- Last OnlineJan 3, 7:56 AM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayOct 30, 1981
- LocationMoscow, Russian Federation
- JoinedNov 6, 2013
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Jan 2, 2024
The art is unusual, that's obvious. The story itself is... more or less regular, especially if one watches anime for longer than combined ages of two protagonists and, obviously, seen more than one or two titles dedicated to subjects of school, paranormal, Seven Wonders, puberty, 8th grader syndrome, and teenage angst, in any combination.
Yet there is a certain appeal that makes me wait for the supposed second season, and even recommend the thing, especially if you are partial to school, paranormal, and specifically Seven Wonders. Pity there is no half-marks between 7 and 8 here on MAL. This is definitely more than 7/10, if not
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a full 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 2, 2024
Cowboy Bebop is an undisputed masterpiece, probably one of the most acclaimed anime series ever. Space Dandy is a parody on that masterpiece made by no other than the director/writer and producer of Cowboy Bebop. In addition, the parody engrosses all other space, mecha, superhero, and tokusatsu sci-fi since Atomboy.
So I absolutely cannot recommend this thing if you are a novice in anime, even if you already watched everything listed above. If, like myself, you're watching anime for a good quarter of a century and know not only the anime but also much of what anime of the recent 50 years roots in, meaning
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pop culture and music, as well as a thing or two about Japan beyond anime, you'll see Easter eggs in literally every second frame.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 8, 2022
Finished watching DarliFRA. My review may contain some spoiler material but I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible.
I was warned that the plot is lousy with many a hole. I strongly disagree, the plot is quite firm, even though it contains a number of easter eggs and (not so) subtle references that a seasoned anime fan would recognise: I counted Voltron, Gundam, Macross, Sailor Moon, Shinsekai Yori and a whole bunch of space operas and mecha sentai from 1970s and 1980s. But not Evangelion, it's a false impression as the main character here is baked of a dough completely different from Shinji (even
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though there indeed is an areopag of quasi-virtual puppet-masters who turn out not exactly what they are expected to be by characters and audience alike) — and that is more or less evident even by his name.
There also is a typical “mad scientist” trope (see Mazinger Z, etc.) that roots in the 19th and early 20th century European literature. Yet, that trope unrolls not quite evidently towards the end.
Sure enough, it would be possible to smear the action into 52 episodes, spawn some sequels and a powerful franchise akin to Gundam or Macross... but what for?
Ah, yes. A sudden transgression into space may seem weird — but only to those who knows only relatively modern, post-2000 anime, that is made by whatever generation of authors who ride titanic shoulders of all their predecessors — but within classic canons there are no loose lines, everything is assembled rather firmly.
In the first Gundam (1979), let alone Uchuu Senkan Yamato there are so many plot holes and loose ends that in the latter case they were left be (because it was a feature movie, and quite an avant-garde by 1974 standards), and the former, equally groundbreaking, spanned into a humongous franchise that several decades later reached the level of absurd and well beyond.
Still, all of those are not the key features of this series.
As much in Space Sweepers (the first South Korean space blockbuster movie released in 2020; you can see references to Cowboy Bebop and mocking of Elon Musk from two parsecs away there) the pivotal idea here is neither fighting, nor technology. By the way, I was quite amused by those ubiquitous video transmissions and impeccable radio communications 30 years ago when I, a ten-year old, watched an American slap-edit of several unrelated titles dubbed Macron One. Even not the relationships of supporting characters... no.
The historical context of the plot and necessary explanations are provided in the third quarter of the series. It could indeed do without numerous “deus ex machina” moments towards the end but in the original Evangelion that approach is vastly more coarse, by the way. Here it is like in “goode olden times” when the plot integrity was much less of a concern for the audience.
The primary thing here is a moral summary that starts to hatch by the 10th episode and culminates closer to the end, with a suitable number of sharp plot twists that are absolutely in order for classic space operas and mecha sentai. The ending itself, in that tune, is not quite standard as it leaves us with a semi-open final that may (or may not) allow further development.
And this moral summary is UTTERLY STANDARD: overcoming hardships, friendship, team spirit and togetherness, collective, self-sacrifice for the ulterior goal, love, and in general the most traditional family values. All of those slightly dusted with ecological agenda. Although here there are certain very subtle moments in certain character interactions that would be hardly deemed suitable for a broadcast TV series until the mid-2000s at the very least.
