Evil or Live

This is my very first review and the reason I am writing this is because of the low score this anime has, even though it's actually very enjoyable.

While this anime has a very low budget, which can be seen by the real life images used for props and such, I find the anime itself very enjoyable. Character's movement can be awkward at times and effects aren't all that great, but it is very watchable and excusable since the anime is a great one in my opinion.

The story is quite good and it makes you want to know more, although the ending felt a little ... rushed and I wanted to know a little bit more before it ended. But that doesn't mean it's not worth watching.

I'd say give this anime a try, despite the low score it has on MAL, I found it very entertaining and that is what it is all about after all, not the animation quality.

Honestly, this anime isn't at all what the reviews would suggest and I found it rather enjoyable. It's getting shit on because people had thought of it as a psychological thriller/horror but if anything this is a dark comedy. Stay woke my fellow weebs this isn't a shit show at all.

Story (8) - I like the whole idea of parents sending their internet-addicted children off to this hell. It's really modern and conceivable. But if you were to take in only that what the introduction gives you, you'll be pleasantly disappointed. Because like I stated at first this is a dark comedy IMO ... and not a psychological thriller. For the most part, the show is still beginning and that can really make or break the show for now. I'm really looking forward to what direction it takes.

Art (7) - The art is expected of an anime of its degree. Nothing too flashy it's pretty plain but the story really makes up for its lack of uniqueness.

Sound/Music (7) - Like the art it's pretty plain and is what is expected from an anime of its degree. Respectable but that's really all there is to it. Oh, wait I almost forgot, the main character's laugh is really annoying and despicable.

Character (5) - The characters are probably the downfall of this anime, with lack of realism and their shitty attitude it's laughable. Hibiki is honestly a really unlikeable main character and I find more enjoyment and Kudo and his ignorant ass.

Enjoyment/Overall (7) - It's fine. That's all there is to it. It isn't as bad as it's said to be. It still has a chance to do wonders however and I sorta look forward it's next couple episodes.

this is my first review, i never thought i would write a review but here comes the day cus i couldn't stand this anime getting such a low rating.
from what it looks like, they just didnt have alot of budget and thats the only reason the art is kinda lacking, but otherwise i personaly think that this anime should get higher a higher rating.

iv'e rated the story an 8 because i like the idea of kids being sent of to a prison-like school.

Art 7 - because its not like its made in the 90's its a decent looking anime with decent art-style

Sound 6 - ... the sound is decent as-well its not bad but its not good either, all that i personally dont like about it is the mc's laugh.

Character 7 - (idk if this counts as a spoiler but i don't really think so)
the mc isn't anything too pushy, has a decent sense of responsibility and is aware of what he does and i like that about him.

Enjoyment/Overall 10 - I Really enjoy what happens in this anime, the start i kinda didn't like that much but i stuck with it and the further you go the better it gets


As i said this is my first review so sry if its kinda bad but i just think that the anime is much better than the ratings suggest.Compared to all the other anime's out there i reckon this one is closer to the top maybe like a 7/8 overall atleast.

This series is a masterpece by Chinese standards and proof China is catching up in the anime-industry.
It being a low-budget anime, it should be judged accordingly as it would be unfair to pit it up against high-budget anime to make a comparison.
Which lead me to give it a score of 10, as judging fairly, they have done an excellent job with the ressources they had.

Story - 10
To understand this anime, and appreciate it, you have to understand that it is based on real events that happent in China. Where facilities were opened to rehabilitate internet-addicted students, that led in some cases to abuse and suicide, ... creating a scandal and leading to the shut down of this rehabilitation system.
This anime illustrates these events throughout a fictional story, with a dose of reality that apparently the majority of community couldn't learn to accept.
The story tackles with many real-life issues that only a mature mind will come to understand, such as domestic abuse, the paradox of a hard-working man who does not have time for family, the fragile relationship between parents and children in the modern world, human thirst for power, and so forth. To be able to tackle with so many subjects under 12 episodes is truly astounishing, it shows that this anime exists not for entertainment purposes, but for educational and reflectional purposes, which is why I give it a 10. It is truly a hidden gem among the generic animes that pop up nowadays that have no message behind them.

