Sacred Seven

When I wrote this review originally I only watched three episodes and gave it an 8. I'm going to be honest: it went a little downhill from there. But then I saw the final episode. And I sat back on my chair thinking of the awesomeness I just witnessed. Seriously, if you start this anime you have got to finish it till the end. I mean that.

In the opening we see Tandoji riding his tiny motorcycle in the most badass way possible and FictionJunction singing a fitting song. First impressions are important, and this show managed to give a good one.

About the story; ... very funny, but lacks a little more depth. However, it is still a little too early to say such a thing (who knows what will happen in the next episodes!). Everything is exaggerated to the max, with maid soldiers and a butler in the organization, and a top secret research facility in the mountains. Just to my liking!

Art is the same as Code Geass, and I have absolutely no objections to that. As I said before, the opening is awesome. The music really gives off the feeling that you are watching a superhero movie. Splendid work, also I love how they switched the opening with the ending halfway through the series.

Anyway, people shouldn't get so frustrated over this show. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it in my opinion. Sure, it has a lot of aspects that can be seen in Scryed and Code Geass, but I don't mind that one bit. After all, I loved those aspects in the original anime, and love to see them return in this anime.
Yes, even the ridiculous butler's Knightmare frame is cool.

This is just what one would expect from a Sunrise/Bandai series: action-packed, family-friendly, with pretty solid production values.

The characters will also look familiar: Tandoji, the brooding, self-doubting hero, who is afraid of his own power; Ruri, the absurdly rich and nice girl that needs his help, and her army of combat maids led by the mecha-riding super-efficient butler; the snarky infodumping comic relief; the mysterious black knight; the positive and energetic president of the Rock Club (rock as in pebble, not music), and assorted high school students. As the story progresses, we get to see some character development, specially from the hero, and there's ... plenty of annoying dialog to point it out very explicitly, in case the audience misses it.

The plot isn't specially complex, but the exposition is a bit jumbled, so don't be surprised if you don't quite get why some characters act the way they do, or struggle to remember one of the made-up terms they throw around. And the confusion will last for a while, because the main story advances slowly, frequently interrupted by relationship-building and plain high-school-anime filler.

In spite of its flaws, the show has its good moments. If you are looking for a straight-up, well-produced shounen, you could do worse than give Sacred Seven a try.

I didn't think Bancolding$ would do it. (Oh. And "Bancolding$" is the nickname I game Bandai Namco Holdings $unrise after watching those "money-making tragedies" Seed Destiny and Mai Otome.)

I didn't think Bancolding$ would create animu that's not blatantly either "I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO CAPITALIZE ON A FRANCHISE!!" (Mitsuo Fukuda's Gundam series), "HEY!! WE'RE MOE AS WELL!!" (Mai Hime / Otome), or "Dey See Me Rollin', Dey Hatin'...!" (Code Geass, and more on this when you ask me).

Sacred Seven is (probably one of the more misleading titles for) one of the few shows that are written by thinking human beings; as oppose to (those ... who like taking advantage of) the slobbering otaku-base. Ahem! Let me make a list.

* The male lead (Alma) is ACTUALLY competent despite his issues.
* The females herein aren't complete B####es who'd beat guys up at a drop of hat.
* It's kinda hard to figure out how the main enemy was. (AS IT SHOULD BE.)

Well... It would be nice if the Aiba personnel were young butlers and maids; as oppose to just Makoto and a bunch of maids who are named after their voice actresses. (There Bancolding$ go again, thinkin' dey gangster.)

But atleast the anime is less bad than good. And it's good to know that they're capable of creating something that's not completely for the otaku.

While I don't think this anime is going to be a masterpiece, I don't think it's as bad as some of the other reviews I saw.

Overall, the story looks to be a pretty standard story, but personally, I don't mind that. It's the guy who's afraid of his power coming to terms with it and fighting (from what I can tell in one episode). Nothing groundbreaking, but based on what I've seen, it looks like they are going to do it well.

I like the art. It feels very much like Scryed, but hopefully the story will be better (sorry if you liked ... the Scryed anime, but the story went to crap about halfway through...read the manga. It's a hundred times better). Personally, I'm happy with the art and style of this anime. And the fanservice is tasteful (there are girls in maid uniforms, but it's not over the top...I can't believe I just justified a maid uniform).

Can't say much for character since it's just started, but I am genuinely interested in the characters, particularly Arma (or Alma). I like where they've started with him and I like the characters around him.

Overall, I think this looks like an enjoyable series. The style is similar to Scryed, but my fingers are crossed that the story is better.

Now in response to the top 2 reviews I've just seen, which were both putting the anime down, I made this review which will hopefully be up there to replace one of them to show positive/negative aspects of the show.

