Ajin OVA

Ajin OVA is not so important to watch if you're reading the manga, especially if we talk about the second episode..

Episode 1 - Another tragic story about being an Ajin.. Nakamura Shinya has something in common with Nagai Kei, still being interesting.. even if it were something we saw already
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Episode 2 - A funny episode with our characters, something simple at first.. but impressive at the end
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Episode 3 - Satou's past, huh?.. Some of the things we saw in the manga already.. like the first episode.. it was exaggerated, very.. some people are disappointed of this.. but I liked it, hey guys, COME ... ON.. It's Satou-San!!!!.. everything about my bae will be great, doesn't matter if it follows the manga or not.

The OVA obviously answers the thing that disturbed him on the episode in the season one with Satou. Which I say, if your head's have been slashed off or got ripped on some accident that could actually make you die, your own body only owns you. There's no "new" personality or mindset when you saw your own head regenerating because obviously, you died anyway. And Nakamura Shinya's multiple IBM is quite answering also to the scene of Izumi where she thought that Kei (or Ajins) can't produce multiple IBM at the same moment but made it really possible and I really like the whole ... circle of the story. Although I know the OVA is incredibly short, probably the ongoing season two answers the remaining questions and revelations are always ahead. We'll see if Tosaki's past with his fiancee will get a screen flashback too.

These OVAs aren't at /all/ necessary save for the last one, but they're a good watch honestly. The animation is still sub-par, but the story-telling and characterization is tighter and stronger thanks to the runtime.

[Story - 7]

3 stories are covered in each OVA: an incident set before the show, a series of comedic vignettes from multiple POV's, and (parts of) Sato's backstory.

I particularly enjoyed the first one, as it had the 'horror' vibe I was told that this show had in spades, yet did not quite deliver on. It felt genuinely more intense and tragic than what happened in the show thanks to the more ... typical 'whiny teen' protagonist, which was fine for this one-off.

The second one was really goofy, but honestly? I LOVED it! It's nice to finally see all these (mostly) super-serious characters in comedic scenarios. Izumi and Tosaki's in particular was my favourite, as these are probably the two that are the most 'grounded'.

The third one was my favourite, though. If you somehow read my reviews of the 2 seasons, you'll have seen me complain about how Sato, despite how awesome he can be, lacks backstory. Well, here we finally get some! It's an interesting bit, as we see how his psychology transforms after participating in the capture of the 'first' Ajin, and even some traces of the Sato in the original show. I wish there was a bit more monologuing from him, but I'll take what I can get.

[Art - 4]

Artwork is the same quality as the first season (arguably looks even worse at certain moments). I really have nothing else to add here.

[Sound - 6]

Soundwork was the same as always - the music is lacking in identity but works well, the OP/ED music is stellar, and the SFX + voice-acting is fairly competent. I particularly love the voice-acting in the first one, as the desperation + justified angst of the protagonist truly comes through.

[Character - 7]

Characterization is considerably tighter here, thanks again to the reduced run-time. In the first OVA, it's all believably written and conveyed - there's no 'true' character arc, but you /do/ get invested in these characters for the 20-or-so minutes you watch them.

The second OVA is comedic, so it's just taking what was established in the show and applying it to skits. Nothing really different or new here.

The third OVA was pretty cool though - there are only really /2/ characters we focus on (Sato and a military buddy of his), but they receive enough fleshing out to warrant interest. Even though I LOVED how Sato's evolution was portrayed here, his buddy Kemper was written well and I would actually like to see/read more about him in future installments of the animanga just to see how he would react.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 6]

I don't really have any closing comments to add, as I think the introduction covered it just fine. Same recommendation as for the two seasons: watch if you don't really care about artwork, and just want good plot and characters.

First episode is a tale about another boy discovering that he is an ajin. He is actually more realistic and interesting than Nagai is, which is a shame, because this episode is the last we ever see of him. He would have been a far better main character than Nagai.

Second episode is worse than the first one. It's first half explains how Sato got to the funds for buying all the weapons he uses. It's a little bit unconvincing since Tanaka is being played like he is a complete moron, which is too much even for someone like him. Second half of the episode is ... centered on Nagai and the others fighting Sato at the time of second season. It's basically a filler part of a filler episode, it's less serious and is just a nice addition to the fans and nothing more.

Overall, OVA episodes are nothing special. They, however, still are an OK watch for the fans of the series. 7/10!