Here’s one of those moments where I just wish that somewhere along the line a different decision had been made. In Tesla Note’s case, let’s not make it CG and give this story half a chance of gaining the following it really should have. Because to be honest, the characters here are creepier than the flapping goldfish models from the Duke of Death and the overall animation is just hideous to watch.
Throw in a character who has the same fashion sense as characters from as a character from Hamatora and honestly you have a visual mess of an anime which for a lot of viewers will be an instant deal breaker. I’m not surprised by the low score this one has already picked up on MAL.
Is it worth sticking around for Tesla Note?
If I ignore the visual disaster that is Tesla Note, I’m actually going to say that this anime series has quite a bit of potential. The basic set-up for the story is quite intriguing and I was getting a similar vibe to something like Warehouse 13 crossed with James Bond. Of course, ignoring the visual disaster is a little easier said than done.
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In this first episode we are introduced to Botan who is a descendent of ninjas and has been trained by her grandfather to save the world. She’s recruited for Mission T and told she’s going to save the world and then she meets her partner, Kuruma.
I’m really hoping Kuruma gets some serious character growth because this episode he comes off as really obnoxious. While I get he didn’t appreciate being partnered with a high school girl he more or less demonstrates a complete lack of ability in this episode and leaves you wondering why he’s even been recruited when it more or less seems like Botan could take care of most of this on her own.
That said, there’s the possibility of these two personalities actually blending nicely once they find their rhythm and Tesla Note seems to be working toward building up a team dynamic rather than letting this be a one man (or one woman) show.
Botan so far has proven entertaining enough. I loved that when she was using her binoculars she was focusing in on various clothes and foods rather than using them for any real secret spy stuff, but when it came to the mission she was all business. Her giddy response to being recruited contrasts nicely with the real effort and focus she puts in to the job. I also loved her sass in taking Kuruma down a few pegs on more than one occasion.
The rest of the team so far consists of Kyouhei, who seems to be the leader but no clue what his role in the team is, and Ryuunosuke, who is all about data and analysis.
As for what they are up against, this first episode gives us trains, cars and trucks getting warped from one place to another, causing massive damage on impact and killing pretty much everyone inside, potentially because of something known as a Shard of Tesla. Basically, collect all the shards and stop whoever is using them to cause mayhem.
Honestly, as ugly as Tesla Note has so far been I really like the story being set up here and this is definitely a plot I’m interested in seeing explored. Whether you can get past the CG or not is entirely up to each viewer and whether Tesla Note actually delivers on the potential of this plot will remain to be seen but I’m actually kind of hopeful. That doesn’t mean my hopes won’t be dashed but I’m definitely going to see where this one goes.
Images from: Tesla Note. Dir. M Fukuda. Gambit. 2021
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Karandi James
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