When you think about it, despite trading card games being a very niche market there seems to be quite a few anime adaptations based on them which have been released over the years – some performing strong than others. In all honesty I have never really watched any of them as they are generally marketed as children’s morning cartoons, but from what I can tell they are usually very long in length and attempt to offer a different take on the game rather than simply having people sit at a table and play as one would usually expect someone to do in real life. But in the end they usually come across as attempts to get youth to buy their products through an animated storyline… and ultimately must end up being pretty successful.
Bushiroad have a number of different trading card games under their belt, and personally I follow Weiß Schwarz which hit the Aussie market a couple of years ago, featuring a more complex play schema with artwork based on different anime and video game franchises such as Persona 4, The Idolm@ster and Puella Magi Madoka Magica to name a few. Another one of their TCG that has received a release around the world is Cardfight!! Vanguard, which almost simultaneously had an anime adaptation released for it. These episodes have been dubbed and distributed exclusively online until now.
Hanabee Entertainment announced last year that they have acquired the rights for at least the first 65-episode season of Cardfight!! Vanguard, to be published in Australia and New Zealand across four instalments of sixteen-ish episodes each. The question is… given the more niche appeal of this series and how long just the one season is… was Cardfight!! Vanguard a smart acquisition for the company?
Storyline
In a surprising twist from most anime of its type, Cardfight!! Vanguard does not feature some world-ending scenario or elaborate plot to warrant the protagonist joining the game… rather it starts off pretty normally at least in a real world environment. The series features Aichi Sendou, a shy junior high school student who is picked on by other students. Despite not playing the game, he has a sizable collection of cards including a purportedly rare Blaster Blade card which is stolen from him. Chasing the fellow classmate who stole it from him, he finds it now in the possession of Toshiki Kai who in a “plot twist” turns out to have been the person who gave it to him several years ago. Successfully defeating Kai in his very first match, this welcomes Aichi into the competitive world of Cardfight!! Vanguard which has been gaining popularity in the local community.
Considering that battles take place on a card table instead of an elaborate arena, they attempt to throw in as much visual stimulation through the characters own imagination – going as far as explaining the rules of the game while intertwining elements of the game lore that in real life gamers might not be so concerned about. The fights which usually take up a significant chunk of an episode aren’t that dull to watch and genuinely attempt to educate potential players in the game, but at the same time try to appeal to younger audiences and occasionally go overboard with overreactions and dull jokes.
If you are like myself and probably don’t have the time or spare cash lying around to fund a fully viable desk (or more likely haven’t a single person to play with), there wasn’t that much else on offer in these first sixteen episodes. Character development was fairly poor, the concept is fairly simple and might not manage to keep your attention past the first couple of episodes. The concept sort of reminds me of Angelic Layer, only instead of doll battles you see people playing a trading card game during each episode with small amounts of development and plot trickling in each episode. Not as fun to watch either.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
Anime series based on trading card games are not really known for their visual prowess and ultimately Cardfight!! Vanguard doesn’t differ much. Overall the design is average – with some nice albeit repetitive “Vanguard” designs and appropriately designed characters. What really let this series down however was the video quality of the DVD release itself, as watching this full-screen on my 23″ computer monitor resulted in blurrier than usual visuals in comparison to a normal DVD release from Hanabee. It is worrying when it becomes difficult to even read the text during the opening and ending sequences.
On the note of sequences, the first sixteen episodes feature a single opening and ending sequence titled “Vanguard” and “Dream Shooter” respectively. Both have been dubbed into English and in comparison to other dubbed songs for the younger target audience are more respectful to the originals and are decently performed at the very least.
Hanabee’s release of Cardfight!! Vanguard contains both the original Japanese dub and the English dub, both of which have already been published through digital distribution channels. The English dubbing is pretty average although nothing that comes close to the realm of ear-splittingly bad. The voice cast consists of less mainstream voice actors / actresses with varying histories in the VA industry – and I am actually really glad to see new faces taking up roles such as this. Maybe the next gem is to be found with their first role being Cardfight!! Vanguard?
Extra Content
Unfortunately aside from a couple of trailers, there is nothing on-disc that could be considered “Extra Content”. Instead, most of the extra content comes in terms of physical goodies which have been included in at least the first print editions of Cardfight!! Vanguard. In collaboration with OzAnimart an entire deck of Cardfight!! Vanguard cards are included along with other materials and guides which should allow you to jump in and play the game at no additional expense to you. A $5 voucher is also included which can be used when purchasing a trial deck of cards at participating retailers. Not bad, and adds value to the $49.99 AUD purchase price.
Final Words on Cardfight!! Vanguard
Given we are only sixteen episodes into an anime series that as of this post currently spans 166 episodes, it is far too early to call if this was a wise acquisition for Hanabee Entertainment. These initial episodes were intriguing but came across rather dull, lacking anything to help hook me into continuing to watch future episodes. However I look forward to seeing the direction they go in the next volume, as there must be something else that has hooked fans in for the last few years.
