Akuma no Riddle

Upon the understanding that a film, book or television show will feature assassins as its fundamental aspect, it’s likely that the immediate set of expectations we receive from this falls along the imagery of thrill, excitement and aesthetics. Akuma no Riddle is very much a show that exhibits these types of expectations. It sets the stage for a high-school battle royale well enough by introducing 12 female assassins, each with their own desires, and one target, a girl striving to survive the oncoming ordeal. The assassins and target must all participate in Myoujou Academy’s elusive Black Class, where they’ll assume the guise of high-school students, ... and whoever is able to successfully kill the target may have their any wish granted. However, due to a twist of events, one assassin successfully defects to the target’s side, vowing to protect her at all costs. It is quite an exciting premise and definitely promises those characteristic expectations of assassins. Unfortunately, Akuma no Riddle falls short on the delivery of said expectations and is ultimately a weak series. That is not to say that it fails solely because of its lack of deliverance. Rather, the series’ shortcomings can be directly attributed to a much greater, fundamental flaw located right at its very core. That and one particular misfire that brings down all hopes of the show had of being redeemed.

The particular assassin that defects to the target’s (Haru Ichinose) side is Azuma Tokaku, the central character of Akuma no Riddle. We are affixed to her presence from the show’s very beginning and quickly learn that she is stoic, reserved, and not the most determined assassin out of the bunch. Her reason for defection is not initially made clear by the series though this is not a hindrance but a gateway for speculation that Tokaku has become subtlety attracted to Haru. Tokaku is very much the protagonist of the series though, due to her newfound predicament, she finds Haru, the series deuteragonist, in her company more often than not. Haru is a surprisingly cheery and optimistic girl for a girl of her position, and her grand desire is to achieve friendship with the assassins and graduate from the Black Class, not as enemies but as friends. It seems to be a vain goal but, we learn that through Haru’s past experiences, she has been shaped to think like this. The main characters don’t have the strongest or most convincing characterization they could but, it is done well enough to make them interesting to follow. What’s more interesting than their individual characteristics is their relationship. Tokaku and Haru share an inevitable bond that grows stronger with each assassination attempt, which is a pleasure to watch. It is probably one of the the series’ greatest strength. It’s not long before the series sets us free to discover the other 11 assassins and their motives. The quality of their characterization varies, but Akuma no Riddle sets out to define each and every assassin to their distinct character. However, the success of this greatly hindered by the great limitation of the series: its very own formula.

Harkening back to the rules of the Black Class, assassins must hand in an advance notice to Haru in order for their assassination to be considered valid. From there, they must successfully execute their assassination within a 48-hour limit. Failure upon doing so means expulsion from the Black Class. In retrospect this is where the series limits itself. This is not an apparent limitation but it’s how Akuma no Riddle handles this rule that causes the series to become restricted. From the start of the assassination game, the series decides to formally focus on usually one assassin and their assassination attempt per episode. This type of formula of focusing on a different character each episode is a familiar one, so it’s all up to the execution to make sure that it’s an effective episode with strong characterization and memorable moments. Akuma no Riddle fails to deliver here. With the conflict of the show’s premise (Tokaku protecting Haru from her assassination), the 48-hour time limit, and only one assassination attempt per assassin, it’s obvious that there can be only one outcome. For the sake of the show to continue, it should be no surprise that Haru and Tokaku are able to prevail over their opponents, resulting in the opposing assassin being disqualified, never to be seen at Black Class again. This type of formula can get tired fast and yet, Akuma no Riddle decides to let it dictate nearly the entire series. It gets old seeing the same thing twice, nevertheless the 8th time as well. By deciding to have this formula, the series allows itself to become entrapped in a web of predictability. It doesn’t matter what happens to the protagonists in each episode because you know what the outcome will be. Surprise is effectively killed, despite the series’ best attempts to shake it up now and then. It is a breathe of fresh air when the series does shake it up, but the problem is that the formula is still there when it really shouldn’t be. It’s probably the most roundabout & counterintuitive way to execute the series’ premise.

Predictability is not the formula’s sole crime however. A very important and much focused on aspect of this series is affected as well: characterization. Each episode has a focus character and the show wastes no time in its attempts to characterize them and flesh them out. However, with solely one episode to work on a character (who probably didn’t get a lot of spotlight because prior episodes focused on different characters) Akuma no Riddle’s attempts at characterization are ineffective and insubstantial. There’s just not enough time to develop these assassin-of-the-week characters who won’t be seen again and any attempts that are made are just shallow. Usually a good option for this one-episode-character trope is to have these characters leave an imprint on the main characters and have them develop instead. However, Akuma no Riddle has no desire to do this. It solely attempts to develop these side-characters who will ultimately have no significant outcome on the story. It is entirely futile and the series doesn’t do a particularly good job at making us care for these characters anymore than we did before, no matter how tragic the character is. It’s thanks to this formula of strictly focusing on side characters that the series forgets to focus on the more interesting aspects of the series, like Tokaku and Haru’s relationship. If Akuma no Riddle had focused more on their relationship, we generally would have gotten character development that mattered and watching it would’ve been more rewarding.

With surprise taken out and weak characterization in abundance, surely Akuma no Riddle should be able to soar with exciting, thrilling and aesthetic action. After all, the formula is not strict enough that it needs the action to subscribe to it. As I said earlier, Akuma no Riddle is not able to completely deliver upon these expectations. Assassinations are not as clever or exciting as one would expect. Most assassinations don’t have much effort put into them, they lack effectiveness and creativity, almost as if the assassins aren’t really trying to seriously kill Haru. Though this is unconvincingly addressed by the series later on, it doesn’t make it any more engaging. There’s a point where the series understandably breaks free from its formula, and surprisingly enough, it is almost able to redeem itself. The final three episodes are able to deliver thrilling revelations, truly exciting action, and well-built momentum for an engaging, albeit confusing, finale. However, it is what directly follows the finale that permanently sinks Akuma no Riddle. An epilogue that is meant to give closure to the series, while also attempting to please the viewer ends up becoming a complete misfire. It’s confounding in its own right, but as a direct cause of being an immediate follow-up to the climax, it becomes incredibly jarring and backwards. The finale sets up a definite ending, one that is understandable, and a good one for the series. The epilogue completely rewrites this climax, undermining it as well as everything else the series had built up prior. The bizarreness of this epilogue is outstanding that it’s almost surreal and its disparity with the rest of the series is too apparent.

Akuma no Riddle had all the pieces, but assembly led to mistakes that ultimately brought down the series. It is still has its enjoyable aspects however. Animation, while not incredibly impressive overall, conveys the fight scenes and action quite well. The soundtrack accompanies scenes well, and while nothing stands out, it fits into the background nicely. Character design does stand out thankfully and each assassin has a memorably distinct design, setting them apart from the rest. The OP "Soushou Innocence" is notable in delivering a fittingly moody & energetic tune that fits well with the opening animation. Regarding the EDs, Akuma no Riddle generously gives nearly every assassin their own song which can serve as further characterization as to who they are. For example, the 8th ED "Mayonaka no Toubou" is able to effectively exude the melancholic delusion of a character through its lyrics, tune, and visuals. The art for these EDs are in good quality as well, matching the characters nicely and further indirectly characterizing them. It’s a shame that the series was not able to deliver the same level of characterization with such conviction.

