Akuma no Riddle

One of the more anticipated series of the Spring season, this series definitely did not live up to those expectations. That being said, the series is very good. I mean, the entire series is based on teenage girl assassins, with very little side story. What's not to like? Throw a little yuri into it and it becomes a fairly interesting series.

A brief summary: The story is set at Myoujou Academy, a private girls' boarding school. The 10th year's Kurogumi (Black) class has 12 assassins with their sights on one target, Haru Ichinose. Tokaku Azuma is a recent transfer student who is also targeting Ichinose, ... but she gradually develops feelings for Ichinose, and becomes her protector. And that's really all you need to know. The show's plot is very straight forward and basic at best. But it has a ton of action, with some puzzles that need to be solved. But the viewer doesn't really need to solve them. Tokaku solves them for you. LOL

Each episode centers around one or two of the assassins and their attempt to assassinate Haru. During the episode, you learn of their motives, and reasoning behind why they are participating. Each assassin has a unique situation which drives them which is something I really enjoyed about the series.

In regards to the music and "art", they both were very good in the series. Each episode has it's own ED, which is very unique and something I rarely see. The character were drawn fantastically and the animation is spot on.

Probably the biggest negative I have is the length. I think the series could've used another few episodes to further explain things. At a few points, I felt the episode and series was being rushed a tad bit due to the time constraints.

Overall, Akuma No Riddle isn't the best series of the season, but it's far from being bad. It's filled with a ton of action, and doesn't stray too far from it's straight forward plot. The premise of the series kept me interested, and the series should keep you entertained if you aren't looking for a series that requires a ton of wit and thinking.

(Spoiler Free)

In short, Akuma no Riddle is about a special class in Myōjō Academy where 12 assassins are tasked with taking down the remaining classmate in the class they are grouped in.

Story: 7
I feel that the assassin theme is not new to anime culture, nor is it outdated in any way. I feel that adding this concept into a seemingly on the surface, slice of life anime makes it fresh, though, in reality this series is far from a slice of life. Seeing attractive young ladies showing their grit and fighting for their lives, is not something I've seen in many anime series, hence it ... seems kinda fresh in my perspective.

As for the progression of the storyline, the only thing that gets me down is the predictability of the progression of the series. It starts with a 1v1 duel and pretty much stays that way throughout the rest of the series. Platonic, but it is something i do not mind going back to after each episode

Art: 8
The art in Akuma no Riddle is fantastic on the front of character design. All of the 13 girls each bear a strikingly distinct feature that sets them apart from the rest of the cast. All of these characters are beautifully drawn to life and are all pleasant to the eyes, as all girls are.

Then again, one serious drawback in the art department would be the realism of the action sequences in the anime. There are times where fight sequences seem a tad bit too "low budget" with very underwhelming actions and repetitive simple animation. Yes, this is an anime on assassins. These people are trained to kill, but the anime struggles in illustrating what could be the most important selling point in the anime. The "action" in an "action" genre anime

Sound: 9
I personally feel that this is one of the aspects which Akuma no Riddle excels in. The anime is a short 12 episodes , and runs with a single opening. However not only is the opening engaging and fast paced, the 12 unique endings based on each character add spice to each episode, making the audience want to watch all the way to the end of the episode. This unique twist also allows fans of the different characters to take back a piece of their own, in the enjoyment of that particular character. Something that is very fresh in anime today, which I hope I can see more in the future

Character: 7
Despite the show's short running episode series, 12 episodes proved sufficient in capturing almost all of the different characters in the anime. Despite it being "sufficient". To introduce this much back story for each of the characters in such a short time is not just "ok". its a pretty damn good achievement on its own. Its a shame that the anime had to move so quickly, but I applaud the creators on that feat.

Enjoyment: 7
Personally, I did quite enjoy myself while watching this anime. Most of the elements of the show blended in very nicely to make watching this anime worth the time spent. However, those looking for an intricate storyline, plot or ending may be a tad bit disappointed with this series, as it mainly centers around action and suspense.

Overall: 7
"Worth your time watching!"

Ah, another anime with a battle royale-esque plot just came out, but the question is, was it any good? Well, yes and no.

Since I'm a huge fan of battle royale, I feel inclined to watch anything that has any resemblance to it's basic plot (Future Diary, DanganRonpa, Btooom!, etc) and Akuma no Riddle did not fail me in the slightest.

Story (6) -
Akuma no Riddle is set in a class full of 12 assassins that have the main goal of killing Haru Ichinose in exchange for a wish to be granted. However, one of the assassins, Tokaku Azuma, decides to help protect Haru against the others.

It's ... very episodic for the majority of the show. Each episode is based around a new assassin trying to kill Haru and Haru somehow living with the help of Tokaku. This set up makes it very predictable, but doesn't make it any less interesting. Since it can be compared to so many other story lines, the story is nothing extremely original. Nevertheless, it never fails to be entertaining enough for you to keep watching.

Also, the ending was very disappointing, at least for me. Allow me to quote someone very important, who points out something that this anime totally ignores at the end.

"People die when they are killed." -Shirou Emiya (Fate/Stay Night)

I do so hate it when stories neglect this.

Art (7) -
The character designs were one of the best things about this anime. Each looked completely different than the rest and they all looked really cool. The rest of the art was good, but nothing extraordinary.

