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Dec 29, 2023
Yes, this is a Miyazaki movie. That on its own elevates it above most anime movies. That said, this is not the kind of Miyazaki experience most people are used to. This movie is very abstract. I would not recommend this movie for kids. Because younger kids are not going to have the visual/media literacy to completely understand everything that is going on. If you are ready for a more subjective and abstract experience, then this movie is still enjoyable. But I wouldn't expect a movie like this to become the newest toy craze the way Totoro, Spirited Away, or Kiki's Delivery service were. Now
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with that said....
Story: 7
On paper, the story is a slam dunk. Boy loses his mother in a fire. His father remarries. Boy has a hard time adjusting to his new family and settings. Fantasy hi-jinks ensue. It is a very similar idea to Spirited Away. The issue is that the fantasy hi-jinks are harder to follow. Whereas Spirited Away quickly tells you the world you're in, the rules that need to be followed, who to trust and who not to trust, The Boy and The Heron takes much longer to set up. One moment it's fantasy, another moment it's dreamscape, another moment it's pure imagination. The goal posts for the plot also move around a lot.The overarching goal of "rescue Natsuko" stays the same. But we also go on lots of subplots, that make it easy to forget what we were doing in the first place. I honestly feel like this movie would've done better as a TV show. We could meet all these different characters, explore all these different settings, piece the mystery together, and then complete the main objective at the end. If you're already well versed in visual storytelling, and you are smart enough to piece everything together as Mahito does, then this isn't a problem. But I can see some people getting lost. It's a good story. It's just a tad inaccessible to audiences expecting to sit back and not think.
Art: 9
As per usual, the animation is impeccable. It is so refreshing to see a movie that uses little to no CGI. The movements are all fluid. Even small things like curling up in a bed, or walking up stairs is beautiful to look at. The transitions between facial expressions is also a joy to look at. There are a few shots where the movements look too fast. But that is a nitpick. The liquids also look like voluminous jelly in some shots (specifically a scene with some blood.) But once again, those are nitpicks. You could put this movie on mute and have a blast looking at the smooth animations and beautifully painted backgrounds.
Sound: 7
I saw this movie in theaters, so I was stuck with the dub. Nothing to write home about. But the soundtrack was nice. There were moments of pure silence, and then the theme would subtly creep in. The music was not doing the heavy lifting. But it's also clear that the music wasn't supposed to be doing any heavy lifted in the first place. And the fact that the music knew when to take a backseat was a sign of good directing choices.
Character: 7
Honestly, the characters weren't much to write home about. One of the weak points of the story is that Mahito doesn't really go through much character development. His character development just kinda happens at key moments when it needs to. Nothing super jarring. But also nothing the make the character stand out on his own. The other characters are largely archetypes. Well done archetypes. But still archetypes. Natsuko and the Dad are typical supportive adults, even if Mahito has mixed feelings about them. The old ladies are typical friendly busybodies. Himi is the adventurous female tomboy. The two most interesting characters are the Heron (who makes for a good reluctant ally) and Kiriko, who obviously has a lot of sass, attitude, and unspoken history behind her. If you've seen a Miyazaki movie, you'll recognize these archetypes right away. But just because they are recognizable does not make them bad.
Enjoyment: 8
I am someone who loves abstract storytelling. And I love stories that respect the intelligence of the viewer. This movie does both of these things. My only gripe with it is that it switches between concepts too fast. We have the movie start as a kid trying to adjust to a new environment. He tries to build a bow for himself, and we enjoy watching him figure it out in detail. Then a few scenes later the bow is unceremoniously destroyed. So why did we spend so much time on it? We see Mahito almost get forced into an area he's clearly not supposed to go. But thanks to some help, he avoids catastrophe. But then we immediately switch to fishing. But if the bad place was such a big deal, why did we switch away from it so suddenly? Why not just skip straight to the fishing? There are lots of good ideas that either don't get explored enough, or get tossed away just as you start feeling invested. It's part of the reason why I think this would've been better as a TV show. The ideas we are presented with are genuinely cool. And seeing them is fun. But you end up hungry for more when they suddenly switch away from them, or when the concepts are left under-developed.