Even with Akuma no Riddle becoming a slave to its own formula, it can still be enjoyed. Tokaku and Haru’s relationship is pleasant to see (when it is actually focused on), the action is decent, reaching an all time high near the end, and some of the characters can still be entertaining (notably the ones given more prominence than others). However, its formula is its greatest enemy, bringing down the deliverance of expectations, characterization, as well as the effectiveness of its story. Along with a questionable epilogue, Akuma no Riddle is weakened and restricted from crafting the exciting, thrilling and aesthetic battle royale it wanted to be.

The concept of the survival game and battle royal is very mainstream today and is favored also by many people, a lot of anime that uses this concept with the objective of achieving huge profits that make anime these days feels more commercial. One of those anime is Riddle Story of Devil or commonly called Akuma no Riddle, a show that comes from Diomedea studio (known for the anime Squid Girl). The story is illustrated in Myojou Academy, a boarding school for women. The school has a special class named Black Class, containing 12 assassin who has a mission to kill 'the target' which ... is in the same class as well.

One of the weaknesses of this anime is the supporting element of the story that almost didn't run at all, the concept of battle royal that usually thrill and exciting can not be felt. Also, the anime is not paying attention the importance of an originality of a masterpiece, the story didn't have an identity. Furthermore, Akuma no Riddle has a plot that is very common, the plot is not well organized and feels very easily predictable from the beginning, the ending looks very forced. There are plot holes that still empty until the end of the story. Exacerbated by many unexpected fan service appear everywhere like rain. These factors above really makes Akuma no Riddle very weak in the story section.

The animation possessed adequate existing standards, as well as the character design. But it doesn't fit with the story feeling, figure portrayed an assassin less on character design.
Even so, there is no problem in that their actions show. In terms of sound and music, Akuma no Riddle quite above average. The opening song very lively, the ending songs is quite interesting because each episode has their own ending songs. While the voice actor does their job adequately.

Deepening the characters in this story concept is difficult, let alone this show consists just 12 episodes, very difficult to make an interesting character in that short periodic of time. This happens on Akuma no Riddle, the anime impose to tell all of the character's past. But do not notice how shallow the development of the character they make, which creates a backfire to the plot. The main character also has a very weak motive and irrational reason in helping the target.

Akuma no Riddle may have a lot of shortcomings in terms of story and character, but it didn't make this show very ugly until you want to dispose of this radioactive far away, maybe recommended for people who are looking for action and fight rather than a story.
Finally, you like it or did not it depends on you.

The term ‘devil’ can transit a variety of reactions towards an audience. Here we have a show named Akuma no Riddle (translated as Riddle Story of Devil). And incidentally, we have an angel-like character with and energetic personality named Haru Ichinose who gets herself into a mess that threatens her very existence. Luckily, she’s not alone because Haru’s got a protector. Her name is Tokaku Azuma and she is not a pushover, not in the art of assassin anyways.

To call Akuma no Riddle a memorable art piece though could be both an understatement and overstatement. For starters, we have a diverse and colorful cast of ... characters who transfers into the infamous all-girls school known as Myojo Academy. One particular class stands out known as the ‘10th Year Black Class’. It’s here where the show tells its story as Haru is marked a target for death by the other transfer students. As a show based on setting of survival, the premise tells of a different setup. Rather than a free-for-all and every killer for themselves, it’s all against Haru. Apparently, the victor gets themselves a wish, something that I’m sure almost everyone wants if they ever had a chance to make a fantasy into a reality. While all this seems interesting at first, the first episode only introduces its premise that is underwhelming. The premise serves a device to show the deadly game as Haru becomes the prey and the transfer students are the predators. It’s easy to figure out the concepts of the game though since the show explains itself early on with the mechanics. The part where it gets confusing is the ultimate purpose of the game. Mystery draws out throughout the show like a riddle with characters in the background such as Nio Hashiri to spellbind the audience’s curiosity.

Throughout the show, there’s an instinctive towards the assassin’s motivations, which differs between every character. However, one prominent attribute involves Tokaku’s will to protect Haru from harm. Her motivation is uncertain besides a few cryptic hints relating to possibly Haru’s past and herself. In essence, the show is one big riddle with her motivations and how they fight for survival at the school. For Tokaku and Haru, they develop a close and innate relationship spawned by the time they spent together. Existing as polar opposites, there’s some development between the two although the duo feels incompatible. For instance, Tokaku is someone who hates others getting close to her and dislike people referring by her first name. On the other hand, Haru is energetic, sociable, and often tries to brighten a gloom and doom atmosphere. Curiosity spawns as how these two can co-exist together as a duo when their lives are at stake every single day at the academy.

Like mentioned before, each assassin is different with a different personality and even killing method of choice. In total, there are 12 of them including Azuma. Here’s where the problem comes in when it follows the adaptation. The manga has only been publishing for about a year and its inconclusive how it will end. In other words, the anime braces itself for a possible anime original ending. But that’s not really the main problem. The main flaw here is characterization and development of the assassins. As a one cour show (12 episodes), the show implies that each assassin gets only about a full episode of screen time. That’s also fallacious because in one particular episode, three assassins are eliminated all the same time while one of them didn’t even get her own chance at Haru’s life. In retrospect, it means that there will hardly be any concentration or focus on an assassin’s character. The only focus it spends is the flashbacks that often feels too centralized, predictable, and sometimes cliché. Director Keizou Kusakawa appeals to the audience with his gimmicks that quickly turns itself into a twisted game as each episode progresses on. More and more students are “transferred out” of the class, but in reality are expelled/killed. His previous works on series such as Sekirei and Campione also relied on a main character to fight for glory and triumph against other skilled adversaries. Here, it follows a similar suit only that it seems episodic in nature. By worst, the series also likes to pull out some oddball conclusion with its finale that seemingly circumnavigate backwards with its original theme but destroying the grim feelings of despair. Perhaps the unaired special OVA will find its way to depict a more accurate image.

Diving into this show also will feel like dark academy adventure. To get the best experience, it would be to familiarize yourself with the various characters. This could be a problem since most of them are hardly relatable as result of their weak development. Not to mention the fact that all the assassins have deadly skills, it’s hard to picture yourself in their shoes in the first place. But luckily, there is a catch of diversity. Each episode offers something new with the characters. They attempt to kill Haru with every chance and seizes that opportunity. The methods they formulate results in creative ideas that although seems gimmicky but is also unorthodox in an unique sense. These include diffusing strategically placed bombs, fighting on stage in front of an audience in the disguise of a school play, or even literally solving riddles. And to further diversity themselves, each character has a different persona whether it’s a sadist (Isuke Inukai), innocent little girl (Hitsugi Kirigaya), assertive (Koko Kaminaga), or even one with dual personalities and among others. Haru’s presence creates a strange vibration between some of these characters as she is too fragile and incomparable to them. It mixes in the wrong way when it comes to developing any sort of relationship with them. And because they are assassins, the only relationship is decided by life and death.