Art - 10
This is Chinese anime, and the art is very good. They managed to mix the eye-candy of the Japanese anime industry with the realistic anatomy of the Chinese anime industry. Which is a good step for the Chinese animation to follow.

Sound - 10
The OST is perfect and adds to the atmosphere. The Japanese character voice acting is very well done, even minor characters are properly voiced; and as for main characters, you can tell their feelings whenever they speak.

Character - 10
The characters follow their script, there are no inconsistencies. The main character develops realistically, he gets his act together only to lose it in the next. He makes mistakes and rectifies them, then makes other mistakes and rectifies them. It shows he is human. You can feel for him and sympathize with him but also hate him or love him. You can be in awe of him or pity him. Which is what a good character should do.

Enjoyment - 10
The plot is executed well enough to offer confusion but also peek your interest, you might wonder where is this going but there are hints for you to follow that make you interesting in finding out more. The story is not disclosed, but the events are well-executed. There is no linear plot, anything can happen, which makes you interested in finding out more. And everything makes sense in the end.

Overall - 10

Very good anime, by Chinese standarts. The animation is sloppy due to low-budget, but you can't blame them as they have done the best they could do.
This studio deserves praise, they created a hidden gem with low budget.

The MAL commmunity nowaday is so fucked up. Giving this amazing anime 5/10 just because the art style. For anyone who still haven't watch this anime, check it yourself, you may dislike the art, but give it a chance, keep watching, the plot get better and better, believe me.

Story: 9/10
Art: 6/10
Enjoyment: 10/10. This and Inuyakishi are the best anime this season in my opinion.

Thank you for taking your time to read my review. I want to write more but my english is so bad. This show is really good but the label is wrong, it's not horror, its more like comedy but with serious ... plot.

Oh come on, another good anime being rated terribly because of the biased community. Well, don't worry it's not as bad as the ratings say. This anime takes place in a training camp that teens are sent to for misbehaving and spending too much time on the internet. Sounds alot like me. (lol)

The story starts off very interesting, the mc is a game addicted boy who is one day sent to the boot camp without notice. There are no electronics allowed and each day they suffer through strenuous training. It gets interesting from there on and I don't want to spoil.

Art, the art leans towards ... the manhua side, since it's is a chinese-anime style.
Don't drop it because it's not japanese style. It's still very good. The opening is very nice to listen to.

The characters really develop through the first few episodes of the story. There are good and there are bad characters, but everything balances out.

Enjoyment, I did enjoy this quite much, honestly, I was shocked to see such ratings when there have been many positive feedback for this anime on the sites you can watch this.

Overall, I recommend watching this because it's not your typical anime and it is quite exciting if you like psychological anime.

On one hand there are people that just hate this anime and rate it below 3, on the other there people that love it and rate it over 7. The first group hates it because it has bad art, sound and supposedly characters. The second group just thinks that art and sound are secondary and they focus on pretty good story and message hidden in it. I personally to the second group.

First characters. Some say they dumb, annoying, easy to manipulate, but guess what? People are dumb, annoying and easy to manipulate. Characters are realistic, they aren't plain and have some backstory and some ... of them even evolve. Overall i think they are pretty good.

Story is a good one too. It makes sense, there's always some action and there no boring bits. It kept me entertained and made thinking about what just happend or what's going to happen next.

And now bad part: art and sound. They are not the best and obviously low budget but as I said I think they are secondary and what's important is the story. I'm not watching anime just because i want to see pretty pictures.

And for those who are deciding whether to watch it or not, just ask yourself a question: Is perfect art important to me? If the answer is yes than don't watch it. If you prefer the content more than pretty pictures than it's anime right for you.

"In this world full of violence, only the strong can be righteous."-Hibiki
Evil or Live is actually Classroom of the Elite yet it is darker, and has the same pecking order. Evil of Live is basically the package, torture,rape/sex,incessant beatings. Of course, wisdom and power, is the dominant trait that secures power in this school. It may very well be a similar depiction of what is happening with 're-education' camps in China where muslim Uyghurs are forcefully relocated and have to undergo similar treatments. It is made by a Chinese company but still very well written in terms of atrocities that is happening in the real ... world, where human rights violation are occuring. Even though the art style is not nearly as sophisticated as Classroom of the Elite, the story is well written and portrayal of the characters. There isn't much depth but the portrayal of the characters' emotions are powerful. Power balance of the characters is kinda off, there are definitely certain plot holes in the ending of the story, where it felt like there wasn't even time to finish elaborating on ending the twisted school. Points for good music Internationale at the end, and good Chinese ED.
Story:8/10
Art:6/10 Quite poor as it is probably low budget, but it is not the main character in terms of the anime.
Sound:8/10
Character:6/10 Require more backstory/depth, their actions are not always logical necessarily.
Enjoyment:8/10 FeelsGood anime
Overall:7/10 Not necessarily bad, I would recommend. Honestly, people claiming the anime is terrible makes me sad, because it shouldn't be rated as bad as some other garbage.