Overall: 7
I'm glad I saw this movie. The message of the movie is clear. A creator has created a great world, and is struggling to keep it sustained. And a boy who is struggling to find his place in a new environment gets roped into it. Considering how long Miyazaki has been making worlds, it makes sense why he made a movie like this. And I genuinely enjoyed it. But it is also not super accessible if you aren't ready for a deeply personal and abstract story. I love the visuals, I love the deeply personal aspects of it, and I love the messages behind it. But this movie should really be approached as a personal art piece, as opposed to a consumable movie. I'm actually glad the movie was PG13. Because I think that will help filter the right audience towards a film like this anyways.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 22, 2019
I went into this anime because of its connection to Garzey's Wing. So my standards were set pretty low from the start. The first third of the show isn't very good. The main character is thrown into situations that make no sense, mood whiplash occurs between shots (one second an army seems hostile, throws stuff at the characters, then suddenly start acting friendly for minimally explained reasons,) and I had to switch from subbed to dubbed because the script seemed mistranslated because of how random some things seemed. I soon learned that wasn't the case. I understand that our main character is bewildered and confused,
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but for the audience, it isn't an immersive confusion.
That said, things get a lot better around episode 16-18. We start following a much more interesting cast of characters, and they actually explain their motivations and the world around them. They are not flawless by any means. Some characters are annoying, but their struggles are at least understandable given the plot.
And then around halfway through the series, the stakes get elevated, and things start getting interesting. As of this review, I'm not super familiar with Tomino's other works, but this is when some of the stuff Tomino is known for starts coming into play. While it's not as intense as some of Tomino's other works, it still works very well in this setting, and with these characters. If you're really into 80s mecha, or a big Tomino fan, the second half of this anime is worth it for that alone.
Story: 7
Most of these points are for the second half of the story. The story of a regular guy getting whisked away to a magical world, where he is naturally stronger than everyone else is nothing new. And the fact that the first part of the show is so poorly written doesn't help. But once we start following a new set of characters, things start picking up. And after a certain event happens to our main character, the story becomes truly engaging. The last act of the story is very noteworthy. If the story had started around episode 16, the story rating would have been much higher.
Art: 5
This is not very good animation. The characters almost always wear masks in battle, so the animators don't have to animate lipflap (or much of anything during these shots.) The characters aren't very expressive, and really lean on the voice actors to emote. The mechs themselves are well designed (nothing groundbreaking, but still well executed.) There are many shots of big ships slowly flying towards each other, while bullet/beam animations loop over it. The monsters are nothing to write home about either. That said, there are some genuinely beautiful shots in here. Most of them involve the mechs. You can tell what shots received budget support, and which ones didn't.
Sound: 4
The music was inoffensive. It got you riled up when it needed to, and it gave you quiet moments when it needed to. Some of the soundbites sound archaic (stock baby crying and stock monster roars.) I do not think there was any voice direction for this dub. There are a few minor characters that are delightfully miscast. The voice actor who plays Show does a great job given what he had to work with. Some of the accents were distracting. My main gripes with the dub is that many of the female characters have extremely annoying voices (not helped by exaggerated accents.) The timing for these lines was also off, result in characters talking over each other. One character might say "I agree" before the other character is even done talking. It doesn't effect the story. But it is distracting.
Character: 6
The main character is a surprisingly logical. It's clear that all of the characters are intelligent on the battlefield. Off the battlefield is another story.
This anime has some of the most poorly executed romances I've ever seen. One couple, the guy just randomly asks if the girl has feelings for him with no build up that he was even interested. Then they kiss. And then a few episodes later they seem to forget that this conversation happened, and repeat the exchange all over again. There are some couples where they love each other "just because." There is an extremely clumsy love square that doesn't last long.
Show seems to have the largest range of emotion. He reacts appropriately to everyone around him. He also has understandable reactions to the bad things that happen to him personally, and the things that happen to others as a result of his actions. Keen has some very good moments early on, and is believable as a kid with more guts than most people around her. Elle is a very good princess, and I wish we saw more of her as opposed to Emelie (one of the most annoying characters in the show.) I was pleasantly surprised by how well Elle's grandfather was portrayed. He was realistic while being reasonably flawed.