A variety of themes is dealt with throughout the show whether it’s friendship, jealousy, regret, or vengeance. It explores the basics of human nature in a dark way since most of the characters seems to have a troubling life based on the various flashbacks. But these concepts don’t have a profound way to express themselves. Looking at on the surface, there’s a feeling of cuteness molded with dark configuration. Even the girls that fights for “justice” plays roles as anti-heroes rather than a figure of admiration. But for what’s worth, Azuma perhaps the most dynamic character for her self-motivation to protect Haru. In attempts to protect Haru, we learn more about Azuma including parts of her past and visage as an assassin. We also see different sides of her through the relationship between the duo. But ultimately, this comes down to storytelling as the main premise is still intact throughout the series. As Haru is the main target, their relationship is tested by the human nature and instinct.

It’s also explicitly shown that the show does take itself seriously, perhaps too much for its own good. Whether these are the taunting riddles, intimidating expressive eye gestures, or even torture scenes, the show makes its oddball point. But despite this dark nature, it also tries to humor the audience with its gags. These include the yuri vibes between some characters including Haru and Azuma. This shouldn’t be surprising considering the way the show is setup. But other tactics of humor attempt often includes Haru’s lack of sense and the denseness of the classes’ teacher, Ataru Mizorogi. From a motivational case, this doesn’t work right since the show has a grim and more mature setting. The girls are dead serious on killing Haru so when comedy sometimes come into play, it doesn’t balances itself right.

Diomedéa, known for their previous involvement with other game scenario-esque shows such as Problem Children and NouCome adapts similar gimmicks. Only this time, it focuses on the deadly side with its character designs. In fact, every character in the show has an appeal to color themselves as a competitor. Some seems intimidating while others are innocent but all the assassins are deadly in respect when they show their true colors. This is shown prominently by how the camera focuses exclusively on their eyes. It depicts the anti-thesis of schoolgirls are like, especially in a prestigious school. They hide their true nature until the moment comes to strike just like assassins. As far as their face gesture, it crafts this gimmick right by nature. Character outfits are also decorative with distinctive figures to match their personalities. However, do expect some fan-service when it comes to pool episodes, censored bath scenes (TV version) and the shock violence that comes out as cheesy.

The soundtrack isn’t a super powerhouse but does works very well as a supplement to this show when it works with the characters. The most noticeable aspect involves the ED songs as each assassin gets her own theme song (when the episode focuses on them). The OP song remains unchanged however with depiction of the assassins in femme fatale like poses and a catchy aesthetic rhythm. Not to mention, the song contains some spoilerish scenes involving their weapons. For most of the character voices, they show their tone of intimidation and violence. I’d give credit to most of their mannerisms to stay consistent with the characters. However, Haru’s voice mannerism greatly contradicts this with her innocent nature. We also get a variety of soundtrack to depict the heavy action toned sequences. Some works out right while others feels repetitive but ultimately does the job to craft a decent balance of sound mixture.

Akuma no Riddle’s endgame is the fact that the show focuses exclusively more on story rather than character development. Demanding for that would leave you unsatisfied. After all, the ultimate goal of the show is to deliver Haru’s execution and fulfill the wish of an assassin. While all this sounds dandy, it also tries desperately to appeal to the audience with its misplaced comedy, shadowy flashbacks, and shallow character relationships. And although it showcases yuri at times, it isn’t a prominent feature to that end either. But the show does offer great diversity with its colorful character cast. For all its faults, the show’s raison d'etre can still be appealing and leave audience wonder who or what happens next. Make no mistake though. This show isn’t just some Romeo and Juliet story about two girls but rather their tale of survival. Because in their world, the strongest prevail and the weak perish.

Ok, so this is my first review and I'll be as honest and thorough as possible for an readers.

Ok so basically Akuma no Riddle is about a girl named Haru who has to survive a classroom full of assassins. That's really the gist of it. That being said, let me move on to my scores and why I rated them as such.

Story: 4/10
The story was very much lacking in this show, and I say that with utter disappointment. This was a show that when it first started, had the set up to be an awesomely written masterpiece full of character development and ... plot twists. Sadly, that didn't happen. I was hoping for characters that were in the class for ulterior motives, or that had such an elaborate plan that it lasted longer than one episode. This didn't happen at all. This show is basically a generic battle-royal. Not that I have anything against battle-royal style anime and manga, but I honestly expected more out of the show and its characters.
The other disappointing thing, was that whenever a particular assassin was the focal point of an episode, that was it. They got one episode and then done. They got two episodes only if they didn't start their battle in the beginning of their first one.

Art: 7/10
The art was pretty good. It wasn't anything stellar and it certainly had some horrifically drawn moments, but those were very rare and it had plenty of other scenes where the art looked excellent. Not a master piece, but certainly above average.

Sound: 10/10
The sound was probably the highlight of the show. The tracks during the fight scenes were good, and the tracks during emotional scenes were good as well. The best part however, were the OP and the EDs. The OP was amazing, and each assassin had her own ED. So basically when it was that assassin's turn in the show, it played their ED at the end. All of the endings were unique and very very good. The lyrics also reflected the characters extremely well. If you are a fan of anime music, this would definitely be a reason to check out the show.

Character: 6/10
This pretty much plays off the same reasoning I had with the story score. Just as there was a lack of plot twists and really good story development, there was an extreme lack of character development as well. None of the characters were outright terrible to begin with, and some were more interesting than others off the bat. Their personal reasons for wanting to assassinate Haru were pretty much all interesting too, but that's all you get from them. Like I said under story, after they get their one episode spotlight, that's it. So character development really becomes impossible.

Enjoyment: 7/10
I rate this as high as I do, simply because I enjoyed it for what it was; a battle-royal high school anime. Sure if I take into account the poor story, lack of character development, and the ending (wont spoil it at all, but just me personally, I didn't enjoy it) then I would rate it a lot lower. That's precisely why my overall score is lower. BUT if you take the show at face value and just accept it for being a generic battle-royal with a bunch of fighting between unique assassins, then it's pretty entertaining to watch.

Overall: 5/10
When I take every part of the show into consideration, I cant score it anything better than mediocre. While it didn't completely blow at anything, it didn't excel at anything either, especially in parts it should have. The story could have been SOOO much more, and along those lines a better story could have brought much more in depth characters. I wont say it isn't enjoyable to watch, but if you're looking for some masterpiece of a story, with characters that will blow your mind, then this show is not for you. If you're just looking for an action anime, with good music and very minimum yuri, then you might want to take a look at Akuma no Riddle.

Just an extra tid-bit here - but if you're one of those people that flocks to the manga to get more details or if the anime has a bad adaptation, then don't. This is one of the EXTREMELY RARE cases where the anime is better than the manga...and I mean significantly better.

Just finished watching the 6th Episode.Though it started so well(first 2 episodes)it really failed to deliver a solid story and explanation of whats really going on

Pros: Graphics( I consider graphics slightly above average close to good,and thats mainly of the decent fights i have seen, beyond that it isnt anything speciall) -Soundtracks(I like em very much and they are very close to the specific enviroment this anime tries to deliiver)

Cons:where i should start.. Well Haru is one of the most annoying anime charaters i've ever faced,her life is threaten daily and she faces her possible assasins with an annoying smile and a way of ... a total unrealistic looseness and kindness

Story:Its swallow and total unrealistic in many ways.

I am really pissed off with this anime cause first episodes gave me the impression of something good.Truth is that it is just an awkard situation where a girl goes to school with some assasins and she is trying to be friends with them, even though she knows they want her in pieces. 5.5/10 its my score graphs and OSTs save it for the day

Please note that this review may contain minor spoilers. You have been warned.

