Cardfight!! Vanguard: overDress

To keep things short: Vanguard overDress is a breath of fresh air injected in a considerably old franchise. As someone who watched and loved the first series back in 2011, and tried some of the subsequent ones, it was really nice to see overDress not following the same old formula. There is no first episode explaining the rules, there is no old characters making cameos, it is all new and it is all different. The biggest difference between this and the older animes ("If" may be an exception here), is that it is not a story ABOUT Vanguard told USING Vanguard. It is a story about these characters and how they grow as people, and they play Vanguard in the process. They basically take all the SoL aspects of the other animes (which are arguably the best part about these for me) and do not rush them in 10 minutes per episode so they can fit a rushed fight in the other half. It is much easier to connect and enjoy their stories beacause of this. You are free to disagree, of course. But at least give them credit for trying. In a industry where it's really easy to just sit and repeat what made success, they took a step froward and tried to reinvent themselves. Regarding the more technical aspects, the anime is pretty decent. With great visuals, specially in the short battle scenes with the "avatars", nice voice acting complementing fun and enjoyable characters, and a decent soundtrack. Now we have to wait for the next season, which will probably finish the story and allow us to be able to give it a fair analysis.

!!! CAREFUL SOME SPOILERS !!! Vanguard OverDress is a reboot/relaunch of the long running Cardfight Vanguard franchise and now that its first cour has run its course I can safely say I can see where they’re going while also having no idea who this series is for. Story: The story starts with Yuyu, a young teen who is a bit of a pushover who gets introduced to the world of Vanguard and joins a team that meets up in an abandoned amusement park near his town. On the surface its about how Yuyu grows more confident and learns to stand up for himself with the advice and help of his new friends and Vanguard but I am not 100% sure if that is actually what the story is about. That is largely due the structure and pacing of the story. The first episode introduces us to most of the main characters and while it doesn’t tell us a lot about the cardgame, the amazing animation symbolizing the fight is breathtaking and draws you in. The subsequent episodes continue the narrative, yes, but in the way that they happen chronologically but the events never affecting the story or characters in the long term. The episodes include highlights such as “Megumi thinks Danji is gay for Yuyu”, “Danji wrestles a real life Japanese wrestler” and “Yuyu is sick and sleeps over at Danji’s”. Most of them reveal minor details about the characters and their relationships but overall feel more like time fillers than anything. It’s only halfway through the series where the story finally starts to show itself but it is promptly dropped for a while before being picked up again and rushed through in the last three episodes. Perhaps because the series spend half of its runtime not having a story at all, the stakes for the climax are only set in episode 10 with the story completely losing its grounded tone of just a bunch of friends hanging out and playing cardgames and instead jumping headfirst into the overly serious and dramatic tone of its contemporaries which is jarring for a series that so far tried to be about anything except cardgames. Which is another point that bothers me about OverDress: It is not about Vanguard. It doesn’t even really involve Vanguard. Yes, the game is the reason why Yuyu joins the group but beyond that it has little to do with the actual happenings of the story, they could be playing Bop-It instead for all the impact it had on the story. The characters don’t establish what’s fun about the game or even what they personally like about it, instead just repeating that it’s fun like a broken record with the viewer having no idea why it would be. The series seems to be so disinterested in the cardgame itself that the first half omits entire sections of a fight or even has episodes where you don’t see a Vanguard field at all. The second half is better about it and sometimes even shows whole cardfights with no cuts but because the viewer is never told the rules about it will probably leave many who didn’t watch the previous seasons or play the game themselves confused. There are many factors that could have let to the, in my opinion, lackluster story structure from the director being new to series directing and Vanguard in general to the attempts at being a “serious” anime going a bit too far to the series being planned with 24 episodes and being paced as such despite the split. Whatever those reasons are, I don’t find the story particularly engaging and having to wait 10 episodes for something resembling a plot to appear is a big ask. 4/10 Art: One of the upsides of this anime. There is a reason Clamp has stood the test of time and their character designs are appealing and probably the best part. That’s not to say that Kinema Citrus is slacking off because the rare moments during cardfights where the feeling actually fighting is illustrated with gorgeously animated sequences of the units physically fighting each other. Outside of these scenes the animation is standard but by no means bad with occasionally surreal directing giving some sequences (mostly cardfights) a dream like feeling to them. Speaking of directing though, the composition and directing the actual cardfights is notably weak, the first half in particular. Besides just skipping phases and sections of the fights, cards sometimes just appear out of nowhere between frames, characters get damaged as the plot demands, the strategies used are flat and uninteresting etc etc. The last part could be in part because the rebooted game the anime is based around very simple as of the time of writing but even though some of the characters’ decks have built in counters to other decks that is hardly utilized within the series. There is one active attempt at a counter made as far as I remember but besides that most fights boil down to the characters brute forcing their way to victory and drawing the exact card they need at the right time. Overall the actual art, animation and direction is fine to good but if you’re a fan of the cardgame and are hoping for fun and exciting fans, you might be disappointed. Because it’s such a niche thing to be bothered about though, I won’t weigh it too much in my score. 