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Jul 20, 2016
Due to the nature of this show, it's more or less impossible to talk about anything without spoilers, so I'll just have to put my cards on the table right now and say that I urge everyone reading this to go out and watch this show, because it's easily worth the time investment. As for my review, I'll have to be more vague than I would like, but such is the nature of the beast.
Bokurano has a story virtually unrivaled in the entire genre. Being a thorough deconstruction of the mech genre, the immediate comparison is Evangelion, perhaps the most beloved anime of all time.
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However, Bokurano goes a step further in ripping the audience into emotional pieces. After the initial shock to the nervous system that one gets with the first one or two battles and the associated facts about the ramifications of piloting the robot, the series decides that the audience haven't been in nearly enough pain, and so proceeds to hit said audience over the head with every metaphorical chair it can find. By the latter half of the series, you'll likely find it a challenge to continue from how hard the series hits you over and over again. And it doesn't get any easier from there. The second half of Bokurano is one of the most painful portions of anime to ever be created. The emotional beatings of the first half are completely crushed under the new onslaught of painful revelations, and by episode 20 I threw in the towel the first time. I came back 6 months later with more genre experience under my belt and pressed on, and thankfully the series does lighten up before the end. By the end of the series, Bokurano has finally unveiled a message, and a positive one at that. Going from the bleakest anime ever seen to a series that suggests a brighter future is a mighty accomplishment, and Bokurano pulls it off.
Despite the excellent story, Bokurano is the posterchild for why animation is important. Because the animation is really bad. Particularly noticeable is the fight animation, it's nothing short of dreadful. All the robots are done in really terrible 3D animation, their movements are unbearably slow and surprisingly choppy, and overall the fight animation, which is the place where animation quality is most important, ultimately falls flat.
The sound is good, though it doesn't stand out particularly well. The background music is hard to notice most of the time and is mostly unmemorable. However, the OP and second ED are fantastic, and shouldn't be skipped at any point. The voice acting is very good, with notably great performances where it counts the most.
I can't really talk about any of the pilots without spoiling the major elements of their backstories, though I can say the best characters in the roster are Daiichi, Anko, Kanji, and Jun. Overall, being vague enough to avoid spoilers, the roster of pilots is excellent, boasting memorable backstories and great personalities. Aside from them, the only character I can talk about is Koemushi, better known as Dung Beetle. He's perhaps the most unlikable and rage-inducing character in any form of media. Throughout the entire story, the viewer grows to despise this thing more and more, and his backstory doesn't help the viewer like him any more. Clearly the audience is supposed to hate him, and the show does an excellent job making him the most horribly unlikable character ever.
Overall, Bokurano is excellent. The great story and characterization make up for the poor animation, and earn the series a spot as one of the all time greats, and a must-watch for anyone with any experience in the mech genre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 12, 2016
If ever Ryukishi07 knocked it out of the park, he did it here. Dawn feels like the climax the whole series has been building up to, and capitalizes on virtually every plot point mentioned in the previous five chapters. The back-and-forth between Battler and Erika is some of the best interaction in the series, with some beautifully sinister lines out of her. Beatrice's subplot is perhaps the most moving in the series, it's brilliantly stylish, and it reincorporates the elements of the previous chapters in a wonderfully clever fashion. Ange fairs in a less enjoyable fashion, simply reading the entire story with a mysterious and
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powerful being. And every plot for all three of the protagonists converges at the end, in one of the best showdowns in any manga. And the ultimate ending of this arc works just as well as the ending for the series itself. While it doesn't wrap everything up, it instead makes you think "well, do the answers really matter anymore?" While that answer is ultimately yes, this tale is brought back again to bring an answer, but ultimately this chapter functions well as the climax of the series.
The cast of this manga is legendary by now, and all the best characters get their moments in the spotlight with truly memorable scenes. Particularly notable is Beatrice, who ends her subplot in the most tense moment of character interaction in the entire series overall. Also great are the stories of George/Shannon and Jessica/Kanon, who have a dramatic conclusion themselves. Erika really gets her time to shine here, showing off her deliciously sinister side in all its wonderful glory. The two witches also have their own great moments, though not to the extent that they got in End. Aside from that, the cast is just being their usual selves, not that that's a bad thing.
The art isn't something easy to talk about without spoiling absolutely everything in this arc, so I'll just say that the spectacle here is higher than anywhere else in the series, and is an absolute joy to read.
