Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna

Spiral is one of those animes that gets a lot of mixed reviews. In my opinion, however, it is one of the greatest animes ever created for many reasons. It\'s not completely perfect, of course -- I don\'t believe anything is perfect -- but it comes pretty darn close.

---Story---

\"I\'m going to pursue the mystery of the Blade Children.\" This single line, spoken by Kiyotaka Narumi, is the premise for the entire show. Above all else, Spiral is a mystery anime, and it centers around what, exactly, the Blade Children are. It\'s a fascinating idea, that, most unfortunately, is never fully ... fleshed out in the anime (I won\'t give spoilers, but the ending is definitely... not the best). Despite its shortcomings, the plot is gripping, fascinating, and, on a level, horrifying (and no, I don\'t mean that it\'s just that bad, although some may disagree. :P). I would suggest reading the manga -- which comes out in October 2007 -- to fill in all the holes the anime leaves.

---Animation---

I was completely overwhelmed by the characters and story so, honestly, the art didn\'t really catch my attention the first time I watched Spiral. The character designs are all very pleasing, but there\'s nothing really spectacular.

---Sound---

The music of Spiral, without a doubt, always fits with the current scene. While I thought the opening song was absolutely horrendous, the ending theme is one of my personal favorites. The music definitely catches the mood, going from bouncy to dark and dangerous in a heartbeat.

---Character---

Aaaah, here\'s where Spiral really shines through. In all the anime I have watched, I haven\'t come across a single one that matches Spiral in terms of characters. Every single one of them is interesting, multi-faceted, and has both strong points and weaknesses. Spiral simutaneously holds my ultimate favorite character (Kousuke Asazuki) and my most despised character (Kanone Hilbert). At some point or another, every character in this show goes through some developement and revelation. Ayumu Narumi, the protagonist, is pleasantly different from most main characters you see in anime.

I must also give a nod to the females of Spiral. There are no weak damsels in need of a rescue here! They are resourceful, brave, and just as good as any of the guys. For those of you who are tired of wishy-washy, constantly-screaming females, Spiral is your answer.

---Enjoyment---

Obviously, I enjoyed Spiral very much. While there may be things about it I didn\'t particularly like, the sheer pleasure I recieve in watching it far outstrips those little quibbles.

So, my friends, I highly encourage you to at least give Spiral a try. If you haven\'t seen it, you really don\'t know what you\'re missing.

Pros: Amazing characters, theme-fitting music, engaging storyline

Cons: Less-than-satisfactory ending, somewhat corny dialogue

Spiral was an interesting show. The story grabs you right away, spins you around and confuses you (in a positive way of course) It really makes you want to keep watching to find out what happens next. Unfortunately the story doesn't keep up with it's great start. It starts to slow down and less questions get answered. This is my biggest disappointment with the show, if the story had kept up with the beginning it would have been an absolutely incredible show.

The art work is mediocre and at times poorly done. The colors seem kind of dull. The ... purple irises always stand out from everything else in the show.

I felt the sounds and music worked well with the show. I enjoyed listening to the opening theme as well as the ending theme. There is a lot of piano played throughout the entire series as well which adds a feeling of uniqueness to the show.

The characters in the show I thought were the best aspect. Narumi was fascinating to watch throughout as he solved and figured out puzzles and traps. Hiyono and some of the blade children were well developed especially Rio, Kousuke, and Eyes. We learn a lot about their personality and care about them almost as much as Narumi.

I for one love puzzles and that made many parts of Spiral very fun to watch. Narumi solves a few detective cases early on, giving a feeling similar to CSI. It then changes to figuring out traps and outsmarting the opponent which reminded me of Death Note. If you enjoy problem solving or puzzles, You will definitely enjoy watching Narumi in action.

Overall I liked the show and wish I could have rated it higher especially for how much I enjoyed it early on. The series as a whole had one particular point it was trying to make and it's easy to understand in the end but I felt let down overall. The ending didn't really answer any questions or even leave possibilities open, it seemed too focused on making the point that it detracted from the reason I watched the show. Also the progression of the story and the answering of questions went so slow that I started watching only for the puzzles and stopped caring about the outcome.

