Story - 8/10
The story of Rokka starts off pretty basic. As we get our hero Adlet Mayer has been chosen as one of six heroes to participate in a quest to defeat the Demon God. Now initially when you think trying to defeat a Demon God, another generic villain name, you wouldn’t expect much of this anime. However by the end of episode 4, it is revealed 7 heroes have been picked, whereas it’s supposed to be 6. So one of the heroes is actually a fake and traitor. And so begins the mystery thriller on to find who the seventh brave is.
The story initially starts off slow and uninteresting, because it’s just a generic quest for the first 4 episodes. After that, the story gets interesting and focuses on the theme of truth and lies. As the plot progresses we are given more hints on who are the seventh is. Because of the way it’s structured we don’t find out till the very end, so the mystery gets really dragged until the end. I can’t help but feel they the seventh very obvious, so to me if felt, like waiting for them to reveal my answer, and I was correct. However the ending, not to spoil anything felt like a dick move to the viewers. As they try to introduce a new characters, and let’s leave it at that.
Characters - 7/10
Because there are seven amin characters, I’m going to go through this quickly. Our main protagonist is Adlet Mayer, the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world. Well maybe the strongest man, but the most cunning. He is the main target of all the heroes to be the fake, as they all suspect that it’s him. So he is out to prove he’s innocence while solving the mystery of who is the real fake. Over the course of the series, I wouldn’t say he really develops, as he just pretty much plays a role in everyone’s development, but he himself doesn’t really develop. He job is to keep the story moving forward.
The other six braves are Nashetania, a Princess of Piena and Adlet’s first friend and ally. Fremmy Speeddraw a mysterious sniper, known to actually kill potential breaves. Godolf Auroa one of the knights of the Piena Kingdom and childhood friend of Nashetania. Chamo Rossa, the youngest of the heroes and considered the strongest out of all the heroes. Mora Chester, a mature woman known being the leader of the saints of the temple. And lastly there is Hans Humpty an assassin, with cat like features.
The characters with the most development is Nashetania and Fremy, as their past is shown more and their feelings are explored on when, they are out to kill Adlet. Hans gets some development as well, as he starts becoming more reliable and not such a mystery character. Only Mora and Chamo feel like they don’t developed at all, because their views don’t really change as the story progress. What I do like what the writers with the character is that, all them have a reason for being the seventh. So it does make the mystery a bit harder, but some characters are played out in a very obvious way that it shows whether they are the fake or non-fake.
Animation and Sound - 8/10, 5/10
The art style is pretty standard, when comparing to most anime, you won’t find anything to unique. But I like how there is a lot different unique character designs, which is really nice to see. And the show starts off with bright colours, but soon fades the colour palette to fit with the mystery theme. There is the one thing obvious with the animation, is the overuse of CGI. The CGI really looks out of place in the anime, and some of the monster designs don’t feel like they’re part of the world. Normally CGI are used for monsters, however Rokka also uses it for background and stationary objects, which really is kind of distracting from the characters. The animation is probably at its best when there is fight scene, and the action scenes in this anime is pretty good, if you can ignore the CGI in it, which looks out of placed. The fact that every character has a unique way of fighting, there is quite a diverse animation for the action scenes.
The soundtrack is quite forgettable, there is no track in there, that is worth listening to on its own. The soundtrack is made up of a string orchestra, and they don’t play anything that really adds to the scenes, and is only there to fill in the silence. Because there is a lot of talking used to build up to the finale. The same cannot be said for the Opening Songs, as they really get you hyped for the upcoming show, with the sudden change in vocal style and pace. The Endings, although it’s nice they give a classic old touch, they aren’t really special and the animation for it, is kind of boring to see.
Enjoyment - 6/10
The enjoyment factor of this anime, really depends on how quick you’re able to solve the mystery. If you’re flustered, you might actually enjoy this anime a lot. For me personally since, I felt it was predictable, I felt it was drag to the reveal, since I kind of figured it out early. Not to mention the story doesn’t get interesting until the end of episode 4. However I like the action scenes as we got to see a lot of unique fights because of the unique variety of characters. And I would say there is some enjoyable moments in the build up to the end. But at the same time, I felt the end cheated me, even though I guessed right.
Verdict - 7/10
So for the story of Rokka, I give it a 8. The story may start out slow and the end feels like a dick move. I really liked the change to a mystery on who the fake brave is, as it takes us on a rollercoaster ride and giving us subtle hints on who the fake is.
For the animation and sound, I give it a 8 and 5. The animation and art style is good, using the bright colours to signify it’s an adventure then transitions to a much more faded palette which fitted the mystery. The character designs are unique and reflects on the action as they all have a unique style of fighting so it’s nice to get some variety. I just wished they pulled back with some of CGI, because they used it a lot. The soundtrack is really forgettable, as nothing really is good or special in the soundtrack. However the Opening Song is really great, and gets you ready for the upcoming episode.
For the characters I give them a 7. I like how they are unique and all have a pretty good reason for being the fake, making the mystery harder. I like the development for Nashetania, Fremy and Hans, the others not so much. And Adlet adds to a more unique protagonist, rather than being strong, he is just smart and likeable. However I would say his development is very minimal.
For my own personal enjoyment. I give it a 6, because I kind of solved the mystery pretty quick and felt it was predictable, so to me it just felt like it dragged towards my answer. The action scenes are fun to watch, but the CGI can be distracting. Not to mention the ending may left me satisfied, because I was right, but it also left me bitter.
So for the overall score of Rokka no Yuusha, after rounding it up, I give it a 7/10. I recommend this anime to people who are looking for some good action, as there is quite a number of unique fights, but also to those who love mysteries, it might be a bit predictable, depending on who you are.
