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Feb 7, 2021
"Because no matter where I go, I wont be able to disappear."
Aku no Hana was in simple words, a beautifully illustrated and well written coming of age manga that sheds a bright light on the lives of outcasts and the harsh reality of coming in terms with the world. This story was amazingly written and had me constantly biting at my nails in anxiousness. It was not only an extremely good page-turner it is a manga that I will most definitely not forget.
Story: 43% / 43%
The story delves deep into the lives of small towns in Japan and how they feels stuck and crushed by
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the limitation of their circumstances, it also shows a little side of Japanese families and school lives and how all of this come into the psychological upbringing of the Japanese Youth. What I loved the most about the manga and the reason why it gets a solid 33/33 is that the story is strongly tied to the actual "Flowers of Evil" by Baudelaire. In the collection of poems which is called Flowers of Evil the biggest sin and the worst thing a human can ever be is boring. Nakamura in Aku no Hana takes advantage of Takao idolizing Baudelaire and constantly calls him boring to get him to follow with her schemes. The way the actual peoms and the manga are tied together is just beautiful to say the least. Truly, a work of art.
Characters: 31% / 33%
Takao is a quite kid and he is obsessed with books and poetry especially a poetry book by Charles Baudelaire called The Flowers of Evil, he is not very sociable and he has a big crush on the pretty girl from his class.
Nakamura Sawa on the other hand is a rude girl who is always in trouble with the teachers and she is very anti-social and hates the town she lives in, the two get tangled in a strange relationship and they wreck havoc on the other residence of the town and with the law too.
Both of these characters can resonate deeply with many people who consider themselves outcasts of society no because of their perverted tendencies but because of the feeling that every person has felt at least once in their life. The feeling of being different from everybody else.
Art: 19% / 23%
Oshimi has come a long way since Aku no Hana, but nevertheless, he deserves a lot of recognition for his superb art style and amazing facial expressions. That combined with the way he draws backgrounds was simply... subarashii.. Regardless, there are inconsistencies here and there. I'm not talking about the final few chapters, I'm thinking more about actual details that could've been better. Besides that, Chi no Wadachi (the manga I compare Aku no Hana to a lot) was just better art-wise, thus, the rating.
Conclusion:
Aku No Hana is a lot more realistic than a very high percentage every other manga. It takes the outcast kids and shows them the cold harsh reality that is life and being an outcast kid. This was truly a work that connected with me and was hard for me to keep it together throughout reading it. As I write this my heart is beating fast while I recall this manga. My throat feels clogged and this is simply something I had never experienced before even after reading actual tons of manga of this genre.
Overall: 94% / 100% or 9.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2021
"Don't be so quick to throw away your life. No matter how disgraceful or embarrassing it may be, you need to keep struggling to find your way out until the very end." -Clare
Claymore is a gritty and dark story that follows Clare and Raki in a journey to kill man-eating demons called the "Yoma". At first glance this series appears mediocre and average. I assure you it is anything but. It is Not a masterpiece by any means, but it is above average in every aspect with the exception of a poorly written ending. The story is left hanging as the anime was made when
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the manga was still being written until it finished in 2014 way after the ending of the original anime.
Story: 30% / 40%
The story itself is not as original as it might appear to be. It is an above average story, I stand with what I said, but it has more than common tropes that are in other manga. It is unfair to call it episodic in nature but it is somewhat episodic so the story telling might be lacking. The plot is mainly driven by the characters and their decisions which leads to these actions and decisions having consequences. If you are looking for a story that does not shy away from consequences and characters have virtually no plot armor you have found your anime. So don't expect any kind of miraculous event to bail out characters from their predicament.
Claymore sadly lacks in the ending department. Like many anime series, Claymore is based on a serialized manga series. And like many such anime series, the anime version of Claymore began production while the manga was still unfinished.Suffice it to say, Claymore ends on a cliffhanger, leaving major plot threads hanging. I recommend reading the manga afterwards as the anime itself is a good experience.
I am not by any means saying the ending is bad. In fact, for a series that is dedicated to following the manga's plot so in essence the ending of Claymore was well made. It ends at a rational point, at the climax of a major story arc and not in the middle of an arc like other series I could name. It does tie up a number (but not all) of the major and minor plot threads. Still, it was a disappointment to see the otherwise excellent series end without a true conclusion.