Where this show shines is its villains. Emelie's mother is one of the most intimidating villains of the show, more so than the main baddy Drake. And she has a lot of competition for that position. It was a shame that there wasn't more focus on her machinations. Galaria was a great rival character. I'd argue she was a better rival than Todd. Her character growth was interesting to watch, in spite of her status as an antagonist. There were points where I almost wanted Bunnings to win. His struggle was relatable, and had he not chosen the wrong side, he could've become so much. I genuinely wanted him to switch sides, so he could have some well earned redemption. Jeryl was a delightfully ruthless antagonist. I was pleased with all of her appearances, her final appearance especially. And while not really an antagonist, King Elf did a great job of highlighting stupidity, the danger of said stupidity, and how that stupidity effects the battlefield. Most of the character points in this review come from the villains.
Enjoyment:6
If you like 80s mecha anime, you will probably like this. If you like Tomino anime, you will probably like this. If you like nostalgically bad dubs, probably you will like this (it's no Garzey's Wing, but there are some funny moments in there.)
If you do not fall into any of these categories, you will have to get used to the low budget animation, and the low budget dub.You will have to sit through 15-ish episodes of not very good anime to get to the good anime that's buried under it. This anime is far from groundbreaking. But after the first 15-ish episodes, I found myself enjoying it. The last third especially was quite enjoyable. The ending is not as intense as some other Tomino works out there, but if you're just getting into Tomino anime, the ending will leave an impact with you. Maybe not the best anime for casual anime fans, but if you really like old school 70s or 80s anime, this is a pretty good watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 12, 2017
Nostalgia free review here. I feel so bad about the review I'm about to write. Speed Racer did great things for anime. Many people claim that the show has simply aged too much to be enjoyable, despite the great things the show has done. The issue I have is that I feel like I'm reviewing two different shows at once. There are parts of the show that deserve to be hailed as timeless and classic, and then there are some parts that are absolutely ridiculous.
Story:6
This is the main issue for me. There are episodes in this show that I would've rated 8/10. Certain
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arcs like the Acrobatic Racing Team, most of the Racer X episodes, and the GRX story are absolutely timeless. I think most people know this too, since these are the stories that get the most references in modern media.
The problem is that this show is bogged down by filler episodes. It's clear that Speed Racer was inspired by both Elvis Presley car movies, and James Bond. While I think having a few James Bond-esque episodes is okay, the show went way overboard with them. Some of the plots are absolutely ridiculous. This show is honestly at its best when it focuses on racing. But sadly that's not the majority of the show. Like I said before, there are some arcs that absolutely deserve to be seen. But sadly, you have to sit through lots of filler arcs to get to some of them. The ending was also one of the stupidest endings I've seen in awhile.
Art:7
Animation is hard. Animation on a low budget is hard. Animation on a low budget in the 60s is hard. Because of this, I am much forgiving of the animation. There are some animation errors, so I can't call this a masterwork of animation. But I respect the scope it was aiming for. I give credit to the character designs. Considering that this was the era of Tezuka, and Japan was just moving out of being Disney knock-offs, the art style for this show is definitely unique. Plus the fact that this show's animation and character designs could be put next to some of the American animation at the time without anybody noticing speaks to it's quality. Obviously this show isn't going to compete with some of the modern character designs, but that's not what it's supposed to do. I give additional props to the car designs. Each car manages to look unique and sleek.
Sound: 8
Hands down the best part of the show. The soundtrack is delightfully 60s. The opening is one of those openings that you can't skip based solely on how catchy and endearing it is. The voice acting is also great. I know a lot of people don't like the dubbing. I personally like it. That said, I admit that I have a soft spot for bad dubs. But I wouldn't call the dubbing "bad." I'd rather say that the dubbing is quirky. When the important characters need to deliver their lines, they do so with proper emotion and tone. Speed's VA truly delivers during stressful or emotional moments. Racer X and Pops also have the right amount of concern in their voices when needed. The line delivery is sometimes fast, and full of run-on sentences. I view that more as a form of comic relief. It rarely effects the story. I'd also like to mention how good the sound design was for each car. Most of the cars have different engine sounds that make them distinct. Each of the Mach 5's gadgets has a distinct sound too. You could watch this show blind and still get a good idea for what's going on.
