Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation: Yakusoku no Eien - True End

This review has the inclusion of the OVA which is more of just a 13th episode.

Very rarely are ports from games into shows or movies done well and this is no exception. Or at least for the most part. For those that haven't played the game, its a decent anime with a few things in it that you would not see in any other anime. Such as a robot drag Queen for instance. However for those that played the games first. This anime can be rated fairly low in comparison.

With a story line of a few key villains that add up to a final stand, ... Neptunia the Animation seems to have played itself rather well despite its large tangent from the games. With even the fan service episodes having major key points, it really does make a serious habit of making a fool out of itself but seems to make up for itself in a few a scenes that can tag at ones feels even slightly.

Art when matched with the game, falls into place almost exactly, 3D game models aside. But when pitched on its own in the anime world, it's extremely bright and cheerful for the most part and only gets dark and gloomy when a situation goes really bad, which most time leads to easily predictable scenes if a sudden twist isn't added.

Music is the disappointing factor, with only a few songs, including the opening and ending, used many times throughout its short lived season. Although despite these are well made, the constant use gets a little boring. The few original pieces that are played are so dulled out into the background its hard to appreciate them without loosing out on what happening in the anime. Sounds are however this sections redeeming factor as the sheer amount of unique sounds for each and every object is not something that often seen in a short anime.

Character development outside of Peashy's character, is the one part both new watchers and players of the game, can agree in saying there is almost no character development as it opens, plays and ends with them all on the same terms with one another with only minute wavers to each others relations during the anime.

Overall enjoyment was quite lacking as while it had a few suspenseful moments, they were all short lived while the rest of the anime left nothing to be desired. The few scenes that poke at your feels can seem redeeming but they just get ruined again in the next episode with the animes own way of ruining its own lead up. The one part that can be heart crushing is the first scene of the OVA to those that played the games. The game players will know the OVA all too well. While everyone else is left wondering what the hell the story line is doing.

Welcome to my review of Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation OVA! Since this OVA is a sequel to the anime series Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation which I have written a review for as well, I am going to keep this as short as possible in my personal format for OVAs. Here we go:

For those who have watched the Anime series and this one as well, you would probably feel that this OVA offers a better ending. For those who have not watched the series, it is highly recommended that you do watch it first as it a continuation from the ending.

For one episode, ... this OVA has a pretty decent story development process. While it is an entire story crammed into one episode, it didn't actually feel crammed at all. In fact, there were parts that progressed way too fast. 1st floor to 9,999th floor would be an example. However, the progress from then onwards is decent because I got to see that obtaining the flowers that they came for is not actually a cakewalk. I also got to see how Peashy and Neptune got together again. These two points added a score to the story.

There really isn't much to comment on the art style of the OVA as it hasn't changed from the Anime series at all. Overall, still good.

The same goes for the sound portion as well. You can still watch a flurry of fight scenes while knowing what is going on due to good sound effects and art.

There honestly is little to no room for improvement for the characters because what you would have known is already shown in the Anime series itself. You can't really expect much character development from a one episode OVA, can you?

As a continuation of the Anime series, I did retain the enjoyment that I had for it. I had a great time watching it and would feel that the rest of you do too!

On overall, I'm giving this OVA a 6 for the amount of enjoyment that I got from it. If you have watched the Anime series, I would definitely recommend that you watch the OVA as well. If you have not, then I would recommend that you watch it first. Give it a go!

In my review of the original anime, I mentioned how the voice acting was a big weakness. It was passionate and expressive, but also too high-pitched and samey for its own good. I gave a chance to the dub here (which is also used for the game) and was pleasantly surprised.

The dub for Neptunia is a prime example of how important voice-acting is. Each character has a voice that fits her, defines her up to the small differences. Neptune isn't just cute, but slightly tomboy-ish. Her voice has a little muscle to it. Blanc and Plutia both have a calm demeanor, but in different ways. ... Plutia is an airhead, speaking slowly and etherealy like a person not completely in touch with reality. Blanc is simply very polite. Dub gets a lot of flak in anime communities, but the dub for Neptunia doesn't just improve on the original but improves it.

As for the OVA itself, it's more focused than the anime. The story is simpler, and so more focused. It's actually accessible even if you're not familiar with the origins, since the characters are so well-defined. Since its scope is smaller, it doesn't suffer from throwing a hundred ideas per second. It sets up a single quest and gets through it.

Just like the anime though, it still feels like it doesn't take advantage of the material. Once the ending arrives, it's as if the whole thing only exists just to tie up the anime. Providing a bridge between the two dimensions is cool, but that's it?

What comes before is far from worthless. The characters are just as charming as before. Neptunia has a huge cast and every single one is a joy to watch. Their silly personalities, their unique reactions to every situation make it comedy gold.

The moments of self-awareness are just as brilliant. No one does self-awareness like the Neptunia seires and that's because it never pretends the self-awareness makes it special. It's not wink-wink, 'we know it's stupid' self-awareness. Rather, the self-awareness is a celebration of the silliness of video games and fiction. Neptune doesn't just point out she's the main character but it's connected to her narcissistic personality.

It doesn't offer much but another go-round with the characters, but it's still worth taking. It's a shame this is how the anime ends since there's plenty to do with these characters. Still, anyone who enjoys the franchise should find plenty to like here. The characters are still vivid, the self-awareness is like no other and the visuals are still beatiful.