Sep 4, 2017 9:03 AM
Vigorous Viewing Special, The 100 Worst Anime: #40 - Dark Cat
Anime Relations:
Dark Cat
Featured Anime
Dark Cat
Released: Nov 28, 1991
Stats as of July 30, 2014
Weighted Score: 4.76
Ranking: #7115
Bottom 100 Ranking: #40
Wow! I'm surprised at how low of a score this anime has. I'm not saying it's great or anything, but I actually did enjoy my time with it. I watched the Japanese dub, so perhaps the English dub was just so terrible that it drove the show to a lower rank. However, I guess I can't be sure.
Dark Cat is an early 90s OVA that has two main focuses in it's story. The first follows Aimi Koenji, who is hopelessly in love with a boy in her school, Hiroki Koizumi. However, Hiroki is in love with somebody else, who ended up rejecting him. The other is a tale of two brothers, Hyoi and Hiroki Koizumi, who have the power to transform into creatures known as "Dark Cats", and who are busy fending off evil monsters that are being awoken in humans by the main villain, an ogre named Jukokubo.
Either story on it's own would be somewhat generic, and combining the two makes the anime seem a bit unfocused. However, the two tales intertwine at the end. I can't say the story was super unique, but it was at least entertaining for the duration, even if it's somewhat poorly executed with some plot holes. The characters are pretty basic and forgettable, but they were interesting enough for the story they were telling. The ending also didn't seem very satisfying, which is a downside. I would say the story is probably the weakest part of this whole thing, but it's got just enough in it to keep things interesting for a 50 minute OVA.
The visual directing also isn't very great, consisting mostly of very typical shots, without anything impressive standing out. This doesn't do any favors for the art, which seems to be dated, even by 1991 OVA standards. It definitely looks more like the kind of thing that would have came out 5 years earlier than it did. Still, the art wasn't atrocious to look at, even if it was kind of plain and unrefined.
The music was great, and was definitely the highlight, being one of the more memorable aspects of the anime. It had this 80s J-pop sound to it which felt really reminiscent of the era, and worked well in the setting.
Voice acting in the Japanese dub was above average. There weren't any standout performances, but each actor did an adequate job at voicing their character, even if the lines they had to read were somewhat generic.
Overall, it's not anything special, but it's a decent enough anime to check out if you're bored and can forgive some rough edges and a generic story.
I give it a 6 out of 10.
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100 Worst Anime Progress List
Key:
Strikethrough = Completed
[0.00] = MAL's rating (as of July 30th, 2014)
{0/10} = My Rating
Note: I copied this list from the Top Anime List on July 30th, 2014 and will go through this version of the list for the duration of this feature, even if the list on the site ends up changing over time.
Dark Cat
Released: Nov 28, 1991
Stats as of July 30, 2014
Weighted Score: 4.76
Ranking: #7115
Bottom 100 Ranking: #40
Wow! I'm surprised at how low of a score this anime has. I'm not saying it's great or anything, but I actually did enjoy my time with it. I watched the Japanese dub, so perhaps the English dub was just so terrible that it drove the show to a lower rank. However, I guess I can't be sure.
Dark Cat is an early 90s OVA that has two main focuses in it's story. The first follows Aimi Koenji, who is hopelessly in love with a boy in her school, Hiroki Koizumi. However, Hiroki is in love with somebody else, who ended up rejecting him. The other is a tale of two brothers, Hyoi and Hiroki Koizumi, who have the power to transform into creatures known as "Dark Cats", and who are busy fending off evil monsters that are being awoken in humans by the main villain, an ogre named Jukokubo.
Either story on it's own would be somewhat generic, and combining the two makes the anime seem a bit unfocused. However, the two tales intertwine at the end. I can't say the story was super unique, but it was at least entertaining for the duration, even if it's somewhat poorly executed with some plot holes. The characters are pretty basic and forgettable, but they were interesting enough for the story they were telling. The ending also didn't seem very satisfying, which is a downside. I would say the story is probably the weakest part of this whole thing, but it's got just enough in it to keep things interesting for a 50 minute OVA.
The visual directing also isn't very great, consisting mostly of very typical shots, without anything impressive standing out. This doesn't do any favors for the art, which seems to be dated, even by 1991 OVA standards. It definitely looks more like the kind of thing that would have came out 5 years earlier than it did. Still, the art wasn't atrocious to look at, even if it was kind of plain and unrefined.
The music was great, and was definitely the highlight, being one of the more memorable aspects of the anime. It had this 80s J-pop sound to it which felt really reminiscent of the era, and worked well in the setting.
Voice acting in the Japanese dub was above average. There weren't any standout performances, but each actor did an adequate job at voicing their character, even if the lines they had to read were somewhat generic.
Overall, it's not anything special, but it's a decent enough anime to check out if you're bored and can forgive some rough edges and a generic story.
I give it a 6 out of 10.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Worst Anime Progress List
Key:
Strikethrough = Completed
[0.00] = MAL's rating (as of July 30th, 2014)
{0/10} = My Rating
Note: I copied this list from the Top Anime List on July 30th, 2014 and will go through this version of the list for the duration of this feature, even if the list on the site ends up changing over time.
Posted by
vigorousjammer
| Sep 4, 2017 9:03 AM |
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