Character:6
I saw a review where somebody said Speed is the only interesting character, and the rest serve as accessories. I don't agree with that completely. Speed's character is very good. He's no Light Yagami, but for a 60s hero, he does his job. He tries to be a good person, but he also has his weaknesses. He sometimes gives into temptation, he usually makes reasonable decisions when in the face of danger, but he's not afraid of snapping at somebody when he's angry. Speed is a very good character.
While the supporting cast isn't as three dimensional as Speed, they have their own things going for them. Trixie has her jealous moments, Pops gets appropriately protective and emotional, Spritle and Chim-Chim are childish while also being very smart in their own rights. Racer X is hands down the most memorable character besides Speed. However, I think the last few episodes of the show dropped the ball with how to handle his character. Sparky and the Mom are sadly forgettable.
The rest of the cast is absolutely terrible. There's always a money grubbing bad guy, and emotional female who is either being used, or helpless, and then at least one helpless good guy who needs speed's help. The guest characters are the main reason I rank Character so low.
Enjoyment: 6
Like I said, some of these episodes deserve an 8. But the fillers take away from the enjoyment in a huge way. The good episodes are mostly from episode 1-20. After that, I kept watching waiting for one of the last 32 episodes to be as good as the first part. While there were good episodes, you have to sit through several boring fillers to get to them. This lead to a fair amount of disappointment when I realized this episode is going to be a dumb filler. Some of the episode are good. But the gamble on whether or not the next episode was going to be another good one took away from the experience.
Overall:6
If you skip the fillers, you're in for a lot of fun. Watching the Racer family interact with each other is fun. The race courses were usually creative. And even if the racing wasn't realistic, it was incredibly entertaining. Speed's personal dilemmas during some stories were great. But if you're going to watch every single episode, you're in for some disappointment. If at least 15 of the ridiculous filler episodes were cut out, I would've given this show a 7.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 4, 2017
I would like to state first and foremost that this is an extremely important anime historically. This was one of the first theatrically released feature films from Toei Animation. It was also one of the first colored anime features films. The impact that this film had on anime as a whole is huge. That said, this film has not aged very well.
Story: 4
The story is all over the place. It takes forever for the main conflict to get started. First we follow some woodland creatures until one of them gets killed. Then we follow Sasuke as he goes to train and learn magic. Then there's
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something about bandits. And then the bandits disappear for a bit. But then by the time Sasuke's done training, you've forgotten why he left in the first place. Then we have to worry about his sister that got kidnapped. The pacing is inconsistent, and conflicts are thrown around until you forget about earlier ones. Also be careful of which subs you watch. Sometimes the subs are flat out wrong. Even with my limited Japanese, I could tell that certain phrases were incorrect. This can lead to further confusion if you can't catch the errors.
Art: 7
The art on the other hand is the best part of this movie. The character designs suffer from weird anatomy and creepy faces. You could tell they were trying to copy Disney, while still making the film "Japanese." However, they hit a slightly uncanny valley in that regard. It's not too bad. But it does take out some of the immersion in some scenes. The animals on the other hand are done very well. The backgrounds are also nice. I absolutely love the way the animation things like fire, teleportation and liquid.
Sound: 7
Another highlight of the film. Aside from some inconsistent lip sync (which is more an art problem than a sound problem) the sound is integrated very well into the film. The voice acting isn't anything to write home about. But things like whip cracks, lightning and other sound effects are very well done. The soundtrack is appropriate and well done.
Character: 3
The characters have little to no character whatsoever. Sasuke is a generic determined boy. His sister doesn't even have a name (or at least in the subs I saw she didn't.) The prince and witch are generic as well. Oddly the side characters have more character than most of the main cast. There is a side plot about a girl that won't leave these two bandits alone after they stole her trunk. That plot point gets forgotten about. But the lengths the bandits go to try and make her go away were entertaining. The girl however was annoying as hell. Most of the animals have their own quirks. But it's not enough to carry a whole movie.
Enjoyment: 6
In spite of this movie's flaws, I did enjoy it a bit. There was a final showdown between the witch and Sasuke that was very well done. The bandits and girl side plot was funny, even if it never got resolved. There was a scene involving a deer trying to follow Sasuke that I liked. There are things to enjoy about this movie. If you are an enthusiast I could see somebody being mildly entertained. The film is also made more fun by trying to point out all of the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty tropes that were probably being borrowed in this film.