*Updated 20/06/2014

"The world is filled with (___)." -Kaiba

This anime has been called several names including "'Danganronpa but less shitty." Were they right? Well... maybe. Both certainly have their pro's and con's and even though they are similar in terms of topic, I don't feel the need to compare them.

Today I will be reviewing the highly anticipated yuri hyped anime known as Akuma no Riddle.

...

Story - 6/10
Akuma no Riddle (AnR for short) is set in a high school (because apparently nothing interesting ever happens outside of one) in which 12 assassins have chosen to partake in some sort of a contest. The assassins share one common interest. Each with the goal of assassinating our main protagonist Ichinose Haru with the hopes that they will receive the prize that comes with it. A chance to make one request of any kind a reality, but if they fail their attempt they are expelled and forced to leave the competition. This is where our main heroine Tokaku comes to play. Even though her original mission was to assassinate Haru, she grows fond of her and decides to be the one that protects her. Now it is 11 assassins vs one target and a protector.

The overall premise of the story isn't really unheard of with there being a competition in which one must kill to succeed, but I applaud it for trying to bring a more refreshing topic in mind.

The problem with this story is that after you finish the series it leaves you with no fulfillment. They manage to create so many asspulls and plotholes in one abrupt moment, that after you are finished with the series it makes you feel that everything you've learned or seen about the characters had no meaning in the end. You are just left there; confused with a bunch of questions unanswered.

Art - 8/10
Although the style of art in an anime shouldn't be the deciding factor of whether or not its worth watching or not, (Ping Pong the animation being the greatest example I can think of) I constantly see my opinions being influenced because of it. I found myself having no problems with Akuma no Riddle's art quality. AnR's art quality was actually quite nice. It fits the quality of an 2014 anime (of a 2014 anime art style) and is actually above average during its high points. The fight scenes were interesting and nice to look at, but the art that really stood out for me was the custom ending's (ED's) made for each antagonist in the anime. I found that these were creative, well thought out, and well executed. These little things I feel help differentiate from your typical anime and is definitely refreshing to see.

Sound - 8/10
The soundtrack of AnR is actually on par. The opening "Soushou Innocence" is very catchy, and has its high moments. (especially when it gets to the chorus) The different ED's was what made this area stand out. Choosing to play a different ending song every episode was very interesting and having it sung by the characters themselves was an exceptional bonus as well. The combination of these endings was what made each of them stand out on its own and was well executed. The OST's in this anime are okay, but none of them really struck me as something that stands out on its own. That being said, it wasn't bad. Overall as long as the soundtrack helped compliment the anime, then it has done its job, which I felt it has.

Character - 6/10
This is the section where I feel AnR required some work in. I enjoy yuri as much as the next person, but I felt that the other characters (the antagonists) were basically just catalysts for Tokaku and Haru to build their relationship and nothing more. Any form of character development from the antagonist's are thrown out of the window, as after their 'feature' episode, they are basically gone without any recognition in the later episodes except for possibly a few mentions. This is why this anime feels a bit empty. Any form of bond gained between the antagonist's and the viewers are cut, never to be seen again. (I should write my own drama novel lmao) Overall, i'm just disappointed in this section as if it payed more attention to its side characters it could have shined.

Enjoyment - 7/10
Overall before ending - 7.5/10 Overall after ending - 6/10

Overall, I felt that I did not regret watching this. Although there are components that prevented this anime from excelling,it was not done terribly. Hell, i'd even recommend it to some people if they enjoy anime's like these with an assassination type feel, but it certainly wouldn't be the top choice i'd recommend for that type of anime. If the premise and the synopsis interest you, then you should check it out BUT lower your expectations. After finishing this series/ending with high expectations, I was quite dissapointed. There are some parts that are ridiculously stretched (when you find it, you'll see it clearly) and just dissapoints me because this anime had the potential to be so much more. If you are planning to watch this anime don't expect this to be a breakthrough in its genre or you will be quite dissapointed.

Akuma no Riddle:
Highlights:
-action sequences are nicely animated
-opening/ending themes are find but depends on personal taste
-the yuri is there, sometimes
-don't think too much while watching it

Having only 12 episodes and way too many characters for it to handle, I have doubts on how Akuma no Riddle will do in terms of the development of its casts as well as its story and as it turns out, my intuition did not fail me. The characters indeed lack depth and development for viewers to sympathize with their hardships and trials, this include the two main characters Tokaku and Haru. The story didn't progress ... much from the given plot either as one can already predict exactly what will happen except maybe in the last few episodes which in my opinion have plot devices coming out of nowhere without proper build up.

However, with brain turned off, Akuma no Riddle can be quite enjoyable. The fight scenes have such fluid animation and are so fun that I didn't even mind much that they are unrealistic and in times dumb and does not make sense. The romance factor, though not as well handled as the action do have some of its moments and are able to entertain for a bit.

In conclusion, if you don't have anything else to watch, try Akuma no Riddle, why not? Though it's not exactly the "I highly recommend this!" type of anime, it can be fun. just don't question it's logic too much, your head will explode

Akuma no Riddle has a fairly decent premise and the art is nice, but it loses itself in tropes, a rushed story and a deus ex ending.

The story follows Tokaku and Haruka, one an assassin and the other the target of a class full of assassins. The characters themselves are very one dimensional, and because the anime was so short, we barely get any character development before the characters are booted out of the plot and quickly forgotten about. I've seen it compared to the Dangan Ronpa anime in this respect, but I feel that the Dangan Ronpa anime was a little more enjoyable. ...

The anime appears to have a yuri setting, but other than gratuitous panty shots, bondage and bath scenes, there seems to be very little actual romance - probably because there is literally not enough time for it.

The ending leaves you unsatisfied and wondering what the hell I spent the past 12 weeks watching this for.

Just curious, how longer will they be smashing the hopes of poor viewers in the end of the series? Why should they make every second one into something sticky, made of a concentrated purple goo? Yep, Akume no Riddle, it’s about your creators.
Characters fap-fap-fap. I couldn’t get a grip of the m=names, expect for Haru (Haru wo mamoru, I’ll be saying this while doing illogical things). The main heroine is fit to become an ideal soldier, why don’t they have more of her. And the others! Stamp in on stamp here, raw materials barely make a single line. Even in Danganronpa they had it kinda ... more livelily. Mi-nu-s.
Dat logic made me getting a vicious dump. I thought the director is the laziest man in the world. I was about getting my on-duty washbowl, when… *spoiler*. And that’s it! Everything fell into place. Then *spoiler* again. The problems I even wasn’t aware of have got rid of. Yet the final scene disturbed the good impression, I think that’s because some people have a bit too much vitality. But it’s a plus.
The same goes for the place. At first you are scrambled upon some black classes, assassins, way too elite schools… *spoiler* makes everything clear. The world at once becomes well-made and ready-to-defend-itself-against-your-criticism. Well yeah, just not bad, it has noting new or interesting in particular., and it’s wasn’t even planned that way. Simply plain.
GRAFICS. And SOUNDING. I frealing love it when each episode has its own ending theme. There are even descent ones. The opening is much more promising than the anime itself, and you can’t ignore it. At least everything is pretty and well-animated! Characters fap-fap-fap (da voices even make my desire stronger), especially the red-haired one, left behind near the end. Haru is quite something too. And the school. And it’s a plus.
The plot. The plot. It seems there is one, but on the other hand – is it needed? – you think for yourself while watching before *spoiler* occurs. Then it happens, and… What’s “and”? An artless “kill or be killed” story with a tiny bit of pure girls’ love. The last episodes start to interpret the previous ones freely, adding up a certain degree of THE DRAMA, but without answering the questions. As I seem to respect THE DRAMA here, there’s no minus.
Well… minus-plus… turns out to be a mediocre, casual anime which, however, has everything it takes to excite an unsophisticated viewer. If you don’t look into details much, you can even gain pleasure of it. It ain’t like you are anime for its final, right? Yet sure thing you won’t be looking forward to the promised sequel, damn it… Have a look at cute schoolgirls? Here you go. They even have weapons! I don’t know a man who’d stay calm and, ermmm, not get excited.
5/10. It’s normal; there are much more bad things. But for you to know – you should watch this BEFORE Danganronpa and stuff.