Sound (6) -
Nothing really popped out when it came to the music within the show. The opening was good but nothing amazing. The endings are what really stood out, as there was an ending for each assassin when the episode was about them. They corresponded with the character and had really awesome music/visuals. Beyond the endings, the soundtrack was decent.

Characters (8) -

With a huge cast such as this, it would be hard to give them all the same amount of screen time or different character traits. However, this anime excels at giving them each their own backgrounds and quirks. Each assassin also has different wishes that are mentioned and expanded upon, as their wishes are the driving force for trying to kill Haru. The only one that didn't have that much originality was the main character, Tokaku. She was a tsundere. Thankfully she actually had a personality, as she loved Haru and had a past that haunted her enough to give her emotions.

Another important thing to mention is that the anime is considered yuri. However, the yuri factor isn't very prevalent. Sure, there was some hugging and group bath time but nothing really happened beyond that. That's alright with me but if you're a yuri fan, you might be disappointed.

The romance was left open-ended. However, it can be assumed that Haru and Tokaku do start dating, or at least remain very close friends. So, romance fans might also be disappointed.

Enjoyment (8) -
I'm a sucker for stories about characters trying to kill other characters. It's just something I'm into, don't judge me. If you like an entertaining story with great characters (and character designs) as well as some decent twists, then you should give this a go. Don't expect anything amazing, but expect a fun ride.

Final Verdict: A classroom with female assassins + Battle Royale = ...DanganRonpa 2.0?

So I must say I really enjoyed the anime!

Story (7/10)

So like someone said: it's sad that the characters that will try to kill haru, they don't last longer than 1 episode. I didn't really like that, to be honest I wanted that they would last longer after a battle, but nope, they decided to put them away. It was also more about battles and that is actually what I really enjoy so that was the thing that made my rate higher.

Art (8/10)

I really liked the art, it was amazing. The battles were viewed really great!

...
Sound (7/10)

The sound was good enough for me. So that's why I gave it a 7. I loved the intro and the ending music. I thought the ending was kinda special, it always had a different character in it and music, I liked that.

Character (6/10)

If they would last longer, maybe my rate would be higher. Al tough they were interesting! I loved to see their back stories and what was happening. I loved all of the characters, but of course we always end up having one favorite.

Enjoyment (9/10)

I really, really enjoyed it. I finished it in three days, because I only thought about watching it. I was sad when I finished it. How they made the anime, is really good. Sometimes they make you curious about what's happening.

Okay, if you're looking for an in-depth-review of this one, you won't find it here. I want to showcase this one only because it may feature one of the greatest anime-episodes of all time.
[insert kanye-meme here]
No joke, I'm actually serious about that statement.

Now, that we've got that out of the way, I want to recommend this series to anyone who's into Battly Royale'ish survival game-settings, girls-with-guns and/or anything yuri-related, who doesn't have amazingly high expectations and just want to consume a nice, little survival game thriller. You'll be pleased, at the very least.

Akuma no Riddle (otherwise known by its hilariously Engrish alternate title Riddle Story ... of Devil) has kind of a slow-ass pacing up until a certain point. While it maintains a slow speed in terms of storytelling in the first and second third, it is in a constant struggle with itself to keep things interesting and suspenseful on one hand and, on the other hand, to show off some (admittedly sometimes quite competently made) short-burst action sequences and fanservice. It does both with rather varying degrees of success, unfortunately.

The problem is not the overall artistry of the series - I dig the character designs and the colorful presentation. The animation quality varies between "alright" and "lots of stillframes" with the occasional well-animated and -orchestrated action sequence. It's slightly above average in that department. The kickass OP and some of the EDs are nice to listen to, the seiyuus do a really good job at delivering their lines with just the right amount of cheese (especially Yuka Ootsuba is freakin' fantastic as Banba) and the overall OST is not an insult to the ears. So, all in all, AnR's art works well with what it's got.

The big problem I had with the series was its lack of focus, even though the plot is simple enough: The headmaster of Myoujou Academy has a bunch of girls assigned to the "Black Class". Their assignment is to kill Haru - a.k.a. Redhead McNicegirl - in order to graduate and become a professional killer. The only one of the "Black Class" who doesn't want to murder her dead is fellow classmate Tokaku - a.k.a. Bluehair McHardass. Instead, she makes it her mission to protect the target from the rest of the chicks, who take turns in trying to kill Redhair.

Each classmate gets her own episode devoted to her respective backstory and her motivation to become a badass assassin/to assassinate the shit out of Redhair, which is a nice idea in and of itself. But as said above, it hurts the pacing of the show in the long run. It starts to pick up, however, in the most glorious way possible.

The word "payoff" gets thrown around a lot when people talk about how a certain anime episode delivered a nice payoff - but holy sandals of Moses, the tenth episode of this series is completely worth the wait. It turns an otherwise fairly average yuri thriller show into a fucking rollercoaster ride of fun and awesome for twenty minutes. It's as if AnR throws off its own restraints and decides to go completely all-in on the viewer. And, for me at least, it worked perfectly. I was HOWLING with amazement at my TV screen during the entire duration of that one episode, even though (or, rather, because!) it was only a twenty minute long action scene that didn't stop to step on the gas until the end credits rolled.