Bottom line: I liked it. In the age of 13 to 16 (which obviously is a target scope here) I would consider the series a bit drippy and weepy, although captivating enough. On a second thought, in the 1990s such project would be discarded as archaic, and if it appeared in 1970s or 1980s, it would have every chance to overshadow everything and anything contemporary. Now it's early 2022 and I'm 40 years old, I see too many references and bunny ears — but is that a bad thing? No, certainly not. I recommend it, especially for teenagers and young adults.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 2, 2021
After my friend's words “Watch ‘Given‘, you'll like it”, I just did so, without any prior reading. My friend was right. For one, it's just another story of an aspiring boys band, for other, it's a romance. The plot is well balanced, although the musical aspect interests me more (partly because of the age, I'm regretfully old enough to be a father of any of four main characters). Yet, Yano Shougo's voice indeed gives goosebumps when it's due, it is not common to see a seiyu so “living into” their character — even at the scale of dedication that doing quality anime implies (and this one
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is indeed of quality).
Of course there are some parallels — the last (and probably the only) other thing where “older teenage boys” and “rock band” are mixed together as good as here (probably even better) was BECK back in 2004; also, the 2000's Gravitation comes to mind (for the shounen-ai part, although I always regarded Gravitation something like a mock of Weiß Kreuz because of reused character designs), as well as IDOLiSH7, and, for a certain part, Sakamichi no Apollon from 2012.
In terms of music I have no complaints whatsoever, although 20–25 years ago these songs would impress me much more (it is objectively hard to surpass GLAY, Gackt, L'Arc~en~Ciel, and Buck-Tick at the prime of their respective careers — but luckily the show producers didn't set themselves a goal like that) for “slice of life” side as well, visual realism is on par with impeccable Sangatsu no Lion. Romance — well, I sort of envy main characters in the end, but obviously I'm a bit more cynical than the target audience.
Ah, yes: watch the movie. It continues the series tying the obvious loose ends (some of, at least), and I've put the upcoming sequel on my list, the story is not over.
Why not 10/10, just 8/10? A matter of taste. More intrigue and more action (think Psycho Pass or H×H 2011) would make it bull's eye for me, but there should be a place for more down-to-earth things too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 11, 2019
I see people comparing this to Bleach. I have little experience with Bleach, watching only 95 chapters of anime (and dropping it then) and barely reading any manga, but it is enough to say that Bleach, Naruto, Death Note and other super-popular series can't compare to this. At least it has little chance to last that long and fall into the trap of fillers and sidekicks.
My review is as cryptic as possible so as to avoid spoilers, but I'll try to make it useful nevertheless.
Based on 118 chapters (frankly speaking, even on just 18, otherwise I would not add 100 more and a strong
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urge to follow it to the end) I give it a resounding TEN. I am still in doubt about the anime (actually, manga attracted my attention after watching the first episode), since despite my rather ripe age compared to the majority of MAL users I'm not a fan of monster depictions in anime, as you can guess from my list. At that, at least at the beginning anime keeps up to a standard set by the manga, and hopefully will add to it.
This manga though keeps me captivated to the point of writing this review at 4:40 am after swallowing another 30 chapters. Why? PLOT TWISTS. Some I can predict, but they are few, and this is a good enough indicator in and on itself. I'm really sorry for those who had to read it as an ongoing right from the start (or starting from any other chapter), because chapter 118 is critical for the plot as I see it, and hopefully in a good way. I haven't seen such twists neither in Hunter×Hunter, nor in Shinsekai Yori, nor in non-Japanese fiction stories I am partial too. And that means a praise. A huge praise.
So what is it?
1. The setting. Manga and anime seemed to dip into all possible kinds of settings, but this is something new. It is a parallel world — but not an isekai, fantasy, Sengoku Jidai or sci-fi. Nor it is a slice of life, but some people probably can relate. It is not a classic action, but there is enough of those for connoisseurs of this genre too.
2. This thing does have its antagonists, but they are not your average yokai, criminals or aliens. Those familiar with Hunter×Hunter, think of Meruem (the Chimera Ant King) and make him even more ruthless even if less intelligent. At that, sometimes those who look like antagonists are not them, nor all seemingly positive characters are positive... and the authors are masterful in keeping the reader in the dark about their true nature to the last possible moment.
3. The situation the protagonists and their supporting characters got into requires a huge leap of imagination. Yet they have a clear objective and that, hopefully, will prevent the creators from falling into traps of an over-twisted plot that even J.K. Rowling and Togashi Yoshihiro did not avoid.
4. There are a lot of “deus ex machina” (not Deus Ex, of course!) situations, but that's what plot twists and cliffhangers are about.
