Ranked #829

No.6

The story of no. 6 is set in a post apocalyptic earth, where humans are divided into 6 cities, and the one that is focused on is number 6, hence the title. So far, so good right? We have a story that occurs outside of a high school for once. Throw a few dystopian elements in, and it immediately looks like something worth watching. Not to mention, no. 6 is animated by studio Bones, the people behind FMA: Brotherhood. So why do I not enjoy this nearly as much as similar animes?

Let"s take a closer look.

Story: 7/10

Just a fair warning, this is not an anime for people who cannot stand shounen ai. Not that it's a vital piece to the story or anything, but there are still some moments that might turn you off if you don't enjoy that kind of romance.

So here's the story. Sion, our protagonist, was a young, promising student. On the night of his 12th birthday, he met a fleeing fugitive, Nezumi. Despite knowing that he would be punished by the law, hid and helped him escape. Four years later, after witnessing a strange event at work, he was taken away by the police and was rescued by Nezumi and the two of them ran to the outside world that the walls of no. 6 was trying to hide from its inhabitants.
After putting so much of drama in the opening episodes of the show, you would think that the creators would then try to maintain the audience's attention right? Wrong. The remainder of No.6 is then used to explain side characters that you would never care about, raises conflicts that would just disappear not to ever return. Maybe it's because of how short this series is, but that does not cover up for the fact that there are many episodes that just waste time building up to a good development, and then completely forgets about it next week. I've find myself wanting to drop no. 6 because of that. It is not until near the end of the show when things are finally explained and the plot moves on. However, by the time that happens, we're already on the last few episodes and there's no room left to truly establish a good motive or villain.

Art: 8/10

Although the character design is not very outstanding, Studio Bones does do a very good job of animating No. 6. The few actions scenes are worth watching and they do make the show a lot more enjoyable. Of course, this is not FMA, but it is fun looking at Nezumi beating the crap out of some random grunt.

Sound: 5/10

Music is perhaps No. 6 worst aspect. The op and ed are fine, and I rather enjoyed them, but the BGM is bad to say the least and some tracks just simply fails to deliver a good moment. That is not very annoying in through out most of the anime since nothing really happens, but when things really heat up later on, don't expect shivers to run down your spine because of the epic music.

Character: 8/10

As I mentions before, the side characters of this show are not very interesting. Although No.6 does try to give the audience something to relate to them, there's not very much to grasp onto as they are only given a few minutes of back story at best before being thrown into the plot device closet again. Where the show really shines is the interaction between Nezumi and Sion and that's what made me stick around. I'm not going to reveal a lot of it here since I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but I'm going to say that through their interactions, they grow a lot together and character development is always very appreciated in my book.

Enjoyment: 7/10

This show was recommended to me by a friend who was praising it a lot, and I could see why. Does that mean I enjoy it as much as she did? Unfortunately no. Despite having potential, No. 6 just falls short of many other brethren of the same genre, and the music did not help a lot either.

Overall: 7/10

If you don't watch a lot of anime in the scifi or dystopia genre, you might find No.6 a refreshing deviation from your typical high school anime. It has a decent plot, and overall solid leads. However, if you're the type that could talk about Ergo Proxy, Psycho Pass, etc. for days on end, this title might be a bit lack luster for you. Despite that however, No. 6 does manage to pull itself through in the end. Is it an anime that you must watch before you kick the bucket? No. But is it a good way to spend a boring Saturday afternoon? Yes.



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No.6 is a captivating anime and I can honestly say that after having just watched it twice through. But then again, everyone has different tastes and this just may not be your cup of tea. Even so, it couldn’t hurt to try a sip, could it?

NOTE: For my sake, I’m writing Nezumi, as Nezumi, and not “Rat” like in the subs, and Shion instead of Sion, like the MAL character page.

Story – 8/10. No.6 is a utopia, there is no poverty, there are no conflicts, there are no problems. You will live happily and peacefully within these safe walls, and you will wear this lovely bracelet that is your identity. Oh, and one last thing: if you doubt us, we won’t hesitate to eliminate you. Ignorance really is bliss.

On his 12th birthday, Shion hides and helps an injured Nezumi, a VC. This leads to being stripped of his rights to live in Cronos and qualification to enter the Special Course. There’s a time skip, and suddenly it’s four years later and instead of studying ecology, Shion’s a park worker. After witnessing two people strangely die, he’s taken away by the Bureau of Safety. At that point, he’s rescued by Nezumi and whisked away to the Western District to discover the truth about No.6.

