Kaiba

To be honest, this show wasn't the easiest to get into. If you like light fluffy anime with good humor and no driving theme, this might be a no-no.
Watching Kaiba is like looking at a gallery of abstract paintings. Some things can be confusing until properly understood. The whole story is one long strand of many adventures. I mean, this guy is all over the place. It's like a Greek Epic. Plus, the way it ties in the romantic undertones with Neiro and whatnot? I like that. Along with the many bittersweet moments that accompany conclusion episodes.

The art style was so different that I ... was just like "wow". It's not some grand eye candy or anything, but a lot of animes don't take the risk of using this smoother, "kiddy" looking animation. Though sometimes it was like taking a drug trip.

The sound wasn't really impressive. I guess the OP was okay, that's all I noticed though. The music was just kind of "there". Background noise, rather than some emotion driver (check Clannad).

The characters were good for being as underdeveloped as they were. Hell, Kaiba himself has close to no type of character of his own until the end. He's like Link, if you will. A bit of a "default". And with the vast number of side characters, a lot of them could have gotten a lot more depth to them. But the story and whatnot is jam packed so I'll give this some lean way.

It was very entertaining. Even when it was boring, I enjoyed it a good bit. It was very new and different to me, so I was exhilarated by a lot of things. Even considering how short it is, it has so much put into it to enjoy.

Overall, I give Kaiba a 10/10. Because of how satisfying it was. Even at the end, where a cliffhanger could be interpreted (which definitely wasn't a cliffhanger or anything), I felt a feeling of accomplishment after finishing. I haven't enjoyed an anime in its entirety like this in a while. It was great.

Weird, experimental yet strangely compelling.

PLOT: Highly original plot and setting for this anime. It’s all about the concept of memories and what constitutes an individual. In the world of Kaiba memories can be stored on chips and an individual can implant these memory chips in any body they so wish – this leads to quite a bit of body swapping over the course of the series which was quite an interesting plot thread. Kaiba isn’t afraid to address quite adult themes and complex ethical issues – it’s a very interesting if unusual anime. Of course at its core its a mystery anime – lots of ... flashbacks and convoluted plotlines that don’t all get resolved at the end as we try to determine who the main character actually is. The ending is actually very chaotic and I’m not entirely sure if I know what happened! The show had quite a slow start while it was introducing the world and letting the viewer get used to the setting, these early episodes were very episodic and hit or miss for me. However once we got to the middle section and got to main meat of the plot the show became quite interesting indeed. Very good storytelling in this anime.

ANIMATION: Hmmm I still think a 6-year-old could produce better character designs. I wasn’t all that fond of the very abstract animation in this show – however the lack of structure worked well for the concept – the world is just as fluid and changeable as peoples memories and bodies. Regardless I found it difficult to reconcile the weird childish style and the quite mature, complex subject matter and this hindered my enjoyment quite a bit. Still I appreciate that the creators where attempting to present something new and original.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I really liked the OP & ED, both are quite melancholy ballads and fit well with the general tone of the show. The background score was also quite fitting throughout. Great voice cast as well – made it easier to sympathise with characters that sometimes looked like large multicoloured blobs

Overall an interesting show but fairly difficult to review without getting stuck into the themes the show addresses. It was hard to get into at the beginning but well worth sticking with for its originality and engaging subject matter.

This review spoils the entirety of Kaiba and is advised only for those who have completed the series.

Of Masaaki Yuasa's main three anime series (Kaiba, The Tatami Galaxy, and Ping Pong the Animation), Kaiba is arguably the most ambitious but also the most flawed. It weaves an overarching story while gradually building upon the distinct world it's set within, but along the process struggles with particular plot points being rushed, questionable actions, particular occurrences insufficiently explained, and particular contrivances.

The ways in which Kaiba is able to expand upon its world while maintaining a level of imagination often uncommon in the anime medium is its ... strongest point. Paralleling its cartoony art-style, many of Kaiba's sci-fi concepts are almost childishly simple, but this is in fact a commendable approach. It doesn't try to thoroughly explain the mechanisms of its world through info-dumps and rather chooses to show the viewer how the devices of the world work. To maintain the wonder of the concepts themselves, the series doesn't mechanics that don't need to be explained. From individuals removing chips and transferring someone into another body to scanning one's memory with a device and jumping into his/her mind to teleporting from room to room by stepping on a floating sphere, we get to witness all of its sci-fi concepts in action. We're shown this all naturally through the actions of Kaiba's characters without taking time to spoon-feed the reader all the information, thus enhancing the experience.

From the moment the main character begins exploring the world, the series establishes how the world shapes the mentality of its inhabitants. We see the despair of a family trapped within a cube, unable to experience the world with a real body. We notice attempts to limit the number of people who can inhabit an area with a body for pragmatism. We see a woman striving to escape her current life after winning a new body. Small touches of visual storytelling such as a man's failure at pretending to be a child's brother in order to obtain a body and his cover being blown when thanking the wrong child are well appreciated and serve as natural means of showcasing the deceit that can be present in such a world. Kaiba is the type of series to not hold back on harsh realities. Rather than present a childlike idealistic notion of a world in which memories are fickle and bodies can be manipulated, it depicts the class struggle that would naturally exist in such a world. The rich prosper and live on with near endless potential in what they may do with the manipulation of bodies and memory, while the poor struggle to even thrive in a body. An electrolytic cloud was built to separate the poor from the rich, and those in poverty have resolved to break through the cloud, even when the inevitable result is failing and losing their memories.

We can further see the tendency of impulse, deceit, and denial as we embark through Kaiba's world alonside the titular protagonist. The woman whom Popo sends Kaiba on the ship in episode 1 uses Kaiba's body for her own sexual impulses, loading her memory onto Kaiba's body for pleasure. The depiction of this sexual portrayal is gruesome, and some may be deem this event far too excessive for the series, but it demonstrates the lengths that some individuals may take in such a world and thus is a worthwhile inclusion. Butter's using of various women for his smuggling of memories serves to portray more of the deception inherent in such a world. Vanilla maintains order as a sheriff, but we see he's driven more strongly by his lust for a beatiful woman. Through him we further see the rules enforced within such a world, such as copies of individuals having no right to harm their originals and individuals being free to harm copies. Certainly questionable rules, and pragmatism is raised yet again when the copy within Kaiba's body is spared only so that the body could be sold to the collector Cloak.

