Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen

Dispar as it might appears to be on my rating of this anime, I choose Overall 6 as well as Story 6 due the simple fact that, although being sequel to a good Science Fiction / Strategy and Drama series, it failed to convey the richness of the first season, exchanging it for too much comedy relief in the first half of the series, and then rushing out things so badly that they just tossed ideas and revelations from one thing to another, explaining nothing at all and forgetting elements, hints and ideas laid during the series which were great if developed, throwing everything ... to the wind in a finale that lacked sence and went to a very unecessary and plainly out of place drama path, totally unnecessary and senseless. I will not spoil things for those who have not seen the series, but they lost a chance to really carry on a great story, and clearly lost the hand of it all at the end. So much was hinted, so much was shown, so much was put in some episodes, but in the end they just forgot everything as just sidekicks (and all the elements forgotten were trully important ones for the whole story! Those elements were crucial, for instance the the relationship of the Emperor and Haku...damn that alone would make the whole story different than what was done...I could not understand what happened there....no sense at all the path they choose) And the end being just a cliffhanger is a bit unfair after 25 eps, but as a prequel to the Final Installment of this series, we cannot ask much of it. As the third istallment is scheduled for september 2016 (Utawarerumono: The Two White Emperors ~ Utawarerumono: Futari no Hakuoro) we should consider this 25 eps as just a very looong introduction to the real story to unfold in the final installment of this trilogy. So lets see what comes ahead, as they have a lot to develop from all laid down during this 25 episodes. Lets wait and see

I watched and rewatched the original 2006 series several times. This alone probably gives you a decent idea of how much I enjoyed it.

What initally drew me to the original was the combat and how it was relatively realistic, at lwast by anime standards sure it had super human strenght (karula) and super speed. some people could jump 20 feet in the air (although realistically that would have gotten them killed) and there was magic and mechs. The mechs although overpowered were meant to be and i could accept them. The magic was also not over used and was not as overpowered. As for military ... tactics i could list out a whole lot of issues but thats for another time. I still want to leave that cavalry cant charge through spearmen like that but thats what anime is
I also appreciated the fact that the main character was level headed and very capable. He might have been too lenient at times, but that's japanese influence there, not much the creators could have done there.

Now enough about the original.

On the topic of combat theyve completely thrown out realism for the more popular one man army general idea thats so common in asian movies and stories.

I mean seriously if one woman (munechika) could basically wall crush an entire army why does she even have an army with her. Same for that blondie human nuke. Theyre as big a threat to their own men and they dont even use them except for the clean up. While on the topic of combat i really cant agree with women just running up and beating the crap out of trained soldiers. I mean yeah in the original there were women in the army but they were extremely special cases. Karula belonged to a tribe that had natural super strength and touka was part of some miliatary order that served justice or something. In this we were given absolutely no explanation as to why they could fight. Anyways even if there was 5 people charging an entire army is completely useless, they should have been speared to death at a distance.

As for the characters
Haku with his retorts were probably the saving grace of the anime

There was also a bit too much gay with the princesses and all for my taste. Sure i get that they might have wanted a bit of comedy but episode after episode of it got annoying

As for the rest it didnt feel rushed (not too much at least) the art and sound was good so i dont have much else to complain about

Where did it all go wrong?!?
The first season of Uawarerumono was great; the characters were developed well, the story was compelling, the action was good and it was enjoyable.
The second season on the other hand is like rotting meat left in sewage compared to a nice juicy steak (with the first season being the steak).
It starts off well, my hopes for it meeting the standard of the first season were high. Then it took a massive plunge like an obese man flopping off a 30 metre high diving board.
At least 10 episodes have no, or completely unrelated content in regards to the main storyline. The ... progression is slow, nothing even happens, save for a few harem-esque moments and the mc whining like a baby.
The choices characters make have no sensible logic behind them, the mc can't do anything without a kick up the backside, all the female characters seem to adopt the good old BL book adoration and turning red at the sight of any men.
The villain is unclear throughout most of the series which results in no sense if tension or foreboding.
I don't know how I managed to get through this season; the ending wasn't even very fulfilling at all...
It is not even worth watching it for a sense of completion, the only thing you'll be completing is your suicide note and the knot in the length of rope you will hang yourself with.
The only redeeming factors of this anime is the world (which was set up by the original series anyway), the art (which is high quality and consistent) and a few decent fight scenes.

The first Utawarerumono is vastly superior to this one. What made the show very enjoyable were its characters. In the first series we have Hakuoro, who is much more mature and intelligent than the protagonist, Haku, of Itsuwari no Kamen. Haku is in possession of a middle schooler's brain while Hakuoro has a mature one. This goes for the other main characters to a large degree as well. I realize that some of them aren't that old, but the sheer stupidity of some of the things they do is unfitting of someone with slightly above average intelligence. Average and below average intelligence are not enjoyable ... to watch. Keep in mind that i write this review considering someone with average intelligence to be frighteningly stupid. There are times and places for characters that are stupid, but this show is not one of them, especially not in the places of the main characters.

This show is very character reliant, and as such is very disappointing after having seen the first Utawarerumono. That being said, it's still much better than the average anime show.