Very underrated show.

Art 6/10
The art style could have been better. The animators were trying to go for a horror film-esque look by throwing in a film grain to make the show look more grim and dark but it was completely unnecessary and could have been easily avoided. The reason for the 6 is because the characters don't look that bad even though there isn't enough detail put into their design.

Story 10/10
The story is about kids put in a rehabilitation school who must come to terms with their addiction and try to change themselves if they want to be leave. The story tries to make ... you feel uncomfortable with psychological projections that leave you wanting more. It's a feeling that many of the top anime leave you with in the end. Beautiful throughout the season.

Sound 6/10
Lip syncing wasn't on par with the audio and shouldn't have gone unnoticed. Lots of the sound effects are really good and fair at best.

Character 10/10
All the characters scream interesting, there won't be a single character that you'll hate because they all have amazing character development. If you're a very young person yourself, you'll relate to some of the characters because they have problems we don't see in ourselves.

Enjoyment 10/10
I laughed, I cried, I was left uncomfortable. all the things anime should leave you with in the end of the journey. I had an emotional roller coaster with this show and crave something similar. If only I could go back and watch this show again from the start, I'd do it.

Overall 8/10

"You can not judge a book by its front"

Maybe the art of this anime is not the best, I have dropped a lot of animes because of that, some time later I decided to watch them just because of people's recommendations and hey! now i think they are incredible and wonderful anime series!

The first episode of "Evil or Live" will leave you without a word, strange and badass characters, really original plot ... until the end you do not know what is going to happen next. Every chara has a past and it is not difficult to have one of more fav charas, i really ... wish there would be one more episode so we could see how everything was resolved.

Oh my god, and what can i say about that wonderful ending? In the middle on chaos and cruelty the sweet music and the dreams of two teens to be happy and scape from the prison where they are ...

Just give it an opoortunity, if you really enjoy good animes and dont only judge them by its animation.

===Talkin about why people hate this anime===
After looking at my 10/10 rating for this anime, you probably think I'm an easy to impress type of person when It comes to anime. Now I know I probably don't look that reliable for a real review, I don't really make that many reviews unless people hate on an anime that actually was pretty good, or that I'm just lazy. Anyways this anime was apparently based on a real thing in China which kinda surprised me in a way, i guess, not really, but I think people only hate on this anime because In a sense, it kinda ... hates on gamers or social media addicts. Not really effecting me because I'm not a supper obsessive about phones and gaming. Now I am a gamer and I do use my phone a lot but this anime shows the reality for some people and I guess it kinda makes them mad? Now I don't really want to take sides but if you have an obsession with gaming or with your phone and its not benefiting you in any way except for regulating your emotions making you more happy or taking out your anger online. If an obsession screws up your life, meaning school, your future, or family, its obviously a problem. Now looking at my review right now, you'll see that its pretty trash and it has a lot of commas and run-on sentences, but I'll get to the point.

=====>review starts here<=====

In the anime, our main character comes into this school that resembles the military except with more physical abuse. The students brought in are addicts of using the internet and their guardians want them to stop or just want to get rid of them. Hibiki(mc) climbs his way up through the high school hierarchy from looser, to leaders with power. It starts a little annoying because he is one of those mc's who are powerless and wants to be friends with everyone and continues to get shit on by others. But it doeesn't stop me because he continues to change slowly then one of the episodes his personality changed from "I'll have your daughter home by 10" to "Your daughter calls me daddy", obviously that was way over and not how it is but you get the idea. He realizes he can't trust anyone and accepts that the only way to get power is for him to change his pussy ways and to grow a pair. And to not spoil anymore I'll just end it here by saying it was a great anime and you should keep your real emotions about how this relates to you out of rating and not watching this anime. :)