Episode 3 further supports the harsh reality of such a world, but it also showcases that there's more to the conflict of characters within this world than mere selfishness. Chroniko's memories being disposed of when selling her body poses the risks and uncertainties that can arise in such a world of deception, but it doesn't depict her aunt Negi as wholly evil. Negi attempts to convince herself that she's justified in selling Chroniko, providing the excuse that she has provided enough for her and that Chroniko isn't her true daughter. But as she reflects upon what she went through to provide Chroniko her boots and takes joy in remembering playing piano with her, she cannot mask her genuine love for Chroniko, consequently grieving over the decision she had made. Although the characters of Kaiba may be driven through selfish ambitions, they are after all still people, and Negi's conflicts represents what playing with the memory of others can entail.

Episode 5 serves to showcase the role of consumerism in such a world. Individuals are more focused on what they can attain for accessories rather than what is truly necessary. Through the story of the robot Patch, we see his ambition in righting the wrongs of Alibiba's consumerism desires. Path's inventions were responsible for such excessive consumerism, but he built those inventions out of necessity rather than personal satisfaction. As such, he resolved to sabotage his creations in rebellion. Unfortunately his limited battery prevents him from succeeding in each attempt, and he loses all memory before recharging. As a result, all his attempts to combat the toxic consumerist tendencies of the masses is in vein. And thus we see the struggle of a character seeking to correct the world when in reality he's only admired for the problem he creates.

Through its episodic format in the first half, the series fleshed out the world through these aforementioned elements but it is also respect-worthy for how it built up its overarching story throughout its episodic format. Episode 1 already showcased Popo's desire to kill Kaiba in front of the skonk, and Hal's role in delivering Hyohyo onto the ship, both central to future reveals. The announcement of Neiro blowing up the memory tanks in episode 2 established the introduction of the Issoudan and suspense over what the relationship between Kaiba and Neiro could be. The end of episode 5 revealed the king of memories warp, leading the viewer to question the significance of Kaiba being given the name warp. Episode 6 established the memory-eating kaiba plant and Kaiba's interactions with Neiro. And episode 7 wrapped up Kaiba's journey with Vanilla, closing the episodic half of the series. Although the focuses shifted throughout the episodic portions, the series maintained a sense of continuity. For example, Kaiba and Vanilla being chased after in episode 7 was directly due to their involvement with Neiro.

With sufficient setup from these episodes, the series focused on its more ambitious central story. The Issoudan's movement to oppose all manipulation of memories was established more thoroughly, Kaiba and Neiro's past together was revealed, and motivations were provided for all of Kaiba's characters. This focused story of Kaiba was surely ambitious, but it also resulted in the majority of the issues with the show's execution. Firstly, Kichi receiving Kaiba's memories after Vanilla's memory transfer was contrived, as the series didn't provide a good enough reason why that location was chosen. Furthermore, although Popo's motivations and hypocrisy in disobeying the rules of Issoudan were understandable, several of his decisions were questionable: from not disposing of Kaiba when he and Neiro fell from the castle to his attempts at getting Kaiba and Neiro to go against each other, rather than ridding Kaiba himself. Popo's ideals of instrumentality (of unifying everyone into a single existence) before being betrayed seemed to come out of nowhere without enough a sufficient basis. Even worse was the barrage of betrayals that occurred in episode 11, which also raised the question of how Mantle and the fake warp survived up to that point, as that wasn't explained well enough. Kichi's love for Hyohyo and Sate's desire to follow Popo faithfully until the latter's instrumentality plan needed to be contextualized better. Fortunately, the ending at the very least handled the relationship between Kaiba and Neiro well, suggesting the importance of connection beyond class divide. Their interactions in both the light-hearted and serious moments were well done, and Neiro was integral in Kaiba's growth from a tyrant focused solely on executing others. Neiro's motivating of Kaiba and her influence as his driving force were necessary for Kaiba's ability to resolve the conflict with the kaiba plant and establish a conclusion in which the connections between individuals was stronger. Despite this, the presence of the kaiba plant at the end seemed far too rushed, and the appearance of another warp at the end wasn't explained properly. The role of the revolving fans also weren't as prominent as they could have been, merely thrown in at the end and taken care of immediately.

Kaiba also had one partciualar lacking character arc. Primarily, Vanilla lacked enough characterization for his sacrifice to have weight as he was portrayed almost solely through physical attraction to Chroniko. Thankfully, such physical impulse is consistent with Kaiba's theme pertaining to the value of the body, but Vanilla being portrayed almost primarily by this hindered the investment that his sacrifice required. Perhaps if his character traits such as his desire to bring back his mother were established earlier on and further traits were added to present him as a more fleshed out character, his fate would have had more impact.

From this we can see a handful of issues with Kaiba's execution. Nonetheless, its ambition mostly made up for it. How it presented its world visually was impressive, and although it had issues with its story, it performed a commendable job given how ambitious it was for the run-time. It would also be an injustice to not mention how strong the series was audio-visually. Kaiba's art was vibrant and distinct compared to most anime, and it featured a strong soundtrack for both the more light-hearted and the more melancholic moments. The character designs were simple yet still expressive, varied, and effective. The series even made use of shortcomings in its art/animation as the lower budget episode 5 integrated the drop in art quality into its story of consumerism and the desire for the artificial. Kaiba definitely uses its audiovisuals for full capacity and probably couldn't work as well in any other storytelling medium.

Final Verdict: (Personal Rating—Fairly Good)

It's no surprise Kaiba is one of the quintessential artsy anime in the medium. It's highly experimental and ambitious in its approach, and although it does falter in the execution of its story, what it accomplishes is more than enough for it to be a worthwhile series.

