Audience reviews
14 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
GenghisAres
This is a pretty decent show that is ultimately disappointing.
The characters and general world-building are pretty good and fairly well-developed. Some of the plots and stories, as well as some character decisions, are a little underwhelming sometimes, but overall remains interesting. The story moves between small, single-episode plots to larger multi-episode stories involving post-war corruption and class oppressions in a nation trying to rebuild.
PROS:
Characters are interesting and well-developed.
Background world-building is fairly deep.
Some good and varied plots and stories being told.
CONS: Longer plots drag on and feel slow.
Some villains are pretty one-note.
Ending doesn't wrap up anything at all and is ultimately not very engaging due to how slowly paced it is.
No second seas…
Read at the sourcebmoore07
Assembled through a string of bizarre twists of fate and spearheaded by a tomboy princess known as 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin, a ragtag outfit of inexperienced yet well-intentioned military officers aspire to forge a positive, lasting impact in their community, their society, and the world at large through resolving one trivial, small-scale case after another. They are Section 3 (nicknamed the “Pumpkin Scissors” unit) of the Royal Empire militia; brought into existence by the Empire’s ceasefire with a rivaling country after a long, arduous, bloody, and pointless war, this unit, the archetypal “whipping boys” of the military, contributes in combating the after-effects of the war (of which there are many) through relief efforts. Pumpkin Scissors is an anime that primarily follows the jou…
Read at the sourceGhostfriendly
An unconventional war anime, with a small unit of colourful soldiers fighting to heal a post-war fantasy Europe, while combating a corrupt army brass and nobility. The strength of the series is the characters, with a fiery, charismatic heroine, who has flaws to overcome but undeniable strength and spunk. Her supporting officers would do credit to Fullmetal Alchemist's cast. Many stand alone episodes are gems of plotting in a convincing, vibrant world, dealing with serious topics of trauma, unemployment, poverty and corruption. Sadly, the two 4-5 ep story arcs are so slowly paced that I found them almost unwatchable; a shame as they included many good ideas. The mysterious plots remain mysterious since the manga is still running, leaving this as an interesting and unsatisfying show.
Read at the sourcemorningxtea
Just like some of my other reviews, the overall rating is quite personal and it's because this is my all-time favourite anime. It's the best, most entertaining anime I've ever seen, and I really enjoyed it. The story itself is not perfect, and even though there's no hope for a second season, I wish there were. I will probably end up reading the manga to find out what's with all the holes in the storyline, but nonetheless, it's enjoyable and really interesting, pulling you along bit by bit. But, you should be able to piece some things together yourself if you plan to watch it. The art is great, but it does look a little underwhelming at times, especially when the characters are farther from the camera. The sound is amazing, and I would love to listen to all of the music from this anime--it'…
Read at the sourceBillyB
I really enjoyed watching pumpkin scissors, the heart of the show to me was the Character driven plot. With a great back story and history to it, it allows characters to be fleshed out pretty well for a 24 episode run. You'll find the Solders of the Pumpkin Scissors squad to be loveable and when necessary kick some serious butt too complete the mission of war relief.This anime has one of my favorite Bad asses in anime Corporal Randal Oland who is part of the government biggest war time secret, it is Corporal Oland's job to show no fear, pain, or remorse and attack a tank one on one! Some down sides to the show is its story arch, but the only problem with it is that the anime was not picked up for a second season that i know of, leaving a lot of questions to be answered, so i recommend if y…
Read at the sourceangelsreview
The storyline was pretty cool, and is mostly a conspiracy theory in itself. It’s about secrets within the military that during peaceful times come to hunt the people of the world they live in. It’s pretty much about what happens after the war and what we normally don’t see living in the United States since we haven’t had a battle happen on our land in such a long time. It can open the eyes on just how senseless some people can get and how crazy war veterans can be without medical help after being trained to be killers. It also cautions against genetic manipulation of people to become what we call super soldiers because they can turn against us or have no reason for being after the war. The show starts out pretty light hearted and then gets darker but still keeps its comedy throughout. Ther…
Read at the sourceSchrodingersMatt
While I believe that a responsible critic should judge each creation on its own individual merits, there are times when the existence of a comparable alternative that surpasses the subject in question on just about every level is evidence enough that it could have been "done better". That holds especially true in this case, where said alternative is widely considered to be essential viewing for anime fans. I mention this because from the military-ruled state to the lower class that's still suffering from the wounds left by war, right down to the noticeably similar art style, Pumpkin Scissors comes out looking an awful lot like a poor man's Fullmetal Alchemist. Take Ed and Al out of the equation to focus almost entirely on Roy and his gang, and then switch Roy out for an idealistic novice,…
Read at the sourceWilwarinAndamar
My take on it: Take the military from FMA. Except that Riza's the one in charge, and she's part nobility. The war's over, and Riza's platoon is focused on war relief efforts, looked down upon by everyone; including by those they're trying to help. That's Pumpkin Scissors in a nutshell.