But I do recommend Spiral for anyone who enjoys puzzles or mystery/problem solving type shows. Otherwise it's still a good watch, just don't expect it to be the greatest thing ever.

When I finished the first episode, I couldn't help myself to continue on. This anime probably has one of the best beginnings I've ever seen. The plot rapidly unfolds about the relationship between Narumi and the Blade Children, as well as Hiyomi (the main female protagonist).The audience was entertained with how Narumi used logical deductions to solve crimes, which even the police are having a hard time with, and life-threatening situations designed by the Blade Children to 'test' him. Some romance were evident in the early part of the series, which blends in nicely with Narumi's somewhat inability to socialize.

Having said that, the series has ... a couple of major drawbacks. Towards the end, the story somewhat deteriorated into filler-like episodes. Moreover, many mysteries were not explained to the audience (who are the Blade Children, what is Narumi's relationship with them, etc.), leaving the audience (me at least) somewhat unsatisfied with the ending.

Overall a decent series, but the ending could be much better.

The thing most people don't realize about Spiral, and the reason, I think, it has such a mixed review, is that the manga and the anime go hand in hand. Questions that are not answered in the anime are in the manga, points are brought up in the anime that aren't raised in the manga etc.

Most importantly though is the fact that the Blade children's past is meant to be very ambiguous. There are questions that are NOT meant to be answered because they would ruin the mystery of the characters or the show as a whole.

In my opinion, it is one of the most ... realistic animes out there, with the most realistic reactions. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a huge anime fan, but we all know animes have bizarre cop-out reations that don't really make sense but we love and don't mind anyway. I admire this anime for having very human, in-character reactions for their characters.

The characters grabbed me and sucked me in right away. I was particularly grabbed by Kousuke and Rio, as well as the other Blade Children, and their psychological depth.

Also, everything--each mystery or challenge presented in the storyline--has a very intelligent and interesting solution. Not to mention, that Ayumu is proved to not be the perfect, all-powerful, superbrain cliche he could have been. He has his own flaws and weaknesses and human misperseptions.

It's also a very pleasing art style and that's always a plus.

Overall, it's really the best anime I've ever come across; not perfect, by any means, but wonderfully enjoyable as a whole.

Spiral is one of those series that I really, really want to love. It had the makings of a hit. But somehow, it ended with more unfulfilled potential than it started with, and I felt cheated for watching the entire 25 episodes.

After a bit of exposition when we meet Narumi Otouto (as the Blade Children refer to him) and the other characters, the story poses a question to Narumi, his detective sister-in-law, and the viewers: What are the Blade Children? Almost halfway into the story, we finally learn what Blade Children are, and if you're not watching carefully you'll miss it. Probably better that you ... should, though, because while the series would be actually good if the secret of the Blade Children was heinous and horrendous, it's actually laughable and anticlimactic. The Blade Children seem to constantly pity themselves as "cursed children who should not be allowed to live in this world". As vague as that notion is, it's also a better answer for what the Blade Children are.

At least half of the series is dedicated to the Blade Children trying to destroy what they believe is their one and only hope for redemption -- a storyline that is, at best, the Blade Children acting out their feelings of confusion, anxiety, and hopelessness. From my point of view, however, it was ridiculous and the writers made no attempt to use logic and reason in writing the story.

Voice actors are some of my favorites, and Suzumura Kenichi did a smashing job as Narumi. Ishida Akira's treatment of Eyes Rutherford was flat and monotonic, but appropriately so for the character. Hiyono's recurrent "weird song", as sung by Asano Masumi, is nicely done as well.

The best part of this series is the artwork. Although Spiral was made in 2002, making it 10 years old at the time of this writing, the style of art is almost the same as anime series currently airing. Other series from that period would have typically looked much different, I believe, with gigantic female eyes much larger than today's eyes. Narumi especially is attractive, with a style not found in contemporary anime. As a sign of the times, many of the male characters are wearing tons of ear jewelry and hair is even more elaborate.

