Alison and Lillia Episode 1 - Alison and Will

OP - Tameiki no Hashi (Shinoe Yukawa) - recorders! I like recorders! I also like cave paintings hinting at interesting plot twists…

ED - Sayonara no Omajinai (Sou Matsumoto) - more recorders! I still like recorders! Photos of the cast abound. Nothing very interesting to see here.

Two great kingdoms are separated by a mountain range and a vast river, and have been warring with each other for centuries. On the Eastern side, the Rokshe Commonwealth, a slightly bookish teenager named Wilhelm (or Will) is surprised when his friend Alison, an air force pilot, comes to visit with stories of her time in the war (although she’s not allowed to fly fighter planes). Whilst generally catching up they bump into an old man renowned for his tall tales who spins them a story of his time working in an elite, secretive poison gas squad during the war, and a mysterious “treasure” that could bring an end to the conflict. However, when an ominous mayoral official comes to take the old man away due to unspecified tax issues, Alison and Will give chase, eventually commandeering a plane to investigate.

I tend to be very “bloke-ish” when it comes to fiction, particularly TV shows. I like plot, plot and more plot, and sometimes the characters just get in the way; of course it’s important to have interesting characters, but it’s the story progression that usually gets me interested in a show more than delving into character psyches. This is why I’ve held up on writing anything about Alison and Lillia so far because realistically not an awful lot happens in the first episode, and whilst there’s a lot of exposition to set up the world view and begin the story there’s nothing that really grabs the attention like, say, psychedelic concert scenes or plants bursting out of the ground like some of the other shows this season. Frankly, I found the first episode a little boring on first watch because there’s nothing to really latch on to visually or narratively as yet.

However, on rewatching (yes, with subtitles) it becomes immediately obvious that the characterisation of Alison and Will is key to enjoying this episode. While Alison’s animation occasionally falls into the SD-jealousy trap, the dialogue between the two of them is well written and consistently characterised (despite the somewhat clunky exposition at times); both of them feel realistic and act in sensible ways without going over the top. Despite the show giving off a low-budget feel with bright colours and simplified character designs the animation and art are fine overall; it may seem like an odd thing to say, but the show doesn’t feel so much like anime as it does a novel with its pacing and generally understated nature thus far.

I’m optimistic about Alison and Lillia, but admittedly only cautiously so. It’s extremely early days yet to really tell how the story is going to develop; we know very little of what’s going on in the war and who the major players are in this story, and there’s always the possibility that even if if the “Alison” part of the story is fine the “Lillia” part will end up being dull. Time will tell, I suppose.

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