Overall: 5
Like I said before, this film is historically important. If you are a film historian, then this will not be the worst film you've ever seen. However, this movie still has not aged well at all. You could tell a lot of effort was put into this film. And in some areas like animation and sound, that hard work has paid off. I just wish more thought was put into things like pacing, character and story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Feb 21, 2016
Before anybody writes off my review, I want to make one thing clear. This movie definitely deserves respect. Historically this movie is brilliant, and went on to inspire some amazing things. I completely understand why it gets all the praise it did. Especially back in 1995. But that said, Ghost in the Shell has aged very badly.
Story: 8
The story and setting is by far the strongest part of the movie. I don't think any anime franchise since have explored these ideas in the same way. Nor have they explored them nearly as effectively. The ideas this movie has alone are worth watching. However, it
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did lose some points for some of the ending developments. I was watching this movie with a friend, and there was one particular twist that made both of us collectively face palm. There were also a few points where the symbolism became incredible un-subtle. However, the ideas that were executed well were executed extremely well.
Art: 6
This is one of the most unevenly budgeted movies I've ever seen. There are three or four scenes you can tell they spent all of their money on. Aside from those three or four scenes, there are shortcuts everywhere. There are tons of shots from behind (so you don't have to animate lip flap) and many scenes where literally nothing moves. When the scenes were budgeted properly, they were absolutely astounding. Especially considering they were animated around 1995. But sadly, you can also see where the technology was limited by budget.
Sound:6
DON'T WATCH THE DUB. This was dubbed pre-Cowboy Bebop. The voices actors are laughably monotone. Especially Motoko. I felt bad because a lot of the things they talk about are interesting. But it's difficult to take what they're saying seriously when they talk. The music is also very hit or miss. You either like it, or you hate it. They were clearly going for a very specific style.
Character:6
Maybe this is because I watched the dub. But it was very had to figure out what each character was supposed to be like. Motoko was obviously supposed to be very contemplative. Bateux was obviously caring but distant. And the Puppet Master was clearly intelligent. But aside from that, there wasn't much in terms of character. They weren't actively bad characters. But I certainly won't be remembering any of them for being break out characters.
Enjoyment:5
Like I said, this anime has clearly aged. I'm sure it was amazing back when it came out. But by today's standards it is nothing special. The pacing was incredibly slow, the animation was dated, and a bad dub doesn't help. You have to have a level of patience and forgiveness to actively enjoy this anime. This is not a good movie for your anime club. But it is a good movie for your anime historians club.
Overall:7
Despite my criticisms of this movie, people should still watch this movie. You may need some context about why this movie is so important, and what it did to media afterwards. But you should watch it. This movie is a movie that I respected more than I enjoyed. I respect it for what it did, and everything it was trying to be. I completely understand why it gets all the praise it has received. That said, I think new fans may need to understand its age and context to truly appreciate it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 8, 2015
Studio Ghibli has the reputation of making nothing but classics that will forever be remembered. Even as I've started marathoning through some of the lesser known titles in the Ghibli library, even the obscure ones were surprisingly good. This is the first Ghibli film to disappoint me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just a vanilla story.
Story (6/10) The concept was very good. But the way it was handled felt too easy. The fact that the cat happened to be a prince was a funny coincidence. But then the fact that Haru just happened to have a voice tell her where
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she needed to go was too easy. The fact that they were willing to help her for no explained reason was too easy. Even after things start going wrong, there's just a deus ex machina that comes in and solves the problem each time. It was all too easy. There was no real struggle for the happy ending.
Art (7/10) For 2000s animation, this is pretty good. There weren't any real breathtaking scenes, but the dance scene was done very well. Aside from Haru's character design, everyone was drawn very well.
Sound (6/10) It does its job. I didn't really hear anything to memorable, but it did what it was supposed to do.
Character (4/10) This was easily the most frustrating part of the movie. I literally cannot tell you a thing about Haru, or the Baron. Haru is nice...and that's it. She literally doesn't do anything else. The Baron is a typical cool heart throb character, aside from being a cat. He saves the day, and sounds cool while doing it. That said his personality is just as bland as Haru's. The only character that stood out was Muta. Ironically, he's the one that got the most back story.