8/10 Sound: It’s good. I’m not sure what else to say really cause that’s what it is. Opening and endings are performed by Roselia and Argonavis from Bushiroad’s “BanG Dream!” franchise and while I have no interest in it I have to admit that the songs that have been used in Vanguard so far are absolute bangers. (heheh) I don’t believe the actual OST has been released but from what I heard in the series it gets the job done. It’s appropriately silly, serious and soothing when it needs to be but it never quite stands out on it’s own. It might not stick in your mind but its perfectly serviceable. 8/10 Characters: Oh boy let’s get into this. Overall the characters are fine, serviceable, largely inoffensive but they are also kind of boring in a way. Let’s start with the main protagonist Yuyu. He is mostly a pushover and is mostly dragged around by others, most notably his family and Danji with not a lot of moments where he shows any agency. While the story tells us he becomes more confident as a result of his new hobby and friends, it is not shown very often with Yuyu still being pushed around by the end of the series, if not to the degree as the first episode. He does become more outspoken when it concerns Vanguard with him standing up for his friends in the second to last episode and being less of a nervous wreck but he doesn’t change a whole lot. Next is Megumi who I guess you could call the POV character next to Yuyu. She is probably the character we know the most about in the series with several episodes either dedicated to her background or at least tying into it. Despite having so much focus though she doesn’t seem to have a lot of stuff going on for her. She certainly has personality, being friendly if stubborn and often jumping to conclusions but beyond being friends with Yuyu and having an obvious crush on Danji she hasn’t really contributed to the story a lot. Unlike Yuyu there is no clear character arc for her so far and she doesn’t change by the end of the series except for maybe being a bit less clingy towards Danji. It’s possible that there is more planned for her in the second half but as it stands not a lot going on. Next is Danji, the arguable deuteragonist of the series. Danji is one of the older guys in the group and the leader of their Vanguard team and while he kinda stupid is a very self-assured and confident person. Despite being an overall friendly guy we don’t know a whole lot about him, only that he is friends with Megumi’s older brother, lives in a dump of a place and does odd jobs around town. It’s implied he has a dark troubled past, sometimes disappearing for days on end and meeting mysterious people behind the scenes. On paper he seems like an interesting character, a good contrast to the shy and introverted Yuyu but the way he’s executed is a bit of a problem. His antics an…

I will admit that I may rate this anime too high but I really like this season of Vanguard. It's meant to go on a different direction of the previous season and it really shows. It's meant to be more character heavy and it really shows. Sure there were filler episodes and some odd stuff but it's all meant for us to know the characters and lead up to the heavy stuff that may occur in season 2. Now for what people complain about in terms of the anime being a card game anime. I felt that they did a good job at visually showing how some of the decks work. Sure they are pretty fast and things can be confusing but it's a huge example of show don't tell. Like when we see Tomari take cards away from her opponent's field with a cage, it's meant to show her prison gimmick of her deck. While I understand the grievances of everybody, I thought they did a decent job. They mostly do this because the anime is meant to appeal to a general audience. Not everyone is going to understand how the game works. While the OG series does get people learning, Overdress is meant to invite people before new fans get into the game. I mostly got a friend who was not into card game anime to watch just for that one awesome but funny moment in episode 12 or the apex of card gaming. If you seen it, you know what I am talking about. Not explaining it due to spoilers. Now for the good stuff, the characters. The way they interact, the situations they get into, and what we learn about them is great. I especially love Danji for his Big Brother vibe while being a bit goofy which helps him be a bit dynamic. And the whole thing is pretty down to Earth with some relatable problems (to an extent). You got to give it to Overdress to not relying on the supernatural to have a story. Not only that, we do see the protagonist having to train and learn how to play the game while being a part of a community that help him out. So he's not just good on the get go and I hope to see him get better. Overall, I felt the hate in Overdress is unwarranted and I felt most of the flaws can be expanded on in season 2 or there is a legit reason to them.

