English Dub Review: BACK ARROW “Do Guys From the Sky Have Undies?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Lingalind is a continent surrounded by a huge wall and within the continent, there are two warring factions fighting over Rakuho. After the monthly battle between the Supremacy of Lutoh and the Republic of Rekka with Rekka as the winner, another Rakuho appears. The second Rakuho lands in the Iki territory, a place not governed by the two warring factions. The citizens think that there’s food in there and cooks whatever is inside, but finds out that a man is in there.

The stranger has amnesia, but the only thing he remembers is that he came from beyond the wall. Everyone laughs until a bandit comes for the Rakuho. After seeing that the capsule is empty he starts destroying houses and refusing to believe the citizens on their explanation. The stranger reveals that he has a Bind Warper and then proceeds to fight the bandit. Meanwhile people from Rekka eavesdrop on them and their High Diviner, Shu comments on the unexpected surprise. The stranger later decides to name himself Back Arrow.

Our Take:

BACK ARROW is an amusing mecha anime that takes place in a closed continent surrounded by a huge wall with two factions fighting over the limited resources. The arrival of the main character, Back Arrow is going to clearly stir things up since his arrival deviates from the norm.

The first episode does a good job at setting up the conflict with the two factions over the resources. It adds the mecha element to the conflict over the limited resources that the Rakuho capsules provide. Sometimes it’s the Bind Warpers and the other times it has food or other necessities. Bind Warpers allow the people to manifest a Briheight, a mechanical giant powered by a person’s conviction. It’s basically the power of feelings, but Back Arrow’s conviction is different: he doesn’t really have a solid conviction. Therefore he deviates from the established rule in a Briheight battle that if the user is defeated they die.

The episode establishes why the two nations are fighting and how minor territories like Iki have to struggle to survive. It works well through the town’s reaction with the Rakuho and even going as far as to throw a party. The first episode also shows how vast and unusual the world is with the animals and terrain as the second Rakuho descends from the sky. Speaking of the Wall, according to the intro the people of Lingalind see it as a god. They’re going to have to show how the people worship the Wall for it to be believable.

The colorful trio: Atlee, Elsha, and Bit have their personalities established and provide a bit of exposition for Back Arrow on their world. Atlee’s the kind girl that tries to fulfill her father’s position as sheriff with the Bind Warper. Elsha supplies the town with food from her hunts. Bit is an arrogant guy and gets his house destroyed in the fight. They have a good dynamic with one another as well.

Back Arrow is the strange man that came out of the second Rakuho. He’s got amnesia and the only thing he can remember is that he came from beyond the Wall. His very existence is going to redefine what the other characters know about their world. The possibility of what’s beyond it is exciting and hopefully, he gets his memory back in the future to see how different it is from the world of Lingalind. He does get that generic display of his ability to use a Bind Warper and fight the bandit to repay Atlee for giving him her dad’s underwear.

Overall it’s a generic first episode that sets up everything needed for a show. Its humor does work well to lighten the dire situation the town’s in. The arrival of Back Arrow ensures a journey to the outside of the Wall.