Sometimes, when you're browsing through the new lineup for a given anime season, certain words will catch your eye; words that make you think "Oh hey, this show has a lot of stuff that I like in it. This is totally for me." A few weeks pass by and not much has happened in that show yet, but you're still fine because the good part has to be coming up soon. Then, by the end of the season, you're left only with the feeling that you've somehow been swindled out of five hours of your life by a promise that was not kept, and that ... is where we begin today...

Thirteen students at Myōjō Academy, a private boarding school for girls, have recently joined what is known as "10th Year Class Black." However, the situation is a bit different from your ordinary classroom. In Class Black, twelve of the students are expertly-trained assassins, and the thirteenth is the target. If one of the assassins manages to take out the target, they will be granted one wish from the benevolent benefactor of the school. Soon after the school year begins, Tokaku Azuma, an assassin from the infamous Azuma clan, discovers that the target is Haru Ichinose, a rather friendly member of the class. However, instead of assassinating her, Tokaku ends up developing feelings for Haru and swear to protect her from the rest of the class.

So, let's recap what would most likely draw people to this series in the first place: 1. Assassins, and 2. Yuri (Girl Love). Starting with the first point, one would think that, for a show with eleven different assassins going after the same person, the ways in which someone is killed would be rather creative, and for the most part that would have been true. The different techniques and weapons used by each assassin, from deadly poison to straight-up smashing people with giant hammers, was an interesting facet of the show. Now, you might have noticed that I prepared that last statement with the phrase "would have," and that's because this series makes a mistake so unbelievably unforgivable that it made me question whether or not the writers even knew what as assassin was. That's right: no one died, and many of them, after failing to kill Haru, sort of just walk off in shame and aren't seen again til the epilogue. I really hate to start with such a huge spoiler so early, but...why?! They're assassins!

The worst part was that, until the last five minutes or so, it looked like we did have a few deaths, with two of them that happened at the same time making up what I considered to be the emotional climax of the show (at the halfway point of the series mind you); but then the decided at the end to go "Oh yeah everyone's still alive by the way." The people who were stabbed in the chest, drank highly-potent poison, and were crushed under falling theater lighting were all A-OK. When someone says "assassin," you don't think "person who subdues their target in the most over-the-top way possible without actually killing them." It's like how Naruto has been woefully abusing the word "ninja" for the past decade.

So, the assassin part is officially belly-up, which leaves us with the yuri. The popularity of yuri in anime has been growing steadily over the past few years, but there hasn't really be a "be-all end-all" title to represent the genre. Does Akuma no Riddle fit the bill? Absolutely not. While they say that Tokaku has fallen for Haru, they never really show any chemistry between them. I'm pretty sure Tokaku spends more time deflecting attacks from the other assassins than she does actually having a conversation with Haru.

There's also a very huge discrepancy with the "yuri" label that needs to be addressed. Were we in Japan, I would not have addressed this at all; but as a westerner using western sites to look up anime, it's extremely discouraging to see some sites not understand the difference between yuri and shoujo-ai. To put it briefly, yuri covers relationships of a more sexual nature (kissing, sex, etc.), while shoujo-ai covers the more intimate and emotional aspects of the relationship without being more explicit. So, at best, Akuma no Riddle barely makes the cut for shoujo-ai, but doesn't even come close to breaking into yuri territory. Thankfully, I have seen some sites backtrack on their labels and switch it to shoujo-ai, but that initial mistake was still an upsetting one.

Character development for this was an absolute mess as well. I will admit that we do get some details and developments on Tokaku and Haru and how the class is affecting them, and I did care a little bit about them by the end of the series. However, the other eleven were practically throw away characters. I can't even remember most of their names as I'm typing this because they left so little of an impression on me. The only ones I actually cared about were Hitsugi and Chitaru, as they had the most spectacular "deaths" out of everyone and also managed to have better yuri moments that Tokaku and Haru.

The animation was done by Diomedéa, also responsible for Noucome and Mondaiji, and this is the only aspect of this series that stood out for positive reasons. The fight sequences were exceptionally well-choreographed and well-animated, though the environments tended to default to a drab gray color sometimes. They also had the good sense to make the character designs extremely diverse, as making any of these characters too similar would have led me to be extremely confused, on account of how little characterization they gave to everyone. My only complaint is that the fan service wasn't really all that interesting, and, to be honest, it kind of turned me off sometimes.

There is currently no dub, but, as this show rests with FUNimation, a dub would probably be an improvement on this show. I'm not sure how popular this show really is though, so the assurance of a dub actually coming out is still up in the air.

The music was composed by Yoshiaki Fujisawa, who also composed for Love Live! and Rail Wars. In keeping with what seems to be the theme recently, Fujisawa makes very heavy use of intense electronic music to set each scene on edge and to hype up fight sequences. It's a shame that "Sōshō Innocence" by Maaya Uchida had to be attached to this show, as it was hands-down my favorite opening theme from this season, with its heavy driving rock sound getting me excessively pumped to watch each episode. Additionally, each episode had a different ending theme, with my personal favorites being for episodes 5 and 10-12.

In the end, Akuma no Riddle was nothing more than a total betrayal of my expectations. The assassins didn't kill anyone, there was barely any yuri, and no amount of epic fight scenes could forgive that.
I give Akuma no Riddle a 5/10 and recommend that you skip this series. However, if you are still interested in watching it, the series is currently licensed by FUNimation and it available for streaming from their site.
For alternate recommendations, I point you towards a murder/mystery series also set in a classroom: Danganronpa the Animation; and for an alternate take on a battle royale-esque scenario with one contestant defending another, we once again come to The Future Diary.

(updated 9/19/18 to match format with other reviews, slight content revision)

Hi! Welcome to another Robert's Too Late Reviews! As always, the synopsis is your friend, and there could be SPOILERS but I do try my very best to avoid/minimize them. Working the dubbed version. If you've seen some of my reviews, I can be a little forgiving, but alas, Akuma no Riddle doesn't leave much room for positive elements. There are surely more wasteful anime out there, but there are MANY more that towers over this in quality, so there are better uses of your time. Will this make the RTLR wall of fame? You ... might be surprised! Let's get into it.