Section 1: Which audience is this show for? It is a great show if you do not care about Vanguard the card game. As someone who does not know a single thing about Vanguard and has a very small diminishing interest in card games in general, I found the show to be amazing at times and standard in some of the weaker episodes. It is not a show about Vanguard but about the people who play Vanguard. There's a huge distinction there and the show appropriately structures around that. In the first episode, there is simply 0 explanation about the card game itself. Though slightly confusing, I later realized it does not matter at all. The card game is just a dressing for some conflict and the real heart of the show is the relationships between people. This becomes even more apparent in season 2 but let's save this for the review for season 2. Now, does understanding the mechanics of the game enhance the narrative? Yes, I would say so. However, anyone who knows and likes Vanguard probably expects the show to be more focused on the games and its not. So its a null point. Section 2: Positive Portrayals of Femininity in Male Characters There's something distinctly different about this show versus other card games and just shounen genre in general. The show isn't afraid to show femininity in its male characters and I mean this in the utmost positive way. First, Yuuyu (the protagnoist) crossdresses in multiple episodes and no one acts like that's weird. Sure, his friends might tease him but no one says anything like "he shouldn't do that" or "that's weird" etc. This is a breath of fresh air. Yuuyu seems very secure in his gender and in the later seasons he doesn't really mind the cross dressing as much. There's another character that has to cross dress because plot (lol) and he doesn't even mind it that much either. (NOTE: Some animes nowadays have something similar but the crossdressing is sort of only justified because you/characters are attracted to them and not because crossdressing itself is okay.) Another thing that I want to note is that affection between male characters (especially between the protagonist and other male characters) is extremely heart-warming. Usually, in any media, affection between men is relegated to sort of semi-competitive, too cool to express their true feelings type of way. I quite frankly find it disturbing that we see this trope over again over again. Not being able to express affection in a direct, caring way is bad. Many find this to be masculine but I think it's very sad. The show is very direct with affection and love between all characters, regardless of gender. I adore that. Now if this doesn't immediately convince you to watch the show, I would say skip Vanguard: overDress. Section 3: Story There's nothing too complicated and nothing too offensive (with the exception of the creeper that sorta touches Yuuyu inappropriately). I would say the story is majorly incomprehensible most of the time. I find it hard to follow why things are happening in the way it is but at the end of the day it does not matter. You sorta just have to go along with it. I started doing that in the first few minutes of the first episode and it has drastically improved my enjoyed of the show. Think about it like it is a slice of life show with disconnected stories all happening in an episode format. Despite not making sense most of the time, the characters really drive the show forward and you care when the emotional highs hit. Section 4: Characters I find this to be the best part of the show. A lot of them are really likeable and quirky in their own ways. I'm fairly bad with names but i was able to remember most of the cast by a few episodes in. Danji's the unpredictable leader with a heart of gold. Really love him and when his backstory gets told in season 2 I really started feeling for the guy. Conclusion: Overall, i would recommend it to people but I hope I made it clear which audience this show is for. If you fall into this demographic you will definitely love it.

I've never watched any Cardfight Vanguard series and wasn't really going into this expecting anything amazing but this surprised me a lot in various aspects. I realized right away that the animation was familiar and after a quick search I found out that Clamp designed the characters, a big plus as a Clamp fan. The animation overall was really good, not just the character designs but the movement, facial expressions, and the backgrounds as well were amazing with the detail. Another aspect I really liked was the score, especially later on when Danji bought a music CD and the music changed to classical lullaby. It all felt very natural and suited the scenes very well. Music is one thing that can make or break a show and this anime did a very good job. Like I mentioned, I've never been interested in anime about card games so I never bothered to watch anything like Cardfight Vanguard, but this show kept my attention throughout all 12 episodes. I would say this is because it doesn't focus on just the card game, if it did then I would've probably dropped it instantly. There are no long drawn out scenes (like in some sports anime) where the characters constantly talk to themselves about their card, their opponents cards, or what plans they have to win. Although I'm not familiar with the series, this decision felt as if it's partially for the sake of old time viewers that know about the game already. It gives the illusion that the viewer could be a veteran looking at the new generation of players trying out a fun card game. There are some introductions to the cards, and at the end of every episode a character will explain about a featured card. It doesn't go too in depth though, which I appreciate. It feels like both newbie card players and veterans alike can enjoy this anime this way. My favorite aspect of this show is the characters. Each episode takes its time to introduce us to the characters, it shows their personality, their habits, thoughts, pasts, etc. Because I personally don't care about the whole 'card game' plot I really loved that the characters were well built. Of course I don't like every character but it's interesting learning more about them and being able to see them in a new light. I particularly love Yuyu, he's an amazing protagonist in my opinion because of one very large reason. This is the fact that from the very beginning he was never an independent and bull-headed typical protag, but rather he's a caring person (quite the pushover actually) that treasures relationships most. I really love that his love for his friends isn't outshined by his love for playing the cardfight game. Many protags too often get too caught up in the flow, they're too obsessed with winning or being the strongest or whatever. Yuyu cares about what's really important, which is to have fun with friends, and this isn't care isn't tossed aside later in the story. He isn't forced to 'grow as a character' through hardship and by being defeated, that just makes him suffer, what makes him grow is the support he gets from the friends he made from being introduced through the card game, both through playing the game and from outside interactions. I also love Tohru and Danji for two similar reasons, they are both older and veterans of the game (probably similar to a lot of viewers), but they both have a complicated relationship with the game itself. They both are aware that they are getting older and such a game isn't typically played by older people. One maintains his love for the game but chooses to distance himself from it, although never cutting it off fully he knows that this game isn't what he really needs in life. The other can't accept that he's playing a 'game' at such an old age and tries to twist his worldview to make the game fit into his life, ultimately leading him to make bad choices and ignore his original love for the game. They are both interesting in how they view the game and how they choose to interact with it and others through playing. The ending was quite dramatic but I'm hoping for a second season, this anime was very enjoyable.

