a short time.

A quick look at the plot

Ryou and Emiho are siblings who lost their parents. They manage to survive by helping each other and working at a coffee shop. One evening, a girl in a paratrooper’s outfit bursts into their apartment, breaking the living room window. She introduces herself as Masuda Shizuka and announces that she has been selected as a candidate for Ryou’s future wife in the Japanese government’s secret program to improve demographics. The boy becomes enraged, but Shizuka stubbornly insists that he also voluntarily join this program to avoid consequences. From that day on, she stays at their apartment, performing all the duties of a housewife. There are quite a few characters recurring in Final Approach. Among them are Ryou’s classmates or people from the crew of the coffee shop where they work. There was also no shortage of third-person characters acting as plot devices.

Final Approach is primarily a dynamic comedy full of misunderstandings and absurdity. Absurdity, however, which does not dominate, but is an addition. For me, this is an advantage. I have nothing against absurd humor until it dominates the entirety of a given production. Toward the end, there is a more serious sub-plot, but it is quite difficult to get involved in it. Not for the reason that the characters are badly written. Not because the plot itself is uninteresting. Because of the considerable time constraints, the whole thing simply doesn’t have a chance to arouse enough emotion in the viewer. Because of the lack of ability to sufficiently bond with the characters portrayed, but also because the plot itself is only the last two episodes. In fact, it is less than two episodes. This is where I will remind you that the episodes are about thirteen minutes long. I’m almost certain that the source material would be able to arouse considerable emotion in many readers and even shed a few tears. However, I recommend that the anime version should be treated mainly as a comedy.

Other remarks

I think it’s worth mentioning that Ryou was written very old-school. At times his behavior resembles characters from the 1980s, such as Moroboshi Ataru (except that he didn’t hit on every chick he met).

Evaluation and summary

Final Approach may not be the best adaptation of a visual novel. As if I knew the source, I probably wouldn’t speak about this title in such a positive tone. Nevertheless, assuming that it is quite a separate entity, in my opinion it is worth taking a moment to read this item. Especially if you appreciate this kind of visual style and this kind of comedy filled with funny absurd situations with a bit of drama towards the end. I had a really nice time with Final Approach.

Finalny werdykt

Final evaluation

Which translation do I recommend to watch Final Approach (2004)

  • StaticSubs – one of my favorite subtitling groups, definitely recommend.
Ostatnia modyfikacja:
6 July 2023

Last modified:
6 July 2023

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