Library War 01 First Impression: For the love of books! ~ Animeshoon

Episode 01: My Prince Charming is from the Library Corps
More Library War 01 Screencaps

OP: Atashi no Machi, Ashita no Machi (Hitomi Takahashi) [4shared]
ED: Changes (Baseball Bear) [4shared]

First off, the phrase "Library War" sounds like a paradox. Are you even supposed to use the words "library" and "war" in the same sentence? An anime about a war, I can understand. Even an anime about a library is doable, I suppose. But an anime about a war where libraries actually take an active part in????

Exactly! That's why I couldn't resist this title.

So what is Library War (Toshokan Sensou) about? It takes a rather dystopian outlook on what would happen if media censorship were taken to its most extreme level: WAR. And I'm talking real armed conflict here, not the bureaucratic verbal diarrhea exchanged between government officials.

According to the storyline of Library War, the Japanese Government saw a proliferation of negative values in society, which they perceived to have been caused by media. To counteract this effect, they enacted the Media Improvement Act, a law which gives the Media Improvement Act (MIA) force unparalleled power over libraries and bookstores to confiscate whatever form of media perceived to cause harm to society as well as take preemptive action against the exercise of freedom of expression.

However, as more and more people fell victim to the arbitrary actions taken by the MIA forces, local governments, at the urging of libraries, lobbied for the passage of a new law that would neutralize the MIA. As a result, the Library Freedom Act was enacted, giving libraries virtual autonomy over their jurisdiction by establishing Anti-MIA defense units.

With these two laws and two armed groups acting under the auspices of legal authority existing, there can only be one result: LIBRARY WAR.

After many years since the two laws were enacted, the tension between the MIA task force and the Anti-MIA defense units show no sign of letting up. In 2019, Kasahara Iku, a gangly awkward but athletic girl, joins the batch of new recruits for the Library Corps with dreams of making it to the super elite unit where her "prince charming" is assigned. Unfortunately for her, her drill officer, Lt. Doujou Atsushi, seems to have singled her out for humiliation and daily scoldings.

Iku's confidant and roommate is the brainy Shibasaki Asako, a private first class librarian under the Intelligence department, who tries to neutralize Iku's dislike for her commander by telling her to take the scoldings as a form of encouragement. This sentiment is echoed by Lt. Komaki Mikihisa, who is a close friend of Doujou.

Library War takes a myopic look on the life of a Library Corps recruit as seen through the daily experiences of Iku. It is obvious from this plot device that the Library Corps are seen as the "good guys" or the "allies of justice" while the MIA soldiers remain faceless and nameless. Eventually, I suppose, they would have to introduce a face to the MIA soldiers to create a more palpable conflict for the story. As entertaining as Iku's life story is, I'm not sure I like her enough as a character to enjoy watching each episode filled with her admittedly hilarious antics but narrow-minded (naive?) views of people.

I'm not sure I like the art so much this time around. The colors are typical Production I.G. -- all faded hues before suddenly exploding into high contrasts, like that single panel of a sunset. They are, however, easy on the eyes.

As for the SD, I love it. I love Iku's expressions. They're fascinating. As compared to another title this season that utilizes SD (i.e. Vampire Knight), the humor in Library War seems less jarring and more in consonance with the overall mood of the story. I mean, yes, there's war going on, but at the moment, we are inside a training camp and the war outside seems so far away.

The OP theme "Atashi no Machi, Ashita no Machi" is written and performed by Hitomi Takahashi. It's a light song that is surprisingly not catchy for an opener and for a Hitomi Takahashi song. But it will probably grow on me since it has that quality of sounding pleasant the more you listen to it.

The ED is "Changes" by Base Ball Bear. I liked this song right away. I don't know why, but maybe because it has a "rock" feel to it.

The story of Library War is far-fetched. Freedom of expression is one of the most cherished achievements and one of the most protected principles of all free governments so it's easy to say now that it will never happen. But what if? That's what the anime is asking and in showing us Library War, it is giving us a glimpse of what could happen.

I think it's a great idea, and for that alone, this anime deserves to be followed.