Asura Cryin' 13

I watched the last episode of Asura Cryin' only to discover the story is to be continued in a second season. This is good and bad. It is good because the story will be told properly, rather than being squeezed into 13 episodes. It is bad because now I have to wait for the second season to get some answers!

The first season mainly introduces the mecha known as Asura Machina, and its "power source" called a Burial Doll, a person that is very near death. However, we are still not told everything such as where the Asura Machina are made, assuming they are manufactured at all. One thing that is painfully clear, is that the Asura Machine's power is not inexhaustible because the person in core of the machine so near death.

The main character, Natsume Tomoharu, is bit of a wet blanket at the beginning of the season but I actually like him by the end. One thing that is odd about him, is that he never really asks questions about the Asura Machina or anything, even though it seems everyone around him has much more information than he does. The coolest character is Kurosaki Shuri because she packs a ridiculous amount of fire power into her artificial limbs. She reminds me of a 1960's British comic book character called I Spy.

The story tends to throw information at you and explains it later. However, if you need every mystery to be explained clearly and precisely, then this series will be disappointing. I found that there is enough information to understand and enjoy the story. Even so, many big mysteries were left for the second season, so it would have really sucked if it was never produced.

These split season stories have become more common lately. I suppose it more to do with economics than anything else, since it allows the producers recoup the costs before committing to the second season.