Overall, Spiral could have been something great, but it didn't even try to be. As a result, the whole series suffered terribly. That one decision could have made my review better by 2 stars.

This was probably one of the worst anime adaptations of a manga, ever. It started off well, kept me going for a while, but I made a huge mistake and didn't look into this anime before watching it all. The ending was very weak. This was one of those animes that was created for a season and if it responded well it would have gone on for a second season- only it didn't do well and it ends rather poorly. The entire story revolves around the mystery of "Who are the Blade Children?" and the disappearance of the main character's older brother. Buuuuuut, if you ... actually want to know any of that you have to stop watching this anime and go read the manga. The anime was a huge tease and it ends before they actually start investigating into the main plot.
My recommendation if you HAVE to watch this is just watch it in Japanese and save yourself from the shrill voice of the main female protagonist in the English dubbing. I mean, it's hilarious because it's exactly what they were going for (annoying, hyper, and pain in the ass), but it's rather painful after a while.

Spiral has long since aired, but being into a mystery streak i figured i'd batten down the hatches and check it out.

It really gripes you at the starting line, its like getting groped on a train in japan, you dont want to love it. but you can't really break out of your moe character, so you secretly wait for some lesbian biker to come and save you, which in hindsight, only made it worse.

so you want to know if you should watch this show? That really depends on your expectations,

are you looking for a character driven story? Then this is a very ... unique, drawn out, expose of various characters with solid roles, even if they are extremely unconventional and hardly realistic.

Are you looking for a detective whodunit? Then you might like this as well, considering all the elements are there.

Are you looking for a good story to keep you engaged? Then make sure you never, ever watch this.

The story is that there is no real story, or rather the main story is so far in the background its buried under the words, blado chilldren. which you will hear 1000 times. What is the blade children? idk either and that's why this good anime losses on all marks.

what the #@% did i just watch? no. not in the psychological sense of being sent down a winding rabbit hole, more like, why did i invest my time watching something that pretended to have some direction but then had zero closure or explaination of any of the events.

had they just given a few hints, where you could piece together 20% of the story, then this show would be ranked much higher, its just that good episode to episode. but there is no point to this at all. and not being rewarded after 24 eps is a little absurd. drop a breadcrumb at least.

so my advice is just stay away

This is probably one of the deepest and most enjoyable anime shows I've ever watched. The story revolves around the viewpoint of Ayumu Narumi as he pursue the mystery of his brother's disappearance who's last words were "I'm going to pursue the mystery of the Blade Children." This story evolves to include many of the blade chidren and goes in depth to who they are and the strifes of being 'cursed children'.
Spiral starts out fast paced and doesn't seem to stop until the very. While the ending may seem abrupt and incomplete, not trying to spoil it, but after going over it ... a second time it made sense for me and brought the whole series to a close. I was hooked to this series from the beginning and I almost felt like crying after it was over.
Overall the characters are very well done, the story is deep and entertaining, with a very good rewatching value. The story had some pretty funny moments mixed in for good measure as well as some great background music.

closing tip: I had a bit of trouble following the subbed version. The dub was not only easier to follow, but Funimation did a great job with the dubbed version. Definitely watch the dubbed version if you can help it

When spiral first started out, I thought, "Wow! this is great! and im lost in a sea of confusion..." lol yes folks, spiral can be somewhat confusing, but you'll get use to it soon enough...

The story line is great and rather complicated. It seems like a nice little simple story from the outside, but really, it is a rather complicated and crazy. Sorry, not allowed to give spoilers so i cant say why its so complicated but you'll find out soon enough in Season 2 ~.^ and if you dont know it by then, then you can come complain to me and ask me what ... you dont get kay? Anyways, the only part i do not like about the story line is that everything starts out half way and they throw in characters left and right and they change some character's names and it also does not match up with the manga....i was like "whats going on here?". Yah, so for all the people who are reading the manga, dont even bother to TRY to relate it to the manga...it wont work. Just a little advice. Other than that, the story line is fine.

