M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane

In a dark void known as the Lightless Realm, a group of children meet and bond, but are then separated and returned to their own dimension. Years later, these children reunite to fight "Admonitions," monsters that originate from the same void, using robots known as "Vess." However, their efforts only slow the ever-encroaching and expanding Lightless Realm from infecting their world.

Their lives take a drastic turn when a new foe appears in the form of a "Corpse," whose song is rumored to kill any who hear it within nine days. The "Corpse Song" is heard by the group, and with this, they each begin to pull away and become caught up in their own personal problems—ultimately threatening the fate of humanity.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Isaku, Heito Main

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Hazaki, Emiru Main

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Saginuma, Akashi Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Izuriha, Sasame Main

Koiwai, Kotori Japanese

Yuzuki, Mahmu Main

Fukuen, Misato Japanese

Maki, Minashi Main

Kakihara, Tetsuya Japanese

Kasumi, Raika Main

Yahagi, Sayuri Japanese

Namito, Iwato Main

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Izuriha, Tsugumi Supporting

Koiwai, Kotori Japanese

Natsuiri, Sadami Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Yoshida, Kento Producer

Kawamura, Hiroshi Assistant Producer

Okamura, Takema Assistant Producer

Satou, Junichi Director

Reviews

Oct 7, 2014

novahyou

Recommended

First of all, I'd like to say that the key to truly enjoying M3 is having an interest in a series that not only showcases sci-fi/fantasy elements but also has the tendency to go deep into the characters' psyche, exploring their personalities and how they came to be like that. I'd go beyond that and say it's not so much about the story but the journey these people go through and the very simple yet effective and truthful message it’s trying to convey about what connecting with others truly means.

Story 8/10

It starts really slow and sligthly confusing. I'd say this is the main downfall ... for the series, for those that do not find something about it that makes them want to stick with it. The first ten or so episodes are the weakest ones, but they ARE indeed important to develop the background and offer a starting point to the characters. At the end everything comes together nicely.

Art 7/10

I personally found the character designs appealing and distinctive enough. It handles its (I'm guessing) low budget well enough, but it lacks dynamic action, fluid animation or a visually captivating direction. But it gets the job done.

Sound 6/10

The music is good, not spectacular. Voice acting is very good, though you could find a particular character hamming it up from time to time.

Character 9/10

This is where the series shines. It's quite likely that you won't like some characters from the beginning, but them being initially unlikable really works positively for the series since their evolution and reasons for being how they are makes sense in a satisfying way.
Not all of them are particularly interesting, but the crucial ones are. By the end of it, they're people you want to cheer for.

Enjoyment 8/10

This is a very subjective area; I personally found myself enjoying the series more as it went on. It started pretty mediocre and confusing but as the episodes went by it found the right balance. In the end, the good taste left by the second half overcame the bitterness of the first one.

Overall 8/10

I'm a huge fan of sci-fi in many areas: books, movies and anime. In this last form of media in particular, I have enjoyed wildly different stuff, from Gundam to Getter Robo, with series like Votoms or Dougram in the middle. M3 has little resemblance to the real or super robot genre: it's definitely in line with what most of Evangelion talks about, but developed in a much simpler, easier to grasp manner. It's more akin to mystery series in which the characters' motives are the center, such as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

It was a pleasant surprise and I'm sad to discover most people did not find it appealing enough to stick with it until its final episode. What's more it was not commercially successful at all. While it clearly had flaws (slow start; mediocre production values; excessive use of flashbacks; an underdeveloped character), the positives outweigh the negatives and it offers a satisfying story with a clear finale and a more thoughtful focus.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 3, 2014

Nasty001

Mixed Feelings

Ok, so I've just finish watching this 24 episode anime and quite frankly I have mixed feelings about it, so I'm gonna cut to the chase and just present my ratings for this anime:


Story: Decent 4.

