Ranked #1016

Zettai Karen Children

(You can read my full review with pics here
http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=684385
Constructive feedback is very appreciated !)

I really didn't know what to think about the first episode from Zettai Karen Children and kinda dropped it, but a nice bearded guy from YouTube recommended this show next to Hayate No Gotoku and Excel Saga.


So what is this anime about ? Imagine a world where some humans gain special abilities. They are called Esper. Some people regard them as the next step of human evolution, while other people think they are just a disgrace to mankind and will destroy the world as we know them. This is where the organization Babel steps in. It is Babel's intention to create a world where ordinary humans and Esper can live and cooperate in peace. Which is not really easy, because some terrorists and Anti-Esper groups want to stop this. Next to Babel there exists Hyoubus's Pandra. Like Babel Pandra wants to group all Espers in this world, with the difference that they don't respect normal humans. Logic dictates that normal people are inferior to Esper, so why bother ? Exactly this conflict between both sides make this anime so interesting and thrilling, although it is on a superficial view very lighthearted.

Within Babel it is Minamoto's responsibility to train and guard three young and talented Espers, called "The Children". Kaoru, Aoi and Shiho are pretty good in solving minor criminal cases, but due to their indisciplined behaviour they often make their leader Minamoto upset. Kaoru is very tomboyish and has the ability to move items. Aoi is able to teleport people, while Shiho is able to read and scan the environment for learning more about the past (kinda like this fish-guy from Hellboy).

Now there are dozen of Espers in this series with different and interesting abilities. They are categorized into different levels which is pretty interesting because it gives every fight a strategical dimension, for example a Level 3 Esper can't beat a more experienced Level 7 Esper and so on. Sometimes several Esper like the Children have to regroup to beat this and this Esper. The anime is also not afraid to show the more funny side of Esper's abilities. For example the Esper boy Akira is able to switch his mind with an animal, with the result that the mind from the animal tries to move Akira's body ^^

Don't expect another generic Shonen or another X-Men rip-off, because Zettai Karen Children is much more than that. Interesting fights and more lighthearted comedy scenes switches with more serious and thoughtful parts. In this regard it reminded me a lot of one of my favourite anime CodeGeass, the king of bipolar anime like I always say. What I really liked about ZKC was how well written all characters were: Everybody had their own motivations, eccentric quirks and funny moments. I get tired by characters who feel very superficial yet take themselfs very serious, thanks to god ZKC succeded in this area. I can't remember a single annoying character, even the annoying Weeaboo Espers from America or the HardoGay Esper were likeable in their own way ..... Did I mentioned HardoGay ?

But seriously, I think the characters are well written. Just look at Minamoto:
Although he is not an Esper, as the Leader of the Children he can identify with the emotional problems from all Espers. Why ? Because he is actually a genius mind and already felt as an outsider in school, if not everywhere in society. As a genius, he is neither a normal human nor an Esper. What I also LOVE about him is that he always reacts appropriate in every dangerous situation.

About the girls:
You could be very nitpicking and say that they only serve as fanservice material for lolicons. But this is not true. Even the Children have well developed personalities.
For example Kaoru comes from an actor family, where she hardly get any love or attention from her own mother. It also doesn't help that Kaoru is an Esper and only confuse her family. Shiho on the other hand gets a lot of love from her family, but because she is able to scan her environment (like the thoughts from criminals and murderers) she has developed a very cynical and cold personality. Even Aoi, the megane girl has to fight with her inner demons. As you can see, the anime has more depth than most people expect.

KYOSUKE - BEST BAD GUY EVER ???
Nah, I don't think so. Although he is clearly Babel's antagonist, his group Pandra have good intentions towards all Espers and sometimes Kyosuke helps the people from Babel (for cheap hedonistic entertainment of course ^__^ He wants to marry Kaoru someday, while his own allies call him a pedo all the time ) ! By the way, Kyosuke is something like 80 years old ! Thanks to his Esper power he is able to alter his own body cells, hence his white hair. In episode 37 (at 09:44) he imitates a famous pose from CodeGeass, which was really funny for me because I always thought he looks like Lelouch !


Talking about references, there are MANY in Zettai Karen Children and I went through all the trouble to write them down. Here are my favourites:

- Ep 27 Strike Witches, Macross F
- Ep 30 Saint Seiya, Nabeshin
- Ep 31 Bonny and Clyde
- Ep 32 Initial D ?
- Ep 33 Hayate No Gotoku
- Ep 37 Code Geass
- Ep 46 Death Note

There you have it, an entertaining anime with an interesting plot(twist), hot girls, hardogay (is that even a good thing ?), likeable characters, great action, many references, a very interesting bad guy, an open yet satisfying and conclusive ending, great humour and catchy music at the same time. Zettai Karen Children tells us that even outsiders in society should stand up and fight for a better world, regardless what some people think of you. I think the greatest strenght of ZKC is at the same time its greatest weak-point, the sudden jumps between humour and more thoughtful parts do not always feel balanced, but that's subjective. I can't complain and to be honest, I'm a bit sad that I have just finished another great anime *sigh* ....
My rating: 8/10
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Mostly it appeals to many loli fans and who like magic or esper or any kind of thing. The plot is okay just needs to be a little bit remodeled overall it is pretty good to watch. The humor spent on this anime is actually very entertaining mostly goes with the whole faction of it being loli and appealing to grown ups.

The action is pretty okay though not so hardcore that drags up to like two episodes like other animes, but yet its a quick and straight to the point anime. It actually has a solid plot and well so far it is developing itself for the climax, straight to the point with entertainment.

Overall its an 8, for any loli fans who love the humor this is one of the must see anime. read more