Ranked #1301

Blassreiter

All right, this is to be my first anime review for myanimelist.net so inexperience is to be expected:)

Blassreiter or "Pale rider" is newest addition to list of Gonzo's works (done in collaboration with Nitro+). Elements of contemporary anime are clearly shown in this series like extensive use of CGI, futuristic setting focusing on technological advances and moral/ethic consequences arising from it degrading humanity in process. This could be summarised as the main theme of series around which plot revolves. Classical motives of redemption, friendship, duty, loyalty and love are also present in the plot driving character actions in certain way or other.

Story in short revolves around nanomachine virus spreading across Germany infecting humans which after infection become Demoniacs-demon like creatures stripped of humanity. Although premise isn't new or epochal it is executed great with many twists and turns keeping tension high. Only a few anime could do that "I must watch next episode...NOW!" feeling. Melancholy, dramatic, painful and tragic elements are indeed intensive spicing things up and stirring viewers emotions. Great!

Now onto characters! They are truly the stars of this show! I humbly think that everyone could find some character he could establish a bond with! Driven by their inner thoughts, wishes and their past they are diverese but also sharing common concepts like grief, burden and friendship. All I can say further without spoiling something is: superb!

Art, although debated is IMHO a milestone! Great presentation, action sequences, camera angles, design of characters and tech stuff like vehicles, mechas... Demoniacs are done entirely in CG which is quite nice giving their details and crazy fight scenes it couldn't be pulled off by a conventional animation! Now i think also it is a matter of taste, especially art&design (some love e. g. Miyazaki or some other style and some don't but it has no implications on quality of that style whatsoever). Quality in Blassreiter is evident! Excellent!

Music. Highest grades here also! Strong soundtrack was a pure enjoyment beginning from opening themes ("Unripe Hero" was one of the best I've heard in a long time) and great moving battle action backgrounds, through character themes (Xargin theme's also one of best ever composed, heights achieved by the ones of like Aeris theme from FFVII). "Wish for the stars" was beautiful and fitted perfectly! Overall: great!

In the end...enjoyment review. While not a masterpiece (although short by a little in my standards) this series won't disappoint! Fans of quality action SF anime will (should) be pleased as I think will majority who decides to dive into Blassreiter's world! As far as I'm concerned Blassreiter will always be high in my book being one of my top 10!

Thank you for reading! read more

Right, this is my second review. I'll try to control myself on length this time. Take note that I'll update the review at the end of the series. Additionally, no summary will be provided. This anime's main page has a brilliant one already. So, off we go.

Story (8/10):
The story extremely interesting in the sense that it evolves from small incidents to macrosmic effects. In the first few episodes, one couldn't really tell where the story was going, who the main characters were and just what was going to happen next. However, slowly, but surely the dam broke and plot flowed to swamp us. We are placed in an out of Japan setting with the familiar plot of demons rising to attack humanity, but suddenly we can't be sure whether that's all there is to it. I look forward to seeing it grow as the recent episodes seem to hold an extremely promising future for this series.

Art (7/10):
I never really like Gonzo's animation. Sure its pretty, but somehow there are some times you wish it didn't do that. The artwork of Blassreiter is clear. The settings are quite well done, living up to standards of being set in a small German town. The Demoniacs, however, really don't fit to my taste. The designs look good, until they're in action. Well, most of the protagonist designs look good (Examples include Gerd and Joseph) But,(spoiler) Malek's demoniac armor looks really....ugh...at times (end of spoiler). Nevertheless, the action scenes are generally well done, if a bit confused. Most of you'll enjoy it, but don't expect Last Exile or Gankutsuou level animation or artwork.

Sound (6/10):
Perhaps the weakest point in the series. Both OP and ED are really good, particularly the ED (first time, I ever downloaded an anime ending of Gendou). However, the soundtrack in between isn't really significant. You're usually too engrossed in the storyline to even notice the sound. Vocal acting meets most of the standards of the series, but ain't to my taste. It might be to yours, though.

Character (10/10):
This series's characters are hands down one of the most realistic and powerfully depicted personalities this season. You may think I'm lying, but I'm not. You will learn to HATE Jill Hoffman. You will feel Malek's pain even though you may not have lost someone close to you. You may find yourself questioning Gerd's intentions and wondering just who the hell Beatrice is. Development of characters is rapid, but also realistic. There personalities may not be thoroughly distinct, but you will find that they may be like one of you: A sister in confusion about her brother's actions or a disillusioned man trying revive his hero's faith or a lone wolf watching from afar, living day by day for revenge. Sounds far fetched, but see for yourself.

Enjoyment (8/10):
Blassreiter managed to keep me awake until 3 am (where I'm living anyway) every Saturday or Sunday, just to get a chance to see a new episode. I am enjoying the series quite a bit. It beats your general run-of-the-mill shonen that gets over 200 episodes, but barely achieves anything in that time a million times over. It's sad that this must end at 24 episodes, but then again, maybe its one of those animes that have to end there. Those are generally the good ones.

Overall (8/10):
Whew, I thought this was going to short. I'm glad if you've read this far. My advice to you is, don't look at the top anime score. That's what people thought when they watched the first couple episodes. This is a heavily underrated series and I hope that this review convinces you to watch it too. Thank you for reading. read more

Story 9/10: its a great plot showing the struggles of people and how they can be led to many horrible decisions or tricked. The only complaint I had was that in the beginning it was hard to discover who the main characters were, I cant say anything about this without spoiling it though so that concludes story. There are also many twists, turns, and "Oh Snap" moments to be had in the story of Blassreiter.
Art 8/10: While the CGI could be better it shouldnt be the deciding point of wether the anime is good. CGI helped the anime alot since it allowed the action to be more fast-paced and allowed them to put in very nice camera angles. The traditional animation is also very good the scenes are well animated.
Sound 7/10: The songs for the openings and endings are some of the greatest i have heard. SFX is also very good, the voice acting is so superb that if you listened to it without watching you might think they were real.
But the series is lacking very much on battle-style music during the show.
While the dramatic music is very good there is little music for action sequences and if there are they are very short-lived.
Character 10/10: You couldn't ask for a more realistic cast of characters. From the troubled,sorrowful lives of some to the happy lives of others, every character reacts to their situation as a real person would. They also express their emotions as a human would. It also realistically displays how some cant see past the wall of differences and come together (Spoiler) such as how citizens view others who are poor or suffering as "outcasts" and tend to beat them. Such is the case for Malek, Johann, and Joseph (in his past) (spoiler end)
Enjoyment 8/10: While the series is going through the plot at a moderate pace the placement of Story-focused and Action-focused keeps it from getting too repetitive. I recommend this anime to anyone who enjoys action, demon, and story-driven shows
Overall 9/10: While most people think the pilot episode wasnt the best way to kick off (overuse of CGI) you should watch about up to episode 7 before you make decision. While it does have its flaws, Blassreiter is trying new things such as: being a demonic force spreaded by (SPOILER ) nanomachines,mixing action,demons,some religious references (nothing too offensive), and mecha into one they are also releasing it on streaming websites (such as Youtube, Crunchyroll, and BostTV) at the same time as the Japanese release. So thats my review, once the series is finished i will be able to make a better review. I have a feeling there is much more in store for us.
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