✪ Genre: action (swordplay) [episodes 14-24], comedy [episodes 1-13], drama, high fantasy, military, seinen with elements of superpower and sci-fi (human experimentation) [episode 17]


✔Positive Aspects✔

◧ Soundtrack: decent work, mostly comprised of Japanese folk music, and orchestral, film score-like tracks, usually embellishing the action sequences. It could have been more captivating, though.

◧ Comedy: the comedic sequences spanning the first 13 episodes were inarguably the only enjoyable part of this series.


... ✘Negative Aspects✘

◧ Animation: even though the colors are more saturated and more vibrant compared to the previous 'season', I had a hard time telling apart the adolescent/young adult female characters, and, at times, even Haku and Ukon. Overall, the characters lacked distinctive facial features which made the effort of differentiating between them all the more difficult.

◧ Concept: same issues with the previous 'season' - this one went on as if nothing at all needed an explanation, at least not until the 17th episode. Through the character of the Emperor, some explanations were provided but were more perplexing than illuminating at the end. I had to comb through the relevant Wikia in order to get a grip on what was this all about and with moderate success at that.

◧ Plot: there was no central plotline to speak of:

- the first 13 episodes portray comedic sequences between the protagonists and some of their closest friends (deuteragonists)
- episodes 14-15 are about a newly emergent military threat to Yamato kingdom
- episodes 18-20 revolve around the Yamato kingdom Emperor's out of the blue decision to invade the Tuskuru kingdom
- episodes 21-24 portray a completely unforeseen coup d'etat

◧ Character development: the series revolves around 3 protagonists, 10 deuteragonists, and 8 tritagonists (3 of them displayed antagonistic qualities toward the end of the series), yet there's little to no information with regards to the characters' personal histories, beliefs, motivations, and thought processes. Also, this series did not have anyone resembling a main antagonist, besides some occasional characters playing the part.

Meanwhile, some characters from the previous 'season' made episode-long cameos for no reason at all since they did not contribute in any notable manner to the current series of events.

Concluding, I would like to state that the protagonistic character Haku was not believable in any way. Most lazy/easy-going protagonists tend to have some sort of counterbalancing gifts, physical and/or intellectual, in order to be portrayed as endearing to the audience. This character did not really have any such gifts, yet the rest of the characters systematically, and unjustifiably, treated him as if he did.

◧ Action scenes: pretty uninteresting since hey tended to escalate and finish up quickly, having a very filler-like quality to them.


Overall: There's no reason for anyone to watch this series since it is not a meaningful sequel to the previous series, nor will it provide a worthy standalone series for action seinen fans.

First of all there might be some spoilers within this review because it isn't possible to be mad about this story by not even rant a bit about what went wrong within only one and in this case the last episode.

I really enjoyed this whole setting and even if there wasn't much going on in a lot of those 25 episodes I really enjoyed watching all those great characters living their life. But also as the story started to unfold it really went into a nice story telling direction. The OST was really great and suited the settings perfectly.

BUT and if you haven't watched ... the last episode please stop here.

BUT what were they thinking? I mean the ruined a whole series with just one and in this case the last episode. This show would have received a much higher rank in my case if they hadn't done what they in fact did.

The whole "I can't tell her it's me"-thing is just crap. I mean his sister knows and also the two priestesses but he can't tell Kuon? Where is the sense about such a stupid story twist. I mean isn't she able to keep it a secret all of the sudden? I am really to upset to write any further because it all feels like if I have wasted watching a whole series for nothing. This season finale was beyond anything satisfying. It is a shame what they did.

Careful not to pay too close attention to the number as they don't mean that much.

Anyways, my previous review is somewhere here where I looked at it objectively from a development standpoint. It does everything it needs to do, establishes a hero's journey, creates tension, and arrives at a climax before ending it. It would be a 7/10 for execution. Now that I'm done talking game, let's move onto the anime.

Your hero is an everyday hacker, who is surrounded by anime animal girls, one of which has a fetish for hot springs. We get to see their everyday life before we ... see something happen. What you say? A general killing it's civilians as casualties of war. You know, you generally don't want to kill off your productivity if you want to prosper as a nation. Seriously, where are the key supporters and the businesses who were located in that city? Anyways, the show starts to fall into a slump where the cast is depressed over the death of random people. Does it make them better people? No, not really.

Soon there is a war with a neighboring nation who had another uprising which had their own set of one dimensional antagonists. Sadly, it ends like I would've expected. Nothing really changes. No real stakes involved. We just move into the next story arc. Here we get to see a main character die by becoming bubbles.

So how is the story in the anime and the game? It's bare bones. It's the same problem with their first game. It sounds cool, a hero rising up and getting their people to overthrow their oppressive ruler. But the characters aren't that interesting and there is no consequence for their actions. Why is the bandit village stealing? Is that productive? Why are they not farming? Why are they not doing literally anything else? Yeah, it's that situation. In many cases for banditry such as what happens in China, it is done not as an occupation, but to oppose the government or when people are experiencing extreme poverty. But these characters just seem to exist as bandits with no real oppressive rule or extreme poverty.

Does it end well? No, not really. It ends in the same way as the first game. Best girl is ditched just like her mom by the protagonist when they decide to become god. Both are doing it to be sealed away. Seriously, has no one solved a problem without killing people, annoying the populous, or getting sealed away for religious/safety reasons?