This anime was really good.
I like how they mixed up all the misery with a good laugh.
Have watched more of the HAOLINERS production and they have some good stuff.
Like bloodivores, and some others.
I felt a sort of connection to then cause what happened in my past (not going in detal)
My favorite character is shin, I doubded it first but in the end its still my favorite.
It's done pretty realistc with some fiction in there too.
Actally is really really sad but I jsut dont wanna spoil anything >.>
But it resembles that this story apart from all the fiction does happen in real life, mabey not ... exactly like that or for those reasons. But it exists.
I actually think this need a second season.
To see what happened to everyone after ''that thing'' happened.

Evil or Live reminds me somehow of Prison School but thinking about that anime was a comedy I don't know what to say about this one.
Looks a little bit stupid for a ''psychological'' anime expecially on first episodes.
But I appreciate that the main character was weak without any power or anything else but he succeed to be ''the badass'' during episodes only with ambition and determination. Even tho he tried to change his attitude his heart remains pure protecting Shiori and the rest of the class. Except the main character I hated all of them with all my heart, they really pissed me off expecially ... Shin(I don't care about his past I still think that he is a piece of shit)
The ending was kind of bad to be honest.

Story 7:
The story is decent, better than a lot of average anime's. Being that it's an adaptation off of a chinese manga.

Art 6:
it has good moments but there is a lot of bad moments of off modeling and lazy animation. But there were some stylistic choices throughout that surprised me and that I enjoyed.

Sound 8:
Average voice acting, but the reason I gave it an 8 is because of the music. for a lot of the important moments they have great tracks that aren't generic and have there own style to them.

Character 7:
Most characters were average. There was a few that were well written and ... not cliche.


Enjoyment & Overall 7:
First anime I finished in a long time because nothing holds my attention and I get bored of the recycling of character types and storylines. I watched this all at once because of how much I enjoyed it. But I can see why it isn't everyones cup of tea.

OMG! Where to start with this anime?It has been a while since i rated an anime with a solid 10.

Before watching Evil or Live i didn't know internet addiction could be such a serious issue in some societies,i.e people's republic of china. Although not completely unheard of, "internet addiction" spawned some interesting reads about the subject from my behalf.I came to find out that such reform camps like in the series actually do actually exist in the PRC for better or worse, which took me by suprise.

Story is about an "internet addicted" teenager who gets send in an elite reeducation facility by his mother. The ... mc got into his addiction by falling under school and parental pressure which caused him to detach from the real world and emerge in the world of online gaming, basically neglecting everything else about his life.Now this is a modern plot i can totally relate to, especially since i am a "computer" guy. If you think about it, living in today's ultra competitive society, can take it's tall on you, so it is easy for anyone to crack and develop some kind of addiction to "escape" reality.

Despite the premise being really good and relative for modern times, where this anime truly shines, is the character development department. I am a true believer of the fact that a person's character can be shaped by the circumstances that he lives into, maybe not right away, but steadily and surely it does. Within 12 episodes we see the mc going from a suicidical weakling into a badass and that's all because he tried to survive in this harsh academy enviroment. I 've read some reviews complaining that the mc changed too rapidly throughout the series, but in reality i believe that, if you live constantly in a fight or flight situation you either adapt or go crazy/die. Another awesome character in the series is head instructor shian, he first seems like the "Rabo" of the Chinese, but through his flashbacks and his interactions with the mc we get to know that he is a really good person trying to atone for his past sins in the wrong way as the series progress.My only complaint about the characters is about shin who is supposed to be the main antagonist i think? although we learn a few things about him, he disappears in the middle of the story only to show up again at the ending.

Now about Art/OSTs/Animation. Sure i get it, this is not the best animated anime, also when the camera focuses up and down it seems like a slideshow for some reason. Most OSTs were decent though and paired with some scenes really caused some tension, which i liked. As a treat you also get the International Workers Anthem in chinese lyrics (i think) at the end which i totally appreciated it.

All in all a very good anime if you can get past the bad animation and the weak antagonist, i felt it could also use a couple extra episodes so to better summarize the ending, but even as it is, the ending is fine.