The art was really great and all, but some of the voice acting really sucked!! like some of the voices were really girly when they were suppose to be the voices of guys (uhg!! lol) and Eyes's voice actorfor the English version wasnt all that hott either. Man....it sounded as if he just hit pubertiy (sorry Eyes-kun, i really hope your not reading this like you said you would, no offense!! gommeno!! ai wo ni >.<'' lol no joke oaky?? seriously, ai wo ni)

As in for the characters, they were all really really great! Some of them have some pretty twisted personalities (not saying who, find out everyone!!) and that just makes everything oh so much more fun!! yay!! XPPP *throws tons of bombs*

In the end, the movie was VERY enjoyable and my over all rating is a 9. This season wasnt all to great cause they didnt work on some of the episodes like i had hoped they would. But oh well!! All's well and great cause the second season will be out soon enough and we'll be able to see how things take their wild spin like they always do....and here is just a little something that might help you understand why the creator of this anime ends it the way he/she did (i cant remember if it is a girl or a guy=.=''' lol)

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT FINISHED THE ANIME!!! Do you know who is leading the three blade children?? he has silver hair and is British....but...my question for you is...WHY is HE the leader?? it cant be just that he is smart because they are all smart....there has to be some other reason right??

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FINISHED THE ANIME!!! Do you remember how someone purposely kills himself (the blade children tried to help him)?? what did he say before he killed himself and why?? hmmm...i think that is a big give away and that there is more to the eye or ear can see or hear dont you think?? also...a little info on the second season providing that is follows my guidelines. The info is MY NAME!! It is a big give away........DUN DUN DUN!! whats going on now?? and who knows what is actually happening to the blade children?? who knows who they are?? who is keeping it a secret from them?? find out in the second season!!

Spiral is one of favorite animes. It's a very good mystery/detective anime. Many parts of the series are just amazing and suspenseful. After Watching the first episode I had to watch the next. This series just leaves you thinking "How could anyone figure his way out of this!?!?" Unfortunately the series leaves many questions unanswered but all the answers are in the manga and the is another manga coming out that will further explain but its not done yet.

Spiral; Suiri no Kizuna., is a brilliant anime series. It offers mind breaking plot and plenty of interesting characters! the truth is., I just love Ayumu!!! I almost wanted to marry him!!! :PP He was so damn hot, talented( musically gifted, great cook), clever, handsome, and had a mind as sharp as a knife!
I was really 'awed' by his cleverness during his 'mind battle showdown' w/ Rio., when Kousuke took hostage of dear Hiyono.
Though I admit., I wasn't really pleased w/ the whole series. The mystery of Kiyotaka's disappearance remained indefinite., even the case w/ the blade children., so I decided to ... read the manga. I wasn't disappointed. All my questions were answered. So, I just hope there will be a second season for this.
Yeah., finally., Ayumu x Hiyono moments!!! :PP

I'm a bit surprised at the mixed reviews this anime has received, I personally feel it was very entertaining and I enjoyed it greatly. When I first watched it it indeed grabbed my attention, and I must say I was addicted! Yes, there are quite a good amount of flaws but beggars can't be choosers, and nothing can be made to perfectly suit ones taste, but this one gets fairly close. I finished this anime back in 2009 so this review is VERY late. :o


STORY:

If you are intrigued by the idea of mystery and problem solving, boy you are in for a treat! Not to ... give anything away but the plot has to do with one main question, who exactly are the Blade Children? It's a original idea I must say, but sadly it isn't fully understood in the anime. My only true complant is the ending of the anime, it was rushed and very unresolved, but do not let that turn you away just yet. I myself loved the plot so much I finished the entire manga, and it gets only better! Not to say the anime wasn't entertaining, it's just that most anime tend to cut a lot off from the manga. I highly recommend to watch the anime then read the manga, and you will be quite satisfied


ART:

Maybe it's because I enjoy watching older animes (huge fan of Yu Yu Hakusho, Ranma 1/2 art) But I actully liked the art style, it's something I find conforting. The only real complaint I could give would have be hair being see-through when overshadowing the eyes on this one specific character and I just found that bothersome.
.

