only remarks on Kuniko noted.
a day without me: I enjoyed the first episode of Shangri-la; we have a solid cast here, thus far, anchored by the energetic Kuniko, a young lady who is expected to become the leader of a movement known as the Metal-age, but who seems to feel fairly opposed to that fact. However, unlike some past heroines of anime, she certainly doesn’t seem to be against it because she dislikes fighting, which is a nice change of pace – got to love the ladies who can and are willing to fight. …(also, Kuniko is supposed to be eighteen? uh, righttt)
otou-san: [preairing thoughts] Well, I think Range Murata’s designs are great. A weird mix of cute and hot that you can only get in anime. Of course, that goes for the post-apocalyptic setting as well, and the two should add up to the kind of sexy action adventure that Gonzo does best (when they don’t overdo it).
cinnamon ass: Kuniko wears a ridiculously short skirt that teases the possibility of fanservice at every opportunity whilst running around being impossibly happy and beloved by all; …Kuniko’s foster mother is a pre-operative transsexual (who is actually a pretty decent character most of the time) who kisses his enemies into submission, etc.
Mark Thomas (mania.com): Kuniko Hojo, 18-year-old leader-designate of an anti-government guerrilla group Metal-age, returns to her town after 2 years of imprisonment. In concert with the Metal-age comrades, Kuniko rises in a rebellion against the government for those people left on the once-flourished ground of Tokyo. …The series opens up with a young girl named Kumiko Hojo being released from prison. By the reaction from all the other inmates, it is obvious that Kumiko is a popular prisoner and is seen as somewhat of a leader of the others. Upon her release, it is discovered that she is destined to be the future leader of Metal-Age, an anti-government protest group
Hanners: On the positive side of the coin, Kuniko is already quite the lead female character, an entertaining blend of teenage bravado and clumsiness that could prove a winner in this series. Oh, and her boomerang is pretty awesome too – You never saw Rolf Harris slicing the barrel off an armoured tank, I bet.
Eastern Standard: Two lolis with pandering, loud voices (no, Hojo is not 18, and no amount of “b-but the youth of Asian women” is going to say otherwise)?
Happysoda: The lead character, Kuniko she seems okay, maybe a little difficult to feel why she garners so much respect from people around her, but I’ll give that a pass — I’m still in love with the boomerang weapon and imagining the cool stuff that can be done with it. I’ll have to wait, since it suddenly seems like she’s not as good with it as she seemed.
Omni: When Houjou Kuniko gets released from prison, she’s brought back to her home where she’s to be the leader of a group called Metal-age that opposes the government’s policies. She lives in a world of carbon taxes, credits, and the carbon market, so everything is watched and regulated, and when some of the people in Kuniko’s town decide to generate some electricity, thereby creating some pollution, the military appears to come after them.
warriorhope (shoujo lover anime blog): There’s a lot of fanservice already. Three all powerful lolis will do that to a show and it is Gonzo. Not even going to mention Kuniko’s incredability short skirit. But it actually does have a plot (la gasp!).
psgels: I liked all the potentially interesting characters, the detailed character-designs…This show especially has to deal with explaining how a teenaged girl seems to be so incredibly good at fighting with such a strange weapon, and the strange instances of fanservice were typical Gonzo. Still, the potential’s definitely there.
kitsune: lolis at war
kanzeon: Her skirt is so… short O__o Which is I think they made it like that for some reasons >.>
