LISTENER - A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME WITH MECHA AND ROCK
I actually haven't been following Listeners because I didn't know it was a mecha series since everywhere I read about it, it mentioned music-centric elements like Carole & Thursday. But then someone mentioned Listeners is /m/ so I gave it a try, and in 1 day, I've binged all 5 released episodes. And needless to say, it was something else.
Listeners is definitely not mecha-centric, but it definitely utilizes robots as a mean to communicate the character's determination and intention. The world definitely focuses on music, but not like Macross where singing literally defeats the enemy, in Listener, it's more like "sound" and "tune" give the Player (mecha pilot) the strength to take the Earless (but they looks like they have ears tho) down. The mechas are called Equipment and resemble music equipment like amplifier, and contain a plug cord to plug into a hole on the Player (pilot)'s body. The hole can be on the head, at the back, on the chest (prob not too perverted place). This resembles a guitarist plugging his guitar into an amp and play.
Everything in Listeners is a reference to pop culture. Each episode revolves around a certain song/artist. The legendary Player Jimi Stonefree is a reference to Jimi Hendrix and his song Stone Free. We got a character named Bily Valentine (reference of Billy Valentine), Denka (Prince in japanese) who lives in Paisley Park with Lisa and Wendy (all 3 were in the band Revolution, also mentioned in the anime). Characters also make speeches using lyrics from songs referenced in the episode.For me, one of the best easter eggs is the Teen Spirit episode. In short, if you are an old-school pop, ballad or rock fan, you will find Easter Eggs after Easter Eggs in this anime. Anytime you see a name, a speech or anything, it is most likely a reference to an artist or song in the music industry (particularly the US&UK area). Also, every ending theme is different, with unique animation specific to that episode, which is a huge investment that pays off really well for the producer (the OP stays the same, but is very good).
Plot-wise, it is an adventure from place to place to discover the whereabouts of Jimi Stonefree and how to fight the Earless. This might be a subtle way of taking the viewers through the journey of time and the evolution of music throughout the year using reference. The theme of each episode reflected the song/artist referenced in that episode and that show us a "reflection" of that time period. In terms of character, we got our main boy Echo Rec (an obviously name made from Echo and Record, buttons that are super familiar to music producer and player) and our main girl Muse (yea that Muse, damn it Love Live, now that's what people gonna think about it instead of the rock band Muse) whose personality is definitely Rock-n-Roll. The mecha-action is decent, CGI could be better but the mecha designs are quite eccentric, just like Cannon Busters, they have cyberpunk all over then.
Overall, the mecha element in Listeners isn't the main focus of the series, but the hinted pop culture of the West that permeates every moment of this show. It feels like reliving the 90s but with mecha and shadowy monsters. Don't expect this to turn out like Planet With or FLCL, since Listeners carries a unique sense of its own. It is one of those weird, one-hit-wonder anime. It aimed to deliver a unique experience to old-school rock lovers.
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