Anime is like a well-oiled machine. When all of its parts work harmoniously together (i.e. the story, characters, aesthetics, and the like), you end up with a piece of work that functions well as a piece of entertainment that has a larger majority of its audience responding well to it. But when there're sections that don't really work all that well, then you've got a problem.
Story: With the world dying to the point that it could no longer sustain life, a man known only as 'Y' rebuilt it from gears and clockwork, thus creating the 'Clockwork Planet' that the characters live in.
...
(Don't ask me how he did it, the characters themselves don't even fucking know) It is here where our dual protagonists come across many wrenches in this world of gears as they try and work out the kinks in the machine.
Based entirely on only a few of the story's beginning arcs, Clockwork Planet is a typical arc-heavy story that relies on different problems arising for our protagonists to deal with, each creating a similar problem in a different way. These outlandish scenarios act as a double-edged sword for the series as while the plots create a semi-engaging scenario for the audience and provide us a reason to continue watching, the actual logistics for each antagonist's reason for doing their evil deeds usually don't really make any sense whatsoever. Especially with the last arc, a lot of the show's cogs fall apart because a lot of plot aspects don't fully mesh well with each other.
It's also important to note that very often the show wastes time with less action-packed scenes and focuses more on comedic or slice-of-life moments that while do help provide a better aspect of life on the clockwork planet, don't really add much to the story. Especially since most of the time they shove these parts in the middle of the action, so it creates a jarring shift in tone.
All in all, Clockwork Planet was a series that had a rocky start, picked up a little bit in the middle, and then ended with the cogs falling apart again. Mixed with plot holes (some of which can be ignored to an extent), unclear antagonist motivation, and a surprising amount of choppiness with the story, Clockwork Planet's story ends up being a clunky mess that has some good aspects, but ultimately falls apart because things don't mesh well enough to create good synchronization.
Overview:
+ Interesting world (Gotta give 'em for an interesting setting)
- Clunky pacing
- Jarring tone shifts
- Unclear antagonist motivation
Characters: Inversely, the characters of Clockwork Planet share a different opinion when compared to its story. Sadly, if you're not a main character, than the show really doesn't care about you.
First are the duality of protagonists, Naota Miura, the boy whose sexual preference is robot and Marie Bell Breguet, the short fused clocksmith gone rogue. Obsessed with clocks and wanting to be a clocksmith, Naota represents the 'Natural Genius', as his uncanny, natural ability to hear minute problems within the rhythm of gears and figure out the problem from that actually makes him quite interesting. As a character, Naota is a boy who adores automata to the point that he makes one his waifu and gets very upset when they're mistreated. Marie on the other hand is an experienced clocksmith representing the 'Learned Genius' as comparatively, she knows how to fix stuff, but has to work to find the answer when her counterpart does the reverse. Because of their contraries, the characters work well together as opposites, and the majority of the runtime is dedicated to their opposing ideas meshing together to fix the problem. While they don't do well on their own, their teamwork brings up a good positive for the show since their bickering is actually really fun and interesting to watch.
Then there's RyuZu, the one who follows. As the main automaton of the series, RyuZu is a sharp-tongued robot gal who hates people but loves/respects Naota because he fixed what 200 years of clocksmiths couldn't repair. Generally acting as a supplement to Naota's character, RyuZu acts as a bit of a gag due to how rude to everyone she is, thus creating some actually charming scenarios between the characters. She mostly stays stagnant in terms of development like the rest of the cast, but the qualities involving her offensive nature make her very entertaining if nothing else. Other automaton like AnchoR and Halter act a similar role in that they add more to the series to make the cast more colorful, but don't have much in the way of development and are really only necessary to the plot when needed.
Aside from them, the supporting characters are shoddy examples of what not to do when creating a supporting cast. The antagonists have very loose motivations that don't really make sense or amount to anything, and the supporting cast either have a very tiny role and/or don't really make much sense.
Overview:
+ Interesting (and entertaining) main characters
+ Entertaining supplementary characters to the main duo
- Supporting cast doesn't really matter all that much
Art: Produced by Xebec, Clockwork Planet's art leaves a lot to be desired. The animation and art itself is standard fare, and the show uses actually really nice CGI in order to create the numerous amounts of gears, cogs, and machines that we see throughout the series. Despite its background appearance, the character designs leave a lot to be desired.
While the original art for clockwork planet does leave some things to be desired, the anime's adaptation of said art has a lot of inconsistencies with it. Character proportions (like AnchoR's head compared to her body) look off, as the heads of the characters are stretched length-wise and create some really peculiar looking people. On top of that, the show's inconsistencies with character design make it so that one shot doesn't look the same as another, thus creating weird shots altogether.
Overview:
+ Good use of CGI
- Inconsistent character designs
Sound: Appropriately (or lazily) named 'Clockwork Planet', the show's OP made by Fripside is...quite samey to what the group makes. A lot of their songs sound very similar, and this one is no different. That isn't to say it's a bad thing, as the inclusion of windup noises and the overall tone of the song is still quite nice despite how similar it sounds to a multitude of their other tracks.