I don't even usually write reviews and if I did I don't think I'd give anything 10/10 in every category... except this. Seriously. If you're okay with leaving your comfort zone and watching something that will make you think and cry this is an amazing anime.
You genuinely care about every character including all the little minor roles because they're so detailed in their own ways and you can never be sure who will do what not because they act out of character but because they're complex and their decisions, both the good and the bad, make them relatable.
The story seems confusing through most of it, ... and it certainly has bits that don't make any sense, but everything that needed to be tied together was and as far as is possible it all makes sense.
I came out of Kaiba feeling like shit in the best possible way. Anything that can genuinely make you feel strongly like that deserves to be recognized, but I know people are always trying to escape from those sorts of feelings so it won't happen.

A very unique series but somehow lost its spark in the second half. It's hard to summarize Kaiba into one sentence but it basically tells a tale about one guy trying to retrieve his memories. The first six or seven episodes revolves around him travelling to different planets and meeting different people, all of them are affected by the memory-transfer technology. The concept is nothing original, neither are the plot nor the characters. But the amazing artstyle and the superb director make the first half of Kaiba exceptionally enjoyable. Watch the first episode and you'll know what I'm talking about. I have not seen such ... a gorgeous artstyle in years. Absolutely a visual feast. The use of color schemes and camera angles are beyond professional. More importantly, they created a unique AND believable universe which is lacked in most animes.

The main plot kicks in during the second half, where more of this guy's past is revealed. I'm not sure why but the story suddently becomes less interesting. There are no big plot holes but it does seem inconsistent at times. I think the problem lies in the fact that Kaiba has a superb director but not-so-superb writers, and when they shifts the story from style-driven to character-driven, it just fails miserably. The writers don't know how to set up a conflict, they don't know how to advance the plot, they don't know how to use foreshadowing properly. Worst of all, they don't know how to reveal plot twists. They actually did that by letting the cyborg dude preaching to the female lead. The final relevation is also a "meh" for me.

Anyways watch Kaiba for its visual style but don't expect much from the story.

i really wanted to like kaiba. the art style is really incredible, and the world starts out interesting, but the further into it i got, the more problems i had with it. despite being a fan of masaki yuasa, i always get frustrated while watching shows that he directs because i dont think that writing strong characters or honestly, strong plots, is his strong suit. i had the same problems with this that i had with devilman crybaby, especially regarding character. most of the characters he writes are not developed very well or are just plain uninteresting, and just exist as vehicles to move the ... plot from point a to point b. devilman crybaby was a bit better, plot-wise it was very interesting, but that was because it had a fantastic source material to work with. imo his script writing just isn't great.

i was also incredibly disappointed with the world building in this series, especially for a sci-fi show. during the first 2 episodes, i was really intrigued by their society, and for the first half, they did a pretty decent job of world building. despite being more episodic than i thought it would be, the animation stayed consistently good, and concept of being able to climb into another character's memory was enough to keep me into it. but honestly after the midway point of the series, i was kinda bored by it, and the ending turned into a standard we have to save the world plot, and by that point i was not at all invested anymore. it's a shame too, because this anime really does look fantastic. the technology is cool, the creatures are interesting and well designed, and the society they live in has so much potential.

if kaiba wasn't rated so highly on here, i think id be less disappointed, but it's been on my list forever and i was very excited to watch it. i honestly think that it's a bit overrated based on all the reviews and forum posts i've read. i understand people being into this show and enjoying it, but overall, i thought it was just okay.

Story: 9/10

Straight from episode 1 it's clear that Madhouse tries to pull off a narrative in a reversed timeline as the first scene shows a strange boy waking up to discover that he has no memories. The setting is that of a future where memories can be transformed into data and transported from different bodies and as the world is explored more thoroughly, we also receive shattered pieces of information about the protagonist. These do little more than confuse you at first but prove to be vital if you want to comprehend the latter part of the show.

Pulling off a story with such an unconventional ... timeline takes creativity, but Madhouse is up to the challenge. Amongst the numerous clever plot twists and shocking revelations they bring up several questions of relevance; can the concept of a free will truly exist in a world where memories and one’s physical form is so easy to tamper with? And is a technological advancement that trivializes the vitality of one's memories and the body one was born into, an insult to nature and life itself? Several other issues that become relevant with body-swapping and such are the less pleasant topics of sexuality that happens to be a not precisely prominent but still featured theme. People in the Kaiba universe have been known to download false sexual memories for their own pleasures, as well as create their own collections of mindless children to abuse.

Kaiba proves to be an intellectually satisfying ride with an equal ability to confuse and enlighten. Remain concentrated though, and I promise that everything will turn clear when the show is finished!

Animation: 9/10

From the more experimental depths of studio Madhouse comes a mind-numbingly amazing piece of visual eye-candy that would justify watching Kaiba even if the story was horrendous. Eccentric character designs merge with a world of strange shapes and colors that use the potential of sky-high production values to be about as memorable as the animation in Mononoke. Action scenes are usually impressive, and my only real complaint is that a few episodes (the latter ones in particular) seem to fail in bringing the same visual splendor to the screen as their predecessors.

Sound: 7/10

It could be argued that Kaiba's soundtrack is way too minor to fit a story of such extravagance, but just like in Serial Experiments I saw the muted use of music to be both favorable and negative. Most of the scores are memorable and well-made, but there are many emotional key moments that are accompanied with nothing but silence. The emotional punches tend to hit you effectively regardless thanks to excellent scripting and voice acting, but obviously they would have reached even higher levels of impact if they were backed up by some music.

The opening theme, as well as the ending theme, is a calm and most fitting song that lays out expectations for the sci-fi love story you're about to see.

Characters: 8/10

In the end, this section is not rated positively due to an abundance of likeable characters. In truth, the individuality in Kaiba is so muted due to the constant swapping of bodies that you might end up perceiving each character as pretty much devoid of any form of personality. What becomes important is thus the way they interact and change over time, and in the end you might discover that they were in fact better than you thought.

Without resorting to spoilers I might just add that many characters are revealed to hold extremely fundamental secrets related to their actual identities that are exposed later on, but only implied in earlier scenarios. Your personal perception is bound to change over time as you learn new, unpredictable, things about characters that seemed trivial at first. Said unpredictability is most likely one of the key factors to Kaiba’s awesomeness.

