When talking about any show, I often take extra precaution to avoid marginalizing the work by use of buzzwords. This isn't to say that the usage of certain words don't help others to understand where you're coming from, but rather, when a word is overused, it begins to lose value to many that have grown accustomed to it. After a while, it's desensitized to the point where people would write you off as just another "pseudo-critic" with nothing left to say, and understandably so. But sometimes, I find the aid of commonly used words to just be unavoidable. Sometimes, no other word works better to
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describe the title at hand. And when it comes to Kyoukai no Rinne, no matter what angle I approach it from, no matter how much I try to better articulate what's the main issue at hand, the conclusion is always the same; the show is simply mediocre.
Following the comedic misadventures of a Shinigami named Rinne Rokudou, we're introduced to a world where the afterlife and the physical world intertwines on a constant basis. Performing his job as a Shinigami eventually leads him to befriend a peculiar girl named Sakura Mamiya, and the rest of the show is dedicated to seeing the comedic mishaps that the pair find themselves getting in. The setup is decent enough but the perpetual state it places itself in just turns it into amnesia-inducing content. A purgatory where every episode repeats itself. And no, I'm not joking, they quite literally repeat the same setup and comedic gags every time with only slight variations stuffed in:
Rinne and Sakura are going through a typical day--> some supernatural occurrence disrupts everything--> Rinne attempts to solve the issue--> problem solved--> rinse and repeat.
The show limits itself to the point where watching it feels like a massive case of groundhogs day, where nothing is moving forward, and you're simply stuck in a state of viewer's limbo. Everything that it tries to establish just goes nowhere. From the romantic subplot to even the character's issues. They're merely brought up, only to be left on the back burner, due to the show's overbearingly pronounced complacency.
The humor of Rinne was all over the place, but more often than not, it was lackluster and had little to no comedic impact to speak of. It tried to use a more deadpan kind of approach when dealing with the ghosts and conflicts that arise in the show. And while it did have its moments of effectiveness, those were usually sparse and drowned out by the many times it dropped the ball. Whether this type of humor will resonate with you or not all depends on your taste in comedy. As for me, It wasn't consistent enough to keep me amused for long, as I often found most of it to be NyQuil levels of sleep-inducing.
The characters themselves all felt like watered down versions of the ones found in InuYasha. Not surprising, though, given that Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of InuYasha, was also the one behind Kyoukai no Rinne. It almost feels like she's trying to ride off of the coattails of InuYasha to make Rinne relevant, and sadly the mark was missed by a long shot. It's hard not to look at Rokumon, Rinne's residential mascot, and not think about Shippo, a character with arguably more characterization and importance to the series he was a part of. Or to even look at Sakura and not feel like you're just looking at a more dull version of Kagome. This isn't to say that the characters of Rinne are an exact clone of Takahashi's prior works but that Rinne is engulfed by the shadow of its predecessor, both in terms of quality and relevance.
Almost like an attempt to match the quality of the script with the presentation, the art and animation of Rinne were painfully average. There were no visible attempts to stand out nor was there any proper use of lighting, shading, color placement or any other technique that could have been used to heighten the visual experience. It was generic across all fronts. This was also the case with the sound mixing, with background music that felt overplayed and lacking in variation or drowned out to the point where you don't even recognize it at all. If there was an attempt to make the presentation better in the show, it was never made visible enough for me to take notice.
And that's my experience with Rinne as a whole, too middling for me to ever take notice of anything it offered.
I wasn't offended by Rinne, but at the same time, I wasn't impressed either. It's a title that's almost predestined to be forgotten. And looking at the small reception it got from viewers, it seems like that fate will happen sooner than later. It had decent moments every now and then but was entirely too aimless for its own good.
Kyoukai no Rinne was a giant ball of "meh" that seemed to have set its bar low from the get-go. There was nothing here that I can say was satisfactory and with a setup that went nowhere, it's hard to recommend this title to anyone. It's a title that leaves no final impression and has taken its one-way ticket to obscurity before it could even plant its feet in the ground.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: 境界のRINNE
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
25
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Apr 4, 2015 to Sep 19, 2015
Premiered:
Spring 2015
Broadcast:
Saturdays at 17:30 (JST)
Licensors:
Sentai Filmworks
Studios:
Brain's Base
Source:
Manga
Demographic:
Shounen
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#49882
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#2399
Members:
91,101
Favorites:
134
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 5 / 22
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Your Feelings Categories Sep 28, 2015
When talking about any show, I often take extra precaution to avoid marginalizing the work by use of buzzwords. This isn't to say that the usage of certain words don't help others to understand where you're coming from, but rather, when a word is overused, it begins to lose value to many that have grown accustomed to it. After a while, it's desensitized to the point where people would write you off as just another "pseudo-critic" with nothing left to say, and understandably so. But sometimes, I find the aid of commonly used words to just be unavoidable. Sometimes, no other word works better to
...
Sep 24, 2015
In all honesty this series is about as basic as it gets. Its an episodic comedy anime. And just from that you pretty much know exactly what to expect.
As far as story, the series is....pretty mediocre. As I've already said, the series is very episodic. This can be fine in shows like Mushishi or Death Parade where you have an overarching character story that shows the progression of each character throughout the series. However, no such story is present in Rin-Ne. Or at least its not all that prominent. Sure there is sort of a romance plot, but by the end of the first season ... Sep 24, 2015
Spirits and the afterlife are common things in anime. Sometimes they're about the more serious side of things where spirits are corrupted and wish for human destruction. And other times they're...basically harmless. Kyoukai no Rinne, hosts the latter of the two.
Story: The story of Kyoukai no Rinne follows the story of Mamiya Sakura, a girl who has the remarkable power of being able to see spirits. With this seer sight, she is able to see spirits day to day throughout her entire town. One day in class, she finds a mysterious battle between a boy that looks vaguely familiar to ... Sep 23, 2015
What the ballocks is this?! Is this memes?! - Kyoukai no Rinne review
Rinne is an anime adaption of the same author who wrote and illustrated the classic manga Inuyasha. However, Rinne quickly becomes a parody of itself and lacks the passionate writing of its fore sibling. It is completely undermined by lackluster characters, mediocre plot, and repetitive gags that quickly loses its substance. While I did have personal enjoyments throughout the show, it is far from redeemable. The premise of Rinne is quite simple. Our heroine, Mamiya Sakura, wanders into the spirit world and after coming back to the real world she can see ghosts. One ... Mar 17, 2018
First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile.
------ ✦Story In a sense an old school Anime, something that has a vibe of "Inuyasha". So basically we get adventure of characters in a world of onmyouji powers. Classic Japan heave/hell thematic and characteristics. With a small twist of how various abilities and tools cost offering money. I do love onmyouji topics and such Anime, they classy and fun. But this one felt really underwhelming. Is it as it had great ideas and light-hearted entertainment, but I fell as story was irrelevant in this Anime or simply ... |


