It’s hard enough to tell an anime story. You may have a manga to act as a guide, but then comes the hard decisions as to what stays and what goes. I mean, I can take as many pages as I want to tell my story, but 24 minutes is 24 minutes and that CAN’T be argued with. It gets even harder when you try to tell two anime stories at the same time, but that is what you get with “Plunderer” (“Purandara”).
We are in a post-apocalyptic world, although, for the most part, it seems rather pleasant, as we have communities and are living nicely, not cowering in caves, out in the burning desert. However, this world has a bit of a twist, in our town of Halloween Alcia. Every person has their ‘count’ imprinted on their body somewhere. Hand, bosom, inner thigh, somewhere. This count is important. It sets your social status and refers to some aspect of your life, whereby you can increase that total by doing your assigned task. If, however, your count drops to zero, it’s game over and you are dragged down to the “The Abyss”. Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.
We follow the adventures of Hina Farrow (her in front). Her count is 441, corresponding to how many hundreds of kilometers she has walked (when we meet her, 44,100). She is looking for the Legendary Ace, as she has done for the last five years. Someone she hopes can explain this odd sphere she has been carrying with her all this time. A sphere entrusted to her by her mother, before she was dragged into The Abyss. A sphere of much uncertainty.
She meets Licht Bach (white hair), who initially comes across as a pervert, but perhaps, just perhaps, he can help Hina find this Legendary Ace, to resolve all her issues. The series follow how they resolve all their issues. And I mean ALL their issues.
The duality of the series comes when we learn of everyone’s back story, and that is such a depth of back story. No bean-spilling here, but let’s just say there is more to Licht than meets the eye. It’s just when we come in contact with members of the Alcian Royal Army (those three in blue at the top) that more is revealed about this odd world (Hina has led a secluded life and knows no more about her time than we do, so we both get to learn together) and what is really going on with that sphere she carries about.
It is a strange story, in how this world operates. You can have your points taken away from you; you can earn even more points beyond through normal methods. There is no upper limit to things, and with that point total comes the ability to rule over others. You see, a lower-point person cannot refuse the request of a higher-point person, even if it may result in a total loss of points. The Army is after the both of those folks for initially vague reasons, but it gets explained.
However, I have seen stories like this before (it IS anime; you can only retell the same story so many times) and even with the revelations, I did not feel it was as good as it needed to be. Even “Fairy Gone” was a slightly better tale and that one got terribly confusing in the middle. Still, if you like time-jumps in your tales, this may serve you quite well. A direct-line story is not the only way to go, but if you are going to jump around, you need to be both consistent and cogent, something that got difficult.
As always, the question of binging. I would watch the first eleven episodes, as that is when the break occurs. Then, the remainder of the series. I mean, the jump is that abrupt that you need a bit of time to adjust to it, much like they have to. Whether or not it serves you as best as it can, that is on you.
On a scale of 1 to 10:
Artwork 7 (No new ground is broken)
Plot 7 (Rather typical)
Pacing 7 (Runs hot and cold)
Effectiveness 6 (Motivations get explained late)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a coupler point, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service 2 (A similar show would be “Okamisan”)
Bingeability 7 (Owing to the mid-course break)
Overall 7 (Not as effective as it wanted to be)
And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. What is a Ballot?