Line #30 Anime/UnderTheDog


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/titledog-1_9276.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} "Our enemy is the light of humanity."]]'']]
3
4	->''"Under the dog, we are forced to exterminate ourselves."''
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6	It is [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 2025]], five years after the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were struck by a devastating terrorist attack. In the aftermath, the United Nations formed a special counter-terrorist unit dedicated to hunting down and destroying the organization responsible. Using the cover of the International School for Boys and Girls, particularly gifted high school students are recruited and coerced into the service of a specialized death squad to find and destroy the terrorists.
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8	''[[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1300298569/under-the-dog Under the Dog]]'' is an anime science fiction thriller by Creative Intelligence Agency, LLC (no, not ''that'' UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}) funded by Website/{{Kickstarter}}. The 30-day fundraising campaign began on August 8, 2014 with a goal of $580,000 and achieved that goal on September 4, three days ahead of schedule. The campaign ended on September 7 with $878,028 (151% of the initial goal), making ''Under the Dog'' the most funded animation project on Kickstarter. The staff behind ''Under the Dog'' includes names such as director [[Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair Masahiro]] [[Manga/BlastOfTempest Ando]], character designer [[VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes Yusuke]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Kozaki]], and scenario writer [[VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors Jiro Ishii]], with animation to be done by Kinema Citrus.
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10	The funding model is stated to be the first of its kind: while other titles such as ''Franchise/LittleWitchAcademia'' used Kickstarter to supplement their budget, ''Under the Dog'' was an anime fully funded by crowdsourcing. The production team specifically stated that they chose the Kickstarter route instead of more traditional funding methods to ensure that they retain full creative freedom of the project.
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12	On September 2, 2014, Creator/HideoKojima made an endorsement of the project. [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1300298569/under-the-dog/posts/975847 A few days later]], Creator/KeijiInafune and Creator/YokoTaro expressed similar sentiments.
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14	''Under the Dog'' was released as a 24-minute OVA on August 1, 2016 for its Kickstarter backers.
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16	On October 29, 2016, [[http://under-the-dog.com/en/news/new-partnership/ the series has entered in a new partnership]] and will expand beyond crowdfunding in the future.
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18	The pitch trailer is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkN4apus2gA here.]] A key animation trailer is [[https://vimeo.com/138494539 here]].
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20	On October 20, 2017, [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1356660673/under-the-dog-the-movie-live-action-short-and-musi/description another Kickstarter was begun]], aiming to fund a special edition that will include a live action short and new ending theme music video.
21	----
22	!!Tropes:
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24	* ActionGirl: Anthea Kallenberg by far, being the team's point lady on special ops. From their descriptions on the site, Sayuri Hyuga and Estella as well. Hana Togetsu turns out to be one as well.
25	* ArcWords: "Our enemy is the light of humanity." It's unclear whether the implied-to-be superhuman terrorists or the kids fighting them are the light of humanity in this case.
26	* BlackAndGrayMorality: The "good guys" are fighting to stop terrorists from murdering innocent people... By forcing teenagers to do their dirty work for them and holding everyone they love hostage.
27	* ChildSoldiers: All of the main characters. Special mention goes to Estella, who has been sniping since the age of 8.
28	* CoolBike: The Trike that Anthea rides is capable of some pretty nifty things, and even has three modes for Speed, Power, and Offense.
29	* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: The UN squad's members masquerade as students of an international school in Japan, with their commanding officer Colonel Junichi Amagata posing as a staff member.
30	* EmotionlessGirl: Sayuri displays no emotions, even when she's [[spoiler:confirming Estella's kills and killing Hana's mother and brother]].
31	* FriendlySniper: Estella, a sarcastic yet surprisingly warm sniper.
32	* FluffyTheTerrible: These child assassins are called the Flowers.
33	* TheHeart: Hana's ability is to subtly shift people's moods and mental states, making her an ideal anchor of stability for the team.