Story: 3
The entire premise of a prestigious school recruiting a special class of assassins to just kill a single target, and then impose tons of rules on how the hit can go down is just ridiculous beyond words. It would have made more sense for the assassins to find the target on their own means and attempt to attack than to pool them together and say 'wait your turn now!' They're all supposed to be pro killers, why would they ever even bother with this setup? There are better ways to write in a killer facing down her target than what we're given. Worse still, one assassin who has never killed yet somehow made the cut for a class of super killers, decides to protect the target character with what i would call murky motivations at best. The story comes across as a half baked thought someone scribbled on a napkin then, without further refinement, just threw it together.

Art: 7
The art wasn't bad, the animation seemed to flow well from my perspective, though it was not anything to write home about. It was kind of middle of the road to slightly good side. Not much more to say on it.

Sound: 7
I dig the intro song, the rock style matches the theme of assassinations and action, so that's a positive, and in an interesting twist, each episode features a different ending song that is related to the assassin that was featured in that episode taking their turn to kill the target. Some of the songs are odd, but mostly they seemed to fit the assassin's they were written for. It was a nice touch and not something I've come across previously.

Character: 5
As I said, the main pacifist assassin doesn't really have a good reason to throw her lot in with the target, but does so anyway. The target is made to be somewhat mysterious in her background and such as an attempt to inflate the sagging story, but that fails as well. The target comes to a point where she admits she knows everyone's out to kill her, and is still cheery and ready for class each day. If I found out my entire class was only there to kill me, I think I'd play hookey for.....well forever!

The assassins' themselves are a mixed bag, some are cool, others are just disappointing. Each killer uses a personalized weapon, say a knife or a sword, or bombs and poison. This anime does feature one of my favorite characters, a split personality killer who is mild mannered by day, and stark raving mad and in a murderous rage at night. I like crazy girls, what can I say? There's also a weird set of an obviously older assassin who watches over a much younger one. This one tips way too close to an inappropriate relationship for my tastes. There are a few redheads that are basically slight variations of each other, and the 'MC' of the killer competition is just straight up annoying.

If not for Jamie Marchi's character (yes she's been in EVERYTHING but I'm a fan anyway) and the ultimately awesome hammer wielding Mahiru Banba, the assassin group would be a bore.

Enjoyment: 4
I was not expecting much because the basic plot is clearly too contrived, but I watched, hoping for some awesome assassin action. There are a few moments, but not enough to justify the amount of time invested to see them.

As I came towards the end of the series, I could think of 3 or maybe even 4 twist endings they could use that would have just really made it so worth it, but again, what seems to be lazy or uninspired writing took the day and the show limped to the end. There are too much good anime to waste time on this one like I did. Strangely enough as much as I felt 'meh' about this anime, it ranked two pics on the wall, one purely for Banba (hammertime!) and one of the bodyguard and the target girl because I like romance, even when it's kinda limp. Still, pass.

Akuma no Riddle: The Intriguing Battle Royale with Squandered Potential
Akuma no Riddle was an interesting take on the battle royale genre, that ultimately failed in delivering its promising concept. I won't go through the story as the synopsis is written down, but I will address some mild spoilers so keep that in mind if you want to go in 100% blind.
Story: 6/10
Unfortunately, the strongest aspect of this show was its plot. Most battle royale anime put a group of competitors against each other, with the last man standing as the winner. However, this show takes the concept and flips it on its head, by having ... only one murder target, while everyone else is a competitor. With such an interesting premise, I was expecting this show to be really well made. Although, despite having such a fantastic idea, the delivery was horrendous. Without spoiling the show, I'll mention that the main plot twists and threads are introduced not when it's relevant, but when it's convenient. This results in the progression being rather convoluted. The story doesn't flow naturally, and feels like it is constantly travelling back and forth between plot threads that are introduced with abysmal timing. Akuma no Riddle wasted so much potential, and it really hurts me to see such an awesome idea go to waste.
Art: 6/10
The art isn't exactly bad by any means, but it's nothing outstanding either. It's the kind of art you'd expect from a standard battle royale anime. At times the fight scenes had some interesting perspective shots that added to the intensity, but they were few and far between. If anything, these occasional jumps in quality were somewhat jarring to the show, and made the production quality feel inconsistent. The only time I really felt inclined to keep my eyes focused on the screen was during the opening.
Sound: 6/10
The sound design is nothing to write home about. The effects are your run-of-the-mill style sounds, although the music was very well composed. The opening song got me excited to watch the show, and the music played throughout the show was used at the perfect times. I feel that sometimes, the music was a little unnecessary, but not exactly harmful either. It was there, but didn't at all impact the scene in any way.
Character: 4/10
This will by far be the longest part of my review, because the characters were so poorly written that I would've been better off watching Sword Art Online. Yes, I really do think they're that bad.
The main character (Tokaku) is an apathetic edgy stereotype. She shows no empathy towards other characters and is constantly acting "cynical" however this cynicism simply comes across as blind and ignorant negativity. Although she strongly expresses her care for our side protagonist (Haru), she hardly ever gives her the respect she deserves. Tokaku acts like a two headed snake, doing anything she can to protect Haru one second, only to talk Haru's ideas and hopes down the next. As a protagonist, she blunders not only due to being cruel, but also due to her lack of relatability.
A key aspect of Tokaku's character is her lack of parents. Both her mother and father are deceased, and I imagine the creator of the manga did this to provide a motivation for her constant negativity. It doesn't really feel like a solid motivation though, and feels like a backstory someone would write for their Sonic OC. It doesn't make her character feel interesting or easier to sympathize with, it quite simply feels cliche and half-baked.
The saddest part of the characters, is that despite Tokaku being the protagonist, every other character in the show was more fleshed out than her. That isn't to say that the other characters are well written though, because they still feel like one-dimensional stereotypes. Most characters only got one episode each, which didn't give viewers enough time to grow attached. We got around twenty-two minutes to see what drove them. While some characters had some thought provoking motives, others were basic, almost flat. Much like the animation, the character quality was inconsistent and felt jarring to the show's progression.
Enjoyment: 6/10
Despite the harsh criticism I've given the show, I'll give credit where it's due. The music was an absolute blast to listen to, and the story itself had a really kick-ass premise with some interesting twists along the way. So, would I recommend this show? Well, it could serve as good background noise if you need that, but otherwise it isn't all that great.
Overall: 5/10
I do think I am being a little harsh on this anime, but it isn't all that amazing regardless. Overall, I'll give it a 5/10. It lacked a lot of substance and could have done a lot more with some extra episodes and a good director.

This is my first review here. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading.

Akuma no Riddle is an anime full of girls that are all targeting one girl - Haru Ichinose. After watching this anime, I can affirm that it definitely deserves the MAL ranking it has right now. This review will be mainly spoiler free, as all of my reviews.

STORY: 4. When watching through this, I had so much trouble figuring out the true purpose of the story. Why are all the girls gathered to kill Haru? Why are so many girls involved (12 girls + Haru!!!)? What's with the riddles that Tokaku, the MC, gets from the one guy via a text message? After I finished ... the anime, I kinda understand where the story is going at, but the way it was presented was so confusing especially towards the end. Then at the end, I was lost for words, in a bad way. If you're reading this and you watched it through, you'll understand my point of view.