So, is it enjoyable then? Sure, if you like to see how they made the anime from an objective point of view and discussing the guidelines to righting a story. But if you want to enjoy it as entertainment, it is subjective. The main character doesn't exactly fit the series, the helpful male character looks too similar to the MC, so it's obvious what will happen, the antagonists are idiots, the key supporters are morons, the main cast are lounging around without a purpose, and nothing is really resolved at the end of the 2nd game or next season if it ever has one. To stop the civil war, he unmasks the plan to, of course, blow up the city with a giant space laser! Which apparently, still blows up the city.

So, how was this 5 minute review? Like and subscribe for more reviews on anime.

This review is written by someone who has watched the prequel first, then read the visual novel, and then watched this anime without reading the novel for this anime. Spoilers will be present and announced later in the review.

The prequel was fun enough for me to want to read the VN and watch the sequel. The VN was a nice addition but the anime itself was a good one. However I can only say I'm very dissapointed in this sequel anime. I've seen people claim Fate/Stay Night is the kiddy version of Fate/Zero because the cast in F/SN mostly consists out of kids. I heavily ... disagree since plotwise Stay Night is just more complex than Zero. However this sequel does seem to be the kiddy version of the prequel.
The original Utawarerumono was written for 18+ (and the anime 17+) and I think that reflects in the story and characters. The sequel was originally written for 15+ and the anime itself is 13+. As such, we got a lot of bathing scenes to start with for horny young boys and yaoi jokes for fujoshis? It's not just these details, it just reflects in about everything.

Anyway since this is the sequel of the anime from 2006 I expect you to have seen it or atleast plan to watch it before you watch this. As such I will make comparisons since I don't think this anime should be watched as stand alone.

Before I start to point out all the things I'm not satisfied with or just want to adress, I have to admit, the anime is well animated and does looks good.

The points I want to adress are:

Structure of the story
Fanservice
Humour
Plot
Characterization
Inconsistencies

The structure is as follows. You do not get an introduction to your main character, it's pretty much like how the prequel started, guy with no memories is found. Someone takes care of him. They then travel around and meet people. The first 2-3 episodes are somewhat about fighting, survival and introduction to the setting of the world we're going to be seeing. Then a part which people like to call the slice of life part follows, in which a lot of characters are introduced episode by episode. Some of these characters will join the main cast actively. This isn't actually slice of life as it actively seeks out events to introduce more people. As such, you will have no idea how much time has passed as this is aslo never mention. Then action happens and doesn't stop till the end. You may or may not like the slow 9 episodes after the first 3, but that's pretty much what it has to offer.

The fanservice is is mostly at the start and in the early stages of the slice of life parts. There are tons of bathing scenes where they're basically showing everything except for genetalia and nipples. My personal opinion is that it felt like they had to put these in to keep the attention of people who can't keep focused unless stimulated.

The humour is pretty decent half of the time, other times it's repetitive or misplaced. One of the most recurring themes for humour is yaoi. Now it's not wrong to try to entertain people with yaoi, it is however getting old fast if you use the existence of yaoi and embarrassment of being associated or reading yaoi repeatedly.

The plot is a pretty meagre one. A guy with no past basically gets a girl to help him out. Then for no reason girls start flocking to him. The MC spends some time in the capitol before he finaly gets caught up in battle (by choice). For some strange reason great things are expected of Haku, our MC.

The characterization is also pretty meagre at best.
Haku is the MC, he's lazy and somewhat smart. Since he tries to actively avoid doing anything you don't learn much about him except his fondness of being lazy. Oh and he does like his friends.
Kuon is traveling around she claims she sees Haku as someone she has to take care of and acts motherly around him. She has a lot of family who she respects or so it seems at first.
Ukon is a strong man who likes to help people out, he's also very devoted to his emporer and for some reason very fond of Haku.
Nekone is obsessed with her brother and basically looks down on everything silly.
Rurutie is a princess that likes yaoi, cooking and is perhaps a bit jealous. Oh and she's not very fond of fighting and has a bird that's combat capable.
Atui is a princess whom is combat capable, she's pretty easy going and I think she (or else it was Rurutie (this is how important this detail was regarding the story)) was looking for love.
Maroro (cowaredly)/Kiuru very fond of Haku for some reason.

Some inconsistencies are that Yamato, the region where this anime seems to take place, doesn't seem to exist at all in the prequel. If it existed, then the Avu Kamu arc would probably have gone drastically different. Also powerlevels seem higher here and technology a lot more advanced. Magic also plays a much greater role. Also I cannot imagine Dii or however you wish to spell his name not having interfered in Yamato. Also there's a huge tamed bird that's combat capable, if so many combat capable creatures were out there, where were they in the prequel? Also for some reason Onvitaikayans or however you want to call them and ultra strong bugs are now roaming the earth freely.

Anyway my conclusion is that the art and animation are pretty good, the story is told in such a way that there are gaps here in and there which makes events harder to explain and timespans aren't clear. Humour is good at times and at others it could have better been left out. If you liked the setting of the prequel and only look for something like it, this anime can be ok. It's just important not to expect to see any characters from the prequel or any dept in story or characters.