34	* InterserviceRivalry: Despite being a UN sanctioned anti-terror group, the Flowers don't seem to get along with the US military, with both sides willing to kill each other's agents in the field.
35	* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: The UN commanding officers have each agent's loved ones implanted with micro-bombs. If an agent acts out of line or fails a mission, said loved ones will be... liquidated, along with the agent.
36	* MagneticWeapons: Anthea's gun sounds like an energy weapon in the trailer, but [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1300298569/under-the-dog/posts/959094 the design notes]] describe it as using plasma gas and rail magnets to propel .50 caliber anti-armor tungsten rounds at 3,000 meters per second.
37	* MultinationalTeam: The team consists of two Japanese, a Swede, and a Mexican.
38	* {{Mutants}}: The terrorists who committed the 2020 attack seem to be this, as they are stated to be "enhanced". The Flowers also have similar powers.
39	* PoweredArmor: Anthea's suit can integrate with the Trike to provide her stability while shooting and riding. The helmet also comes with a heads-up display.
40	* RealIsBrown: In contrast to the more vibrant look of the 2014 trailer, the OVA's color palette is a rather dull grey.
41	* RedRightHand: [[spoiler:Nanase's arm can transform into a Pandora one. This is taken as a sign that he's not the candidate after all and he gets killed for it.]]
42	* {{Retool}}: The OVA's story underwent a massive [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/774031583/under-the-dog/posts/1121959 reboot]] in February 2015, shortly after the staff shakeup and the removal of Creative Intelligence Arts from the project. This may be why the OVA's story and feel is almost totally different from the trailer and the previously revealed plot elements (there is no mention of a terrorist attack on the 2020 Olympics in the final product, for example).
43	* {{Retraux}}: It emulates the visual style of 90s cyberpunk anime such as ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis''.
44	* SceneryPorn: The opening shots of the trailer with a beautiful view of Tokyo Bay and its downtown area.
45	* ShaggyDogStory: The OVA is ultimately this. [[spoiler:Hana is killed by Anthea at the former's request before her Pandoraization rate becomes too high to continue protecting Nanase, resulting in Hana's family being killed. Her last words to Anthea are to continue protecting Nanase. However, when Anthea catches up with him it turns out he's not the kind of candidate they are looking for, so Anthea kills him as well, [[ShootTheShaggyDog making all of the tragic events of the OVA completely and utterly pointless]].]]
46	* ShoutOut: In the trailer, Anthea's upright stance when falling and shooting is extremely similar to Anime/{{Canaan}}'s pose in that show's first episode, which Masahiro Ando also directed.
47	* ShownTheirWork: Yusuke Kozaki's design notes indicate this for both the Trike and Anthea's rifle. The Trike was designed with the consultation of a professional motorcycle industry specialist. Meanwhile, the rifle uses super-heated plasma gas and rail magnets to fire its bullets, meaning it must have both a source of energy for the magnets and a supply of gas. So the weapon's magazines also house the liquid coolant for the plasma as well as an energy cell to power the magnets. Another detail about the rifle's bullets is that rounds traveling at such high speed would normally be ineffective against organic targets... which is why they have a "smart charge" detector that sets off an explosive in the bullets if they hit a target that matches that profile.
48	* SinisterSurveillance: All agents have a microchip in their brains that allows their commanding officers to monitor and record their actions.
49	* SwissArmyWeapon: Anthea's gun is normally an assault rifle, but its barrel can expand to become a sniper rifle.
50	* TimeBomb: [[spoiler: In the same vein as ''Literature/BlackBullet'', the Flowers are biological time bombs to become the Pandora once the Pandoraization rate becomes too high.]]
51	%%* TykeBomb: The Flowers.
52	* WolverinePublicity: The trailer puts Anthea front and center as seemingly the main character, and she is the heavy focus of the key visuals and promo pictures. In the actual OVA, Anthea doesn't appear until almost 3/4 of the way through, and the focus is largely on Hana.
53	* YouAreNumberSix: Each member of the team has a number assigned to them.
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Context Anime / UnderTheDog