Overall: 9/10
Though-provoking, extremely well structured and filled to the brim with frame after frame of artistic wonder; Kaiba is that rare anime that has shockingly few flaws that you can expose. I also reckon that it's rewatch-friendly as it might be fun to search for details in the storyline when you already know the largest aspects of the world. Warmly recommended anime from a person who rarely likes anything this much!

I am not an elitist, but I think this series is not for everyone. It has to be your taste and you must give all of your attention to the plot in order to understand what is happening, otherwise you will get confused no doubt about it.
The art and atmosphere is surely not something you see in anime often - they are unique and some might think childish. The story and the plot though, bring up really mature topics.

Story : 9
What if after you die, your memories can be transferred to a young and lively body and you can live on? Can you imagine what ... a world where memories and bodies can be changed would look like? What moral issues would be brought about? These are the subjects that this anime deals with. The mc is a boy who has no memories whatsoever and tries to find himself. Along the way he meets many interesting characters and learns about their stories and their valuable memories as well.

Art : 9
Childish and simplistic you say? Well I am so into weird staff like this.
There are barely any shades and colorings. The lines are apparent and the colors are bright and compact. But man its uniqueness, it really got me. Animation was also outstanding. Movement and voices were well fit, accurate and synchronized.

Sound : 10
I usually don't give much attention to the music and sounds of the anime. But this had beautiful pieces and the effects were really something. OT and ET were very well fit with the futuristic theme of the series, and the singer had an eerie yet warm voice. Action scenes and sad moments were nicely accompanied with the appropriate piece. When goofy characters were around, goofy music was present as well (something like the Super Mario for game boy music). The 'Tree song' (or else 'Chronico's melody') still haunts me.

Character : 9
Character development was another strong part of this anime. The mc is an interesting character with an interesting backstory and so is every character he meets. All of them have an interesting story to tell, which is also really touching (tears came to my eyes quite a few times). There are characters that you like from the beginning, characters not so likeable but their actions at some point surprise you in a good way or their backstories justify them and characters not likeable at all - each of them play a significant part in the story and plot.

Enjoyment : 8
If everything is excellent, why did I give it an 8? (8.5 to be exact)
The truth is that the plot twists and all those details the viewer has to memorize and absorb are too many. After finishing the series you have many questions about motives and may think that there were many plot holes. The way to solve this is to re-watch either parts or the whole series.
The series as a whole though is really something that, if you are up to these sort of anime and you have an outstanding attention span, is worth a shot. After you have sort most of the plot out, it will be one of your favourites.

NOTE: There are some 'mature' scenes, too, so you better be sure that you are alone in the room with no parents around, in order to not find yourself in an awkward position.

-Note: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible mistakes. (Review in English and Spanish)

Kaiba is a science fiction, cyberpunk and love story that takes place in a world where the digitalization of memory has made physical death obsolete. A world where the memories of people can be transferred, copied, stolen, changed to another body or the it.

The simple premise of the series invites you to want to look at it, it is a very interesting story and premise located in a dystopian futuristic world where the importance of human life was reduced to nothing less than simple merchandise, in this case mainly ... its memories where people who have enough money can choose what body to have and even choose to have only good memories, on the other hand they show us how society has been divided as always between the gap between rich and poor, even the latter even have to sell their body by removing their memory, so that their family can move forward or the most unfortunate are even deprived of their lives, being hunted and taken their bodies by force. We can observe an almost complete dehumanization in several moral values ​​that we can now have.

The series poses an interesting question Is memory the soul? How important is the body? The series could be a critique or mention of the transhumanist future that we could really have just around the corner.

In this world where the body, memory and human life is discarded without remorse, curiously we have our protagonist, a young man in search of knowing who is and of his own memories. Kaiba wakes up without knowing anything and without knowing where he is, with a strange hole in his chest and with a pendant that has a picture of a girl, which surely is someone important to him.

The animation or art is peculiar, I think that many could consider it "childish" or something "cartoon" to the animation at first sight, and with the fact that the series starts with many questions and almost no answer, can make many people decide to leave it. However, although his art can be seen as if it were a children's series, this is a story that has nothing childish and that already makes it clear to you already in the second chapter, quickly you adapt to the style of the series and you enter complemente in the story, personally the animation ended up charming me.

Although the first chapters can be considered episodic, they serve to show and better understand the world in which they live, showing us stories that leave more than one person with a broken heart and with much sadness (do not expect a happy story) ... I must say that I did not expect the series to show us characters in a single chapter and develop them in such a way that you can feel a lot of emotions at the end of their participation.

At the same time they show us characters that at first you may not like them and in the end they end up pleasing you and you end up wishing the best for them or vice versa. Special mention to the characters of Chroniko and Vanilla, I loved them.

The OST is acceptable, the melancholic melodies are well placed at the right moments, my favorite OST of the series is Melody of Chroniko, and its OP and ED, above all its OP "Never" by Seira; It gives you a feeling of sadness and feeling, very good song.

Finally a highly recommended series that should not be judged only by its cover or by its style of art, which would suggest to anyone who enjoys anime and want to see something a little different, this story leaves you a lot of philosophical and critical content. Without a doubt it is a series that deserves to be seen more than once, since there are several new things that you could find with more re-watched.

Overall: 9/10

-------------------------------------------------------Español/Spanish--------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaiba es una historia de ciencia ficción, cyberpunk y de amor, que tiene lugar en un mundo donde la digitalización de la memoria ha vuelto obsoleta la muerte física. Un mundo donde las memorias de las personas pueden ser transferidas, copiadas, robadas, cambiadas a otro cuerpo o al mismo.

La simple premisa de la serie te invita a querer mirarla, es una historia y premisa más que interesante ubicada en un mundo futurista distopico donde la importancia de la vida humana fue reducida a nada menos que simple mercancía, en este caso principalmente sus recuerdos donde las personas que tengan el dinero suficiente pueden elegir qué cuerpo tener e incluso elegir tener solo recuerdos buenos, por otra parte nos muestran como la sociedad se ha dividido como siempre entre la brecha de ricos y pobres, siendo que estos últimos incluso tengan que vender su cuerpo al quitarse su memoria, para que su familia pueda salir adelante o los más desafortunados incluso son privados de su vida, al ser cazados y tomados sus cuerpos a la fuerza. Podemos observar una deshumanización casi completa en varios valores morales que ahora podemos tener.

