Jun 11, 2015
For this review I will make references and comparisons to two other anime: Chaos;Head(2008) and Steins;Gate(2011). While all three of these anime adaptations were made by separate studios, they drawn upon the same series of visual novels for source material.
Now to begin the review. I'll start with the story. Like Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate Robotics;Notes has a story line that could only be described as thrilling. While the story started off at a slow pace it gradually built until I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation. They really pulled out all the
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stops for this show. Even with the slow start, the constant switch between success and failure in the attempt to build a giant robot as well as the mystery of the Kimijima reports was more than enough to keep my interest. In spite of the mystery, though, the plot was much easier to follow than either Chaos;Head or Steins;Gate. Personally I liked those complex stories that required an acute attention to detail, but that might not be a plus for everyone. As the story progresses it does take on a darker tone, but I found it nowhere near as grim as Chaos;Head or Steins;Gate. The story is overall logical and well thought out. My only qualm was that robots seemed far to advanced and integrated into society for the year 2019, but in spite of this the show does feel very realistic at times. The phone-tablets that everyone uses seemed like a very accurate prediction of the future. I can also understand why robotics needed to have become as advanced as it was for plot purposes. With so few negatives I felt that the story was perhaps the best part of Robotics;Notes.
The art was quite impressive as well. The animation was beautiful and fluid. Several of the Character designs were a bit generic (Akiho and Subaru), but I really liked the uniqueness of some characters like Kona. Action scenes, which were few and far between, were underwhelming in terms of animation, but the focus of this show was not action. When all was said and done, though, I thought the art was very aesthetically pleasing.
I'm not exactly a connoisseur of music, so I don't have to much to say about the sound. The soundtrack was enjoyable and had some excellent tracks within it, but it was not a masterpiece. It was definitely not a detriment to the show however. Like I said, certain tracks were absolutely fantastic.
Character development was good but not great. I thought characters like Akiho and Kaito received excellent development. They were round characters, not bound by the basic traits they were introduced with. Others characters, however, received far less development. Of the shows cast I would have to say that Kona was my personal favorite. She received excellent character development and had the most interesting personality of all the main characters. Kaito, the protagonist, was not the greatest character I've ever seen, but he was far from generic and boring. I found him to be quite a likeable character with a realistic personality. In comparison to Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes is far superior in terms of character development. However, its characters were not as impressive and those of Steins;Gate. That about sums it up for characters.
Since enjoyment is a very subjective factor, I don't include it in reviews. Overall is just the combination of the previous factors, so there's not a ton to say for it. Robotics;Notes was superior to Chaos;Head in just about every way, however, it does not reach the same heights as Steins;Gate which I consider as masterpiece. At the end of the day though, I think most anyone would really like this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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