Buddy Complex is a 2014 anime series produced by studio Sunrise (Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing). The series is a mecha anime done in a similar style to that of the popular Gundam franchise. The show is based on an original manga by Hiroki Ohara.

The Buddy Complex series starts off with average 16 year old Aoba Watase, who is attending high school, and living an ordinary life. Then one day a gigantic robot attacks from the sky and his world becomes turned upside down. A female classmate named Hina Yumihara informs him that she's come from the future to save Aoba's life. Aoba quickly becomes a pilot of a giant robot and must face another giant robot being led by a bloodthirsty pilot out to take down Aoba. In just mere moments, Aoba is flung into the future to the year 2088.

Once in the future, Aoba meets a giant robot pilot named Dio Junyou Weinberg, who Hina had told him would be waiting for him right before he was flung into a time portal in the sky. Much to the surprise of Aoba, Dio has no idea who he is and neither does anyone else. He ends up in a group of soldiers fighting against the ruthless Zogilia Republic empire. Aoba has no idea how to get home (and to his proper time). Soon he discovers that the girl who saved his life in the past, Hina Yumihara, is actually a soldier in the Zogilia Republic of the future.

The war is on between the Free Pact Alliance and the Zogilia Republic. Aoba helps the alliance and becomes an expert giant robot pilot but he also wants to talk to Hina and try and figure out what happened to him in the past. The Hina he meets in the future has no idea who he even is. Aoba must figure out what happened to Hina (if she is the same Hina who rescued him) and figure out a way home while still helping to defeat the Zogilia Republic.

The series is written by BC Project staff. The series starts off with a fun and entertaining concept involving time travel and giant robots. The characters are interesting at the start (especially the lead character Aoba). Over the course of the series, the show became less interesting and even more confusing.

Buddy Complex focused a lot on the concept of "coupling" (which is the term used throughout the series to describe a pilot's abilities in piloting a giant robot and in working with other pilots for optimum abilities). The series also changed gears somewhat and was more focused on being a slice-of-life type sci-fi series in the middle of the run. The ending arc was convoluted and confusing as well and tossed the storyline involving the Zogilia Republic aside in favor of a different sci-fi twist. The time-travel elements weren't well handled by the series writers.

The series music is composed by Tatsuya Kato. The music for the series is energetic and intense. The themes used throughout the show are effective and grand in scope. The music worked well throughout the series and was well suited for a giant robot mecha anime.

The animation on the show was superb. This was easily the best aspect of the entire series. The Sunrise animators did terrific work on the series and made the anime much more exciting with their impressive mecha designs and character designs. The art was fluid and often beautiful. In terms of animation quality, Buddy Complex is a terrific accomplishment by the staff who were involved in producing the series.

The series is directed by Yasuhiro Tanabe. The anime began with a energetic vibe which made the series seem exciting and original at the start. The pacing throughout the series was generally well handled as well. Unfortunately, the series became less involving as the storyline became more convoluted. The quality of the directing was also disappointing towards the end of the anime as it became heavily focused on action sequences and the story seemed less and less important.

Buddy Complex was a decently entertaining series with some interesting moments. The animation was superb. The music fit the show remarkably well. It was the storytelling and direction which disappointed and which stopped it from being as impressive as it could have been. The ending arc of the series seemed highly rushed and convoluted. The series didn't make much sense by the end and the last episode is not a satisfying finale.

The Blu-ray:

Video:

The 1080p MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen encoded image is generally quite strong. The presentation is reasonably impressive with good color reproduction and overall detail. The animation does have occasional softness but this is still a clear, solid, and impressive high-definition presentation. Occasional banding is the only big drawback to an otherwise solid presentation.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Japanese. English subtitles are provided. The series was not dubbed and no English dub option is presented on the release. The audio clarity is quite strong. Dialogue reproduction is excellent. The music score by Tatsuya Kato sounds terrific. In terms of overall clarity and quality, this is an excellent lossless audio presentation.

Extras:

This release is a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack.

Includes Textless Opening/Closing Themes, Promotional Videos, and Trailers for other Funimation releases.

Final Thoughts:

Though the series has some merit as a action-packed giant robot mecha anime, Buddy Complex suffers from weak storytelling and a convoluted conclusion. The series time travel elements are confusing and the finale is disappointing. The series is worth a rental for its beautiful animation and entertaining action sequences but the end result is a somewhat underwhelming and mediocre series with little replay value.

Rent It.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.