====Spoilers/in dept start here====

Yaoi is ok, you can make jokes about it, but when you send Yaoi to your general out at war to raise her morale and the General actually goes ahead and read it... That's just forcing the humour out. Also there were lots of moments in serious epsiodes which were about fighting and surviving where predictable humour was added. Not only do these things ruin the atmosphere they also ruin the pacing and what not.

The plot in my eyes is very very bad. Kuon saves Haku, that's ok. Haku saves Maroro, that's ok. Ukon saves everyone, that's ok. Then they get to the capital. About 9 episodes where nothing plotwise happens is OK. But these episodes are not used to establish bonds, to make characters flourish which basically bites back later when things speed up. Haku goes to war to join Ukon. This is still OK. Haku sees Vurai's mass destruction and is scarred for life. That's OK. Then Tusukuru war happens, which is very sudden and unexpected. Haku then accepts the mission. That's where it all goes wrong. There's no reason for Haku to join the war. He dislikes war, he doesn't want to see innocent people die. He also, isn't attached to Yamato so there's no reason for him to serve. Also there's no reason for HIM to serve in the first place, it could have been ANYone. Then they go search for Kuon. My logical reaction would be, Kuon has gone home to her homeland to defend it. Instead they go around looking for Kuon at food stalls. Then the most surprising thing of all, Kuon decides to help Yamato. Fighting Tusukuru to her, means possibly facing Karura, Touka, Aruru, Kamyu, etc etc. People who she calls mother/sister. At war, Aruru then leads them to their generals camp. For reasons unknown ofcourse. Haku then decides to do what Hakuoro did too, recycling tactics is fine. Eventually they succeed in destroying the provisions and go home empty handed. War with Tusukuru never happened. Then plot and betrayal which is OK.

The characterization is one of the worst things of the anime.
Kuon mothers over Haku and is secretly very fond of her family. She respects them deeply. She said she wanted to explore the world, which is fine. But that also means she doesn't have a real connection to Yamato, thus no reason to help Yamato wage war. And her reason to join the war was to end it swiftly, I'm not sure how she though she was going to end it swiftly but it was never shown in any way that it would end swiftly. It feels like Kuons reason to wage war against her homeland was ungrounded and therefore a bad decision to make her do so.
Haku is lazy, not combat capable and does want to help his friends. His first "fight" would be against the giant bug. He was useless. His second fight was when he was in the capitol. If I had to make a good estimation, a couple of weeks upto a month had passed. Ukon fought him and told him he had improved. WHAT? Improved how? How did he change from 100% useless to combat capable? Surely he wasn't practising, atleast we were never shown any of it. Time passes again and he defeats guards, people trained for combat over a prlonged period of time. Later he blocks a blow from Vurai. Yeah that's pretty ok to do, Vurai isn't even strong.... Anyway for some reason he got ultra strong and combat capable without any reason.
Harem girls:
Nekone, just dislikes everything except her brother, more, we don't know of her. She is supposedly smart and educated beyond her years. Her role is nonexistent.
Rurutie, we don't know anything about her except that she likes yaoi, cooking and dislikes war. Her little act at the end pointing a dagger at Kuon is first of all out of character (as she just agreed with Atui she wanted to help them).
Atui, is easy going and combat capable. That's basicaly her whole role. It's unknown to me why any of these girls flock to Haku.
Miko girls: Fanservice/humour device/deus ex-machina magic, but usually useless because of magical barriers they then just shield.

Prequel characters:
Karura, hates to be called mother/drinks/investigates?
Touka, servant of Karura?
Aruruu/Kamyu like Kuon, want to look after Kuon. And about Aruruu, it's still a mystery why she helped Kuon/Haku to the camp.

I mean it's all great and fun if you want to add characters from the sequel, but atleast give them some character or part to play. Touka for instance made an appearance, but if she didn't NOTHING would have changed, the same goes for Kamyu. Karura and Aruruu atleast played a small role.

The characters are just poor. Atui plays a bigger role in the sequel than Touka did in the prequel. But yet I can tell you a lot more about Touka than I can tell you about Atui. Touka for instance is a Evenkurga or however you wish to spell it. She was devoted to help good defeat evil. She has high morals and would only do what she thought was right. She's combat capable because she grew up in a clan where that would be normal. She decided to serve Hakuoro because she wanted to repay her debt. She feels a strong sense of duty to bring back the body of that other king home and play as a body guard for Hakuoro leaving him pretty much guarded most of the time even to an extent that it could become seem as a burden.

Also it makes sense that people flock around Hakuoro, he helped Yamamura, solved the Mutikapa problem helped around with other stuff. Got accepted as one of their own, got appointed head of the village. Lead a rebellion, defended his people against enemies, rebuilds what's lost. Haku doesn't do anything to deserve people gathering around him. So it's not logical that they do.

Also told why Mutikapa was combat capable, and thus it's logical why Mukkuru is too. But there's not explanation or anything about the giant bird. This is just another thing that shows the prequel clearly put more effort into details.