The show's ED on the other hand (also appropriately named), "Anti-clockwise", is a louder, slightly more screechy song with dissonant piano chords and an all around messier structure comparatively to its OP counterpart. It's not that pleasant to listen to, and is one of those things that's worth skipping not because it's forgettable, but because it does grate on the ears a little bit.
Overview:
+/- Tracks vary with your mileage
Personal Enjoyment: I was anticipating the release of Clockwork Planet for quite a while. It was one of those show that I really wanted to watch and I had to wait for its release because it was stuck in development hell for a little while. Unfortunately, the end result I wouldn't say is worth the wait, but despite that, I still enjoyed it regardless of the fact that I can just as easily chalk up a lot of the shows problems and ultimately say that it is indeed a 'bad adaptation'.
Did I enjoy this series?
Critically, the show has many flaws. Despite that, Clockwork Planet still managed to be a guilty pleasure of mine. The bickering between the main cast really made the show enjoyable for me to the point that I really didn't care much for the story or any other aspect of the show. Fripside's OP's always interest me, so I would be remised if I said that I didn't enjoy that too. Sure it's not a great show, but a show doesn't have to be 'great' in order for one to enjoy it.
What didn't I like about this show?
The last arc felt really weak. Especially since it took about a third of the runtime, having a huge portion of the story stumble towards the end was a big letdown, especially since very few things at the moment clicked in place.
Would I recommend this series?
If you just really want to see some interesting characters talk to each other, than Clockwork Planet fits the bill. Again, the show struggles with having a cohesive story and the visuals leave some things to be desired. Despite that, its characters make the show good enough for those with low standards to still find something enjoyable to watch, so if anything, I'd say this show is for those willing to devote some time to enjoy something that's kinda stupid, if anything.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: クロックワーク・プラネット
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
12
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Apr 7, 2017 to Jun 23, 2017
Premiered:
Spring 2017
Broadcast:
Fridays at 01:58 (JST)
Licensors:
Funimation
Studios:
Xebec
Source:
Light novel
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#74762
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1562
Members:
165,357
Favorites:
445
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 16 / 36
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Your Feelings Categories Jun 22, 2017
Anime is like a well-oiled machine. When all of its parts work harmoniously together (i.e. the story, characters, aesthetics, and the like), you end up with a piece of work that functions well as a piece of entertainment that has a larger majority of its audience responding well to it. But when there're sections that don't really work all that well, then you've got a problem.
Story: With the world dying to the point that it could no longer sustain life, a man known only as 'Y' rebuilt it from gears and clockwork, thus creating the 'Clockwork Planet' that the characters live in. ... Jun 23, 2017
STORY: Story begins when Naoto saves a cyborg named RyuZu by activating her. RyuZu pays him back by calling him master and ordering his commands. Soon, they team up with a girl named Marie and her bodyguard Halter. The enemy = the government. They have committed purges on the cities which causes the destruction & deaths of the citizens. The story also talks about the origins of how Earth was re-created over 1000 years ago with gears by Y. He is also the creator of RyuZu. CONTAINS: A lot of backstories and conspiracies, Action-fighting scenes, Humor, romantic-comedy moments (including Loli) & weird sexual encounters.
CHARACTERS: Naoto: High ... Jun 30, 2017
TL;DR Section at the end of the review. This review may or may not contain minor spoilers.
Oh, Clockwork Planet... How I had such high hopes for you, and in a way, you didn't let me down at all. Clockwork Planet revolves around a world made out of... gears and clockwork parts. Go figure. The earth's resources had been used up to it's fullest, so a mysterious man known as Y made the Clockwork Planet by himself. Fast forward a hundred years or so, and we have Naoto Miura, an aspiring clocksmith. Someday, a female automaton falls through his roof, and discovers that she's not functioning properly. ... Jun 23, 2017
Story:
This is the anime's weakest point. It starts off okay, but the events that go on don't generally have a particularly good connection to each other and it's very predictable. There is literally no reason to anticipate that any major character will actually die or is in any danger and it's really just a show where the major characters blow stuff up and keep succeeding. There is very little world building as well despite the potential that this show has to make that interesting. Character: One of the slightly better parts of the story. There is some growth in Marie Bell Briguette and there's some development with ... Jun 27, 2017
Real Score:5.5\10
ClockWork Planet, an adaptation of the Light Novel written by Kamiya Yuu, you might know him from the No Game No Life franchise. It has a wonderful setting, an interesting premise and a good overall design, but nothing more. The entire project falls flat and becomes generic, stale and not enjoyable at all at times. I don't like putting low scores, in fact i have given very few scores under 6, but all of the wasted opportunity and dull moments forced me to do it Story 4 The Story, if it exists, is bad, really bad. The pacing is horrible and the 2 major story ... Oct 18, 2017
You know what type of anime is the absolute worst to review? The one where you can't even voice a detailed opinion about it without a horribly massive spoiler, which I won't reveal. I was incredibly close to dropping this whole thing every moment from episode 1 to 10 but stuck with it almost entirely thanks to the beautiful artwork, even though 9 of 10 contraptions are just dumb redundant clusters of gears spinning in place without the slightest credibility to their function.