It is honestly baffling that Cardfight Vanguard returned seemingly as a "Vanguard for everyone" and generally audience appealing by being short 13 ep seasons. To shock the audience with a crossdressing main character voiced by a well love voice actor. A setting about outcasts, having fun at an abandoned amusement part playing card games. And then proceed to be just not a good show at all. Cardfight Vanguard Overdress season 1 does not know what it wants to be or what it wants to do. Its wants to put on a air of acceptance, yet mcs Yu-yu Kondo's crossdressing quirk is just a joke. Yu-yus crossdressing is a result of being his sisters doll for dressing because he simply can't refuse to help when asked, and yet we don't really have a moment with his family for him to assert his will by the end of this, or really much interaction with his family at all beyond the first ep, which is strange because Vanguard animes have some pretty nice family involvement in its history. And then we come to the group he joins, Blackout, the cardfighting group who hang at the abandoned amusement park. There's Megumi whos quirk is just being jealous of Yu-yu because she wants Danji's attention. Zakusa and Tomari who seemed to be almost like a cool couple but then they just start doing odd behavior thats not endearing. Tomari has a cool announcer voice though. The best characters in all this are Danji, who's just the aloof team leader of Blackout, and in some ways similar to Yu-yu because hes willing to do anything when asked, and Tohya, the med student who just wants to dedicate his life to card games. And yet, this is Yu-yu's story. Its cool and all he was attracted to one of Danjis cards, and the interactions fun with him learning from Danji. But the story, oh the story............. The point of the story is that Yu-yu is supposed to get confidence from discovering and playing Vanguard form this community. Danji sees potential in him, maybe even take over his group because Danji is feeling like retiring. Blackout also has to protect their turf both from cardfighters and because theyre on abandoned property. Its such a simple and good story on paper. However, the season spends time senselessly even though on paper it all sounds good. Misadventures with Blackout, theres some inkling from Danji he doesn't talk about, Yu-yu being under Danjis wing. Megumi being jealous of the newbie, and Tomari and Zakusa being voices of reason. And how Tohya works into that story being a rival. However what actually happens is fluctuating quality slice of life eps until some conflict and then boom, wait for season 2. And this is something I will say in all my D series reviews when needed. Complaints about eras seasons being a 13 eps are dumb, this stuff is preplanned for more than that so they have to be good by itself while wanting you to ask for more. If Kinema Citrus can't use their time wisely like every other anime that airs in a season, then the problem isn't the episode count. Yugioh despite being ongoing still, has been structuring arcs that last 12 eps each since the studio change and theyre all well structured and tell good stories. At least Roselia does the OP, Zeal of the Proud is a banger. Now for last, the cardfights, and honestly, theyre fine. I am not a worshipper of how Vanguard used to do fights, as cool as it was to see full fights play out. I mean, I guess its a double burn if the fights are shortened but also the writing outside of it fluctuates, but I'll take it over anything from Aichis first era past the first season. However, even though Vanguard is now nice clean CLAMP artstyle, its pretty clear the directions made for the fights are both to look fancy, but also cost cutting measures. The new sakuga bursts are cool, much better than Vanguard not being known for sakuga before outside of the OPs. And uh, what DOES Overdress mean? Well, onto season 2...........