Story 8:
Alright I will be honest and say that I was not expecting the story to be what it was. It was BETTER than what I expected and if you have read the two and watched it, you will agree with me. The story was honestly good in my opinion especially since it was what I was looking for when I was trying to watch this ... anime - A action focused anime with some romance. Maybe I'm influenced to like this anime by the fact that they used Jewel-like rocks and I'm a sucker for pretty looking gems :D
Also, the story is very good with how it starts out and there is a good rising action to the climax as well as a good resolution although they could've ended the anime with a kiss or something :P
One thing I've noticed for myself while watching this anime is that I've never skipped over a part of felt bored at one part. If I haven't particularly skipped a part, that means there weren't any super cheesy parts, and I hate cheesy parts xD

Art 8:
I honestly have no idea what the art can get below a 8 because I thought it was fantastic. Take Ruri for example, she's hella cute :O The fight scenes look pretty good with nice effects and everything and it's easy to tell what's happening in every scene.

Sound 7:
I'm not counting the OP and ED of course but I will say that they weren't the best, and not the worst. It is true that they use a lot of the same track for the scenes but they match the scenario pretty decently.

Character 9:
Alright honestly, I loved the characters mainly the heroine. She was cute - both in art and the way she acted. The main character, Alma, was pretty decent too. One thing I mainly liked about him is the character development I saw in him - which given a 12 Episode anime, was very good. The butler, meh he's not bad; the maids... they're a bonus :O
Also, all the other characters were decent looking and as for the fights, they had high quality too.
If I had to say something, the antagonist of the story was the worst part I should say.

Enjoyment 9:
I. ENJOYED. IT. PERIOD. and I matter, therefore, it is good.

Overall 9:
Umm It is true that I have never given any anime/manga I've read below the rating of 5~6. Mostly because if I've read it, then I've liked it and I'm quite generous in rating them. But this anime was actually quite good - surpassing my expectations. Depending on what you were expecting when you began the series, it might be a little different, but as for me, I loved it.

Such harsh reviews... Agreed the plot isn't all that but all in all this anime offers some great mindless entertainment. And I have a sneaking suspicion that with some parts they were taking the piss :)
Does every detail really need to be explained and elaborated ? nah....
Sometimes i just want something thats easy to digest and looks good. This is it.
Loved the artwork especially the fight sequences and armours. The characters were cool or cute.
For some light late night entertainment this is great.

Overview
Don't by any means be discouraged from watching this anime because it one of the most entatainin anime that came out this year(2011). I wasn't sure what to expect going in the anime but it one of those that i did no skip a second.

Story
Perhaps not the best part of the anime but it was enjoyable. You sort of know what to expect and it was pretty predicatable but having said that the story was thoughly enjoyable that i couldn't wait to see the next episode.

Art
Oustanding- i think it was done by the guy who drew Code Geass but am not sure. The ... art but out brought out human action that i never though was possible.

Sound
The voice actors where petty good. They did thier best to make the anime sound listenable.

Charactor
Well the anime charactors really drew me in. For starters the male lead physique is different from most protagists we are used to seeing. He is really tall for a male lead and is not really a wimp. The female lead is really short for a female lead and the compination of the 2 was really entertaining to watch.

Enjoyment
I thoughoraly enjoyed this anime. Its deffinatly i my top 5 of anime that came out this year. The only thing that disappointaed me was the fight scenes as they were too short in my opinion, like one punch and thats it.

Well, a typical action movie. Drawing recalled the "Code Giass", especially the main character - very similar to Lelouch. Drawing and animation - cool, the plot is likely to be dull and trite, but for the militants is not so critical. Do you like the design of a red suit, but emphatically not like the second suit. Killed the servant-maids - it is beyond insanity, this can come only in the anime. Butler recalled a little girl from a mixture of Isis "Bleach" and the second butler in the glasses of the second season of "Dark butler".
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Ну типичный боевичок. Прорисовка напомнила "Код Гиасс", особенно в ... главном персонаже - очень похож на Лелуша. Прорисовка и анимация - классная, сюжет скорее всего будет туп и банален, хотя для боевиков это не столь критично. Понравился дизайн красного костюма, но зато категорично не понравился второй костюм. Убили прислуги-горничные - это сверх маразма, такое могут придумать только в аниме. Дворецкий маленькой девочки напомнил смесь Исиды из "Блича" и второго дворецкого в очках из второго сезона "Темного дворецкого".

This is a series that you should include in your watch list. What makes it good is the fact that its only 12 episodes so every episode is action packed and progress is quick. The downside is you don't see the characters grow and develop.

Overall it is good but if your looking for a anime that you'd wana rewatch in the future then this isn't it.