I really wish I could tell you more about it, but 1. I'd go into heavy spoiler-territory if I did so and 2. it would ruin the surprise. The series is coming out on Bluray (in Germany, at least) right now and I urge you guys to get it, if just for the sudden stroke of genius that is episode 10. The enjoyment of the rest of the series really depends on what you want out of it: if you want yuri, you'll get it, but only in short, concentrated bursts. If you're like me and you want a badass girls-with-guns-action show, you'll get it, but only in short, concentrated bursts. If you want suspense, you get it, but in short, concentrated bursts and with kind of a lackluster conclusion (even though the ending is wide open to interpretation).

If you want to see a show, however, that makes complete use of its own and the potential of its medium for only one episode, you will definitely get it here.

"The world is full of ______" (surprises)

I had high expectations for the anime when I watched the preview for it. I expected it to be at least around 24 or 25 episodes, but then they announced it was only 12. The anime is adapted from the manga (which is still not done running). The anime was good, it was fascinating seeing the characters animated and voiced. The art style was nice as well and the animation itself wasn't half bad. One thing that bothered me was that the anime was listed as "yuri", but the entire show barely had any yuri in it. The show was very enjoyable, but it seemed ... very rushed. One thing that I loved about the anime was the soundtrack for each of the characters, those were really nice.

Akuma no Riddle is a fun little time waster for those that are wanting something short and action filled to watch. While no masterpiece, Akuma no Riddle provides enough entertainment for you to keep watching, all with badass girls who do the badass things.

There really isn't much in the way of story here. Haru, a girl born into a clan, is being hunted by 12 other students, who each have their own reasons for wanting her dead. The characters themselves have no real depth to them, nor do they have any real growth. The only characters you could argue experience growth are Tokaku and Haru. ... This show really isn't deserving of its "Shoujo Ai" tag, either. If you were looking for Yuri, you probably want to search elsewhere.

The story is marginally episodic, with each episode focusing on one particular assassin. The series lends itself to predictability and you'll soon learn that the episodes pretty much go as follows: Assassin sends in their card, Haru is in danger, the girls do the fighting, Haru and Tokaku win while the assassin learns something about themselves and is expelled from the Class Black program. The romantic subplot in this anime is almost non-existent. It's obvious that Tokaku's reasons behind wanting to protect Haru stems from sexual attraction, yet the show never really explicitly says it outright, rather resorting to the more generic term of "wanting to protect someone precious to them". Imagine the romantic subplot as a jar on a high shelf. Now imagine reaching for it, where you can *almost* reach it but its just that bit too far. That's the romantic subplot in a nutshell. It's almost there, but its never explicitly referred to nor is it explored in any fashion.

The animation is good and the art style is aesthetically pleasing. Non-important characters such as b.g characters are portrayed as black and white, providing an interesting contrast from the main characters. The music is good, invoking the right emotions at the right times.

Akuma no Riddle definitely isn't for everyone, as shown by its relatively average score. However, I enjoyed it and had a fun time. If there was ever a reason to ever come back for a second season, which is unlikely, you can bet your buns that I'll be the first one there to be watching it.

I really enjoyed this anime. Here I will list why.
Character design:
A lot less ecchi than most. Doesn't start off with panty shots and silly "I'M SO KAWAII" things.
It's really serious in atmosphere. I'm not sure how empathetic of an audience you guys are, but let me try to explain it in my own words.

Character design: Variety in character designs. Variety in personalities. Variety in objectives, past, etc. Colorful, easy to distinguish hair styles.
Of course after a while, things tend to look the same in anime. Characters tend to show themselves in other animes with different names. ...
Cliche isn't always a bad thing. Here in this anime, the designs are decent.
I can always appreciate good use of tattoos, scars, and color. I can rate it a 8. On another note, I think the fact the girls aren't super sexualized and have actual proficiency in their talents make them even more valuable gems. Let me try and ask a question to the audience.
Do you want a girlfriend/friend that has passion and talent, or would you rather have a girlfriend/friend that's proficient in plotless pantyshots?
It's fine if you want the latter one. I just personally don't like dimwitted child girls with filling in precious plot with their plump, blushing vag-shots--thank you very much. I find all of these characters to be interesting to be around if they were real. I'd totally hang around with them, you know? Whereas if the typical, generic anime girl were around me--whether it's tsundere, yandere, dandere, kuudere, etc---I'd either be embarassed, annoyed, or just bored out of mind to be around them. I hope that makes sense---I tried.

Plot design(trying to be blunt without spoilers): Do you ever wonder if anime is too boring because "You saw it coming?"
Do you EVER ask yourself if it was intended by the producer to allow you to see the future climax? Yeah, well--it's called foreshadowing. If you think this anime is boring because you're smart sh*t, you're better off watching random shenanigans like Nichijou and FLCL. -shrugs-
I do enjoy the plot twists here and there. I can explain why--even if I do see it coming.
Do you ever get that feeling you want something to be a certain way?
This anime gives you to you, takes it away, then gives it to you again. Why?
Because you get false hope. It's fun. You ought to try it.
The plot is decent. It's a good story. I'm sick of people rating it by 'originality'
Do you ever see people that like weird, non-mainstream anime because it's rare and different? Like--people who can't like Akame Ga Kill or Cowboy Bebop just because they have their panties in a knot trying to figure out whether they're non-conformist? Just think of it this way--
Everything has a formula just like in math--just like a recipe.
Mainstream:Hey, let's make a cake today! We're going to use eggs, milk, sugar, and flour--we'll add some yummy fruit too!
Non-mainstream fanbase: WE'RE MAKING ANCHOVY CAKE WITH PEANUTS AND FRUIT PUNCH. SO COOLLLL. WAO.
Basically, I can give this anime a higher rating for a plot because of that. -shrugs-