The inconsistensies are mostly that things exist and are present in the sequel that would probably have altered the course of the prequel if they were there as well. The world was about lost when the Avu Kamu were roaming the world. But as far as I can tell, those things wouldn't have gotten very far invading Yamato. Tusukuru used to be a small country with a relative small army. A decade or 2 later they became so strong Yamato couldn't even defeat them. Oh and Tusukuru warships with magic cannon like shooting... Then there's the wildlife that I mentioned before, the technology to make cages go up and down for bug fighting with lighting that all ignite at the same time almost like lighting. The story about the mask and people being wiped out was also different. In the prequel people were living in the underground because because above they couldn't survive. In the sequel it was shown that people turned into those blobs and then some kind of ultra laser shooting down destroying everything. (including a city which seemed like the city it was taking place in). But it would make more sense to me, if something like that would happen before people would grow close to extinct rather than afterwards. The prequel clearly showed that Iceman was released, conceived a child, then imprisoned again. He then changed people into blobs. Laser beam then destroyed a lot. This suggests that Iceman and furry eared people had been roaming the earth where people cannot follow for a year or so. A huge city above ground suggests otherwise.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

I’ve never had amnesia.

The closest I have ever come to memory loss was the few hours following the removal of my wisdom teeth. While I wish to save the actual wisdom-teeth anecdote for later, suffice it to say that I do not remember anything that happened once the anesthesia kicked in. My parents tell me that I blubbered like a buffoon, though. Which, in all honesty, I could see myself doing.

Unfortunately for Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen, it ends up as a forgetful experience, too.

STORY

Utawarerumono starts off with mystery in mind. Kuon, a wandering woman, discovers ... a man seemingly lost in the woods. He has no knowledge of who he is, and he cannot seem to recall his memories. Kuon decides to name the man Haku, and thus the anime begins.

The show definitely starts off on the right foot (or perhaps the right paw). Kuon and Haku form a nice duo. Their silly antics and their potential connection creates a relationship that has a lot of room for growth. The quaint, woodsy setting plays on the mystical, easing the audience into the concepts of animal people, technological deficiency, and otherworldliness. Extra characters bring both fun and purpose. A carefree yet commanding leader, an important princess, and a giant, cooing bird add variety to the show without taking away from its current feeling.

Event-wise, the anime takes a combined approach. The majority of the scenes are slice-of-life-oriented, such as Kuon spying on Haku or Haku doing his best at manual labor. Simultaneously, some of the scenes are action-oriented, such as a battle against a massive centipede or a kerfuffle with some thieves.

To put it differently, Utawarerumono does well in establishing its premise and direction and scope.

Then the anime slows everything down. Really slows it down. For approximately nine episodes, the anime chooses to focus on just slice-of-life material. The first couple of these episodes are acceptable since they help to transition from the old setting and into the new one. But once the show continually goes with this direction, the events themselves start to feel largely inconsequential.

For example, some of the group members sneak onto a ship that gets overrun with giant bugs. Anju, the princess, tries to understand what love means. Kamunagi of the Chains, two daughters of the high priestess, are given to Haku as a reward, leading to an episode with a disproportionate number of sexual acts and innuendo.

Slowing down the anime so much leads to stagnation. Indirectly, it keeps the cast in single spot for a long while: the capital of Yamato. Consequently, where the first few episodes made progress in terms of world-building and providing motivation for the characters, this stretch of nine or so episodes where very little actually happens feels unfocused.

Especially so when the remainder of the season – thirteen episodes – is dedicated to obscene amounts of action. While the fight at Maruruha is pertinent for the masks and Haku’s character, much of this action simply feels pointless. The attacking Usuurussha, bandits basically seeking food, lacks a place in the narrative following their retreat (and despite the big showing the anime made with the daughter of one of their generals). And the entire invasion of Tousukuru, Kuon’s home country, ends up as worthless in the long run.

The majority of episode seventeen deserves a special (negative) callout. This episode is dedicated to unveiling a huge revelation: that the Emperor and Haku are the only humans on the planet. In short, the animal-esque people of the world were created by the Emperor after people destroyed themselves, and, also, the Emperor is Haku’s older brother.

First, this reveal comes out of nowhere. After those snowy mountains, the stretch of slice-of-life events, and a hefty amount of battling, the anime drops this information on the audience without discretion. And second, and arguably worse, the anime does almost nothing with this information. Haku somewhat gets inspiration from the news when he destroys a provisions storehouse later on, but these relatively gargantuan details have next to no impact on the narrative.

But Utawarerumono does not stop there. It also falls prey to other narrative snags. For some reason, the show chooses to kill off the Emperor off screen and without warning. One of the final plotlines, the attempted murder of Anju, does not receive a resolution. Ukon gives up his mask to demonstrate his loyalty to the princess, but it serves no purpose once out of his hands and is even given back to him some time later, making the entire exchange unnecessary.

The show runs into thematic trouble as well. It tries to emphasize the necessity of war in order to fight for resources and display dominance. But the majority of the season is not dedicated to war – the first half is (to reiterate) slice-of-life whereas part of the second half is more centralized in its conflicts. In essence, the whole war angle, while appropriate for certain circumstances, does not fit within the anime’s other material.

Overall, the narrative begins and means well, but, the further along it proceeds, the more issues it brings upon itself.

ANIMATION

Utawarerumono’s artistic direction does well in certain areas but not-so-well in others.