This is a seinen anime which means it won't shy away from dark themes, gruesome fights, and horrible fates.
Characters: 24% / 30%
Since the story's plot is mainly character driven you will probably find yourself enjoying more interaction between the characters than actual investment in the story. We have two main characters Clare and Raki. Both receive a fair amount of development, enough to say they changed a lot throughout the series.
When first introduced, Clare was a very cold warrior who prioritized her duties over everything else. At first clare seems to care more about killing the Yoma than saving lives. Despite this, she was still willing to take Raki with her until they found a new village for him to settle in, largely because he reminded her of herself when she was a child. She insisted to Raki that she was not a kind person and that, if he tried to find kindness in her, he would only find disappointment. However, he refused to believe that due to what she had done for him and, in time, she defrosted due to his influence. Ironically, she had previously done the same thing to her mother figure, Teresa.
Raki is easily trusting, as shown in his friendship with Clare who was feared by the rest of the villagers. In his own words, Raki expected Claymores like Clare to be scary (as he had never met one before her), but found Clare to be no different than a normal girl. He is capable of forming strong attachments with people. He is generally a hothead but can be cunning when it comes down to it. He is also overprotective of the people he loves, namely, Clare as is shown various times throughout the series.
Music/Sound: 5% / 10%
The music for Claymore is pretty standard and does a solid job overall, although it sometimes feels intrusive. The dub for Claymore was done by Funimation and is generally very good. The soundtrack really didn't leave a big impression on me but overall it was "ok".
Art/Animation: 15% / 20%
Visually, the series is outstanding, with fluid fight scenes and crisp animation. There is a slight inconvenience for some people though: every Claymore has blond hair, silver eyes, and wears an identical outfit. Now think about the amount of facial detail you tend to get with the typical anime art-style and you can begin to see why this could be a problem. It doesn't really rear its head for most of the series, but there are scenes where you might be drawn into a guessing game.
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All in all,
despite its shortcomings, Claymore was an intriguing and entertaining show that held my interest all the way through. Dark themes, unique and well developed characters, and a gripping story combine to create something that is far more than your average action series.
So if you're looking for a more mature and sophisticated anime that is still at its heart an action series, Claymore is definitely worth a look.
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Overall: 74% / 100% or 7.4/10 rounded to 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 21, 2021
"There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare." -Sun Tzu
This manga is a historical military manga. Although it follows major events quite closely there are instances of undeniable supernatural activity an example being Kyou Kai's invincible breathing technique that is somehow able to do anything you could possibly think of. It is a manga that follows the journey of Li Xin or Ri Shin, as is later translated, in his attempt together with the king of Qin to unite China during the time of the warring states.
Story: 39 / 43%
The story is way more that what most synopsis can lead the viewer
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to believe. This manga does not shy away from conflict, death, idiocy, and lunacy. It has heavy topics which is why it is a seinen manga. In terms of historical manga I would say this manga is second only to Vagabond in terms of story and story-telling. It is not a manga that is simply about a boy becoming the "greatest general under the heavens". It is a manga were specific and detailed events are shown as well as how key battles and wars were won. Tactics, strategy, and superb intelligence is all shown in this manga. I learned more about actual battle tactics from this manga that reading Sun Tzu's the Art of War and Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings. All in all it is a manga that will teach you a lot historically about China and strategy while still keeping an incredible story-telling with compelling characters and marvelous scenes.
There being supernatural activity detracts from what I believe would be an otherwise perfect story. You do not need supernatural activity to create plot armor when the author should be able to follow events quite closely and have no reason for making an unnecessary event. In the later chapters during Shin's very close battle with a particularly... menacing general he is saved rather miraculously. And although it was an awesome series of events and adds to the depth of the introduced characters, I feel that the supernatural activity does not add anything and rather subtracts quality from the story. That isn't to say that the supernatural events detracts from the characters as it is the other way around. It is just the story that is affected by this, hence the lower points.