The problem with the story was that it has too much in it that the plot and the story-line itself wasn't easily understood, especially when it has a mixture of sci-fi mixed with supernatural, in my opinion the two genres are like oil and water that don't mix, it also has a combinations of "SOMEWHATS" and SOME SORTS"and I do mean "SOMEWHATS." First of all there is that somewhat of ... a harem combine with a some sort of yaoi, there is that somewhat supernatural beings represented by "Corpse" vs the some sort of sci-fi which was represented by the MA-Vess. There was also that somewhat of melodrama combine with some sort of action. Also the plot was obviously a recycle of "Guilty Crown" and "Black Bullet" which was given a little bit of a tweaking to make it look like it was different, but even so the story is still decent enough.


Art: Very Good 8.

I really like the CGI that was incorporated into the anime especially when it involves that Corpse thing and the MA_Vess, very fancy but very good indeed.

Sound: Mediocre 5.

Ok, as far as I'm concern, I just don't have any comment about the voice actors who did the voices of the characters here, as for the opening and closing, I really don't have much to comment about it, sorry.


Characters: Good 7.

At first it was one of those high-schooler who would be doing jobs that should be done by grown ups, but then again, as the anime progresses, you would forget that the pilots of those so called "MA-Vess'" were high-school kids, but what really prompt me to give this section a 7 was the intensity of them character's portrayal as they not only struggle to do their jobs to protect the population outside the "Lightless Realm" but also the conflict they encounter and their own personal feelings and fears that they themselves will end up as LIM's. But the one who really impacted me was Natsuiri, yes, it was that antagonist that really impacted me, not because I admire him, but rather, he is the kind of character that I really wanna see get turned into a necrometal, and seeing his demise is what convinces me to give this section its score.


Enjoyment and Overall: Fair 6.

For this anime to be 24 episode long was really very long, in fact nearly half of it was created to serve as a mere cliffhanger, ok, I really do enjoy watching it but only barely since my enjoyment stems for my desire to see how Natsuiri will have his demise also, we're left with other questions such as to how on earth did a small village where Tsugumi, Sasame and Minashi lived where able to obtain that "Corpse" thingy? Also, anime director Junichi Sato forgot to mention as to what "LIM" stands for ok so we know it is a kind of dark metal that powers the MA-Vess' and produces a sort of resonances with the pilot, but what was the science behind it? Also, how did Tsugumi survive in the 'Light-less Realm" for too long and didn't even bother to look for his friend and her sister Sasame while she is has that so called Corpse in her command, also why did she stayed in the "Light-less Realm." These question alone form a plot hole that basically kept me from giving this anime's enjoyment and overall a high score, so opinion wise, I just limit it to a 6 and I think that's fair enough.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 19, 2024

Erdgeist

Not Recommended

A combination of horror and mecha what could go wrong? well in this show case almost everything.
If you ever asked yourself this question "A mecha show cannot be boring,it has giant robots right?"
Then this show is the answer to that question,it spends hours and hours of dialogue,useless flashbacks that repeat themselves over and over again,a bunch of scifi-horror jargon that never gets fully explained,unlikeable and annoying characters and the only two decent characters were never given enough screentime to carry the show.The mechas and their weapons feel weak through the whole show,they look like they are shooting water bullets,the main giant "enemy" is overpowered and ... mechas are useless against him and the only way he gets "defeated" is with power of friendship so if you were waiting for a massive battle at the end you will be left with nothing but dissapointing.
The only thing good about this series would be the second Ending song by Nano,at least that song should carry you through the secound cour of 11 episodes.If you really "really" wanna watch this i would say watch the recap that covers episodes 1-13 then watch the rest of the episodes,that way you wont feel the weight of hours and hours of useless dialogue.
If i had to describe this show in a big sentence it would be:
Slow,boring,annoying characters,generic music score,generic mecha design,generic character designs,generic animation and a dumb ending.

I can only recomend this to people who suffer from insomnia.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 29, 2014	76 replies	by Erdgeist »» Mar 21, 8:23 PM
	Poll: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Jun 23, 2014	45 replies	by Phobossus »» Mar 17, 7:41 AM
	Poll: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane Episode 23 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 22, 2014	27 replies	by Archean-Return »» Jul 29, 2023 11:30 AM
	Poll: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane Episode 22 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 15, 2014	25 replies	by Archean-Return »» Jul 29, 2023 10:58 AM
	Poll: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane Episode 21 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 8, 2014	25 replies	by Archean-Return »» Jul 29, 2023 10:27 AM