La serie te plantea una pregunta interesante ¿Es la memoria el alma? ¿Qué tan importante es el cuerpo? La serie podría ser una crítica o mención al futuro transhumanista que realmente podríamos tener a la vuelta de la esquina.

En este mundo donde el cuerpo, la memoria y la vida humana es desechada sin remordimientos, curiosamente tenemos a nuestro protagonista, un joven en busca de quien es y de sus propios recuerdos. Kaiba despierta sin saber nada y sin saber dónde está, con un extraño agujero en su pecho y con un colgante que tiene la foto de una chica, que seguramente se trata de alguien importante para él.

La animación o arte es peculiar, creo que muchos podrían considerarlo “infantil” o algo “cartoonesca/caricaturizada” a la animación en primera vista, y con el hecho que la serie comienza con muchas preguntas y casi ninguna respuesta, pueda hacer que muchas personas decidan dejarla. Sin embargo aunque su arte pueda verse como si de una serie infantil se tratara, esta es una historia que no tiene nada de infantil y te lo deja claro ya en el segundo capítulo, rápidamente te adaptas al estilo de la serie y te adentras complemente en la historia, personalmente la animación me termino encantando.

Si bien los primeros capítulos pueden considerarse episódicos, estos sirven para mostrar y entender mejor el mundo en el que se vive, mostrándonos historias que a más de una persona los dejara con el corazón roto y con mucha tristeza (no te esperes una historia feliz)….debo decir que no me esperaba que la serie nos mostrara personajes en un solo capitulo y los desarrollaran de tal manera en la que puedas sentir un montón de emociones al finalizar su participación.

Al mismo tiempo nos muestran personajes que en un principio pueda que no te agraden y al final te terminan agradando y terminas deseando lo mejor para ellos o viceversa. Especial mención a los personajes de Chroniko y Vanilla, me encantaron.

La OST está aceptable, está bien puesta las melodías melancólicas en los momentos adecuados, mi favorita OST de la serie es Melody of Chroniko, y su OP y ED, sobretodo su OP "Never" by Seira; te da una sensación de tristeza y sentimiento, muy buena canción.

En general una serie muy recomendable que no debe juzgarse solo por su portada o por su estilo de arte, a la cual le sugiriera a cualquiera que disfrute del anime y quiera verse algo un poco diferente, esta historia te deja mucho contenido filosófico y crítico. Sin duda es una serie que merece ser vista más de una vez, ya que hay varias cosas nuevas que podrías encontrar con más re-watched.

Calificación: 9/10

I wish i could put a higher score on this one but there are some things that made me to decide on this score.

Kaiba is about a young boy that has lost it's memories and travels through different bodies in different plannets. While the same time Kaiba hold the entire universe, revolution has began in his own base trying to depose him.

I find the graphics really unique and the story very interesting but i have some objection in terms of the flow of the story and how it can be followed up by the viewer.

Although ive shortly described the story of the series ... (above) i will not enter to more details cause that would be considered as spoiling. However i have to say that i found it very hard for someone to follow the story due to scenes that are somehow really random and that makes the whole plot really complex.
As a viewer i felt like i was bombarded with meaningless scenes and random, useless characters that would take insignificant part in the plot of this anime.

Another negative characteristic of the series (if we can call it negative) concerns the hero of the series it self. Actually i never figured out who is the main character of this anime. This happens because every episode is filled up with unrelated scenes and the basic of the main character appears only in the first episode and in the last 3.

What is the value of memories in a world where they could be simply edited, altered, falsified, like an image in Photoshop? This is a question posed by Kaiba that prevails throughout the series.
Kaiba's plot mainly revolves around the fact that in the universe it occurs in, memories are tactile, and can be tampered with, deleted, or given to another person. The first half consists of mainly episodic vignettes, each building up the multi-planetary land the story takes place in. Throughout these episodes, our protagonist, Kaiba, visits the local people of these planets, learns about their stories, and observes their struggles, while trying to ... keep his skin safe as well. The characters of the day in these episodes, despite often having relatively little screen time, each bloom with emotion and personality. Out of them all, there's bound to one who breaks your heart or puts a smile on your face, even if your aren't the emotional type. If I could have had it my way, Kaiba would have continued using this style of story telling for its whole run, but that's not the case.
In its second half, Kaiba begins to take on an over arcing plot. This is also the point in the show where its quality of story begins to drop, but not because of the usage of an arc itself. The reason Kaiba's story falls apart in its second half is because it is ridiculously confusing and convoluted. I do not mean that in ways of "six episodes of the end of Evangelion" sort of confusing, but confusing enough to make you constantly unable to really have a solid grasp of the story. There IS an actual plot going on, but you'll more than likely have difficulty getting it through a first watch through, and I'd suggest looking up episode summaries of episodes 7-12 just to clarify things for yourself.
Now, however the incomprehensible plot may be, I still recommend watching the last half. Why? Because, Kaiba is simply an incredible experience, and I loved every second of it. The cutesy, retro art style for the characters coalesces gorgeously with the surreal and simple design in the backgrounds. The whole world if packed to the brim with some of the most unique machines and creatures you may see. The color has a slightly washed out vibe, making it seem older than it is, contributing to the retro style. The color palette also helps give a soft air of inhumanity to they show and its characters, showing how far the definition of "life" has changed with transferable memories. The animation is simply mesmerizing. While it may not have the highest frame rate, the characters often move in a manner so natural, and the machines and creatures move in ways so foreign,it's hard to look away from the odd beauty of it all.
The soundtrack is similarly excellent. It sounds similarly alien, and fantastical. The op, ed, and "The Tree Song" all stand out in particular, due to being preformed in actually pretty decent English, albeit, heavily accented. I must commend them for the effort.
Overall, while Kiaba's plot fails in the second half, I cannot recommend this anime enough. While its art style may turn some off, especially when it juxtaposes against some of the more adult scenes, its animation and sound is a true spectacle. If you're feeling tired of seeing the same tired anime tropes and settings, watch Kaiba. I cannot grantee you'll like it, but I can guarantee it will be an experience you never had before.