In accordance with my own belief that Umineko is a must-read for anyone who reads manga, I can sum all my thought up with this: If you haven't read this chapter (or indeed the series) yet, you need to go out and do it by any means necessary.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 9, 2016
Every anime watcher has their personal favorite, and this is mine. Riding on the back of excellent characterization, a brilliantly gripping narrative, stellar vocal performances, and a beautifully executed atmosphere.
The element that Higurashi does best happens to also be the single most important element of any story, which is the cast of characters. Starring a cast of six kids, every single one has a distinctive personality, a backstory to reinforce said personality, and a metric ton of chances to showcase their qualities.
The story is an excellent mix of the mystery and horror genres, but I would argue that Higurashi is ultimately a drama with
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mystery and horror elements. Halfway through the season, it shifts to explaining more backstory and further emphasizing the personality of the cast, and the mystery/horror begin to fall to the side. However, it's after that point that the writing really shines. The interactions between the cast are pure gold, and you truly hope for them to succeed in their struggle.
While the animation isn't the best (this is a DEEN show after all), I really need to give credit to the excellent death scenes. Higurashi is soaked in enough blood to fill the Atlantic basin, and it appears in some truly well-made scenes of characters being offed. The animation gets highly fluent, the level of detail is higher than the rest of the show, and the whole thing comes together for truly memorable scenes.
The voice acting in this show (in the sub, not the dub) is perhaps the best I've ever heard. Every VA performs to the absolute highest standard, and completely sells their capability. My personal favorite performance is Mai Nakahara in the role of Rena, who shifts from quiet to furious in the matter of seconds and manages to nail both attitudes perfectly. Satsuki Yukino delivers a wonderfully unhinged performance in the roles of Mion and Shion, and has perhaps the greatest laugh of anyone I've ever heard. The others are varying levels of good, but nobody's performance is at all bad. the dub is utter garbage, but I'm not factoring that in to my overall opinion on the series. The actual soundtrack is pure gold, with beautiful atmospheric pieces playing at just the right moments. The OP of the show is famous as being one of the best in anime history, with a brilliantly unnerving atmosphere to it that gets the viewer pumped for the upcoming episode. The ED isn't quite as good, but it's still fun to listen to.
Overall, Higurashi fluently masters all the most important elements: great characters, brilliant story, and wonderful voice acting. While the animation could be slightly better, it's good enough to pass by anyway. Ultimately this series is one that nobody should miss, and it easily earns its place as my favorite anime ever.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 8, 2016
Never in my life have I seen a show as infuriating as this. It could've easily been at least good, but it comes out as a total abomination. For everything it does right, it does three or four things wrong, and heinously wrong at that.
I suppose I should start with the one element I actually liked, which is the soundtrack. The soundtrack is from Yuki Kajiura, who I'm utterly convinced is incapable of making a bad soundtrack. The music is excellent, with the track Luminous Sword standing out as my personal favorite. The voice acting however, is nothing but pure cringe. No matter which language
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you choose to watch it in, nobody turns in a particularly good performance, and it's incredibly easy to become as bored as they sound, and suddenly realize you have no idea what they're talking about.
The most important element of any story, which is a strong cast of characters, is woefully lacking in this show. The main character is perhaps the blandest protagonist I've ever seen, with a large lack of consistency between scenes. He may be helping a bunch of Red Shirts for no discernible reason one episode, and then act like he hates everyone the next. The main girl fares no better, being nothing but the most generic of generic Tsunderes. The supporting cast is mostly made up of girls who have little to no character outside of their attraction to the lead, and thus they're completely forgettable. As for the villains, they get almost no screen time in their own stories. Particularly noticeable is the villain of the first half, who only shows up for about five minutes when not disguised. The villain of the second half gets more screen time, though I would've honestly preferred less screen time for him over what we got.
The story is riddled with so many holes that I'm surprised any of it's left at all. The first half had the advantage of a decent concept, but it was ultimately wasted by terrible pacing, poor focus, and overall lack of vision. The second half suffers from all of that, but doesn't even have a decent reason to exist at all.
The animation of this show is often praised as being great, but honestly I find it underwhelming. The only scenes I actually liked were the duels between Kirito and Heathcliff, because those were at least fluent. Aside from that, the animation ranks at early-2000's levels of quality.
Finally, I should mention any other major points of where the show stands out. The points where everyone suddenly engage the idiot protocol and decide to act so dumb that they can't even pass for believable dumb people nearly had me throwing in the towel for how bad they were. The forced fanservice scenes are so horrifically forced that they're reminiscent of something one would see in a Studio Arms production. The second half of episode 13 is actually decent, and easily my favorite part of the show. Aside from those points, there's not much more that can be said from my end about this abomination.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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