5. The characters are vivid, deep and charismatic.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 9, 2018
I thought I have seen it all. If you peer through my list, you'll understand what I mean. For the moment it's 20 years of high-quality anime and 32 years of reading good books for me. So, I didn't have any expectations when I started to watch Shinsekai Yori. Okay: artwork pleasant to my eyes, nice voices, fine music, but then... I watched almost all the legendary series and movies. I hosted a Evangelion-themed forum in my early-to-mid twenties. I experienced nearly all mind-blowing and classic anime. I read a lot of sea-themed books, so I can see through almost all the allusions, hints and
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quotes in One Piece (I dropped it after the episode 595). Evangelion, all of GITS, Serial Experiments Lain, everything by Studio Ghibli, Cowboy Bebop, Last Exile (the original one, still my favorite), Hunter×Hunter (all of it) — you name it. I've seen it all. I've read a lot of books. I'm a professional journalist, after all, I know a thing or two about stories.
Is there any anime to amaze me after all that? Is there any anime that can teach me something? Hardly anymore, I thought, watching episode 1, 2, 3, 4 and so forth of Shinsekai Yori. Something made me watch it. In the middle of the series, it happened: a plot twist. Then another. Then another. Then more. By the 17th episode I could barely unglue myself from watching it even to get some sleep. That thing utterly captivated me. Intense action, unconventional and even uncanny plot twists and unravelings, layers within layers within layers... Some seemingly important (or just appealing) characters turned out to be just empty shells. Some characters that I personally wanted some future for, mercilessly removed. Someone who seems totally unimportant, grows into a central figure.
Okay. I admit that the root of that story is an ethical dilemma that may seem pretty trivial. Yet, a speculative simplification like that can make a lot of classic masterpieces (be them anime, motion pictures, theatrical shows or literature) seem too basic to worth any praise, let alone the effort of creation. Also, getting to that root requires you to watch the series from the beginning to the very, very end, not missing a word.
Even if Shinsekai Yori couldn't boast with anything but a plot itself (off with graphics, music, voices, suitably deep characters and many other things that make anime something we all like it for), it would still be a 10/10 masterpiece.
It is not flawless, of course... but in the end, nothing is flawless and off with that too.
Just watch it. If you are an adult and have a teenager around, make him or her watch it. If you think you've seen it all — watch it. If you are bored — watch it.
Ah, yes — don't forget to learn from it. This thing is really educational, it makes you think.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 9, 2018
I'm watching anime for more than 20 years. I'm a bit picky, which means that I tend to choose certain genres, art styles, plots and all that. Yet, I often watch anime of a kind that would appeal to my much younger self.
Sometimes I bump into series or movies that I missed earlier. Romeo no Aoi Sora is one of those.
What can I say... Probably, had I have an opportunity to watch that when I was of appropriate age (that was slightly before it appeared), or maybe during the actual first airing it would greatly influence me in a positive way, as intended.
Of course
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you should not judge that series at the same level as complex seinen stuff, not even Hunter×Hunter 2011 that starts like an easygoing motivational thing for middle-schoolers but develops into something way more serious and deeper than that. Romeo no Aoi Sora was intended for younger audience, 11–13 yo boys, was kept in line with that targeting and produced much earlier. You should also forgive less-than-realistic depiction of 1860s Italy and Switzerland in terms of muddy streets and dimly lit interiors (for that, go watch 2013 Swiss/German movie Die Schwarzen Bruder based on the same book — that I would like to translate into Russian if I manage to get my hands on an English edition), as well as some “deus ex machina” moments and plot shortcuts. Yet, I could barely stop myself from watching all 33 episodes in one go, stretching the process into three days. I imagine how restless I would become if that series would air in 1990s Russia and I would face a probability of missing an episode (and, well, to wait for a week for the next episode would be a torture).
There are very few titles (and books in general) that are equally appropriate for boys of said age... And for many adults. This is a must-watch. I can't wait for my nephews to grow up to show them this thing (among others).
Why a must-watch? Values. Friendship, trust, good-natured stubbornness, kindness, openness, fair judgement — things that our real world woefully lacks throughout all of its history.
Also, sheer emotional power: even being closer to 40 than to 30 and witness to too many things I would rather not even know about, I could barely contain tears during certain moments (call that sentimentality of an aged boy, or whatever, but...). I think that a twelve-year-old myself would weep and wail, despite that even then a book, a movie or an animation had to be much more than a melodrama to get that kind of compassion from me towards characters.
Bottom line. If you want to watch an anime that can make you better as a person, this is the right choice. If you have a cynical young teen (or a tween that can become one) in vicinity, make him watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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