Another note: Lesbians that have personality and coolness---and they don't all have C and D-cups. I'm impressed by variety--personally. I dig variety more than anything. = w=

Art: AAAAAH. The lighting changes, the atmosphere coloration--the hair--the detailing---the shading--10/10. It's hard to make extremely nice lines and accurate animations in well---animation. Do you ever ask yourself how hard it is to animate? It's tedious. Animating is a job that chunks your life away. So I have to rate it 10/10--not to compare to anything else--just as an anime by itself--you know?

Sound: I wish there were more songs showing different emotions for different scenes--like---for sad scenes, fight scenes, super happy scenes. I love the voice actors to death though. Just--the variety. I mean to say that---the girls have different voices---they aren't all moe and high pitched pterodactyls. I love it. I loved it so much I'm ready to die. Just kill me now. *o* 9.5/10

Enjoyment: I cried. I don't care if it's cliche. I liked it. 10/10. I enjoyed the type of cliche. I enjoyed the tension. I enjoyed the happy moments. I like the humor in it but I can't quite understand myself if I SHOULD be laughing most of the time--grim humor, you know?

Story:8/10. It's not the cliche that matters---I say once again. Everything else applied well. I would give it 5/10 or less if I didn't like it, but since I did, I give it an 8.

Overall: 10/10

"I am sick of all the anime where boys do all the cool action stuff, I want girls to be involved too"!

If you ever feel like saying something like this than I have the perfect anime for you. I won't give you one, No! I'll give you 13 awesome girls in just one anime show. Yeah, you read good! (Just realized that this sounds like a TV ... commercial). Akuma no Riddle or Riddle Story of Devil finished airing in 2014 and in 12 episodes in total it really showed that girls don't only care about nails and clothes.
Plot and Storyline:
To be honest, this anime has a poor storyline. It's not stupid but there could have been done a better job. And it was like the makers were bored and just wanted it to end, resulting a kinda forced eniding with no sense.
Still, I have to say that the action in this anime can hardly be compared to any other 12-episode anime. You have guns, swords, knifes, bombs and some very clever ways of killing. VIOLENCE INCLUDED so I wouldn't recommend watching with younger brothers and sisters.
Everything starts with the beginning of the new school year at Myoujou Academy, a boarding school for girls. New girls, new assassin class, new target...Wait what?
Yeah, it does look like an assassin game, I know. Well it kinda is. You have 13 girls in one class.
Twelve of these girls are skilled and well trained killers and they all have one goal. Kill the target. This year it will be little Haru Ichinose. The only difference is that this year the target surprisingly gains a protector. Tokaku Azuma kinda falls in love with Ichinose and tries to protect her until the very end. When it comes to the end...What a surprise!
Characters:
You have 13 different girls. As excepted each of them has her own background story and a different way of assassinating Ichinose. That's the most interesting part of the show, the diversity.
Ichinose: She is that typical naive, cute, little girl that is half of the time not aware of what's happening around her. She is the most innocent character in the show and I really felt sorry for her. And please don't judge her in the end. It's not her fault taht...(NO SPOILERS, THAT'S THE RULE!).
Azuma: What a girl! The skills of this woman really surpassed my expectations. Her moto as I understood: "Speak less, do more". She always kept calm, observed and then acted. A very interesting fighter. May I represent, Tokaku Azuma.
Animation:
The first thing I want to commend about this anime are definitely the looks of the characters. Nice work done by the director and designers. What I personally found interesting is that the ending of each episode is different, every time sung by another voice actor. Nice idea, although I always skip the ending. Never-mind, Let's move on...
Conclusion:
A with action overloaded anime awesomely interesting anime despite his poor storyline. It is not a masterpiece but I still don't get the low ating of 6,84 on My Anime List. It probably lies in the as said before forced ending. A few episodes more would have made it way better.
In short. If you love action and adrenaline and don't care about the quality of the story this would definitely be a anime for you.
I liked it, I hope you'll too.
Your AnimeGirl

For an anime of 12 episodes, Akuma no riddle is good, although a bit repetitive (in each episode they face an enemy and a problem) it can entertain you for the good action scenes, and the characters often call your attention because the anime show the past of each, the story is quite interesting and different, escaping the cliches.

Throughout the anime I was not bored at any time, and it makes you be curious to know what will be the next enemy, and what will be his plan, which leaves the anime problem is repetitive, something interesting until , art is good, nothing too impressive ... but it is good, as the soundtrack in no time anime I felt excited for some background music playing, in fact I even noticed them. Another cool thing in anime are the moments of tension, making you stay focused on it.

Overall, I can say that Akuma no riddle is a good anime, fun to watch and interesting. I recommend.

