Rio Rainbow Gate

Apart from nice character designs and OK animation this series basically has nothing going for it. I find most shows that are focused solely on fan service very annoying but there have been some trashy shows that I have enjoyed because they were trashy fun. Rio - Rainbow Gate however is in no way, shape, or form fun.

Why do you ask? Even if you're a lover of fan service oriented shows you could do way better. Rio - Rainbow Gate essentially has no plot and the little plot that it does have makes no sense. Rio apparently lives in a completely ridculous world where underaged kids can go in casinos, where people that bring you luck whilst gambling in a casion are an asset to the casion (in which universe is it good to lose money?), where your boss is a perverted freak who no one sues for harrassment (slightly believable in a show like this) and where when you play a game of cards a weird magical selection sequence happens even though you're just playing poker or something. Also the idea of trying to become the best dealer is absurd.
There are plenty of ecchi shows out there for you panty loving folk that aren't insanely boring to watch. There are several better options this season that may be trash but at least they have a plot that isn't going to bore you completely to death and a plot that makes more sense. If you watch this show and enjoy it then you're crazy because even frame after frame of close ups of Rio breasts couldn't possibly perk up this pile of junk.

Well, this is sort of madness. Ecchi anime for gambling? Sounds funny, huh? But it really is. This anime, by itself, become fanservice-enriched. Based from Tecmo's "Super Blackjack" and "Dead Or Alive Paradise", this anime successfully grabbed my attention. Either by Rio Rollins (which is extremely a hottie) or by gambling which requires statistical approach to watch.

FYI, I watched this anime and read "Mathematics of Games and Gambling" by E. Packel. Then I competed in Java-Bali Statistic Competition, thanks to these hottie and that book, I can survive to semi-finals.

Other things that puts me on interest are hi-tech robot (Linda), flying casino (Sky Resort), and family intrigue. Not to mention a stupid and poor-luck police agent (Carlos Tanaka)

This anime is pretty good so far. It's ecchi though, and so far there aren't many signs of romance. It's original because of its casino-ness ( .. lol? ). I STRONGLY disagree with the person who commented and said it resembled Yu-Gi-Oh! Just because this anime has cards and a battle to be the best does not mean they're alike. The 'fight' scenes are sort of funny to watch, because her field is always so girly with her flowers and shining, floating cards.

ANYWAYS, the art and animation is fantastic. It might get a bit annoying, since it seems like it's an episodic ( each episode seems to have it's own little storyline, no arcs ) anime. It's worth trying out though.

Overall: 3.5 / 5.0

My impression of this show during the first two episodes was optimistic. Rio - Rainbow Gate appeared to be another show similar to Saki, a show about a Mah-Jongg Tournament. That impression was disproven in the third episode when they introduced chicken wing eating, casino haunting ghosts. Clumsy girls, people with incredible luck, people with incredible bad luck... all of those things are in the realm of possibility. If you believe in it, I guess ghosts could be as well. It's all a matter of perception... if you perceive it to be true, then I guess it's true.

Since I am a firm disbeliever in things like ghosts, my overall rating is less than it would be. If that were the only issue I had, then my rating would be a 4.5. My other issue with this show is it's lack of any direction. As others say, it's "episodic" (I'm not sure if that's actually a real word, but I'll humor them". This means that every episode has almost no connection to any other episode other than the fact that the same characters appear in each. This almost reminds me of older shows like Beavis and Butthead, or Ren and Stimpy... no direction whatsoever, but still could be entertaining episode to episode with a little annoyance thrown in.

(For those of you who are going to try to flame me for comparing shows to Beavis and Butthead or Ren and Stimpy... reread my comment... I said they were similar in the fact that they have no direction and each episode is unconnected to all the others.)

This show is definitely aimed at a younger audience. Cute, sweet characters for the girlish audience, and a little bit of eye candy for the male audience. Fanservice? I wouldn't call it that. If you want fanservice, this isn't the show for that. Females with big breasts and wearing bikinis? That's not fanservice, that's life.


Storyline: 2.5 / 5.0

As I said in the Overall breakdown, this show as of the third episode has no visible storyline. This may change in later episodes, and I'll continue to watch it as my curiosity is piqued to see whether or not the show's storyline does take some shape eventually. If that does happen, then I'll have to edit or repost a new review.


Music: 4.5 / 5.0

As I say with all other anime I've watched and written reviews on... Unless the show sucked so bad that I didn't want to watch it, the music I don't pay much attention to. In my opinion the music just adds to the show to enhance it's enjoyability or it's annoyance.


Characters: 4.5 / 5.0

The characters in this show are as unique as any other anime I've seen. There are very few anime where the characters are boring or so simliar that the only way you can tell the difference is eye and hair color. Each character is different and unique in it's own way.


Animation: 4.5 / 5.0

The animation in Rio - Rainbow Gate is similar to that of Saki, and 90% of all other anime out there. I have no complaints about any of them.




**Now I'm going to add a little side note. To those who get upset, angry or even irritated over an anime show of any kind. What's the point? Did you write the show? No. Don't get upset about it unless you think you can do better... and if you really think you can do better, then by all means, do better. But getting angry because someone didn't write a show exactly the way you want it? I have some bad news for you... there are over 6 billion people in this world, and they are NOT all like you. If you want something done your way... do it yourself... your way. Until you do, there really is no reasn to get angry about it. It's your own fault it's not done your way, because you didn't do it your way.

I enjoy writing friendly, positive criticism. Rarely do I write anything so negative as to actually downplay whatever my review was about. Do I think I could do better? Who knows. Will I ever try? no. Hence why I don't get angry and am just happy that there are people out there willing to stake their lives, hearts and souls into creating something others can enjoy. My advice to all of you... enjoy what's out there, or make some yourself.**


Kamakani
"Sarcasm is life's natural defense against stupidity"

Why is this getting remotely positive reactions?

Go on ANN or any remotely sane site and any random post boils down to some combination of:

-The plot is a joke (to the point where the show might as well be recycled shots of Rio's breast's bouncing).
-The characters are flat and annoying.
-The productions values/fanservice aren't impressive enough to save the show.


Seriously, even if you're just watching it for the fanservice, there are better shows. I'm really puzzled as to why Crunchyroll picked this up, it was one of those series that was clearly going to be a train-wreck straight from the beginning. Hope it was cheap (or free) ^^;