Characters: 29 / 33%
The characters are pretty stereotypical. I can't be caught lying here. Our main character, Shin, is a hotheaded and brash person but carries a heart of gold that holds an extreme amount of determination. Shin is fiercely loyal to his friends shown numerous times his willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends. He is basically a Naruto. But similar to Naruto we see Shin grow throughout the series which is uncommon for a lot of stories.
We then have the dandere of the cast. She has a quiet personality, saying little unless she is giving advice. Others who have seen her inhuman talent with the sword have called her a monster as she cuts down her opponents with ease. She has grown warmer towards her comrades in the mid to later chapters (around the 360s chapters). She is seen as a potential love interest for Shin, but is never really acted upon.
Lastly we have Ei Sei, the king of Qin. At the beginning of the story, Ei Sei seemed level headed but somewhat cold. When Shin collapsed from exhaustion, Ei Sei carried him without complaint even though he said before that he would treat Shin as a sword and not a person. Sei and Shin become each other's support and in a way, become rivals. As they journey towards their dreams, they're constantly trying to keep up with each other. After either of them achieve something, they always come together on the roof of the Royal Palace to congratulate and encourage each other to keep moving forward. Shin eventually becomes one of Sei's closest friends. And as their dreams merge, Sei hopes to one day unite all of China with Shin as his sword.
All in all I think the most original character is Ei Sei.
Art: 21% / 23%
The art in this whole manga is consistent and by no means overrated. I believe this manga is second only to Vagabond as I've said before and I keep my word as it is true in the art too. While I am being unfair comparing both mangas it is useful for me to keep track of the rating using Vagabond as a scale for these two. It's realism is extremely well made but there are times when i note inconsistencies. There are times it seems there is a lot of effort made and others where there was a mediocre or a less than best effort. I see this most in large army battles where sometimes everything is beautifully detailed and other times it lacks in comparison.
Overall: 89% / 100% or 8.9/10 rounded to 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2021
“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter." -Miyamoto, Musashi
When I first started reading this manga is was way back in 2015 or 2016. I didn't expect much of it except "cool samurai fight scenes" as I would've described it then. However, upon reading it and rereading it countless times already, I've come to accept this manga for what it is: an unfinished masterpiece.
If it were only completed this would make the second manga/anime I have ever ranked a solid 10. It follows the real life story of the wondering vagrant swordsman MIyamoto Musashi
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in his journey to become the strongest swordsman who has ever lived. It doesn't start off slow and pick start picking up later on. It is consistent in its story telling and masterful in its conveying of the plot.
Personally I think many of its negative reviews are due to the viewer being unable to relate to the characters leaving them with a sense of lack of depth from the overall story. I don't want to say they are wrong. But perhaps they are looking at it the least productive way. Vagabond is a biography. The characters were different people not fictional relatable protagonists. Much of the manga might be seen as unnecessary drawn out action, but that is simply what Musashi's life boiled down to during his earlier years before he retired. It's like trying to relate to Elon Musk's autobiography when you really can't. You're supposed to take some ideas from it and try to better yourself as a person using them.
Sun Tzu's art of war is no relatable because it's about warfare. That is simply not true at all, people still use it predominantly in business tactics. If I might say: most negative reviews of this manga are/might be unjustified.
You are not supposed to relate to the characters or Musashi at all.
I believe that is the true intention of the author.
Story: 40% / 43%
Vagabond is the epic story of wondering swordsman Musashi Miyamoto later in life titled "The Sword Saint". The manga closely follows his early years in life from when he leaves to war and returns with a different name. He starts to steadily build up his legend but at times seems unsure of himself striking deep philosophical thought, not from the author, but from the person himself. I love how the story follows his life as accurately as possible while still maintaining a sense of, well, epicness. The only reason it doesn't have full points is because of the fact that the manga remains unfinished to this date.
Characters: 33% / 33%
Miyamoto Musashi or Musashi Miyamoto. He is practically the only character as far as it goes because it is basically a biography of him. (Other characters like Sasaki Kojiro were not taken into consideration whilst writing the rating for this section). The Sword Saint. It is not an exaggeration, that is his actual title. This is a man that actually lived in Japan and the tales of his journey are well recorded so I can say firmly (after actually doing a lot of research) that the manga stays true to the nature and reality of the character. Musashi was and is the greatest swordsman to have ever lived, but he wasn't born that way. His life was full of hardship, struggle, and challenge. Everything from when he was thirteen and on was battle. But that was not all there was to Musashi. He had a strong sense of philosophy and was extremely intelligent. He theorized about things such as psychology that weren't even invented in his era. A character this brilliantly and accurately represented on manga is something you won't find anywhere else. Truly masterful work done to recreate his person.