Akuma no Riddle a yuri no wait Shoujo Ai action comedy assassin show.
Actual score: 7.8

Story: 7
The story it self sounds goods according to the synopsis a good yuri romance with 12 deadly assassins, but you no the yuri bit changes to Shoujo Ai which just ruins those hoping for yuri romance. But aside from that the story is okay a bit too predicable apart from the ending which is really confusing without spoiling anything.

Art: 8
Now the art was pretty nice it was colourful as well as dark which fits the tone of the show but man those eyes the characters had were something else it ... feels like they were staring into my soul they were that good and certainly have an assassins look to them such as with Tokaku and Nio.

Sound: 10
The main OST in the show was pretty average nothing mind blowing, but the opening was one of the best of spring 2014 in my opinion so that I never skipped it through all 12 episodes and now for the endings there is a different one for every episodes that each represent a different character and its pulled of really well and there all good to listen to.

Characters: 7
The characters were good in appearance and personality as they varied and all had their distinct style to killing which made each episode feel refreshing but they lacked development in any way which made them less interesting than watching paint dry without spoiling anything save for Tokaku who does develop over the course of the story.

Enjoyment: 7
The show was good but lacked something to make me want the next week to come faster as well as really predictable story but had a lovely art style which is my second favourite so far.

I found myself drawn to “Akuma no Riddle” because of the summary and the character design, but I ended up finding myself sadly disappointed by this particular Anime. This isn't to say “Akuma no Riddle” isn't an Anime people should forgo watching. The series simply fell flat because of all the cliches shoved into the series.

I think my disappointment started in the first episode when I found myself reminded of “Noir” in a manner which made me feel “Akuma no Riddle” was unoriginal. After that I found myself reminded of to many other series. “Higurashi no Naku Koro ni”, “Dangonropa” and quite a few ... others which I can't remember off the top of my head or couldn't quite place. There is nothing wrong with using other peoples work as inspiration, but in this particular case nothing new came from the series. The plot and characterization was to flat.

This particular series falls under the “Deadly Game” trope. The plot for this particular trope is very straight forward. If you lose you die, and the main character must find a way to beat the system. A good series for this kind of plot relies on two things to draw writers in. The first tactic is to create some kind of puzzle the main character must solve which also gets the writer thinking. Said puzzle also needs to be unique. The other tactic is to have a strong roster of characters to work from.

“Akuma no Riddle” fails in both aspects.

The puzzles the main character needs to figure out are simple compared to many other series. The only two characters given development over the course of the series are the main couple. Series like “Dangonropa” and “Btooom!” happen to have the characters they used fully developed prior to the series starting. So what then is the draw for this particular series?

I can't say it's the art work. The actual character designs for the characters in this particular series don't make up for the lack of character development. The design might be good for a slice of life Anime series, but not really for a series falling under the action genre let alone comprised of a “Deadly Game” trope. And that right there is the odd charm of this piece. The characters would actually fit better into a different story scenario.

Another charm is the secret revealed at the end of the series. This in itself has execution problems and in reality there could have been more hints dropped for this particular series in regards to the secret which ends up finally revealed at the end. This series is also odd because of the number of yuri pairings worked into the series. The class size is rather small for the numbers shown, and normally when one sees this many the cast has a higher.

This isn't a bad thing, but truth is this element could have been worked more into the secret revealed at the end.

Despite my disappointment in this series I did find myself enjoying the series quite a bit, nor does it stop me from liking the series. In part I enjoyed seeing the potential of what this particular series could have been as I watched said series, but I also found said series relaxing to watch.

Akuma no Riddle is about a class of 12 girls who have a task to kill a thirteenth girl, Haru. All of this takes place at a high school, and in a particular classroom, called the Black Class. Upon arrival, the 12 girls, who are shown to be assassins, are briefed on the rules, and go from there. The "rules of the game" so to speak, are that the target must have a notice before being killed and that if a person is able to kill the target, then they are granted one wish, which could range from something simple as ... money, to something elaborate as a writ to kill. After the meeting, one of the girls, Tokaku, is against it and helps to protect Haru from the others. That is the basic plot, without saying any spoilers.


Story: Already mentioned the main plot. Each episode would roughly cover one of the 11 girls as they make their attempt in Haru. Each of the girls has an unique way of attempting an assassination, which ranged from simple weapons like guns and knifes, to more unique weapons, some of which I can't say since it would be a spoiler. During a given episode, you find out about what wish a girl wanted, and a brief flashback, that usually explains why they would want such a wish. Given that this was a 12ep show,the pacing was quick, and the girls only got one episode that would focus on them.

Art: The anime style was one of the few that I enjoy a lot. The color and tone of the rooms and the design of the girls, were nice and each of them had a slightly unique feature to them, whether it is being short, being tall, being flat chest, busty, etc. And the clothes sometimes would match the person's personality too.

Sound: The thing that I liked about the show, was that each of the EDs were different. Different video, different theme, and different song. The sounds used were great, the BGM was minimal but enjoyable, especially the fight scene music later on.

Character: This is where Im split on rating it, but Ill explain the best that I can. The characters themselves, were unique enough to be very different from each other. Example would be that one girl had a more religious background, while another had an extensive criminal background. With that in mind, the characters were very pleasing to watch and see interact, with my favorite being Hanabusa for reason that I can't say because of spoilers, However, the characters suffered from a lack of complete background describing. In other words, we were shown very little about the girls' past, and thus there was simply not much to learn for any of the girls. Usually, it would be something very short and basic, and that's it, For those who do not like melodrama, then it wouldn't be an issue, but for those who want to know more about the girls, well, sorry, but that didn't happen much. This is the second worse part about the show, but Im a sucker for characters that at least look nice, even if background info is lacking.