For example, the background art is more unfortunate than fortunate. Similar to the story, the backgrounds are supported by the more mystical environment. A mountain village and snowcapped hills purport that differentiation of the land exists (as do the visuals of the first ED). Yet, once the anime constrains its setting to just the capital of Yamato, the anime unfortunately hits a lack of creativity. This misfortune continues into the latter half of the show as well: open fields, some forests, and random towns are not exactly immersive.

To be fair, the show does place care in the details. The capital is very cultural with food stalls, stone castles, and minor amenities. Lighting as well. Many moonlit nights, delicate sunsets, and daytime outings blanket the show in various forms of light.

Actual animation is somewhere around average. Action sequences, while not the most choreographed, are filled with lots of sword swinging, jumping, and (sometimes) giant fireballs. Downtime is similar in that sequences can see a nice amount of movement – dancing, searching, and joking – but nothing outright dazzling.

The character designs are quite nice, though. Mostly because of the extensive variety. While they all derive from (more or less) the same cultural influences, they tout different colors, different animal characteristics, and different styles.

For example, Kuon’s long hair, warm colors (light purple, orange, and yellow), and plain tail paint her as a kind and mature woman. Rurutie’s black-and-white garb with pink-colored additions coincide with her princess-yet-lewd and sweet personality. And Munechika’s white-and-blue garb, curled hair, and short tail depict her as the wise commander she is known to be.

CHARACTERS

Utawarerumono has a singular problem with its cast: Too many characters for its own good.

Granted, having a big cast is not an inherent problem. It all comes down to their use. Their purpose. Their execution.

In Utawarerumono’s case, the execution fails to be present. Mostly because it continually adds more and more and more characters to the pool without stopping to explore them to any large depth. The show has Haku. And Kuon. And Rurutie and Atui. And Ukon and his little sister. And the samurai and his daughter. And the princess, the emperor, the emperor’s assistant, her two daughters, and…

The show rarely explores anyone that is not either Haku or Kuon. They do have their particular characteristics – Rurutie loves boys-love material, Atui is very particular about men, and so on – but these traits get tiresome when they are used over and over without major deviations from their respective formulae.

Arguably, they do not need to have development. They do not need any extensive change to their character. Which, to some extent, is true. They are not wholly important to the plot, and there are just way too many of them to adequately divvy up necessary attention.

But the show has twenty-five episodes to work with. That’s a lot of time. Presumably enough for everyone involved.

Even if these side characters are given exemption, Haku and Kuon’s development is not.

Haku started off in a rather interesting spot. Without memories, he had no way of understanding who he was, where he was going, or even why he was there in the first place. But he did know what he wanted to do: nothing. He was lazy. Whenever possible, he would prefer to sit around the campfire rather than subject himself to more work.

Yet he was surprisingly good at the jobs he was given. Mostly because he would seek out a way to perform the task efficiently. I.e., he would devise a way to get the job done with as little work out of him as possible.

And while he was not an amazing fighter like Ukon, he was courageous and could hold his own. Plus, he learned how to read and write, treated others with respect, and did his best with the craziness that happened around him.

Unfortunately, these traits are as much as his character gets. Roughly halfway through the season, Haku does have a small situation when he becomes terrified of the prospect of war. His friends cheer him up, letting him know that war and its outcome is natural. At least, natural for their world. But one miniscule development over twenty-five episodes seems dismally disproportionate.

In fact, Haku is arguably a very bland character. Furthermore, this blandness makes it strange to get behind Ukon’s constant reliance on the dude. Haku is not exceedingly strong, and he is not exactly a genius. In other words, he doesn’t stand out.

The idea is that Haku is simply charming. As the only human (besides the emperor; almost nobody knows that either of them are human), as this lazy yet strangely productive person, he attracts others to his circle.

And, arguing in his character’s favor, that may be the point. That is, one does not have to be an “amazing” person to influence the world. Yet, even taking this mindset into consideration, the evolution of his character does not support this idea. Haku never really affects those around him, let alone the direction of the plot, going with the flow of events for nearly the entire season. And when the audience finally does see him gain a position of power, the show ends.

Not that gaining power and numerous friends changes him for the better. Indeed, besides Ukon, he does not seem to strengthen his relationship with anyone – including Kuon.

Kuon’s relationship with Haku is alarming for this very reason: not having a strong foundation. In the beginning, when it was just the two of them (and maybe a couple of other characters), one could easily see where their relationship stood. She teased him, shared meals with him, and traveled with him to take care of different happenings.

Following their trek to the capital, however, Kuon’s relationship with Haku almost stagnates. As more characters are added, Kuon gets less and less time to spend with Haku. The story’s action-heavy direction also forces their separation. And while she does get angry with Haku after their initial time together, their moments on-screen get reduced to a pitiable amount.

The result is a weak relationship between the two. Subsequently, Kuon’s later (presumed) romantic feelings for the man and distress over his death come off as empty. It’s unfortunate. They are the main duo of Utawarerumono, but, because the anime spent almost no time on building their relationship, Kuon and Haku are not strong together.

