HORIZON ON THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE SERIES 2

 
Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere Series 2
Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: 12
Running Time: 300 Mins
Audio: English DD 5.1 & Japanese DD 2.0
Release Date: 21/10/2013
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes

In this second offering of the series, Tori and his friends during the Mikawa conflict have to rescue Horizon from the evil  Testament Union, but not without problems and clashes of personality. The floating city of Musashi is going to its next destination of the floating city of England, while conflict is starting with the floating city of Tres Espana against the British. Everything is happening as transcribed by prophecy, and the fairy queen may rule again.

Mecha fans will have a lot of interest in this anime, like Code Geass we get to see the imposing mecha power up and clash heavily against the other mecha in sparring duels. Trinity Blood seems to be an influence on this too with some of the characters having huge shoulders and the campness of several of the male characters. It is richly coloured and designed to shock with its detailed outrageous armor, fun fight scenes and battle simulations amongst the men and women of the different cities. There is also room for some comical fan service for both the guys and the gals. Female characters dressed as mecha wander around with huge bouncing boobs and one guy runs around naked all the time - he's obviously for the girls to laugh at and the animators seem to catch him in every angle with several things covering his privates. In one scene he sneaks into Horizon's bedroom hoping to catch her unawares wearing nothing more than a seaweed crotch cover and a naughty smile. There are other equally funny scenes with him in them, but that is what the pause button was made for.

As with other anime series the girls will act like clutzes but when faced with naughty men, they know how to deal with them, turning from cute to menacing and highly dangerous in a heartbeat. The one thing that you will notice is the fact that from the first few episodes, there seems to be no discernable plot, just a jumble of comical characters having fun while battle simulations are supposed to be happening. It reminds me of another comedy series, Hetalia, and is just as much fun if you are one of those viewers who like to watch fun anime instead of serious mecha fuelled battle ones. All I will say is enjoy it as the production value is there, more so with the Blu-ray version being crisp and clearer with more extras, though the standard DVD version still has the production value too.

There are many features on these discs that will impress viewers but the main menu screen delights us with an image of a large-breasted mecha woman surrounded by other characters, and an intro tune that will remind any aficionado of eighties or nineties anime of the good old days.


Episodes in order of appearance:
Disc 1
1. Those Lined Up Before The Horizon
2. Innocents at the Table
3. Shortstops in Town
4. Covert Ops Under the Night Sky
5. Graduates Under the Moon
6. Advocate at the Confession Grounds
7. Musashi’s Knights

Disc 2
8. Ruler of the Land
9. The Summit’s Flower
10. The Trumpeter at the Start Line
11. Musashi’s Mr. Impossible
12. Opposition Against Crossing Over the Parallel Lines
13. Those Lined Up Above the Horizon

Bonus Material: Horizon Teasers, Horizon BD Commercials, Text less Opening, Text less Closing, Far East Lightening Lecture #2, Far East Lightening Lecture #3, and Far East Lightening Lecture #4.

Verdict: Forget the plot - you won't need it - just enjoy the anime for what it is - funny as hell!