Enjoyment (7/10) This movie was in no way unpleasant. There is nothing "bad" about it. But coming from a studio like Studio Ghibli, the movie feels worse than it actually is. If this was made by someone else, I could see it being a popular kids movie. But when you put this movie next to other works like the Miyazaki movies, or even its parent movie (Whisper of the Heart) it looks really bad.
Overall (6/10) This movie was more disappointing than it was bad. I understand why some people would like it. There are some cool ideas in this film. But I feel like none of them were pushed hard enough. It works as a nice easter egg for those who liked Whisper of the Heart. But as a stand alone, it isn't anything to write home about.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 15, 2014
This side story appears to take place some time during season 1, before Kai. This episode is essentially a filler, but a good filler.
Story (7):The cast of our usual lovable characters sit around and try to figure out another local mystery. The mystery has nothing to do with the overall plot. But if you watch this before Kai (which most of us didn't), it does provide good foreshadowing. That said, it doesn't really advance the plot at all besides that.
Art (7): It has the same art style as Rei, which can be distracting (since Rei is after both the first season and Kai). Regardless,
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it still looks good, so nothing to complain about.
Sound (8): The sound is what makes the Higurashi franchise stand out. But sadly, nothing intense enough happens in the story to make use of the best tracks. They stick with what they know works. But this episode wasn't the time or place to use it's stand out tracks.
Enjoyment (7 - 8): This depends on when you saw this episode. If you saw it before Kai, 8. If you're like most of us who saw it after watching the whole series, then a 7. Again, it's filler.
Overall (7): It's nice to see the characters acting like their usual selves. But don't expect to be blown away. If this was part of season 1, I would've said it was an above par filler. But on it's own, it just another excuse to see our favorite characters doing what they do best.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 14, 2014
I DID NOT PLAY THE GAME
That said, I noticed that this anime got a lot of negative reviews from people who actually did play the game. So I am going to speak about it solely based on that.
Story: 7
You could tell a lot of thought was put into the story. The concept of a battle royale where people have to kill each other is nothing new. But they blended it with murder mystery which I like. The murders were also very well thought out. But the problem was that there wasn't very much character (I will get to that later), and there was very
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little put into the investigations. We get to see all of the evidence, but we didn't get much time to dwell on it. The only time we got to think about the evidence was the actual trial itself. I would have liked more time, which could have been solved with a higher episode count.
Art: 8
These character designs were brilliant. The trial and execution animation was also great. I've heard fans of the original say that they are just traces of the video game footage, but I don't see anything wrong with that. It's breathtaking, so I'm not surprised they traced it. I can see the disappointment, but I'm not surprised they did it. That said, the rest of the animation is nothing special. Just run of the mill anime animation with limited movement and occasional stills.
Sound: 10
Holy crap this is some really good music. I heard a lot of the video game fans complaining that the episode 1 opening was a rip off of the original video game opening. I looked it up, and they're right. On it's own, I would have called it really good, but then I saw the original one. And the anime just did a cheap rip off of it. The anime only opening wasn't too bad, but the original video game opening can't be touched. The soundtrack was flat out amazing. I hear that was taken from the game too.
Character: 5
Besides leaving out time for investigations, this is the biggest place the anime tripped up. The character designs were amazing, so I was left curious and wanted to learn about almost everyone. But then I never got to learn about anyone. So when someone died I would think "aw, I like that design". But then I didn't feel much about the loss of the character themselves. I felt a little bad about the deaths in the first and second trials, but besides that, I didn't feel much at all. I heard the game hand "free time events" where you got to learn about the characters, but these were not in the anime. Again, with a higher episode count, this could have been solved.
Enjoyment: 7
I did not play the game, so for me, this was a really cool experience. The murders were great, the visuals were good, and music was great. I absolutely loved it. But the flaws did poke at really badly, and areas left me disappointed. Most of the video game fans said it was a terrible adaption. I think it was just hampered by an episode limit.
