Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova- is a 12 episode anime based on the manga series of the same name. The anime focuses around battleships which is fairly unique and different to a lot of other works. Blue Steel is set in the future, where global warming and rising sea levels caused Earth to be heavily dependent on the sea for trade and communications. Come 2039 where sentient warships known as The Fleet of Fog appeared and destroyed the world's naval forces, while also rendering all communications obsolete, crippling the entire world.
It is explained that The Fleet of Fog was only interested in disabling the naval abilities and did not invade or touch the landmass. Unfortunately, we do not learn much about the origins or purpose of The Fleet of Fog in this anime adaptation. Fast forward to 2056, where by now, each warship in The Fleet of Fog has created a "Mental Model", basically a female human avatar to assist in creating tactics rather than brute force and advanced technology as they had been relying so far. They are in possession of far superior technology with force fields that are impenetrable by conventional human weapons.
The anime follows Chihaya Gunzo, who is the captain of a small group called the Blue Steel. They have control of one of the submarines called I-401 from The Fleet of Fog. It was captured by the navy while it had lay dormant and was only reactivated by Chihaya. The Mental Model, known as Iona, states that she exists only to help Chihaya, deepening the mystery behind it. It seems to be a bit of a fan service tactic to have all the Mental Models be attractive females, although an explanation in one of the later episodes justifies this. However, it isn't helped that there are often suggestive dialogue and actions, and no doubt that a few of the Mental Models will be attracted to Chihaya.
Most of the season revolves around Chihaya working with the Japanese navy for the good of humankind, such as delivering prototypes that may actually damage the Fog's ships. Therefore, we're often treated with action sequences involving the I-401 submarine against the battleships of the Fog. The Mental Models take on a very human appearance and attitude, even though they are supposedly lacking in emotions and tactics. It is enjoyable and while the tactics used isn't so clever that it'll blow your mind, it is interesting enough that there are a few surprises.
Nevertheless, The Fleet of Fog has some outrageous abilities, such as docking, supergravity cannons (that split apart the whole ship to reveal), and even at one point, the ability to split the sea and raise a sunken ship. The Mental Models themselves are a far cry from weak, as they are not tethered to their ship and able to hold their own in combat. It makes them feel overpowered since they're still able to construct shields, gravitational holes, regenerate and comes complete with high manueverability.
The focus is definitely on the Mental Models, as each one that comes into contact with Chihaya will start to gain an understanding of what it is to be human and changing their personality and thought processes. The power of love is used as an excuse for alliances which is weak and lame. There are scenes where the viewer will feel the same pain that Iona must feel when fighting against others of Fog, once being part of the same team and in a way, as sisters. The result of this is Chihaya's human crew ends up being under-developed. It feels like they are background characters with little focus even though they are always with Chihaya.
The season ends with the major battle against the big bad, but is slightly disappointing and highly exaggerated, to the point where it loses the battleship theme. The way it was won is also by a very typical anime trope, which is using the power of friendship in order to force the villain to understand. Overall, Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova- is fun to watch. If you can overlook the light fan service (but it does get heavier in the later episodes), then the series has good pacing and keeps your interesting.
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