SOUND:

I found the background music was always suiting to whatever was happening at that moment, so that would be a plus. Though I really disliked the opening song, it was too annoying for my taste. -.- Though the ending song was cute.

CHARACTER:

My personal favorite, they have so much dept to them it's diffcult to NOT like them! Each and every one of them have their own layers, weaknesses and strength to them. If I could I would give an 11 just because it is VERY hard these day to find a strong willed female, best of all theres a bunch of them! I have serveral favorite characters, and typically I'm a bit picky when it comes to choosing more then a few. Another plus in this anime is that all the characters do develop a bit, and that doesn't happen very often in short cut animes. You will be rooting for the main character, and I have yet to come arcoss someone like him again.

ENJOYMENT:

As you may have noticed, I really loved Spiral, and though I really disliked how the ending was made, I can't help but to add this anime into my personal favorites. :) I would also like to blame the manga for making it even more loveable then it already is.

To you guys debatiing out there, it never hurts to try! Really anime viewers Spiral is highly refreshing and better then your run of the mill anime! Perhaps you will find your new obsession!

Spiral is a great detective slideshow. Because what's going on on the screen can hardly be called anyimation. The character designs and backgrounds are nice to look at and it's lucky that it's a really 'talky' show. So the lack of movement doesn't really hurt the story telling. But regardless you will be looking at still images with 3 frames of mouth flapping. Other than that aspect the show is actually pretty decent. There are a lot of clever moments and you really feel that the smart characters are smart, and not everyone around them is stupid. The mysteries are really fun, there is a ... lot of tention in the end, there's a satisfying ending. The soundtrack is really memorable and creates a great athmosphere. The OP is pretty annoying to be honest, but it's skippable. The ending is beautiful though. The writing of the show kicks all kinds of ass, so if you like detective shows I would reccommend it.

spiral has a very detailed story line.and its really interesting. ayumu narumi he's a very curious young boy and smart at that. when ayumu's brother left saying that he is going to persue the mystery of the blade children ayumu got mixed up with all the situation going on about the blade children. ayumu's brother told the blade children that ayumu can change the horrible fate that the children hold. i dont have a lot to say about spiral eccept that it is truly a wonderful anime. and i hope the reader does too.

Spiral: Bond of despair... uhm, reasoning?! This anime has a shape of a spiral, one that starts as 10 (Masterpiece) and ends up at 1 (Pathetic) with average of 4 (the overall grade).

Story: 10 -> 3
I am big fan of detective stories. From movies I watched all possible variants of Sherlock and from anime, I am currently watching Detective Conan and Kindachi. So I got a big expectation of another detective story. And those expectation were fulfilled in the first few episodes of this anime. I was quite hooked by the series of strange incidents that occurs or are related to Ayumu Narumi's high school. ... The first few minutes of the first episode introduce the MC and a little bit about his background, which partly explain his strange character, but his deductive thinking is what I expect from a detective anime's MC.
Now considering that incidents and the story is not episodic, these are a premises for a MASTERPIECE detective anime. I was so hyped. But all my dreams were shattered. The story change the narrative of the incidents to the big mystery of the "blade children", which decide to test Ayumu with some kind of dangerous game. The thrilling effect of such an action kept me going, but the words "fate", "destiny", "hope" and "despair" started to find their way into the dialogues more often with more episodes. I should have seen the signs there, the signs of forced prolonged mystery like in Madlax, that could destroy a masterpiece.

Art: 7
The art is good. When I grade an art I always check the year the anime is made. The art is on the level of animes made 2007-2009, but this one is made 2003. Considering that, the level of detail is quite satisfactory.

Sound/Music: 7
Starting with the OST, I always skipped the OP and the ED. The music is not irritating, but it is not something that could satisfy me through the language barrier like the OP of Higurashi or the OST of Noir, Madlax or El Cazador. As for the background music, it never amazed me, but it was very well integrated. When there is an action, the background music is dynamic, playing its role very well. As for the voices and other sound, I usually do not comment about that, they are normal.