Again, for all of the cast members, if the show were shorter in length, it would be somewhat more acceptable to not have as much care given to each of them individually. But given how much time the anime had to work with, it’s almost inexcusable for the anime to have characters so weak writing-wise.

SOUND

The first OP incites wonder, a feeling of mysticism that fits well with the anime (at least the first quarter or so). The cultural instruments, the nice vocal work, and the build-up into the fast-paced portion come together to create a somewhat intricate track that is both catchy and fun.

The second OP tries to follow in its brethren’s footsteps. Mysticism reappears, and cultural sounds – like the background chants and the wood tapping – return, too. Most of the piece contains skipping singing and unobtrusive instruments, but the final stretch twists the tone. As the vocalist picks up emotion and the instruments start to resound, the tone moves from normal to almost harrowing, mirroring the shift in tone of the anime itself.

The first ED slows down the festivities (in similar fashion to the story). While not serene, the piece is peaceful, the soft piano accompanying the thoughtful singing. The second ED is similar but slightly more mystical. The track gradually builds into strong drums, passionate singing, and cultural sounds that match the sadness the show concludes with.

While neither of the EDs are particularly gripping, they are at the minimum nice additions to Utawarerumono.

The rest of the original soundtrack continues with the foreign feel. From the slice-of-life escapades to the countryside brawls, Asian ambiance fills the atmosphere. This music turns their hotel, the capital of Yamato, and the surrounding world into a place teeming with intrigue and cultural influence.

Voice acting performances are well done as well – if only thanks to the various vocal tics that some of the different cast members use. As such, some shout-outs are deserved. Risa Taneda as Kuon and her “I think.” Chinatsu Akasaki as Anju and her “Indeed!” And Madoka Yonezawa as Kokopo and her constant cooing.

ENJOYMENT

To be honest, I am disappointed in this one.

It felt as though it had a lot of potential. Especially in terms of the characters and their interactions together. Haku actually ended up being a rather boring person to follow. Kuon seemed to get the brunt end of the stick in terms of focus once the cast size became unwieldy. And the rest of the cast were just not interesting – mostly because the anime never cared enough about them.

Yet easily the worst character in the entire anime was Dekoponpo. He was so aggravatingly annoying. His dumb-and-arrogant-yet-he-still-gets-away-with-it persona had me shaking my head. And then my eyebrow would raise when the anime continually relied on him. Be it for comedic relief or for some small plot point, he soured the experience completely.

It’s fair to say that I would have liked this one more if I had seen the prequel first. This sentiment is apparent in the (obvious even to me) cameos. They didn’t resonate with me. Yes, they were nice for the sake of Kuon and her character, but they lacked the emotion, the nostalgia that such reappearances would garner.

A lot of the action was not that gripping, too. Going from smaller, cultural conflicts – gigiri and weird slimes (that are actually the original humans) – and interpersonal, slice-of-life events to countrywide war and massive, mystical beasts was too much of a contrast. I would have preferred the show stick with its more grounded, comedic material despite its slowness.

The ending also irked me. I could have maybe forgiven the show for having Haku literally let Kuon go if his maids and Ukon’s little sister did not already know the secret. But, since they did, it made not telling at least Kuon as well – given how distraught and emotional it made her – such a lame conclusion.

Even so, not everything was dismal. Kuon getting playfully angry with Haku had me smiling. Rurutie’s constant fantasizing had me chuckling. Ougi’s strange devotion to his sister got laughs out of me. Anju’s childlike crush on Oshutoru had me cheering for the little girl. And Saarana and Uruuru brought a sexual edge that I welcomed.

Unfortunately, these positives were unable to overcome this overabundance of negatives.

Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen starts off strong but slowly falls down the mountain. While the art and the sound-work deserve some praise, many other areas do not. The narrative has a slew of issues. The characters are unexplored. And various annoyances only serve to hurt the anime. Getting amnesia would be a better alternative.

SUMMARY

Story: Bad, mystical beginnings give way to inconsequential events, unimportant action, and multiple narrative snags

Animation: Fine, okay artistic direction, about average actual animation, and nice character designs

Characters: Terrible, too many characters overshadow both Haku and Kuon, preventing any worthwhile development

Sound: Good, good first OP, good second OP, okay first ED, okay second ED, nice OST, above average VA performances

Enjoyment: Bad, while some fun can be found, boring action, a lame ending, and especially Dekoponpo are too ruinous to ignore

Final Score: 3/10

The One Being Sung: The False Faces is the second season of The One Being Sung and has a very similar premise to the original. A man with no memories finds himself in a sword and sorcery world populated by people with animal ears and tails. After being saved from a monster by a cat-girl named Kuon, she declares that from now on she is his guardian and the two begin their journey together.

This anime is set several years after season one and includes a few cameo appearances from characters in the first season, but this anime is set in a different country and ... you really don't need to watch season one before watching this anime.

One thing you may be wondering is why this anime is ranked so much lower than season one. Well, that's because none of things that made season one good (like strong characters, a great story, cool fight scenes) are in this anime.

Story 3/10

While season one was more of an action-adventure story, this anime is mostly a slice-of-life story with most of the anime just being about Haku and the others goofing around in the capital. I like slice-of-life anime, but my problem is that the action and fighting was what I liked the most about season one. Furthermore, usually in a slice-of-life anime there's a lot of focus on the characters and their development, but this anime keeps adding new characters and changing focus that we don't get the time to develop their personalities.