ART/SOUND: 7. These two categories is the only high point in this anime. The fighting and sound quality was good. Nothing that impressive, but it was alright stuff. If you are looking for a bit of action, the fight scenes are good, and the animation is good. Also, I liked the opening music :).

CHARACTER: 3. I felt like if you needed a reason to hate this anime, here it is. Since there are so many girls and only so many episodes, how in the world are you going to pull off developing the characters effectively? Honestly, it came to the point where we got to know about each girls brief backstory and then they became irrelevant for the rest of the anime, with exception to the MC Tokaku and Haru, and maybe 1 or 2 more. It's only really Tokaku and Haru that we get an understanding of their story.

Literally every single girl in the class of 13 girls had such distinctive, different personalities. If you could form a list of popular anime character types, most of the girls would fall into a distinct type for sure. Some people I guess might like this but I personally did not.

Again, while we're on the topic of characters, I was extremely disappointed with the ending of the anime. If you've finished the anime, you'll know what I'm talking about.

ENJOYMENT: 4. I came into this anime not having a clue about what it's about. It seemed okay at first, then gradually, and gradually, my enjoyment sunk as I saw a great deal of flaws coming out of this anime. Normally, animes that have some flaws won't bother me - I'm not really that picky with what I watch. It just added up and the things that bothered me only ended up repeating after each episode.

OVERALL: 5. Animation and sound passes. Story and character, not so much. If you are looking for some action and a bit of suspense, this anime will give you some. There were many flawed parts that really dropped my score for this anime, but it wasn't completely terrible. I managed to get through it at least.

The yuri genre is a very controversial genre. It may seem difficult to find an enjoyable yuri anime, seeing how so many of them are flawed. A large portion of the anime in this genre frequently feel the need to constantly remind you of the genre by throwing a vast amount of fan service in your face as a requiem of some sort. Akuma no Riddle just almost crosses the threshold and had amazing potential.

STORY - "Battle royals are so cliche tho! I don't want to watch this shit!" Well Internetman how do you successfully counter a cliche and generic premise? You have two ... options, poke fun at the plot with satire or spend your entire budget to make it the best cliche you have ever seen. Akuma no Riddle tries to make the battle royal setting feel unique, but it took away the very element made so many people like death matches in the first place. Without the overwhelming suspense from shows such as Mirai Nikki, you lost what made us interested in the first place.

Furthermore, simply the idea of the ending sounds like it was coined while masturbating on the toilet somewhere in the Sahara Desert. It feels very last minute and leaves a lot of plot holes.


ART - What held this anime up was it's animation. It felt very aesthetically pleasing, which I don't usually see in Yuri. The character designs aren't anything to jerk it over, but they are not bad.


SOUND - The sound in this show is surprisingly well done. The opening theme song got me HYPE AS FUCK. Each different character had their own ending theme song which was cool. Again, nothing to jerk yourself over.

Character - I've said it plenty of times before, but fuck it I'll say it again. YOU CANT FUCKING TELL 12 PEOPLE'S BACKSTORY IN THIS SHORT OF A FUCKING SERIES. This had so much backfire, which resulted in a collective disinterest in the main heroine.

FINAL VERDICT - 6.2 There were a plethora of things holding this series back. If the characters were developed better and that ending didn't happen, it would've been a 8/10.

SEE YA LATER FUCKERS!!!

It is truly a shame when a certain element of a show binds the hands of the viewer, and masks the brighter qualities that made it so very watchable. What could have been praise-worthy material is brought down to a rather anti-climatic end. It stops the viewer, painfully, from giving a score that it would otherwise deserve.

Action. Drama. Gore. Intensity. They're all there in Akuma no Riddle, and certainly is a feast for the eyes and the mind for those who enjoy strong plot development. With so many unique assassins targeting a single individual, there is an incredible amount of potential for many exciting ... scenes, something AnR delivers with ease. The characters truly make the show, as the animation and voice acting harmonize well and make the premise believable and enjoyable to watch. Especially for some of the characters, the voice acting is simply superb, blending in with the atmosphere and the unease. One can simply feel the pure insanity and unbridled desire to kill radiating from some of the more "unstable" characters. The combat scenes are smooth and lack no amount of quality, even to the very end. Dialogue remains consistently thought-provoking. Motive remains unclear. All of these things build on the tension and anticipation of the finality, preparing the viewer for what just may be an incredible ending. A chance to wrap everything up in one delicious burrito.

But the ending is paramount, especially for a show such as AnR that introduces such a brave method of plot progression. I detest using the analogy of the roller coaster, but it describes this case, most unfortunately, perfectly. This roller coaster is like a ride that goes up and up and up, and then stops at a station on the very top, and the people who rode it take the stairs to get back down to ground level.

The reason for my great disappointment is the lack of courage by the author. Because, profound things do happen to the characters. Profound things, and some of them VERY much irreversible. But the final two episodes did not, in my opinion, do any justice to all of the time spent developing the characters and the situation. It is an ending where everyone is alright, feels alright, and are better people for going through adversity. An open ending. An ending where everyone lives, and everyone wins!

Here, it is a negation of the struggles that every single character went through. Here we find that death and defeat are no longer realistic factors, and everything is at a null. Back to square zero. The only thing that has changed is the relationship between the two main heroines (which didn't even develop as fully as I would have liked, due to one of them being a kuudere).

Assuming that you have seen the anime, or read the Synopsis on Akuma no Riddle, lets go straight into the review:
WARNING: POSSIBLY SOME SPOILERS AHEAD IN STORY CATEGORY!
(Going to do Story last)

Art/Animation: 7/10
The art/animation was good, there wasn't anything that caught my eye that looked amazing, but there was nothing that was bad.

Sound: 9/10
The music in this anime was amazing, the music during the fights set the mood perfectly for every assassin. My favorite though was the opening song, that got me pumped up to watch the show every time. The endings were all good, with a few unique songs that stood ... out. I liked how each episode there was an ending song for each assassin, and also for the target, Haru.

Characters: 7/10
Most (if not all) characters had their time to shine, most getting their own episode to show their reason for being an assassin. Though, I feel they didn't do enough for some characters, and I ended up not feeling anything towards them at the end of the episodes/anime. One thing I really hated was that Haru stayed pretty much the same throughout the show - very gullible and naive, constantly saying she wants everyone to graduate, pretty much forgetting that everyone around her is AN ASSASSIN that wants to KILL HER!

Enjoyment: 7/10
The fight scenes were enjoyable, some plot twists that kept me watching the show, along with the music, not much to say here.

Story: 4/10
The story... my god this was a mess. Not to mention that the series was very unoriginal, and felt extremely episodic, almost every assassin getting an episode for their attempt. I felt I knew exactly what was going to happen even before I started each episode (with the exception of a couple). Also, THAT ENDING, I HATE that some of the assassins somehow MAGICALLY LIVED through this... Especially the Romeo/Juliet girls... Ugh.

Overall: 5/10
If it wasn't for the story(which I think is the most important part of shows), this would have gotten probably a 7 or 8 out of 10. Would not recommend this to anyone unless this was their type of anime.