Characters: 3 (8 for Hiyono + 1 for Ayumu and the others)
In MAL 1 is called "pathetic", but what is pathetic. I have heard that term used for people without self-confidence. And the MC Ayumu completely matches that description. He is a guy that is able to find a killer, play a piano, safe people from a bomb, but when it comes to self evaluation he is just a mere shadow if his superior brother and this complex destroys his self-confidence. Nothing he ever do in all 25 episodes ever change that. But the more irritating and pathetic part about him and all the blade children is that in the face of a mortal danger, all they have to do is work together to overcome it. But instead, they do not talk to each other, they do not share.
And then there are the "blade children". If you are wondering what are they, you will need to watch this, re-watch/rethink on the time you spent watching 25 episodes and realize the "blade children" has only one purpose: to tell the MC that the "blade children" are not his business. After 10+ episodes like this, I started wishing the MC just says "fuck it!" and leave all the blade children to die, instead of saving them.
The only good thing that happened to this anime is Hiyono. I have never seen a character like hers in anime. She is smart and strong - she was able to uncover information about the blade children for the MC, device a plan to win the game when Ayumu lost confidence, etc. She has the resolve to uncover the mystery. But most importantly, she is fun and ironic, creating lighthearted moments that will allow you to laugh/smile. And she shows signs of liking Ayumu, but thankfully that story is never pursued, so the relationship between Ayumu and Hiyono feels like a deduction partnership.

Enjoyment: 10 -> 5
The only reason I enjoyed watching this anime episode after episode is Hiyono. The first episodes comes as a deduction focused mystery, which change to action-packed wicked game. Up until that point the anime is so enjoyable that it could have earned 10. But then it comes a series of monologues, useless speech and lack of any particular development until the ending. And I really felt like the script writer was mocking with me. Here is some of the dialogues (outside of the context to prevent spoilers), that feels more about the anime than to the context:
--
- Stop it this instant. What's the point in going through with this silly game? Do you even have a goal in mind?
- A point? A goal? I do not need you telling me how to do things!
--
- I have enough of this! I can only do what I can... and that's all!
--
If you consider this to be said by the script writer, not by the characters, you will have pretty good guess about the ending.

Overall: 10 -> 3
The incidents and the deduction at the first episodes was amazing. To create a detective mystery you need not only smart detective, but also a smart criminal. And the realism of the criminal's resources (you would not expect a high school students to have advanced weapons to make a crime, they must utilize what they have). Unfortunately, the story and the character development (except Hiyono) destroys everything build in the first episodes into a pile of some monologues about fate. And lack of conclusion, makes you wonder why you have spend the time to watch 25 meaningless episodes. The answer is probably, because Hiyono's jokes and irony. That kept me laughing and enjoying this anime until the (missing) end.

The story is about a high school student Ayuma Narumi who has a knack for solving cases, just like his older brother. About a year ago his brother vanished without a trace, leaving Ayuma with his sister in law (who is a police detective) and a phone call that he explains to Ayuma that he is going in search of the blade children. And there, this anime begins.

This anime has everything. Suspense, mystery, comedy and even a bit of horror. It is one of my all time favorite animes and one of the first I watched. So it has a special place in my ... heart, it is so good!!! The mystery is great, but the ending did leave a lot out, I know they explain more in the manga, which I hope to read someday I must find out more!


Take Care Everyone.

Spiral was an amazing mystery show. It really makes you think and constantly delivers a great experience every single episode. This show is a masterpiece... Except for one problem

Story - 8

The story in this show follows our main character Narumi. His detective brother Kiyotaka randomly disappears and leaves his wife and brother behind with one big case. "The Blade Children". Every episode delivers a great, attention grabbing story and really develops as time passes on. It gets you thinking every episode on how Narumi will solve all these puzzles and if he will.
Every episode feels like something new with all different kinds of puzzles and ... mysteries to entertain you and catch your attention. It wasn't just about the mysteries though as you would learn more and more about the past and the present. It really immersed you into the show when watching it.
Now this show seems absolutely amazing right? Well it is up until the ending. The show explains nothing at the ending and leaves all sorts of questions leaving only the manga to answer them. Some REALLY important questions like "Who the hell were the Blade Children anyways and why does everybody want to kill them so bad"?

