LogFAQs > #968715151

82. Prima Doll
https://myanimelist.net/anime/50917/Prima_Doll
Summer 2022 (12 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 6.93/10
Best Character: Haizakura

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk5pwXw-qhQ

Premise: After a long war fought in part by automata, these machines built for war must find a purpose in peacetime. Haizakura has just woken up without any memories after a reset, and now she works at the Black Cat Cafe.

The Good: Prima Doll is a sort of sci-fi slice-of-life with frequent bouts of drama. It follows various sentient automata girls who now work in a cafe. Some are tormented by memories of the war while others have no memories at all, but they're all struggling to find a purpose beyond the violent one they were built for. Those are heavy themes, and most episodes delved into them in a way that I liked. They could be sad or heartwarming, or sometimes both at once. It never felt too melodramatic or needlessly cruel, though. The automata were just in a hard situation, and there wasn't always a right answer even with everyone having good intentions and trying their best. That's the kind of drama I like. The girls were all good characters too, and they each had a unique situation. Haizakura was still easily my favorite because she was cute and clumsy and always tried her best. The best parts of Prima Doll were her getting closer to her traumatized coworkers and brightening their lives with a nice song.

The Bad: I had trouble pinpointing the exact problem that held Prima Doll back for me. It was definitely with the setting, but I could never tell if they weren't presenting it very well or if it just wasn't well planned or fully thought out. For example, in the first episode there's an attack from rogue automata controlled by a rebellious military faction. They're a big part of the world, yet I never quite understood their motives. I'd also think that regular citizens would become wary of automata after some of the things that happen, but the Black Cat Cafe girls never seem to face any problems. It didn't make the anime terrible or anything, but Prima Doll could've easily risen higher in my ranking if the world-building was handled a bit better.

Overall: Prima Doll was often a fun anime about Haizakura trying her best or singing a beautiful song. It also knew how to pack an emotional punch, whether that was one of tears or happiness or both. The dramatic arcs in this were the kind I'm a sucker for, and a lot of them got to me. Unfortunately, I had some problems with the overall world-building, which held this back quite a bit. Prima Doll was still good, just not as good as it could've been.