English Dub Review: The Rolling Girls “I Wanna Be a Hero”

It seems like the meat of The Rolling Girls plot has started, with Nozomi and crew taking their show on the road. Chiaya is officially in the group, and the quest for the stones is off and running. This week, the road trip brings us to Always Comima, a city that is obsessed with cosplay, anime, and the overall Otaku culture. That being said, let’s talk about the Best of Always Comima, Aki Habara. If that isn’t an obvious nod to the center of Otaku culture, the Ahihabara district of Tokyo.

Aki is the Best of Always Comima, Thunderoad, and heads the Knights of the Twin Towers. Aki is best explained as the Maccha Green of Always Comima; a costumed fighter defending her district. What blew me away in “I Wanna Be a Hero,” was the complete change of art direction for the scenery of Always Comima. Where everything was crisp and bright in Tokorozawa, everything in Always Comima looked like it was drawn very well in crayon. It was very similar to “Beginnings” from The Legend of Korra, in the way that when we got Wan’s story, it resembled ancient Chinese and Japanese paintings. Whenever there are changes in art directions like this, it always makes me give a lot of respect to the show, because it takes a lot to pull it off.

Unfortunately, it isn’t all sparkles and crayons. While we get an introduction to Aki, we get a borderline terrible side story when it comes to the heart stones. The only reason that was given as to why she wanted to sell the stones was that she wanted to buy a statue from her favorite anime. Granted, this is the greatest example of anime fanaticism, it just didn’t resonate with me. If I wanted to see anime fanaticism at its worst, I would just go to my local community college. I don’t really watch cartoons or anime for real life situations.

Don’t take me the wrong way here, but Aki’s reasons for this is a small sliver in respect to the overall plot. Nozomi’s romp through Always Comima. It’s the charm of “I Wanna Be a Hero,” and not much can detract from this. The Rolling Girls is done so well, I am thinking it should be featured more prominently in Funimation’s advertising for their Broadcast Dubs.