Enjoyment: I enjoyed watching each episode as the week went on. They started kind of slow and dry, but when things picked up, it got better. The one major thing that I absolutely did not like, was the ending. I wont dare say it nor give an hint, but I wish they did the ending the way it should have been, rather than what some people would like.


Overall: Overall, this was an enjoyable show, but the ending was such a bummer. The characters were pretty, the music was great, the art style was fine, and after the first couple episodes, it progressively got better. My favorite episode was the 10th one, but there were others that had good moments in them too. Oh, and lastly, for anyone looking at this in hopes of it being a yuri anime, better look somewhere else, because there were very VERY little "girl love girl" moments. Maybe one kiss, but it wasn't intended to be a kiss. Hope my review helps. Im still working on improving my critic skills.

Alright, let's give this another go! - Updated review. One slight tiny spoiler after the end of Story.

Story: 7

Akuma no Riddle is set in Myoujou Academy, an academy that teaches grade school through to university. In said Academy, specifically Year 10, is the Black Class. In this year's Black Class, 12 assassins face off in a competition to eliminate the 1 target among them, Haru Ichinose. The winner is given anything she desires, and failures are simply expelled. A pretty neat sounding concept, right?
After finishing the series, the only thing that springs to mind when reviewing the story is 'wasted potential'. Akuma no Riddle could ... have done so much more, but instead decided to follow a repetitive structure for over half of it's short span and suddenly dump a whole load of 'what the fuck is going on' in the last moments. I feel the issue with the story is either that the show was not long enough for what the writers wanted to do, or they took too long trying to do it. My biggest problem with AnR is that everything is just so convenient and just so happens to work out, but despite the issues it's not so bad the show is un-watchable.

[SPOILER] It all went downhill after "Let me show you my true form!" [/SPOILER]



Art: 7

I'm no expert with art, but AnR is visually pleasing. Nothing spectacular, but it's far from dull.


Sound: 7

Quite honestly one of my favourite OPs so far. It really fits the show and I found I never skipped it. One thing in particular I loved was how every episode had a different ED. I can't say I loved all of the songs themselves, but it's new (to me, at least) and added a little extra. The idea of using a new ED was to 'fit' it to the assassin that the episode had focused on. For example, episode 5 is Haruki's ED.
The OST as a whole is nothing memorable, but it works nicely.


Character: 7

This is where AnR had the most potential. Did it live up to it? Just about. Don't get me wrong, I found all the girls like-able, and I had favourites, but the only one I ended up caring for was Haruki. Almost every one of the assassins has their time in the spotlight to show their personality, motives and backstories. However, once they had this moment, they were gone.
The main focus of AnR is the relationship between Tokaku Azuma and Haru Ichinose. Tokaku vows to become Haru's guardian, which explains the Shoujo Ai. Tokaku is, unfortunately, one of the most boring protagonists I've ever come across. Tokaku is a frown on legs carrying a load of wasted potential on her shoulders. Haru, on the other hand, is so optimistic and cheery I want to leap through the screen and take her down myself. Haru's redemption, however, lies in her development. Watching her turn from a smiling bag of rainbows to a ballsy heroine that could finally hold her own was one of the best things about the show.
Special shoutout to the homeroom teacher Mizorogi for being blissfully unaware and still trying to keep the class together.

Enjoyment: 8

Despite its issues, I enjoyed Akuma no Riddle very much. I'm a sucker for survival games and a female cast, so I was drawn to this immediately. Did I expect differently? Yes. Am I disappointed? Only slightly. Would I watch this again? In a heartbeat.

Thank you for reading! Feedback is always appreciated.

This is my first time writing a review, so I thought I would review an anime I have been watching, I usually never get to watch anime that's nearly ending on air or still airing, either.

Akuma no Riddle was an interesting tale that involved swerves that you can't really predict unless you watch, character development squeezed in such short time, and when you watch through, they take care to keep you up to date on what is going on in this anime's 'universe'.


Most things are unexplained or hard to figure out at the beginning, but to some it makes them want to watch more. ... This anime does have some yuri-like themes, but they aren't too strong, and it fits in with the entire anime. I personally enjoyed this anime and would recommend it to others who like some thrills and some yuri-like plots with tons of assassins mixed in.

All in all, if you are looking for something to watch because you're in a drought looking for anime, try it out. Try one episode, and then two, eventually you'll want to watch it all.

This review doesn't contain spoilers, but heavy commentary about the quality of the ending, so beware if you don't want to read others opinions before watching it.

That said, this anime was a 8.5/10, bridging on a 9/10 before the very last episode.

The build up was wonderful, the characters pretty decent, but the relationship between Haru and Takaku or however you spell her name was the cherry on top-- I love that specific dynamic of hardcore/badass protector with an innocent, relatively defenseless protected character, especially in yuri pairings.

However, the ending was absolute garbage. Episode 11 leaves off on a massive cliffhanger that actually is resolved pretty ... well when you finish the series, however where that cliffhanger is cured, an ENTIRE different slew of problems arise.