Kaiba is a journey, where you will meet all kinds of people, some brave, some stupid, so arrogant and some kind. What is really commendable about this anime is that there are no "evil" people, but people lost, due to their obsessions, despairs or lust.
Each and every character is easy to sympathise with, music is calming and emotional, and placed well enough for the viewers to tear up. Art isn't anything to brag about in this day and age, but it's fused with the music, characters and story so well you'll think that any other way of animation/drawing just wouldn't cut it.
This anime, while ... calming to watch, is by no means to be mistaken with the comedy shows, where everything works out in the end, the enemy is spared, and MC goes to train in mountains for next fight bullshit. If anything, this anime is about consequences of our actions, and the value of memories.
Not really easy to reccomend for people going through some hard times, but to all other who'd like to live through 12 episode catharsis, this series is for you!

This does go without saying, but anime can get surreal sometimes. There you are, thinking everything is nice and normal, but weirdness is sometimes looking over your shoulder. Kaiba is the very anime that makes this clear.

Kaiba does have the art style of Osamu Tezuka running throughout it, at least to some degree. For some reason, episode 5 decided "screw that, I'm being abstract!", and Masaaki Yuasa let it happen.

The world-building of Kaiba is pretty good, not the best, but it outclasses a lot of series. The characters were ones I never really felt an emotional attachment to, until we neared the endgame and shit ... got real. Towards the end, things of an entirely depressing nature start happening. It's not overwhelming by any means, but stiil...damn.

But I haven't mentioned the best of it yet. The episodes that are stand alone stories are by far Kaiba's true strengths, episodes 5 and 6 being two of the best anime episodes that I've ever come across. The final few episodes seem disjointed and confusing at first, but things do get explained quite clearly soon after.

As for comparing it to Yuasa's other works, Cat soup and the tatami galaxy are better and should be checked out first. Lu over the wall and other things, you say? Probably reviews for another time.

Boy oh boy was this a good one! I never thought I'd come to love it and get so emotionally attached but here I am.
From the very start of the anime, you can feel that something is amiss in this futuristic dystopian world. People selling their bodies for money and ending up with all their memories in little chips, the rich literally buying happy memories and changing bodies on a whim, endless memories of long forgotten people floating in space for an eternity to come...
Even though the art appears childish and simplistic the topics explored are dark and complex and presented through the stories ... of many diverse (both in appearance and in character) people with a very subtle and tender way.
The music contributed very much, in my opinion, in making this an awesome anime. It gave me the feeling, or rather it made the feeling I got from the story even stronger, that something precious is lost and then regained.
Overall I loved it. From the artstyle that is so unique and different than what we are used to, to the characters which I found so relatable and sweet.
Kaiba was mysterious and bittersweet and I'm seriously thinking about rewatching it even though I just completed it!

Omikron: The Nomad Soul was a game for PS2 and PC made by David Cage. It was a half-magical, half-science fiction bodyswapping adventure that featured terrible shooting segments, a confusing story, and a main character who jumped from body to body with maniacal disregard for the life and personhood of those effected. David Bowie wasn't enough to save Omikron from being a dumpster fire.

Kaiba, on the other hand, is all of the above done exceptionally right. Kaiba takes place in a world where bodies and memories are commodities to be bought and sold, altered and copied. Instead of creating a utopia, this leads to a ... highly stratified society where the caste of the exceptionally rich are the singular beneficiaries. The two major factions, in broad enough terms to avoid spoiling them, are a terrorist organization who fights for the sanctity of the lives of individuals and a government headed by a god-king built around the technology of body and memory transposition.

Where Kaiba really shines is driving home the kind of existential horror the world it takes place in makes prolific. It doesn't feel like the writers do this simply to be mean-spirited or to pull a 'gotchya' moment on the viewer, but even weeks after having finished it I'll shiver remembering what a character used another's body for or picturing situations where one's beloved memories are sold off to keep a household's finances afloat. Some of these vignettes are the focus of a whole episode, some span the whole series, and an unfortunate few are only a brief side plot. In pretty much every case, though, they are very well handled and make me hungry for more while also dreading how the next perversion of what we understand as identity and personhood will twist up my heart and mind.

Kaiba is very distinct artistically on top of all this. Masaaki Yuasa renders the series in a retro-cartoonish style more akin to Astro Boy or even Rubberhose style animation than anything contemporary to it and uses a psychotropic kaleidoscope of a palette. In spite of the simplistic styling, facial fidelity is great and bizarre actions without conceivable metaphors (like literally climbing into someone's psyche) are understood at a glance. There are plenty of bizarre and futuristic appliances in Kaiba and yet they don't seem particularly byzantine or requiring the kind of attention to rationalize them that a more stayed sci-fi universe would necessitate.

If you havn't watched Kaiba yet, it is seriously a treasure. Bear with the first episode, as it has a pretty cold open on account of an amnesiac protagonist and having such a backlog of concepts to start unravelling. You will be presented with a world both cartoony and cut-throat which, in contemplation, you may find yourself wandering back to in a combination of curiosity and horror.

It's absolutely gorgeous. The animation is as fluid and sexy as the common octopus. It's imaginative, although its core sci-fi conceit is something any sci-fi fan has seen many times before.

The music is so good that I still listen to it five years after having watched it.

I cried. I hadn't cried in ten years when I saw it. I didn't know I was capable of such empathy until Yuasa-sensei gently led me to feeling in concert with the rest of man.

Chroniko...

I still remember this rolling, psychedelic, leisurely romp through a dystopian world filled with beauty and color and emotion. Conceptual spaces filled with pain ... and memory. This shining cacophony is something I always recommend when people want to see anime.

9/10, it's going to stay with me for the rest of my life.

Kaiba is a unique and thought-provoking anime that delves into the depths of identity, memories, and the essence of what makes us human. With its distinct art style and philosophical narrative, Kaiba offers a mesmerizing and emotionally impactful viewing experience.

The anime is set in a futuristic world where memories can be digitized and transferred between bodies. The story follows the enigmatic protagonist, Kaiba, who wakes up with no recollection of his past. As he embarks on a journey to uncover the truth, he encounters a diverse cast of characters and becomes entangled in a web of mysteries and conflicts.