Akuma no riddle can best be described as a waterdowned version of danganronpa or no more heroes. There's a whole lot of potential but not much bite. This can be attributed not the fact this show is based off a manga written by yun Kouga. Loveless is the only other manga I read by her but I can tell there isn't much impact in her writing. Just like how loveless is a shonen ai with barely any romance much less non ambiguously gay characters, akuma no riddle is a action survival series filled with fluff.

The basic premise is that Haru Ichinose is ... enrolled into this class filled with highly trained assassins and they all want to kill her. Except for the other lead characters, Tokaku. Having show where the Mc must survive multiple assassin attempts with the help of her bodyguard sounds like a really cool set up but the execution ( both figuratively and literally) is where things fall apart. Haru spends most of time being chatty with her would be killers and always acts so surprised when they try to kill her. Anime writers need to understand there's a difference between optimism and plain old stupidity. No rational person would act like this and tokaku calls her out on this multiple times.

There's also the weird fact that each assassin is only allowed one chance to kill Haru and they all just give up after they fail. They're each promised a wish should they win and they all decide to try to kill Haru in the most elaborate ways possible. Plot armor is the only reason why none of them were smart enough to just catch Haru alone and snap her neck. It's like this show is afraid to get too gruesome and just goes for the most passive way possible. I admire tokaku for her no killing stance but she could've still severely crippled those evil girls.

I do admit I found most of The assassins to have interesting backstories and motives. They could've benefited from a longer format to fully flesh out their characters. I don't like how the morality of the characters isn't really addressed and Haru never seems bothered that she surrounded by assassins. There really isn't any justice here. I also love the cinematic feel the soundtrack has. It made me feel like I was watching a movie even though the show would show any thing impressive enough for such music. Overall, akuma no riddle could've been much better in the hands on someone who actually knows how to write an action thriller and didn't just make what felt like an LMN version No more heroes.

I liked the set-up and idea of this anime, and it jumps right into the story as well. Good thing, 'cus it isn't very long.

However, the characters are very weak. They're supposed to be these highly-skilled and/or smart assassins, but really they are not. It's hard to really get into it or have a sense of danger and excitement when the antagonists and protagonists continuously make stupid, obvious mistakes.

Art, sound, etc was "okay" but nothing groundbreaking or memorable.

I did like the first ending. Near the end, there's a few pretty good and unexpected plot twists that I didn't expect for this anime. I also liked ... the conclusion of the character arcs, it felt completed.

However, the show manages to ruin this ending with a 2nd end, I think it was in the final half of the last episode. In that end, they ret-con a bunch of stuff. I would have liked it better had I not seen that part.

If you've read other reviews, yes, Akuma no Riddle has lot's of potential, but it did not fulfill.

But, if you're an avid anime watcher, you wouldn't expect much from this anime in the first place.

Sure, survival games can always be somewhat interesting, but immediately, if you'll notice, Akuma no Riddle has a less than 7 rating on MAL, 13 characters and 12 episodes. (13 if you count the OVA)

That formula itself is not good. With so many characters and so little episodes you can predict the anime will try to give each character its own little piece of screen time, but it did not work ... out well.

Akuma no Riddle followed an episodic format that made it predictable.
Seeing each characters backstories and failed attempts just gets boring. But probably my biggest issue with this anime is that the characters....
are pretty dumb.

So, you have Haru Ichinose, she's being targeted, right? She knows this and even gets a notice every time someone will attempt to kill her, and you know what? SHE'S STILL FRIENDLY WITH THEM!?

I mean seriously, if people have tried to kill this girl her ENTIRE LIFE, If you, are in a dark room with another girl assassin, and you just got a notice that you will be killed, you DON'T GO AND ASK:

"Oh, Haruki-san? Have you seen Tokaku-san? She wrote me a memo of how she wanted to see me here urgently..."

NO, BITCH, YOU RUN.

I mean seriously, this girl Haru's dream is to want to live right? WELL IT SURE DON'T SEEM LIKE IT.

And not just Haru, the assassins have less sense than an empty piggy bank too.

If you kill this girl, you can get ANY WISH. So even if you are SKILLED, COCKY, ASSASSINS.
WE ARE TALKING ANYTHING HERE.
Some of their logic and ways they want to kill her, well, let's just say I could do better than they could. In the cast of characters, we also have the most dense and naive homeroom teacher ever to grace the earth. YOU SERIOUSLY WOULDN'T SUSPECT ANYTHING IF 7 PEOPLE TRANSFERRED IN THE COURSE OF A WEEK?

But anyway, those are just the main problems, packed with the confusing ending which actually managed to somehow undo plot twists.

If you see Akuma no Riddle, I will admit, it seems interesting. Not the best art and animation, but for me I really liked it, the anime even dedicated a different ending song for each character. IT SEEMS INTERESTING, IT DOESN'T FOLLOW THROUGH!

But anyway, some good points, music is good, like I said before, each character has their own ending, the opening grew on me too, it really sets up the mood, but unfortunately, the anime wasn't as dark as I expected.

You might enjoy it, I...wanted to enjoy it, but I'm sure most of us MALians will agree it didn't fulfill much of it's potential.

Thanks for reading!

Going into this anime I didn't really have any expectations. The concept was interesting enough, but it wasn't something I hadn't seen before in one way or another.

Tokaku Azuma, the story’s main protagonist, is sent to Myojo Academy to participate in a competition between other assassins where the main objective is to murder Haru Ichinose (for seemingly unknown reasons). After vowing to protect Haru, both of their developments take a backseat to the side characters.

The show tries so desperately to cycle through each assassin within such a limited amount of time, that even the characters with the right potential just end up falling ... flat.

Not much is known about ANY of the characters until their designated episode comes up, and even then, it’s cut in half because the anime tries so hard to explain their back story. I’d say that there was SOME foreshadowing with a few of the later characters, but a lot of it felt so cryptic that the anime actually needed to hold my hand.

The show’s strongest character is Tokaku. Although her relationship with Haru felt forced at times, Tokaku really was the most consistent character of this story. Her motivations and development were at times overshadowed by the next punching bag’s struggle, but at least an effort was made to prove she wasn’t a completely 1 dimensional character. Aside from her, the only other notable characters are Haru and Nio.

Fortunately, the art was good. There were times where it seemed a little awkward, but for the most part, it was refreshing and clean. There’s nothing notable about it, but at least you won’t get eye strain just from looking at it. Some of the girls had a nice design, too.

The plot, much like the characters, is a bit rushed and sloppy. Actually, I would go so far as to say that the real plot ends prematurely. After a certain episode, it’s all exposition and resolution. This wasn’t really a bad thing considering how many characters it had to shuffle through, but I refuse to believe the last episode held any true significance due to how the story ended. In fact, nothing was terribly bad about the plot until the final episode.


As rushed as this anime was, it was extremely easy to watch. My interest was never completely lost, and the fast-paced action actually made it enjoyable to rewatch. The flaws are evident, but it never felt like a chore to sit through.

There’s also some yuri in it if you squint, but I wouldn’t watch it based on that alone as most of it is just subtext. That being said, there were only two actual relationships in the whole anime (three, if you actually care about poorly constructed back-stories).

Despite all these flaws, Akuma no Riddle is something you can pick up quickly. If you’re interested in lady assassins trying to kill someone, then this anime may be something to look into. I wouldn’t exactly recommend it, but it’s not something I would discourage against watching either.