I absolutely cannot stand deus ex endings, and I really, really don't like in general how they wrapped this story up. It had so much potential, so INCREDIBLY much potential to be a great anime, but they choked at the very end with wrapping up the story. They could've done almost anything else, they could add a truly thoughtful message/action in, they could culminate the relationship of the characters, but instead? They just threw a bunch of garbage together and had it be completely ineffective.

I still recommend watching this anime if you're into battle royale style anime. Throughout the entire thing, I was wondering how this was rated so poorly by the community because it was extremely good, but don't expect anything good from the ending whatsoever. It was the biggest let down of any anime series I've ever watched.

Alright, most of us are usually attracted to mysterious series and characters, patiently waiting for the full storyline to reveal itself blowing your mind away into the heights of the sky.. Akuma no Riddle totally gives
you this impression about it right from the first episode.


Story 7/10
The reason I gave it a 7? Because I was a little disappointed by how not-so-deep, compicated/not understandable this series turned out to be. It gives you that perfect impression at first but as the episodes continue you kind of find out it's a bit shallow, but it still has a good storyline, just not one that would blow ... you away, especially the ending which I found pretty lame, ruining the enjoyment you had most of the series. It was just a plain, normal ending, nothing as special as I predicted. They didn't solve the riddles either, that made me upset. :c

Art 9/10
I absolutely loved the art! It was very pleasant, I liked it ❤️

Sound 9/10
I almost always skip to the episode through most animes, but the opening was great to watch and listen to..

Character 7/10
Okayy.. I'm not a big fan of Yuri, but halfway through the series I almost forgot there was supposed to be some kind of love story between Haru and Tokaku. Seriously, if you're searching for a lovey-dovey story or characters then this isn't your type, you'll be disappointed. The rest of the characters are great, i didn't prefer them though. A 7 because there was some actual work to come up with their background stories, only for that, they weren't that creative, sadly. Character development isn't massive here either, except maybe a little for Haru and Tokaku. You don't even get to bond with the characters to feel them, the other assassins would've became a huge success if only the series wasn't just 12 episodes, if we had enough time to know them better.


Enjoyment 7/10
Honestly I got bored in the middle and wanted to quit the series, the episodes were repeating themselves just with a different assassin each episode. The art saved this series big time, and the sounds also, including the great voice acting.

Overall 7/10
It was a nice anime with a good plot and good characters, nothing more nothing less. I thought assassins were scary killing machines like Killua in Hunter x Hunter, but this series changed my mind.. The assassins were all helpless and proportionally weak for assassins, especially Tokaku.. It's great for passing time and being entertained, it's got amazing art and music, but if you're aiming for a deep plot, this wouldn't be your anime. c:

Story (6)-The show presents itself as a sort of psychological thriller at the start. All these assassins gathered in one place to kill one girl. Sounds a bit over-the-top but you get a little bit more interested as to how this is going play out. Unfortunately, it fails to execute it's pseudo-psychological aspect properly because how horribly ineffective some of the characters are. Because of this, it's hard to truly feel like the main characters are in any sort of danger. The story works semi-episodically, with small plot points scattered throughout the show but never really feeling like a story until later in the show. ... It tries to act like some big complex show at the start, slows down in the middle, and tries to reassert itself as a complex show at the end. That said, when there is actual plot, it's good enough that you say "this isn't as terrible as I expected." The episodes prior to the build-up of actual plot are pretty formulaic.

*very mild spoiler*
Assassin announces (that's right, announces) that they're targeting the main character, character tries to figure out why, background info on assassin, main character defeats assassin, rinse and repeat
*end mild spoiler*

There's also not much action to be had in some episodes. Some feel like they were lazily scripted and even though these are assassins, they aren't very good at providing enough action for this to be an action anime. Suspense sure, but the action is few and far. Finally, the last thing I should mention is that the deus ex machina is heavy. The biggest one is around the end and, essentially, renders the previous episodes obsolete. If you hate that kind of device, steer clear from it.

All that said, if you can see past these flaws (like I managed to do), then the story will be decent enough to enjoy

Art (10): I rarely factor art into my enjoyment of a series unless it causes me physical pain to watch it but the art was generally appealing with few or no complaints. Characters,settings, etc were done nicely

Sound (9): Solid voice acting here. The background music did the scenes justice for the most part minus a couple of times where it felt a little off but the music was overall fitting. I don't factor opening or ending themes into my ratings either but the OP was good enough and each episode ended with a song sung by the assassin who was the focus of that episode. All were done well except for a couple but otherwise, catchy.

Character (5): Here is where the show stumbles. These are some of the most best assassins around and yet, I can't help but feel the entire show would be over a lot quicker if the assassin just straight up tried to kill the main character instead of turning it into some sort of mind game. Their methods of going about assassinating are so asinine, it's a wonder that they're even assassins at all. Luckily, there are a couple of genuine badasses of the bunch that make me appreciate sticking around the show but holy hell, most of them are ridiculously ineffective. Additionally, the backgrounds of some of these assassins are really vague, leaving us unable to truly understand the characters. "This happened, and that happened" and that's it. No real why's, how's, or even what's are addressed. The backgrounds of the main characters, while a bit more developed and clearer than the assassins, still have some missing questions that have us scratching our heads to the very end.