Overall: 7
The anime had a lot going for it. But the main issue was lack of bonding/development with the characters. The build up for the trials through investigation was also extremely rushed. All of this could have been fixed with a larger episode count. The video game fans seemed tortured by the fact that the game was so rushed. I can understand why they would be bitter. But as a stand alone product it is not bad at all. It is a shame, because if this had 26 episodes instead of just 13, this show could have easily gotten a 9. Regardless, I do think the show is worth a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 8, 2014
Lots of people were calling this anime one of the worst of all time. I kept thinking "come on, it can't be that bad." Oh it is. I'll give it credit that it succeeded in creeping the hell out of me. But I'm pretty sure most of it was unintentional.
Story: 1
I can hardly even understand what is going on. There are points in the "story" that seem to contradict each other. Plus the story is told in 4 minute episodes, so by the time you get into the swing of the episode, its halfway over already. So you have no time to figure things out
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like "where the hell are the characters" or "why the heck is any of this happening." Not only that but it feels like the episodes got scrambled halfway through because there are "flashback" episodes that ruin what little of a continuity this story had to begin with.
Art: 5
I will give the anime credit for having a unique-ish look. And there is a design later on that reminded me of a Resident Evil like monster. But other than that the colors are unpleasant, but not in a way that accentuates the horror. Some of the characters have scars?/tattoo? like things on their skin that make no sense. Plus they keep bringing in this teddy bear stuff in an attempt to make a visual metaphor, but it just highlights how pathetic the whole story is.
Sound: 5
The sound does its job. Plus the opening music is legitimately creepy. But when you have the characters acting as ridiculous as they are, its hard to take any of the sound seriously. Whoever they got to play the brother sounds like he's choking and having an orgasm at the same time whenever he screams/pants. And then everyone else is completely un-noteworthy.
Character: 1
I literally have no reason to care about anyone in this anime. The last episode made a very small effort to make me care. But by that point I was so fed up with the stupid plot, confusion, and complete frustration with the characters contrived and stupid characterization that I couldn't give anymore of a crap about the characters. And some flashback about them as kids was not going to change that.
Enjoyment: 1
Like I said before, this anime creeped me out. But for the wrong reasons. It's hard for me to get invested when the story makes so little sense, and it's hard for me to feel scared when the characters are acting so illogical. I should have been creeped out by the cannibalism. Instead I was freaked out at the writing choices.
Overall:1
It's almost impossible to make an anime that doesn't look and/or sound pretty in 2014, so production values don't even matter to me with an anime like this. When you get down to it, this is an anime with a torture porn like plot, that could have been scary. But because of the 4 minute limit on every episode there was no time to establish anything that was going on. And even if you ignore that, the characters were archetypes at best. The plot holes were so large, and so all over the place that they confused me. So by the end I was more frustrated with the show than anything. I do not recommend this anime unless you want to see an example of virtually non-existent continuity, and the worst characterization I've ever seen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 27, 2014
This kind of video should not be graded in the same way most professional anime should. It feels more like a student piece to me. A good student piece, but not something that can stand next to most high budget anime on this site.
Story: 3
You can tell they were really trying. But the problem is that the story is too short, and too rushed. We know that the couple loves each other, but we don't know why. We don't know why they can't be together. We don't know any details behind the pressure they feel. Nothing. So it's very hard to relate to either character
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at all.
Art: 4
The designs of these characters are really good. Plus the sakura tree looks amazing. But the animation is so limited that you can't appreciate it. They animate the characters like they're puppets. So they don't look like they are actually moving. Again, feels a lot like a student piece.
Sound: 4
The music is very soothing. But the voice acting is very spotty. Some of the actors do a decent job. But there are a few voices that were devoid of motion. Very disappointing.
Character: 2
Practically non-existent. I hardly know anything about either of the 2 characters. I know one is a princess, and embarrassed with her appearance. And the another is polite. But besides that I know nothing.
Enjoyment: 3
If I came in expecting a student piece it would have gotten much higher. But I came in expecting a parable like story, with focus on the characters and the problems they faced. I got neither. The music was nice, and the designs were good. But everything else fell flat.
Overall: 3
If you like amateur animations, you may like this. But if you are looking for anime, this isn't a good fit. I'm not completely sure why this is even listed on MAL. If something like this could get onto MAL then I feel like any nico uploader could make something and technically get it listed here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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