One of the standout aspects of Kaiba ... is its visually stunning and unconventional art style. The animation appears hand-drawn with a minimalist aesthetic, reminiscent of retro science fiction illustrations. This distinctive visual approach enhances the surreal and otherworldly atmosphere of the series, immersing viewers in a truly unique and captivating world.

The narrative of Kaiba is complex and multi-layered, exploring profound themes such as the nature of memory, the fragility of identity, and the significance of human connection. It raises thought-provoking questions about the essence of life and what it means to truly exist. The storytelling is non-linear, with flashbacks and fragmented memories adding to the enigmatic nature of the plot.

Kaiba successfully balances its philosophical musings with compelling character development. Each character, no matter how minor, contributes to the overarching themes and adds depth to the story. The emotional weight and poignant moments in the anime are intensified by the well-crafted relationships and the exploration of the characters' pasts.

Furthermore, the soundtrack of Kaiba enhances the overall atmosphere, with its haunting melodies and evocative compositions. The music effectively captures the melancholic and introspective tone of the series, further immersing viewers into its ethereal world.

In conclusion, Kaiba is a visually striking and intellectually stimulating anime that pushes the boundaries of storytelling. With its mesmerizing art style, thought-provoking narrative, and profound exploration of existential themes, it leaves a lasting impression on its audience. If you're looking for an anime that challenges conventions and offers a unique and introspective viewing experience, Kaiba is definitely worth watching.

Memory rendered meaningless. Physical existence diluted to the point of absurdity. Fragmented individual identity beyond recognition due to socioeconomic oppression that fuels exploitation. The advancement of what the system claims as a practicality actually distances us further from what really sets us apart from any other living being in the world. Seeking for the skill of what we shouldn't have access to for our own sake, We've reached a point of collective suicide, a point where we are merchandise of ourselves, a point where the value of life is completely lost. We don't want this, I don't want this, but it's not up to me ... or us, rather it's up to the supremacist leadership that has no aptitude for its people nor for dialogue, the fact that decisions like this are made without individual consent is scary . It is a deluded world, with promising possibilities that end up being vastly harmful to our social well-being, it is all a utilitarian pathological defense disguised as something appropriate and facilitator for the mobility of living beings, it is a way of living established in an insensitive and selfish way whose lack of malleability leads to dysphoria, to post-traumatic stress. This kind of scenario is one we all fear, a world where the superiors don't care about us.

it's no surprise that a captivating factor about Kaiba for me was the fact that its themes were delivered so spontaneously to the point of tracing through several topics without necessarily being inteded, and this is largely due to how the anime's world building is located: In a world where memories exist on memory chips separate from the body, the death of the body no longer means the death of the soul. It is possible for memories to be viewed, altered, duplicated, erased and transferred between bodies. These memory chips are used by the rich to gain eternal life in carefully selected bodies, while for the poor, selling their own bodies and conserving their souls in the chips often becomes the only way to earn a living.
With our memories being able to be transmuted from one body to another, there is doubt about our own existential, after all what exactly are we? And what in fact defines us? our body? our memories? the things we do without thinking, what makes us feel good, what hurts, what we think is valuable to us.
Regardless of what that may be, the universal common knowledge is that we are not comfortable with evasion, but the act of committing it itself is something that not everyone withdraws from. In many cases in the work itself, this being a skill used many times for the system's convenience to manipulate our thinking without any kind of difficulty, but this same tool also has the potential to make us reach the understanding of others, although this means is an unhealthy way to acquire it.
All these questions are relevant and are recurrent in our lives because it is thanks to your daily life that acts as a trigger for their existence, and I think this is one of Kaiba's greatest theses after all: As there is no distinction between the interior and the exterior, the condition of one is reflected and/or caused by the other. We cannot reach mutual understanding without a minimally empathetic collectivism coming from whatever regime we are obliged to host in order to live; in fact, it is thanks to the condition of the outside world that some people even try to decide whether life is really worth living or not.

Kaiba's heightened premonition hovers far from a negativistic dystopia masquerading as "realism" or "rationalism", unlike other things I could compare to thematically-wise, Kaiba seems to have one of the most consistent balances I've seen between weight and introspective importance between the characters and their chemistry that constitute their archaeological mysticity. Despite everything I've already written, the most crucial part that makes Kaiba so special to me is how, within all of this, it still explores different concepts of the feeling of love. Affection, the thing that most distances us from scrap machines that can be built with the intention of replacing us one day, is explored in different ways and in all its due modes of existence, be it maternal or a protective instinct, whether romantic, or even unrequited, these in one way or another come into contact if not they reflect each other

Kaiba's technical qualities are another factor that makes everything about this work distinct even in Yuasa's catalogue. Coming from a director who uses so much articulation both in the animation and in the script structure that is sometimes delivered very quickly, Kaiba leaves everything about it relatively more contemplative and minimal so that the set sounds maximized and dense, but never dull.
Kaiba is like a Cyberpunk formed by fundamentals that don't match Cyberpunk and this goes beyond it's psychological posture. Kaiba's trait is something primarily thought to attract a smaller audience but that consequently is what drove that same audience away from it, in fact, Kaiba's world seems too desolate at the same time confused to declare a definitive description - it's an alienating panorama, The technology is esoteric enough to be akin to magic but grounded enough so that we can recognize it as such. Its atmosphere manages to be flourishing, cosmic and spiritual even as it veers into futurism. The characters having a delicate, bubbly and simplistic appearance, with a somewhat pastelized colorization. Its pacing differs from other Yuasa's works in addition to being more convenient in relation to what each episode focuses on, it also tries to veto something that manages to be perceptible and understood with only what happens in the framing instead of being extremely dependent on its script, thus having moments in the work with silent segments, while the dialogue itself is much simpler than its usual;
In other words, in Kaiba, Story isn't delivered transcriptively, rather it consolidates with a "Show, don't tell" style of storytelling, and this, at least for me, makes all the characters more "reachable" and consequently, it gives a lot of emphasis to the expressiveness that captivated me so much when I saw it initially.

