English Dub Season Review: AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline: Season One Part One

Overview: Amo (Ry McKeand) joins the resistance to battle against the foreign military powers that have taken over Japan. With the help of his trusty A.I. companion, Gai (Michelle Marie), and his comrades and friends, Gashin (Patrick Mealey) and Shion (Madeline Dorroh), they will take the fight in them, clad in state-of-the-art mechs known as AMAIM. 

Our Take: One aspect that immediately caught my eye with AMAIM was something that you definitely do not see everyday: the mechs. While the designs are stylish enough, it was not their look that jumped out at me. “I’ll be damned, the robots are hand drawn!” was my knee jerk reaction and therefore where my intrigue began. And thankfully, it led to me a sci-fi series that, while not without its faults, is an enjoyable action-packed time. 

Imperialism is one of the series’ founding principles at the core of the conflicts and the antagonists that come from it, which in this case means various countries’ military power like North America and Asia that have taken over parts of Japan. While it is ripe for deeper commentary as to the finer aspects of Imperialism, unfortunately, there is no deeper, complex fleshing out of enemy forces and their mentality and morale through their atrocious acts they commit on Japanese citizens  It really boils down to the simple case of Japan, good, and other nations, bad, making it very one note as far as social conflicts go. 

The focus is solely on the Japanese people’ struggles and hardships they must face in the other nations’ ironfisted rule. Thankfully, the one element it explores, it executes quite well in the human element regarding citizens abused by foreign powers. It is tragic and heartfelt with the main trio and the resistance being an easy side to root for in them helping people displaced from their homes, physically tortured or abused, submitted for human trafficking or sentenced to death unjustly. 

Fortunately, the main character, Amo, is more than just a simple character. Personality wise, he is your average, everyday nice guy protagonist. However, that is not to say he is not engaging to watch. The formula works well enough for him in being likable and one way he is smartly developed is how the series builds his motivation of risking his life and joining the resistance in a very human and down-to-earth manner. Amo’s complacency of people being hurt right before him, consuming him, acts as convincing and passionate motivation as the series develops and he meets new people that are victims of war. With that said, he is never given as much backstory compared to his comrades, feeling left out narratively. 

Amo’s friends and the other main pilots of the resistance, Gashin and Shion, who, while nothing innovative characteristically speaking, are nicely developed enough in their own reasoning for fighting with their own scars from foreign rule that has taken a toll, shaping them. Their camaraderie is also endearing with each other as well as with their own little adorable A.I. companions that guide them through their bots as well as support them through their struggles. Also, the English dub cast, Ry McKeand, Patrick Mealey and Madeline Dorroh, are great in bringing their shared grief but lighthearted moments to the surface as the main trio, Amo, Gashin and Shion, respectively. 

The mechs like mentioned earlier are entirely hand drawn, which in this day and age where everything CG’d up, it is a rare treat. They are amazingly detailed with the colorways and designs evoking that of classic 80’s gems like Gundam and Robotech. The highly detailed art doesn’t hold up as much throughout the battles against other AMAIM, but Sunrise’s animation is solid, bringing the mechanized movements to life well with only some shoddy moments every now and then. Battles are also thrilling with Amo and the gang constantly having to strategize with new and different tactics with each battle against the looming mechanical nightmare, Ghost, a super intelligent robot that learns and evolves with every battle. Other military officers are also engaging challenges in their own military expertise and ingenious moves made against the resistance. They also do a great job of diversifying them and making each feel inherently unique from one another. 

AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline is a simple and enjoyable watch in what it sets out to do with the development of ideas it chooses to explore in regards to Imperialism and all the terrible issues that come with it. It feels as if only one side is ever actually spoken for and while it is done well, that is where it stumbles in the long run in never being fully realized as a total concept. However, the main group of young heroes, along with awesome mech battles and imposing foreign antagonists, and their fight against the rulers of Japan and terrorizing of citizens, make them easy to root for and to shepherd the series with their shared trauma bringing them together exceptionally.