Art: 21% / 23%
This manga has perhaps some of the best illustrations I have ever had the privilege of setting eyes upon. At least in book the art this manga handles is second only to Berserk. The fight scenes are spectacles unfolding right before your eyes and everything in between is equally as exquisite. The quality does not waver during the whole length of the manga and if anything it gets even better as it progresses. The reason it does not have full points, though, is just that. The art does get better, but in turn that means that the earlier chapters could've been better as well. This may come off as overly critical or analytical, but it is the undeniable truth. In spite of this, the art still gets one of the best ratings I've given to art in manga.
Overall: 94% / 100% or 9.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2021
“My good fortune is not that I've recovered from mental illness. I have not, nor will I ever. My good fortune lies in having found my life.” -Elyn R. Saks.
Chi no Wadachi or a Trail of Blood is truly an unnerving experience. This manga is exceptional and dare I say masterful at setting an unsettling environment using everything from lighting and positioning to the expressions and body language of a character. Something that is also noteworthy is that many panels go without words and even where there are words there are few. A lot of the overall experience of the manga comes directly from the
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disturbing emotions the manga brings forward.
Story: 35% / 43%
The story in of itself is not as stressful as many people would lead you to believe. What makes the story distressing is it's use of impressively believable cast and impeccable use of disquieting art. However, the story is very, very original. Since it is not done I cannot completely write an accurate rating, but I am satisfied with the current chapters.
The use of ambient and characters makes this story unique and masterful. It has no qualms with addressing very strong topics such as a range of mental illnesses, murder, mental and physical abuse, child abuse, and heavy trauma.
Characters: 30% / 33%
The characters are simply superb. All of the developed characters are so believable, in fact, that one could think people like this could exist in real life. And make no mistake, it is probable that they do. Mental illness and trauma consume a great deal of people in the real world, far more than people would like to admit.
Each of the characters is uniquely written and to an extent could be interpreted as real people in the story. The actions the characters take at times might seem irrational to some, but remember that they are human and they are most likely affiliated with mental illness. Irrationality is the main theme of the manga and it will not shy away from exposing its characters to the most emasculate situations.
Art: 23% / 23%
I personally believe that this manga's greatness comes from its specialty in creating an anxious mood in every panel. Each new panel you are faced with an entirety of new agitating emotions. Everything from the background to the incredibly believable emotions and body language of the specific character are all used to bring forward your most distressful emotions. This is truly the strongest point on the manga and deserves full points.
Overall: 88% or 8.8/10 rounded to 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2021
"The body exists just to verifies one's own existence." -Lain
Serial Experiments: Lain is one hell of a journey. If you don't like having your brain slowly drained through a hole in your temple by cyborg ants, Lain won't be for you. It has a detached, isolated tone, which is a perfect match to Lain's character and life, or rather, her outlook on life.
A lot of the screen time focuses on the visual and audio parts of the experience of the viewer to push the viewer in the direction of explorations of existentialism and consciousness. Lain has more experience than story, and I believe that is
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where its monumental influence and success comes from.
Story: 40% / 40%
The story was perfectly done. Lain was truly ahead of its time tackling themes like depression, suicide, the internet, cyber bullying, different personalities in and outside the net, etc. For a show made in the 90s when the internet was barely starting it was just insanely ahead of it's time. Almost in direct relation to today the dangers of the online world are real enough to reach you in the real and not in the net (or the wired in Lain's case).
The show was perfectly paced. The first two episodes build upon's Lain's fragile mentality and continue to explore it until it literally reaches the peak of divide in the human mind. We get some mind-bending reveals near the end part of the series which made me actually gasp at times. It was so suffocating I would constantly take smoke breaks to reflect on it. I believe this story perfectly makes itself suffocating and drowning.