The dub was good, and the storyline had me hooked from episode one. It's a short series that left me begging for more.
The series is short; only 24 episodes, which has its pros and cons. There's very little filler, so the plot stays strong. On the other hand, there's a lot of questions left unanswered.
There weren't a lot of big-name voice actors, except for a minor character voiced by Vic Mignona (who I could barely recognize at first). This was a plus for me, because when you listen to a lot of dubs, y…
Read at the sourceanimefreak0007
At first glance it appears like your typical military story. When you actually begin to watch it you realize it's not.
The story is set after a fictional war. The main focus is the section in the army called Pumpkin Scissors. Their duty is to help with rebuilding the country after the war.
This is not the first military anime I watched, but I was surprised of the main characters. They're not defending a country or in a mist of war, but trying to rebuild it. The first time I've heard of something like that.
There is a flaw. Most stories have one. In this case the story ended with a incomplete ending. Questions were left unanswered.
Other than that it was a good story. You'll fall in love with the stubborn and sweet Alice. The strong, but kind Oland. The smart Machs and the playboy Oreldo.
Read at the sourceAfroCookie
Ok Pumpkin Scissors is about an army relief unit and of course the characters within the unit. One who is a princess, another a astute lady chaser, and lastly the one who is a army experiment.
Art & Sound : the art as well as the sound in this anime is average for the time of its release.
Characters : the character of this anime are great we see all of the main 4 characters of this anime develop within the short length of this anime. Also all of the characters have interesting back stories which leads you to want to know a little bit more about them.
Story: This is where this anime has a problem it presents us with some very engrossing stories that are never finished. Even the ending of this anime fails close up any of the about 3 stories that are going on (two which are underlying)
In…
Read at the sourceerisabesu_kuro
(season 1) This anime, pumpkin scissors is about military section 3, pumpkin scissors helping people after the war. I have to say, even I was skeptical at first and had a hard time picking up the manga, or the anime to watch or read it. But once I got started, I couldn't stop. It has a subpurb plotline, and the characters are VERY believable, it's almost like you mourn for them when something bad happens. It's very realalisting even besides the fact that they have a litle bit of fantasy genre in there. The fantasy genre was so beutifully mixed into the reality that it was hard to tell witch was witch. Of course if your looking for something outright fantasy, this wouldn't be for you. But if you have a compassionate heart, I'm sure the main character, Randel Oland, will take a place in your…
Read at the sourceexodus1999
This is a disappointing pile, the idea behind post war relief is kind of lame, but ok i can deal with it. Character wise , the Alice is the typical obnoxious omgwtfbbq with a ridiculous sense of justice and running into things, and for whatever reason she can fight well (2nd leutinent). then you have 2 half ass soldiers (warrant officer), a useless add in that somehow is a sergeant major, and the only person who probably have seen combat is a corporal? and to top it off he is like a 8foot tall that they make him such a wuss half the time The dumbest thing about this is the dog Mercury is a private first class...lol... The other thing about this is everyone makes fun of there section of the army, well if there so high ranked wouldn't they have more pull and respect? whatever lets move on.…
Read at the sourceHuntsman
Was a good anime, but had the potential to be great.
The story takes place in a parallel earth that looks like Europe in the 20s and 30s. A cease fire has ended between Royal Empire and the Republic of Frost. Three years later the Empire is still plagued by problems from the war, soldiers becoming mercanieries, starvation, and disease. To help solve the problems the Empire sets up Imperial Army Section III nicknamed Pumpkin Scissors. Led by 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin and a special forces soldier Randel Oland set out to change the empire.
Almost everything about this anime was great. The story wasn't original, but had a good twist to the usual stuff. The characters were interesting. The animation was done by Gonzo, and was great. The music was ok. Now you're asking why if I thought it…
Read at the sourceYourMessageHere
This is absolutely typical. Oooh, I thought, something about a post-war relief squad. That has some real potential, it's original, good setting, chance for some great stories, those shots look nice, and - Oh nuts, it's Gonzo.
Studio Gonzo have this amazing effect; I suspect they have some kind of quota system in effect. For each really good thing they put out, there seem to be a bunch of things about which you end up thinking "if only they'd just done that differently, that could've been so much better...". Every excellent series like Bokurano that they put out is outnumbered by flawed or downright shoddy fare like Strike Witches, Full Metal Panic and Chrno Crusade - and most often, the problem with Gonzo series is the story. Pumpkin Scissors is, sadly, not among the excellent exceptions,…
Read at the source