It's also hard to see characters really develop when they only appear for one episode per assassin (some fewer) but the ones who do end up developing, they pull it off nice enough that you can sort of see past their flaws. Other assassins just felt really generic and pulled out of antagonist vault. By far, the best development comes from our two main characters because where else are we going to get any development with the show? Even then, however, it isn't too big of a development.

The main antagonist, the host of this assassination games, just doesn't feel like there is enough reason for her to be an antagonist. Sure, they try to make her look evil and badass but ultimately, I couldn't really perceive her to be a threat. At the end of the day, a lot of these villains are forgettable except for a couple of unique individuals. The target of these assassins might also get on your nerves if you hate those "can't we all be friends" types. There's a limit to how optimistic you can be towards people who are actively trying to kill you.

Enjoyment (7): I know. I did all this nitpicking and I still enjoyed it? Well that's because I rarely let these things bring me down. I enjoy film, TV, books and even if it's the worst of them. I try to just enjoy the show for what it's worth.

Overall (7): I remember hearing a saying that went something along the lines of "I only nitpick at it because I love it." While I don't quite love the show, there is still something to be enjoyed here.While it's not quite memorable enough to leave a deep impact, it is a show that if someone mentions it to you, you'd probably remember it vaguely and be able to give a rough sketch of your feelings for the show. Would I recommend it? Well if you're the kind of person who enjoys fleshed-out and well-developed characters with an intelligent, coherent plot, this probably won't be your cup of tea. If you're anything like me and are blissfully ignorant of flaws and immune to nitpicking and you've got a couple of hours to kill at the airport while you wait for your flight and you want a show that you wouldn't mind doing a marathon of it on your phone, then this is probably the show for you.

Welcome to Myojou Academy, where chosen assassins get to participate in Class Black-by killing the target, they can get any reward they want.

Akuma no Riddle is about Haru Ichinose, the target of Class Black, and Tokaku, one of the assassins who turned into her protector. Their personalities compliment each other-Haru is naive, cheerful, and bubbly, while Tokaku is often serious and all business. It's fun to see how they interact.

Now on to the other characters-the assassins who will be making attempts at Haru's life. Because of the show's set up, the anime is episodic, with an episode focusing on one assassin at the time. This ... gives each character a chance to be at the spotlight; the character's backstory and motivation are also discussed in the episode. And each of the assassins have unique personalities that are different from each other. They also have different ways in attempting to assassinate Haru, ranging from the old fashioned way of using a gun to a sort of game of sorts. This makes each episode interesting.

The anime is also beautifully animated and the fight scenes are well done.
The music of this show is very good! It has one opening, sung by Maaya Uchida. However it has 12 EDs, with the singer being the spotlight character of the episode. And yes, they are all good!

The Ending of the anime, without going into spoilers, is kind of a base breaker. Either you like it or you hate it. I actually like it, but can see why there are people who hate it.

Nevertheless, Akuma no Riddle is definitely a fun show. It can have it's flaws, but it has interesting characters, good fight scenes, and great music, and I think it is worth a watch.

Are you ready to countdown? There is no way out to run!

This review will contain non-explicit spoilers.

Akuma no Riddle is an anime which I looked forward to viewing every week. It is an overall enjoyable experience if you bear in mind the short running time. I personally found the end disappointing, however.

Story - 6/10.
I enjoyed the premise of this show - a kind of Danganronpa-esque survival game within the "Black Class", a class of 13 students. It wasn't totally butchered; there were some interesting plot twists here and there and the pacing was okay for such a short anime, however because of its shortness, it did feel a little rushed at times, for example some of ... the battle scenes could have been expanded on a little more, and similarly to Danganronpa we lost a character per episode on average, which didn't allow the watcher to fully connect with the story.
I also did not enjoy the ending. I don't understand why the show went through killing them each episode for that to happen at the end. Maybe I missed something.

Art - 8/10.
Decent character design, I enjoyed the animation generally. Thought the battle/action scenes were eye-catching and didn't leave you wanting.

Sound - 7/10.
I really enjoyed the soundtrack to this, Soushou Innocence by Maaya Uchida fit the theme of the show relatively well and set up a mostly fast-paced action-filled episode each week. The voice acting was good, the only voice that really irritated me was Haru's, but that's personal preference as opposed to bad seiyuu. I thought for the most part the voices fit the characters.

Character - 5/10.
This is where the show tripped itself up a little - though this is mostly due to the short run time of the anime, only 12 episodes. Each character was relatively unique from one another, though I didn't think any character really screamed originality this didn't really detract from the anime as their interactions were still interesting.
However you never really get any chance to get attached to any of the characters, their backstories are briefly outlined but because they tend to disappear rapidly we don't get a chance to root for anyone, to really appreciate why they are here and why they became an assassin.
The relationship between Ichinose and Tokaku was never properly expanded upon, which is a shame, it would have added another dimension to the anime however this again suffered from time constraints.
As a result we get quite one-dimensional characters with no chance to really learn about what their true motives, drives, etc are.

Enjoyment - 8/10.
I did enjoy this anime, although the last two episodes left me with a "meh" feeling. It looks and sounds good, no glaring errors there, and the story itself is a good watch, and it does get quite gripping at points.
I would recommend this to those who like anime which will have them on the edge of their seats at times, however don't expect a masterpiece.