However, this anime does have some action in it with some of the large-scale warfare that was present in season one and some one-on-one fights, too. However, we only get a quick taste of action, though, because in the middle of the battle the focus has to change from the war to whatever Haku is doing leaving me saying "Can we go back to the fighting?".

Furthermore, season one left me with some questions I was hoping season two would answer, but no such luck. In fact, Hakuoro's name never comes up once and we don't learn anything that wasn't already explained in season one.

Finally, I really don't understand the beginning of this story. So Kuon saves Haku's life and declares that from now on she's his guardian...why? I mean Haku and Kuon are complete strangers, but Kuon just randomly decides to be his guardian. What? Usually there's a reason the main characters are traveling together like in InuYasha Inuyasha and Kagome are traveling together to find the shards of the sacred jewel, but what sparks Kuon and Haku's relationship?

Characters 7/10

First, I want to clarify that I hate Haku and it's all the other characters that got this anime a 7/10.

The reason I hate Haku is simply because he is the main character; this anime would be at least ten times better if any other character like Kuon or Ukon were the lead. Haku is lazy, cowardly, and there just isn't anything interesting about him at all, but for some reason Ukon and the other characters keep treating him like he's some kind of hero. For example, Haku will get captured by bandits, another character rescues him with Haku doing nothing, and later Ukon will be saying something like "I was impressed by how you defeated those bandits", even though he did nothing.

The one good thing about Haku is that he's smart and can find solutions to problems. However, everyone else does the hard work while he just watches or complains. Why is he the main character!!!

Kuon, Uknon, Nosuri, and Kokopo (the giant bird that doesn't talk, but is somehow still more interesting than Haku) are all far better characters than Haku and I wish there was more focus on them. However, because Haku has to be the center of every episode and this anime keeps adding more characters we don't get the chance learn much about them.

This anime is like if in Dragon Ball Z Krillin was the main character instead of Goku.

Overall 5/10

My recommendation is to not watch this anime. It doesn't advance the story of season one, Haku may be the worst main character ever, and this anime has none of the things I liked about season one.

after i finished 1st season, i really excited to watch this sequel, but....

#(maybe contain) MINOR SPOILER#

this sequel look like tells a story about 1 or 2 decades after the 1st,
different MC and different country.
first few episodes was good, but after i watched 10 episodes, i can't get what's the points with this anime, i'm so disappointed.
it's like big gap of "fun" between first and this.
just tells stroies about bunch of girls playing around like normal slice of life animes.
even more, there is slightly contain elements of BL that make me uncomfortable because (again) i compare it to prequel.
...
of course art is better than predecessor, but the story until 10 episodes is boring.
maybe if anything intersting happen with the rest of episodes i'll add some rewiew.

This show was a wild ride start to finish. The characters and story were superb, the art is solid, but it has one major flaw, an absolute terrible, copout of an ending.

Story: 9/10
Overall the story was well written and flowed very smoothly, there was action, comedy, general slice of life. There were a few points where things were played up a little much for my liking, but that's pretty subjective. The major flaw with both this and its predecessor are the very horrible endings. They both fell flat on the final episode, like they were written by HBO.

Art: 8/10
Most of the art in the series ... was well done, however, it suffers the same fate as any other anime that tries to rely on 3DCG, it always seems unnatural and breaks the immersion of the show a bit, what makes this one particularly bad though is they try and soften the 3D and make it appear brushstroke which makes it look very unappealing.

Sound: 10/10
I have zero complaints in the sound department, the voice acting was very well done and fit the characters well. The soundtrack was enjoyable and the sound effects were good.

Characters: 9/10
As people have stated before me about both this and the previous iteration of this show, the characters are very trope characters, but written well. There is a lack of character development for certain characters which is understandable considering it is only 25 episodes rather than several seasons spanning over years. All of the likeable characters were that as with the unlikeable characters. You could tell right off the bat whether they fell into either category.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I gave this an 8/10 for 2 simple reasons. First, the ending, it felt very unsatisfying especially after seeing the characters interacting the way that they did. Second, there were a few times where pacing was an issue for me as it either rushed through a situation or dragged something out far too long (i.e. last episode dragged)

Overall: 8/10
This show is truly enjoyable, I decided to pick it up as the third season is airing soon and I plan to watch it. Despite some nitpicking and minor flaws I do recommend giving it a watch

If nothing else, at least consider checking out the games which the Utawarerumono anime has been adapted from. The games compared to the adaptation are so much more fleshed out and "complete" feeling. Though I still recommend the anime from season 1-3, if you truly want the Utawarerumono experience then please go play the games. Many reviewers are not wrong when they say that the anime can be a mess/rushed because it is true. There is simply too much material to be adapted into an anime that is limited by 20 minute episodes which makes many fans of the games undervalue the effort put into ... the anime. I myself believe that in conjunction with the games, the anime serves as a great portrayer due to the game's style as a visual novel, it at times cannot create a scene as beautifully as an anime can (I believe the anime portrays some scenes/moments much better than the games). So once again, I recommend watching the anime, but if you want the best experience then play the games.