Androids and A.I. They are my second weakness next to time travel in the world of science fiction. Metallic Rouge deals with both. Another favorite type of show that I like is kind of gritty and has seedy undergrounds and the such. Think of things like Black Lagoon and Jormungand. Now mesh all of that together and you have Metallic Rouge; however, just because it meshes a few of my favorite things together, doesn’t necessarily mean that this show is going to be any goo— oh, wait. It’s made by BONES.
Okay, do we have to do this or can I just give this a YES and get out of here?
Oh, right. Journalistic integrity.
Let’s go…
First Episode Synopsis
We are taken straight into a nightclub where the evening’s entertainment is a woman named Sarah Fitzgerald (No relation to the Fitzgerald from that OTHER BONES series about some semi-popular man-tiger whose manga I thoroughly enjoy). She finds this girl on the street so she employs her to be her assistant due to her supposed kind heart.
On the other side of town, an underground deal is happening. We meet a guy who is a bit off his rocker and looking to obtain whatever is in this shipment. Call it a futuristic drug but it’s something.
The mystery of what it is doesn’t last long because we see that most of the city’s androids need to take this drug, called Nectar, to maintain operation. Those who don’t, experience a system failure and get scrapped; however, this Nectar is worth a ton of money because it can be used by humans, too, to get high.
Then, our mysterious girl is approached by a talking bird… telling her that they’ll meet at a certain point later; however, the bird gets killed by the guy who tried to jack the shipment of Nectar. Then, we get introduced to the Red Guardian as Sarah is revealed to be an android taking her shot of Nectar. She gets attacked but the Red Guardian backs off.
We meet the voice behind the now-deceased bird, Naomi Orthmann, who seems to know about this mysterious girl. She also knows Sarah Fitzgerald’s true identity. Apparently, she is one of the Immortal Nine… the strongest members of a group called Neon who are looking to do what every bad guy wants to do… take over the world.
Our mysterious girl turns out to be Metal Rouge… aka… the Red Guardian; however, she was not the one who attacked Sarah. That was our guy who happened to try to heist the Nectar. We learn his name is Jarod, and one of his abilities is mimicking others’ appearances. His true appearance is that of an android joker. He is also one of the Immortal Nine and only “attacked” Sarah to draw out Metal Rouge, real name Rouge Redstar.
We are then treated to some incredible sakuga as the battle between Metal Rouge and Sarah, known as Purgatory Viola. After the battle is over, Rouge contacts Naomi and it’s on to the next job!
Worth Watching?
YES – Wow… this show tosses a LOT at you in the first episode. Tons of character introductions, and the colonization on Mars, yet, they managed to turn it into a seedy futuristic city shrouded in darkness and grit, an evil group, a faction known as the Immortal Nine, and a final boss-style battle…. all on top of an absolutely BANGER of a soundtrack.
And it’s just the first episode.
To say that someone blew a massive budget here is an understatement; typically, this is a red flag. When a show shows off way too much, the following episodes usually fall into a lull until the end of the season when things have to wrap up; however, this is not a slice-of-life series which is the number one genre to fall into this trap. This is a sci-fi action series and it looks like we’re on to the next mission in episode two. So, aside from a predictable world and story-building, I expect more action and intrigue to come our way.
Needless to say, I was very impressed with the first episode. The pacing was a little fast as the show just kept throwing more and more and more at you with each passing second. Still, by the time the episode came to an end, it didn’t feel chaotic as everything tied together, serving as an extraordinary introduction to the world of Metallic Rouge.
If you’re into a gritty city-centralized sci-fi series that takes Android A.I. to the next level, then I suggest checking this one out. Since all the attention is on Solo Leveling, this might be the season’s sleeper hit.