Overall the story was masterpiece level until that end part.


Art - 7

I don't really have much to compare it to but I'll say it looks good for 2002. There weren't any scenes where I would say "This looks terrible. I hate it and I can't even tell what's going on". But there weren't any scenes where I would say "This scene needs to be hung up in an art museum and sold for $1,000,000". Either, so I'd say it looks good enough.


Sound - 7

The sound in this show was pretty good, I find myself listening to this show's music from time to time. Voice acting in this show was also pretty good and there weren't any flaws in the sound. The opening song was pretty good, it could use a better singer but it was fine enough. The ending song was great, that ending song makes me want to re-watch spiral with that soft guitar, drumming and whatever other instruments were used in making it. Background music was fine. It was usually a mysterious electronic kind of song but there was also more variety like piano. The voice acting was good too, nothing sounded out of place.

Overall I liked the soundtrack of Spiral there was sad music, happy music, mysterious music and all kinds of music to build the shows atmosphere


Character - 9

The characters were probably the best part of the show along with the mysteries and puzzles. All the characters were either really likeable or well-written. Every single character in this show was great.
Narumi was an excellent mystery solver and was a great protagonist for this show. He almost always solved any mystery or puzzle thrown at him and was pretty chill too.
Hiyono was a cute and likeable sidekick who managed to help Narumi on all these puzzles and was like the researcher character with a lot of knowledge on things even Narumi wouldn't know.
Most of the Blade Children were pretty great too, getting a bunch of development throughout the show going from fighting Narumi to becoming friends.
Even the supporting characters got good enough development in the episodes they were shown in. There were absolutely no bad or mediocre characters in this show.

Overall the characters were all well-written and really likeable. There weren't any bland characters, annoying characters, generic characters or any of that. All of them were unique in their own way.


Enjoyment - 9

Spiral really never failed to entertain me; it always kept my attention with all the mysteries and puzzles. Hell even the scenes without any mysteries or puzzles going on entertained me because the characters were just that likeable. I never zoned out while watching this show. It was hard to zone out when Narumi's on screen solving all these puzzles with things I probably would've never thought of before.


Overall - 8

I think Spiral is a great show for fans of mystery. It just excels at everything! (Except that ending). Too bad this show just doesn’t get enough attention

The good
-Story
-Characters
-Music
-Mysteries

The bad
-Not much explained at the end

Seen via eng. dub

Don't get me wrong this anime was a top notch piece for me but why do i regret the ending? Why am i saddened by the end? Given the turnout i should not be sadden i think. Perhaps, a little mystified on the brother but that is about it. But, no i am saddened. One might conclude that i enjoyed it and it bugs me that is has ended. No, that can not be it. I think this anime had a clever purpose for someone to enjoy but that group i can not seem to piece together. My own little mystery(laughs).

I imagine ... if you have a love of puzzles you will enjoy this mind boggle. Although, to be fair most of the puzzles are regional base not exactly fair to the English viewers.

p.s. i can not help but wonder if the big mystery that was not answered is somehow planted in all the episodes. maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.

One of the elements i enjoyed was the witty attributes of the reporter.

Show started really good for a lover of mystery anime like myself. There was a nice premise, good deal of detective-like thinking, etc. There were slight plot holes here and there but acceptable.

Then episode 7 came and the whole thing went to shit. Authors abandoned all logic and reason to feed stupid narrative because main character is suppose to confront Blade Children somehow. This is where I dropped the show. For a mystery anime, they sure as hell are taking shortcuts in explaining things. Shortcuts I can't condone.

Apart from atrocious sound design, everything else was fine or average, apart from the stupid plot turns ... for the sake of plot turns. Music has to be one of the most annoying things I've seen in any anime. Music itself is not bad most of the time, but it is ill placed and at wrong volume. Main villain will often play piano which will be so loud you can't hear the actors. Seriously who approved this?