Characters: 25% / 30%
Lain is the main character of the series and in an extreme PoV she can be considered the only character. The reason I say this is because most other characters only seem to exist in order to further develop Lain’s character or answer any questions that she has about the world and The Wired. Other characters are very superficial and grounded whereas Lain is the most complex and intricate.
Lain herself as a character is quiet, and antisocial. She has a strong sense of curiosity that drives the show’s events. Her lack of experience with The Wired makes her the vessel for the audience to learn more about The Wired and its relationship with the real world at the same rate as Lain learns the same.
Arisu is Lain’s closest friend. While her role in the beginning of the show is simply to try and get Lain to be more social, she becomes much more vital to the show as the plot progresses. As Lain becomes more entrenched in The Wired, Arisu helps ground the audience in reality. She eventually becomes the character we rely on to question and distinguish what is real and what isn’t. Later on, she becomes a close character to the viewer, although not as close as Lain, she becomes quite important as she is your primary link to reality and humanity.
The reason this section does not get full points is because even though the lack of characters is artistic in nature it is something I can't get behind on 100%.
Music/Sound: 18% / 20%
"And you don't seem to understand..." The show's main focus is both the visual and the audio experience of the viewer. Somehow the opening song Duvet perfectly explains the show: You won't understand anything until it hits you in the end. Both the opening and the ending were simply stunning and perfectly encompasing the show. This is why this is the second series ever I rate full points on music and sound. (The other one is Ergo Proxy). However, this is not to be confused with an epic soundtrack. Lain practically does not have a soundtrack aside from its opening and ending. But the lack of soundtrack also adds on to the unconventional nature of the show.
Art/Animation: 7% / 10%
While i am a big fan of the old school art style and animation the show does lack in both departments at times. There isn't much clarity in what is going on many of the times. Rooms may appear black but they actually have backgrounds some people can't see. Maybe this was a personal problem but the whole show felt like I had sunglasses on. It is obviously part of the intention but it feels to draining. It reminds me much of Perfect Blue which is immediately bonus points from me. I actually very much loved both art and animation, but it still feels lacking when looking at it critically.
Overall: 90% / 100% or 9.0/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2021
"You must not change the past once it's been established." -Rintaro, Okabe
Inside the realm of anime and science fiction, Steins;Gate is a must watch series. It is by far the best sci-fi anime series I have watched and sits firmly on my top ten list. It is one hell of a mind-bending journey into time travel and the dangers of it. Much about time travel in the entertainment industry is cause to a lot of speculation from viewers as well as authors because since we don't truly know how time travel works (if it works) it leaves authors to use their own imagination to create
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and advance on existing theories or maybe create their own. This is a show that consistently pushes the term sci-fi to its limits.
Story: 37%/40%
The story follows a self-described mad scientist by the name of Hououin Kyouma. That is Okabe Rintaro's pseudoname as he tries to make a name for himself in the science world using his obviously faulty "Future Gadgets"
The earlier episodes could come to discourage the average viewer with it setting the whole show up. It could feel dull at times but absolutely massive foreshadowing hints are worth watching the full 20 minutes. i feel one cannot appreciate this anime by a few episodes but by watching the whole series are reflect on it.
Besides the unpredictable directions it takes with time travel, is its endearingly eclectic cast. Each of the characters is a misfit or outcast in their own way, making it easy for viewers to become attached to them throughout the show. Steins;Gates is a must-watch series like I've mentioned before. A viewer will watch how it consistently pushes boundaries in the genre of science fiction. Reaching beyond the genre of anime, it is one of the most believable and intelligent time-travel sagas of the last decade.
I sincerely recommend anyone who loves sci-fi or gets easily attached to characters to watch this anime as it will probably change your perception on what anime can actually achieve with their story. Aside from this I also strongly encourage people to check out Steins;Gate 0 which is somehow disliked by the community, but I believe it adds in so much depth to the original series.
Characters: 30% / 30%
Okabe Rintaro
Okabe Rintaro, also called Okarin by his two friends Itaru and Mayuri, is the main protagonist of the story. Self-proclaimed mad scientist under the name of Hououin Kyouma, he often appears paranoid and delusional, acting or believing he is watched by a secret organization by talking about it to himself on his mobile phone. He also shows lots of arrogance, but behind all of those traits Okabe cares a lot about his friends and would do anything to protect them. Okabe is in depth a noble person who would sacrifice even his own sanity for the sake of others. Three thousand time leaps later any other person would've easily lost their minds. Mental fortitude at its peak.