No.6 is listed as Sci-fi and Action, but there are also elements of Fantasy and Shounen-ai. Yes, shounen-ai. I’m not sure if I view it as a good thing, or bad. I mean, I’m a fan of yaoi/shounen-ai, so that probably contributes largely to the fact I enjoyed it, but I know there are a ton of people who aren’t comfortable with it.

If you’re a fan of shounen-ai, you will enjoy this. Well, to be honest, I’m not sure it would be able to appeal to any other audience beside BL fans...

Aside from the homosexual content, No.6 starts off with an intriguing plot – and I won’t lie, I’m a total sucker for utopia/dystopia stories. But like a lot of people, I thought this had a lot of potential to be something amazing, but it never did reach what it could have; whether it’s because of the length of the anime, or because it got side-tracked by shounen-ai fan service, I’m not sure. I kind of feel like a lot of loose ends weren’t dealt with.

Art – 7.25/10. The art... isn’t one of No.6’s stronger points. While it isn’t terrible, it isn’t amazing. The characters are sometimes really awkwardly drawn/animated, such as Shion’s scar or his blushing. But the background and scenery are amazing, and the OP was done beautifully. Especially the last thirty seconds.

Sound – 9/10. I won’t lie; I strongly disliked the OP at first. I thought it was really strange sounding and the singer’s voice was abnormally high... but as the episodes went on, I’ve grown to like them quite a bit. I found myself watching and listening to it on replay. Anyways, it suited the feel of No.6 perfectly. And ohmygosh, the ED. EDs are something I skip over all the time. Not this one. I couldn’t. This one I liked right away. It felt incredibly sad, almost like nostalgia. As cheesy as this sounds, my heart clenches when I hear it. Background music was very subtle, but added wonderfully to the overall feel.

The voice actors also did a pretty good job. Nezumi’s singing was nice... though, it took a bit of time getting used to little Shion’s and little Nezumi’s deep voices...

Character – 8/10. I cried. I got so emotionally attached, that tears came pouring out when Nezumi began singing in the last episode, despite how confused I was.

In the beginning you’re introduced to 12-year-old Nezumi. Running around from authorities in what seems to be a sewage system, panting, with blood trickling down his arm. He meets a dead end, where steel bars are closing off on an opening, preventing chances of escape. Then you’re introduced to 12-year-old Shion. Right away their lives are contrasted. Shion’s sitting at his desk in the middle of Safu’s presentation; there hasn’t been any real hardships he’s been through in life since being ranked as having highest intelligence.

Shion is naive, innocent, kind, and for the most part, ignorant like many other No.6 citizens. Nezumi is sharp-tongued, gives of an arrogant vibe, and is artsy. Yes, their personalities have been done before, but I don’t think you’ll get bored of them... Shion and Nezumi are actually quite likable. As the anime progresses, you see moments of complete contradiction to their personalities which I found quite interesting. Shion has a darker, more aggressive side that comes out when it comes to Nezumi, and Nezumi definitely has a soft spot when it comes to Shion. This might make them seem out of character at times, but I think that’s the point. They bring out entirely new sides of each other.

As for the other supporting characters: Karan, Inukashi, Rikiga, even Yoming, – they’re pretty okay. You know general information about their life and their past, but not in great detail. They’re not exactly incredibly developed characters either, but the anime was only 11 episodes long.

The only one I found kind of strange was Elyurias/Safu. I didn’t really understand her presence or character...

Enjoyment – 10/10. I enjoyed this 10/10 easily, even the second time going through. I grinned and I worried, I eagerly clicked each episode and got frustrated over waiting for the next one. With this anime, I watched it each episode from beginning to end, OP to ED. Stating it simply: I loved watching it [and rewatching it.] The last episode did confuse me a bit, but I’m seriously longing for more.

Overall – Each category is weighted differently for me, and of course, there are always miscellaneous factors. I consider Story to account for 25% of the overall ranking of animes, Art 10%, Sound 10%, Character 25%, and Enjoyment 30%.

So, then:
[80% x 0.25] + [72.5% x 0.10] + [90% x 0.10] + [80% x 0.25] + [100% x 0.30] = 86.25%

Round it up, and that’s how No.6 gets a 9/10 from me... and my first review on MAL. ^_______^
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