It's impossible for me to delve into everything Kaiba delivers, I haven't even touched in the symbolic portions and other highly-interesting points, but I feel that any focus I could give on any given aspect of it is already useful enough to demonstrate what I appreciate about it. And it was really a case of having watched it "at the right time", I wouldn't be able to see the me beforehand immersing myself with genuineness, much less I would see it in the future as something as emotionally relevant to me as it is in the period I've watched it - Kaiba is not only a transhumanist commentary translated into a language I can understand, but it's also focused on exploitation and how our psyche can be affected by it; as well as a meditation on the malleability of identity, individuality and memory and how we take it for granted, repressing what's most harmful to us and moving from body to body to escape what we perceive as dangerous in itself; getting to know Kaiba's behind the scenes was quite crucial to the experience knowing that even for Yuasa this is his most personal job, and it's really understandable.

Virtually everything about this anime evokes an empathic and great feeling in me. If the second ep didn't fall to me as a brief shallow slipslide, I'd say I care about everything in this anime, even the OST (a highlight for getting away from the very flashy standard, it's something extremely sublime that mostly plays with Ambient Pop, Progressive Electronic, Glitch and Post-Industrial with a gratifying sound design) which, in particular, was the light of the 5 days I spent with a huge fever and flu at the end of the year; It was the only thing I kept hearing on certain days, and it really made me feel less worse, making all that pain all the more bearable.

Note: this is from a video review, look for links on my profile page.

Kaiba is the visual type of sci-fi whose expositions are minimal, but relies on a more intuitive understanding of a possible world. It has this organic feeling, in that anything can grow anywhere, anyone can be any object. Perception is questioned, geometry limitless, but society is still very much familiar, as is often the case in this genre. Viewers' comprehension is baffled, but they try to juxtapose the puzzle any way. These, they learn, are artificial bodies, now a technology intrinsically.

Can memories be blown away like the sands of time? How does ... hue, variance, temperature change our impression of a moment? Can mood be separated from feeling? How is darkness filled in by the void of the mind? What difference does background have, does the exterior have a relational countenance? Can one be blind to the actual, yet give in to illusory possibilities? Why does memory function differently in stages? Are analogies ever adequate? Is this a sphere or a jumbled mess of degrees? Is fire ever possible without oxygen? Why does one even assume darkness has no atmosphere?

Is it to be assumed that flowers bloom on rocks? Would that be some sort of eel-snake amalgamation? Why at a micro level is there a practical reliance on the global scale? How could technology be anthropomorphized? Could the sociological descriptions of relations be that of mere substitutes? Is there 'intention' behind certain evolutionary traits to propagate? Survival depends on every possibility. But, from a personal, subjective perspective one values specific objects more or less, whether inanimated or still existent. Whichever plant this may be.

What if distinct planets do end up with different cultures? What kind of physicality is preferable, would it be solely based on functionality? How would its shape change consciousness? Would gene modification even be involved with artificial objects? It doesn't seem necessary to sustain a plush toy. There certainly is the likelihood of an industry springing up to sustain this, though. Would society be fundamentally different, or would the only distinction be in appearance, limitlessly? Vanity would likely still be derived from the same source. But how could ears spawn creatures? And what if a human facet passed down to blobs of cells, or even evolved molluscs? In this world even cerulean centaurs can be an option, actualizing mythology. Cats invent artificiality with the aid of emoji interfaces. The contrast between light and darkness. A window of technological potentialities. A cartoon future devoid of universal familiarity.

Is the cycle of life disrupted if indestructible mixtures are intertwined? Would it be possible for a flow of will to transition into a parallel continuation? Would it make a difference if it was fibre or protein? Are they the same electrical impulses that course through at different rates? Perhaps we could gauge the lapse of old age. Could the entirety of waking consciousness fit in some minuscule contraption? What would then be the difference between dolls - with eyes open - and ones where life inhabits? Could a blueprint exist for a perfect life?

What role would colour play in a smoothly-flowing society? Would rhythm make any sense if shapes are indistinguishable? How much hedonism could groups at large sustain and for how long? Historically, not indefinitely. In this narrative personalities diverge, and even clones forge their own destiny. Memories are uncertain as they're essentially recreations based on the amygdala. History is a series of interactions between brains and egos.

Technology, as shown in this anime, is often inspired by what nature ended up with in its random permutations. Water is as fluid as some machinery can be in navigating it. It plumbs the depths of some indistinct planet of indeterminate hue, just as it also delves into the subconscious role of memory and the psyche, abstractly.

How does one perceive incoherent likeness? How unique is a mental state upon the moment of judgement? Kaiba shows, viewers question, but answers aren't necessarily forthcoming. A fog of arbitrariness permeate Masaaki's anime, it seems, and it appears functionally useful in a sci-fi narrative, to create a sense of unexpectedness associated with the unknown. It attempts to create an overarching world, analogous to Evangelion, but the slice-of-life elements are mostly what elevates it to the interest of psychology, at a more quintessential level, than the interpersonal.

Kaiba can be a quirky, heightened experience with unusual art and a contemplative, inquisitive story that straddles the thresholds of dreams. The science fiction to Tatami Galaxy's romance.

Kaiba, well this took a while before I finally watched it. Why I didn’t watch it earlier? Well, because it easily fades behind all the popular anime, which is such a waste.

Kaiba was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, which showed the beauty and cruelty in one world. I loved every second of this anime. The mystery, the mature themes, the soundtracks and the characters where amazing. With the end of an episode, I immediately wanted to see the next, hence why I finished it rather quickly.

The main character is interesting because of his amnesia and the search for who he is and who the ... person in the picture is. This is not the reason why I started the anime though. I fell in love with the simplistic yet beautiful looking art style. Besides this, I liked how this world exists of people storing their memories to, well, never die. It shows of course how easy it is for the rich and how hard it is for the poor.

Even the side characters the protagonist meets along his journey are interesting. They give you more inside on the cruelties and beauty of this world. They were not just mere side characters as they give development to the main character.

The art style should not keep you away from this anime. It’s simplistic, but it fits the story very well. Nothing more to say about it.

Just give this anime a go if you like your psychological stories and anime that differ from the rest. It’s an adventure of emotions, so at least try this anime.