Hashida Itaru
Known as Daru by almost everybody in the anime, he is friends with Okabe since High School. He appears as a stereotype otaku, overweight, spending all his time in front of the computer playing games in their lab and loving all kinds of 2D or 3D girls. He often asks Mayuri or Kurisu to act like maids because he's a huge fan of Faris, the most popular waitress at the Mayqueen Nyannyan maid café. Besides this, he has excellent computer skills with both recent and old machines, and shows great hacking abilities. However, there is a deeper theme to him that most could be led to believe. I think this character shows believable thoughts that most viewers could relate to. He is gullible but extremely intelligent. He is probably the second smartest character in the series right after Kurisu.
Shiina Mayuri
Mayuri is the optimist of the group, most of the time happy, smiling and talking in a singing way. Like when she announces her arrival with a “tutturu” sound. She is Okabe’s childhood friend and the one always taking care of the others. Even though she doesn’t really understand complicated theories, as she is kind of simple and naive, it doesn’t disturb her when people are fighting or sad. She also calls herself Mayushii (so yes, she talks about herself at the 3rd person) and works at the Mayqueen Nyannyan as a part-time job. From time to time, Mayuri suddenly points her arm towards the sky, which is related to the time she was spending looking at the stars with her grandmother. This action will later become endearing to the viewer and could prove very emotional in the later parts of the series.
Makise Kurisu
Despite being only 18 years old, Kurisu is already famous in America for writing scientific theses often acclaimed in the news. She is a genius, specialized in neuroscience, and a research member in Victor Qondria University’s Brain Research Program. Even though she should still be in High school at her age. Acting cold and strict to not show any weaknesses, she often gets in fights with Okabe, mainly because of the nicknames he uses for her. As a proper scientist, she only thinks rationally and can’t believe in Okabe’s theories, though her very curious nature pokes her interest in some of those theories.
Sound/Music: 9% / 10%
The songs this anime chose as its opening and ending were superb. There was an ending song I couldn;t bring myself to love quite as much as the others hence the "9". However, "Hacking to the Gate" opening song perfectly matches the series theme. The vocals are strong and emotional which could be mistaken for despair but are actually full of hope. I couldn't get enough of the opening.
The voice acting for all of the characters specially Okabe is simply impressive as hell. We have exceptional voice actors and actresses that do an incredible job at voicing these marvelous characters.
Art/Animation: 15% /20%
While I can say I am an absolute fan of the art style the animation proves lacking at times where i think scenes are supposed to be they feel excluded where animation was supposed to come in. It may very well be a purposeful choice but it seemed somewhat lacking when I experienced the show for the first time.
Overall: 91% or 9.1/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 20, 2021
SPOILERS!! This is a review that contains spoilers that I wrote for the last episode for people to come back to and read after they are done. My overall rating was 8.7/10 which I rounded to 9/10.
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This was... I don't know if to call it insane or poetic. It has truly earned a spot in my top ten. Here is the last recap for the final episode and then then the overall review for the whole series:
Everything unfolds as the Seer had envisioned; the war between the humans and the Shapes comes to an end, and those remaining succumb to the city's insanity. Ichise fulfills
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his prophecy in Ran's last acts of desperation.
Ran being the voice of the city wasn't exactly unexpected, seeing as there weren't really any other candidates besides Onishi literally hearing the city itself, but the reveal was very well done, as we see the final scene of the previous episode from Onishi's perspective, and we see why he stabbed the pillar. Ichise's face off with Kano was somewhat anticlimactic, but fitting: a large battle between two people just wouldn't have fit the tone of the series, especially since we had already seen Ichise fight with the guys that gunned down Onishi. K The final shot of Ichise, dying, while looking at the hologram of a flower was haunting as hell. It also seemed fitting that at the end, he was just as ragged-looking as he was in the first episodes, a far cry from the man wearing a suit under Onishi that he was for a while. Everything came full circle, and the way it was described in one of the last scenes was simply too correct "The ninth repeating hell". Everyone in Lux is either dead or insane. The human race is no more.