I flat out hated the main guy until the spoiler, then I only disliked him intensely. I thought everything was absolute moronic garbage ... Jul 28, 2017
If i were to describe this show in one word it would be "Melodramatic".
The show had so much potential to shock and awe us with a unique universe based on the concept of an artificial planet functioning via clockwork gears. But the show doesn't really go anywhere with it, the gears serving more as both just a quirky aesthetic and as a plot device rather than any kind of functioning environment. Either the effort just wasn't put in or a sub-par narrative just fluked an interesting premise. To compound the feeling of melodrama the show doesn't really have any pace but absolute haste. It's a never ... Jun 23, 2017
En mi opinión la serie está muy desaprovechada, su historia me parece monotona, pero esta bien llevada, lo que realmente hunde la serie son sus personajes tan planos y poco apreciables. Realmente no te causan ninguna emoción. El protagonista no tiene nada de encanto como tal, básicamente es un idiota, no tenemos un protagonista carismático y de buen nivel como Joseph Joestar o Lelouch, el personaje mas fuerte de la serie apenas si me pareció que servia para fanservice, su actitud tan egocéntrica en lugar de ser Divertida o algo me resultó molesta en fin RyuZU se pudo aprovechar mejor. Marie igualmente era un
...
Jul 4, 2017
The concept had promise. Then reality came along. The first couple of episodes jumped from dialogue right out of a Hentai to Ecchi and back again. For a while it looked like it was going to be loli Ecchi, then the director changed his mind. Then went back, then tossed in the towel and tossed in some of the worst drawn automatons to pollute the airwaves.
Then there's the gears. 6 billion to make one loli robot. Need to make gears?Wear a suit and dance naked in VR to a golden flower and create them from nothing. Seriously. WTF. It's just so totally screwy that all enjoyment ... Sep 25, 2018
It is mediocre.
The series is set in a world where Earth was destroyed, and in its place a clockwork planet was built by a mysterious individual called Wye for humanity to live on. Thousands of years later, the protagonist Naoto, a young clocksmith with unexplained superhuman hearing, has an ancient robot girl fall on him, and is the first person to fix her after 200 years. The robot girl pledges to be his slave, and joins him and a goup of elite clocksmiths to fix the damaged parts of their world and thwart terrorists and evil military conspiracies. Another character called Marie is introduced who ... Jun 29, 2017
This anime had potential, the source material is good. BUT The anime adaptation lacks creativity and script is subpar. Flow in Clockwork planet is very clunky and it is distracting from the story, that could have been interesting but script is bad. From the main villain who just appears out of nowhere we don't hear until the very end and his background is not explored, his motives are not setup properly and basically all we know about him is from his mumblings and very short flashbacks. You can't really get into things if you don't really know why things happen.
... Sep 9, 2022
Just felt like rewatching this, the first watch from years ago wasn't very memorable. Clockwork Planet is actually kinda cool, but nothing is that amazing about the plot and the characters' development to me. It just felt like I was getting to see the MCs adventuring, which was totally fine and entertaining. It's a short anime I rewatched in two nights, so if you want to see two genius kids and their robots just saving the world and stuff, I would say why not crank it out. Otherwise, I wouldnn't prioritize watching it, it's just a time-killer.
Oh I guess my review was too short ... Oct 8, 2017
Short one: I don't like this anime.
Long one: STORY: There's only one thing that really matter. THE PLOT. So i will watch something if: A) Story description is charming B) Story is endearing C) Plot Is well articulated ... Mar 19, 2018
Having finally finished "Clockwork Planet" I can finally reach a conclusion. Overall this does have a nice number of things going for it. Some good background music, an interesting world, and some great character back and forths....
However execution is key and at numerous times throughout the series events feel so rushed and characters seem to be arbitrarily stupified. The main problem.over everything else is certainly in the character designs. Everyone looks 7 or 8 yo. Which really intensifies the awkwardness of some of the scenes dialogue or visuals. I can honestly imagine Sora from No Game No Life saying certain lines from the shows main ... Jan 12, 2018
Tick-tock goes the clock, forever...
Story (7/10) - The world has ended, and a new one was built in its place, literally. When a failure clock smith high school student 'discovers' an important automaton, his biggest dream has come true. But everything has a price, which he soon finds out when he gets roped into stopping a calamity-potential conspiracy. Art (7/10) - The uniqueness of Clockwork Planet is a given, and Xebec did a very good job in bringing it to life. Sound (6/10) - The Intro and Outro weren't bad, just not the best either. Character (6/10) - A high school teen with an ... Nov 25, 2020
This is pretty bad anime but it has some serious SOUL.
I started watching this because of the opening being done by fripSide. In the end, the opening, ending and I guess also the music was the only legitimately good part of this anime. The art fluctuates from okay to bad. The story and characters are pretty random and dumb. The whole piece leaves me thinking that it was written by a teenager taking his favourite parts from shounen shows he's seen stuffing it into this. Most of the things happening do not make any sense whatsoever. Was about to drop this but after watching three episodes, I ... |


