Story - 2/10
Did you think that Digimon Tamers wasn't edgy enough to be a deconstruction of the "mon" genre? Then this show will be right up your alley!
The show actually starts off decently - it shows what you would expect of a typical "mon" show: our heroine, Shiina, gets her Dragon's Child (the name of the "-mons" in this show) and names it Hoshimaru. However, the next episode is extremely jarring - it shows someone attempt suicide! That's not the most shocking thing. I would go into further detail, but I feel that you should watch it if you want to see how shocking it is.
Art - 5/10
The art is actually passable. It's not great, but it's not terrible instead. I just don't particularly like the style they used here.
Sound - 3/10
The sound mixing is actually pretty good. However, the sound used is very jarring - especially when it comes to the opening. I expected a show that was basically Pokemon meets Mushishi when I started this. I got something that was basically Pokemon meets Mnemosyne when I was done with this. And while a combination like that is something that sounded awesome before I started watching it, the end result is absolutely terrible.
Character - 2/10
Most of the cast is very unlikable by the end of the show - the only characters who I really found to be likable were Shiina and her dad, since they were the only good people on the show (sure, some of the other people were nice, but Shiina and her father were the only people who didn't do anything extremely shocking in the show).
Enjoyment - 1/10
This show was way too jarring for me to enjoy. I found myself suffering from whiplash by the end of this series.
Overall - 1/10
Did you think the anime adaptation of Akame ga Kill! was edgy? Narutaru makes Akame ga Kill!'s anime adaptation look like Chi's Sweet Home. Did you find the original ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion to be a letdown? It will look like the ending to Gunbuster when you compare it to the ending of Narutaru. Did you find the cast of Gantz to be unlikable? You'll find them to be as likable as the cast of RahXephon by the time you're done with Narutaru.
I know what some of you are probably going to ask: Is this worse than Master of Martial Hearts (which, for those of you who have not seen my reviews in the past, I declared the worst anime of all time)? I'm going to say no. Mainly because this show does deconstruct the "Mon" genre without being guilty of most of the things that it's trying to critique. So if you're looking for a really shocking deconstruction, give this a shot - you might enjoy this more than I did.
Alternative recommendations: Mnemosyne, Bokurano, Madoka Magica, Higurashi