Personal Review/Ratings:
Story 38% / 40%
I won't say much about the story because the characters below are basically the whole flesh and muscle of the story. The skeleton of the story is simple enough though. Mankind is below ground in the city of Lux and is slowly driven to extinction by outside as well as inside forces driving it's residents to insanity and/or death. The story in itself is beautifully and poetically written from when the show starts picking up the pace around the first couple episodes to the end. It draws a lot of inspiration from the Bible and Dante's Divine Comedy. The series itself is nihilistic in nature and it truly reflects during the whole show. The watcher will be subject to seamless violence. Chaos, lunacy, death, despair, and the gut wrenching knowledge of your inability to change the outcome of the entire series.
Characters 30% / 30%
The characters on this show were superb. This is probably this show's strongest point. I haven't seen characterization at this level since the 5D chess match between Light and L, most of Hunter x Hunter's cast, unique character traits in the Monogatari series, and Steins;Gate's brilliantly written mad scienctist Hououin Kyouma aka Okabe Rintaro. Unique traits were there the whole series all the way from Ran and her unpredictable thought patterns to Shouji's predictability and destructiveness. Even side-characters were developed in a way that compelled me to believe they weren't side characters anymore. Couple good examples of those characters include Kohakura and Sakimura. There is much I could write about their development but I'd rather stick with the main cast to keep it at least a little brief. The point is that the author had no qualms about making the cast incredibly complex and thought out.
Ishiki's growth is undeniable during the whole show. He starts of bleak. Hopeless. He has no reason to live whatsoever, his only purpose is survival, and he is not even sure why or even if he wants to survive. He gets picked up by the doctor and given new limbs which in turn give him a new purpose on the long run. We see him change throughout the episodes from a seemingly rabbit dog to a domesticated one while still keeping his nature as is shown when he punches the man that framed his father brutally. We are shown his change through stages. His despair when he leaves the doctor, his hope when Oonishi picks him up, his civilized self when he starts working for Organo. He gets to the point where he even kills innocents, something he would have previously never done, when he is ordered.
Oonishi was simply excellent. The boss of an organization that controls the city. He doesn't really care about it's inhabitants at all, he just cares to maintain order and power in check. Little by little though, Oonishi regains some of his humanity from before his legs were cut off specially when Ishiki joins the fold. I feel like Oonishi started to feel for Ishiki as a son he never had. Nearing the end of the anime Oonishi's character had still stayed true to his ideals even though his whole person had changed. He now tries to save the people leading the war against the shapes and choosing to stay in Lux even though he had the chance and reason to leave to the outside world. In the end Oonishi dies staying true to himself. Not giving in to insanity and disorder and even giving his life to make it so. Destroying Ran's mind in the process he is killed by the very people he tried to save.
Ran was also exclusively well written. A girl of few words sure, but we had room to see her grow so much. From a girl who feared the future and failed to change it no matter what she had gone to seclusion and became a mute. Not a literal mute but she doesn't speak much because of this fear. In spite of this and in spite of her predictions coming true she stops fearing the undeniable future and continuously tries to change it to no avail. Once she realizes she has lost and humanity is gone she decides to kill her own mind with the help of Oonishi who heard her voice for so long.
I could write so much more but I am trying to be brief.
Music/Sound 8% / 10%
Music was special in it's own way. I feel like I might've underappreciated the music on this show as it was 7% out of 10% during most of the show being only supported by the eerie op and somewhat hopeful ed. However what moved it to the 8% out of 10% was the song this final ep during the last few minutes. It truly felt fitting. It was ominous enough to match the tone of the show and the last scenes yet it was somehow still hopeful as if a glimmer of hope was waiting at the end of the tunnel only to find that it's a dead end.
Art/Animation 15% / 20%
I personally love the old school artstyle that reminds me of Monster, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell. Art is subjective and I personally loved it. The animation takes a few points away though as it is lacking in some parts. It might've been funding or something else but sometimes it felt like scenes were skipped because of the low budget animations. Despite their low budget they did a great job handling it.
Final rating
90% / 100% or 9.1/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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