Toshokan Sensou
a.k.a Library War
Summary
In the not so far future, the Japanese government introduce the Media Improvement Act as a law which involves heavy censorship of the media. The Media Improvement Committee wants to put a ban on all art, literature, movies, etc, which are deemed inappropriate or critical of the Japanese government.
However, the local governments establish an armed library force in opposition to the Media Improvement Act. Iku Kasahara joins the library force after being inspired by a high ranking library force officer, who saved a book she wanted to buy from the clutches of the Media Improvement Forces.
Review
Despite being a science fiction based around an oppressive government and those who fight against them, Toshokan Sensou is surprisingly light hearted. A lot of the focus is around character development, romance and comedy. I sometimes wonder why Production I.G. chose to depict such a dark vision of the future in such a way. I also was surprised at the lack of political commentary at times considering the subject matter, with many episodes the politics take a back seat to the character’s personal conflicts.
Never-the-less, Toshokan Sensou is a consistently entertaining series which is driven by a likeable cast of characters and has a good balance of drama and comedy. I did think the themes were understated and it needed more of those terrific action sequences. The ending lacks climax, but I’m hoping that just means Toshokan Sensou is getting a second season.
Final Verdict
Entertaining series with a good mix of drama, comedy and romance. However, the plot really needs lots of work and I would’ve liked to see more action. ★★