Matantei Loki Ragnarok

Well, I was only expecting to watch Special A at the time, but found this instead. Since it was the weekend then, I was able to watch 4..or 5 episodes of this, from around episode 4 I believe. Initially, I expected something like Detective Conan, but of course that was wrong. MaLoki is a show that focuses on Norse mythos, the main character obviously being one of the deities.

The show is good for laughs, I'll admit, but if you're looking for detective work here, the manga does a better job, though of course the manga's focus isn't on that so it's still a far cry from any mystery novels and such.

It's surprising for me to find out that the mangaka who made the series which this anime is based on is also the co-creator of another anime/manga I watched and somewhat liked, Tactics.

Honestly, I like Yamino-kun here better than Loki, though he has his moments. Mayura is a bit more loopy here than in the manga, but she has her "fushigi mystery!" moments in the manga too..just not that often.

This series, manga or otherwise, I feel needs a little more fan love and I recommend it, as it's a funny series, but also delves into mythology (if a little bit distorted from the actual Norse myths) but as usual, I would rather people go for the manga instead, although the anime does have good clean animation and the episodes are nice, they just don't have that same feel as what the manga had. But maybe that's just me, missing the murder elements in the manga...ah well.

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I decided to write a review to warn people about this dreadful anime it starts off with a decent enough concept but it quickly loses interest with pointless episodes that try to be humorous but just end up getting on my nerves now there are some epic scenes that were 10 star moments but 60% of this anime is the pink haired girl saying "mystery" and doing something stupid or running into obvious danger she also has to be one of the most dense characters i have ever encountered and 30% of this anime is pointless comedic humor... now the other 10% is the ACTUAL STORY and no it isnt half bad i might've not liked how it turned out but really it isnt that horrible its the only reason i continued watching...
now to be completely honest if i was 8 years younger and still have the maturity and attention span of a gerbil then i probably would've enjoyed this anime
now if you dont heed my warning and pursue to watch this regardless of what this random person on internet is saying... well then keep keyboard mouse glasses at a distance to avoid unconsciously throwing them also move yourself back 2 feet from desk to avoid slamming your head on the desk...

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The overall story is definitely good and to a point original. The idea of a god stuck on Earth forced to collect evil souls is a good one and the anime even gives you a small amount of information on Norse Mythology (the manga tells you more but what it doesn't tell you, you can look up).
I was mostly pleased with the fact that the anime didn't have the standard characters that comedy animes usually have; the lecherous pervert who somehow gets away with only a hit on the head, the klutzy girl/guy who trips over her/his own feet all the time, or the immature adult who can't act his own age. The fact that these three highly annoying character types are NOT present in this anime is a definite bonus.
The anime does follows the manga to a point but as per usual, changes the story a little bit as needed. Some scenes in the anime are completely different than the chapters they mimic in the manga and some scenes in the anime just plain don't exist in the manga.
The only thing I didn't like about the anime is the ending. It seemed rushed and hastily thrown together. Despite the shoddy job on the ending, it doesn't leave too many questions and any it does leave can be answered by doing a little homework on Norse Mythology (hint: Ragnarok).
The anime is pretty much anything but serious but it does have it moments. The series would have been better had they stretched out some of the episodes from one to two. The actual serious points of the anime could not be brought across to the audience in half an hour and should have followed Black Butler in stretching one episode into two.
I recommend this series to anyone looking for a laugh but also something that older viewers can watch without feeling like they're five.

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Nicest thing I can say about Loki and most important thing to know about any anime, is that it's self contained has an ending and doesn't leave you hanging for more that will never come.

The audio is the other high point here. The music is usually better than the scenes that it accompanies and the voice actors in the dub really do an incredible job of trying to breathe some life into this mess. I do recommend the dub, I watched the dub with subs running simultaneously and the English voice dialog is a cut above the English subs.

And it's downhill from there.

The concept certainly had the potential to be great. The Norse gods trying to live amongst humans, covertly fighting amongst themselves and taking on mortal jobs. Unfortunately what you get is a Norse themed not very mysterious, mystery of the week, that's solved / resolved by sheer because I say so on the part of the writers. The format just detracted far too much from any overarching story elements like the enmities between the gods, or Loki's quest to return to Asgard. It's doing none of these things well.

The characters are mostly just wrong. The Norse gods are just grating in their dissonance from their source material. The Trickster God Loki is a bit of a dunce who relies on sheer force. Thor is mild mannered. Freyr is clumsy thief. Freya well it['s a spoiler but it's a WTF AWFUL. Heimdal is clueless and incompetent, etc etc etc. The Midgard Serpent may actually be the best and most interesting of the characters. He actually seems to make the most sense and, is the most consistent. I get the feeling though that was by accident more than design. It wouldn't be so bad if they actually developed over time but it doesn't happen. They do get some backstory but nothing that pulls you into their characters. Matter if fact much of the cheap tricks they try to pull you in actually alienate you.

The art is dull. It's not home movies bad, but really you just expect so much more from any animation from the past 30 years. Very little actual animation, annoying use of colors. I'd place it on about the same level as American animation from the 70s.

Overall it's mediocre to poor.

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