Bokura no Ame-iro Protocol

EA Sports: It’s in the Garbage.

When an anime starts its first episode by having the main protagonist die in a video game of ugly anime-counterfeit Counter-Strike because his little sister had a tantrum and pushed the controller out of his hand a bit, and the protagonist reacts by melancholically musing “Thinking back now… maybe that was when it all started” followed by a time skip to the present day, I don’t know how you wouldn’t expect me to bust my gut laughing.

Protocol: Rain is the story of a gamer. A gamer who had to give up his gamer identity and legendary ugly anime-counterfeit Counter-Strike ... skills after his father died and his sister was injured so he could work part-time in an esports café. Unfortunately, like most things in tech, the café is going under due to poor management and the only way to pay off the debt is for the café to form an esports team comprised of the best gamers the café can get its hands on at that moment in time and win an esports tournament. Protagonist-kun and boring toilet paper person, Shun has to warm up his wrist, brush up on his ugly anime-counterfeit Counter-Strike skills and rediscover his gamer identity to win with his friends who are also there, I guess.

As you can see po-faced melodrama and esports don’t mix well. There’s a reason why that one episode of Law and Order about the gamer murder is so widely mocked. Protocol: Rain takes its narrative so seriously that it actively alienates anyone who doesn’t want to breathe in the smoke the show blows up its own arse. That is if you haven’t already dropped the show over how flat, lifeless and boring it is. There is a reason why anime about video games usually have them take place in VRMMOs. It’s a lot more entertaining watching characters go on a VRMMO adventure (depending on whether the anime is good or not) than watching anime characters sitting at a computer playing ugly anime-counterfeit Counter-Strike.

Of course, this is also a melodrama about a gamer getting over his dad’s death and his crippled sister so he can play video games well again. When characters aren’t sad, annoying or passive they’re stalking a high school gamer girl home and then breaking into her apartment whilst she's showering so they can ask her to be on their esports team. Or they’re an esports team getting high on their own supply after losing to a bunch of nobodies. Meanwhile, I highly doubt the writer has ever watched or studied an esports tournament given how inaccurate the subject is presented. There’s just nothing and no one to relate to or get attached to in this story at all.

The art and animation are also flat and lifeless. I was shocked when I found out it was an anime original because the character designs and the overall presentation scream “light novel anime”. I’ve mentioned the ugly anime-counterfeit Counter-Strike game which is the central game that everyone in this world seems to be playing, but CGI and graphics from the early 2000’s as well as how bland it looks to play, I doubt any gamers would be caught dead playing it. The alarm bells were ringing when the anime trailer didn’t show off any of the “gameplay”.

Ultimately this anime is awful. A genuine waste of time. Anime has never been good at representing gamers or gaming at the best of times but this is another gamer anime which doesn’t understand its target audience let alone its subject matter. The only positive point I can give is that the characters and the backgrounds are all coloured in.

1/10 The Worst.

I really liked the anime.
I am a gamer myself and always wanted to become a competitive player.
Hope there will be a continuation of the series.
The story is unique if you like gaming and E-sport you will love it.
Unfortunately, not enough is said about the characters.
I would like them to give a longer backstory on all the characters in the anime.
The progress in the plot is at a good pace.
The art is very good and it's fitting the story.
The game design was also good it looked like a game I would like to play.

... I really recommend anyone who likes shooting games to watch this series.

The only thing that bothered me, as I wrote above, was that not enough was told about all the figures, even though there were figures that looked like they could have a very interesting life story.

A Glimpse into the Future of Anime Storytelling

In a world of ever-evolving anime, Bokura no Ameiro Protocol stands out as a refreshing and thought-provoking tale that delves into the intricacies of human relationships, the complexities of decision-making, and the importance of teamwork and trust. While the anime may not be perfect in every aspect, its strengths far outweigh its shortcomings, making it a worthwhile watch for anyone seeking a captivating and thought-provoking anime experience.

A Modern Story with Room for Improvement

Bokura no Ameiro Protocol sets itself apart from many anime by taking place in a modern-day setting, allowing viewers to connect with the characters and their ... struggles on a more personal level. The anime explores themes of social media addiction, cyberbullying, and the pressures of modern society, making it particularly relevant to today's youth.

However, while the anime's modern setting is a strength, the story itself could benefit from further development. The plot occasionally feels rushed, and certain characters' motivations could be more fleshed out. Despite these shortcomings, the overall narrative is engaging and thought-provoking, keeping viewers hooked from start to finish.

Immersive Audio Experience Despite Visual Limitations

The audio aspect of Bokura no Ameiro Protocol is undoubtedly one of its strongest points. The anime's soundtrack perfectly complements the atmosphere of the story, creating a sense of tension, suspense, and hope that enhances the overall viewing experience. The voice acting is also top-notch, bringing the characters to life and adding depth to their personalities.

Unfortunately, the anime's visual presentation does not quite match the quality of its audio. The character designs are somewhat generic, and the animation, while not outright bad, could be more fluid and expressive. Despite these limitations, the visual style still manages to convey the emotions and atmosphere of the story effectively.

A Tale of Teamwork, Trust, and the Power of Decision-Making

At its core, Bokura no Ameiro Protocol is a story about the importance of teamwork, trust, and the power of decision-making. The anime follows a group of high school students who must work together to overcome a series of challenges, both personal and external. As they navigate these challenges, they learn to rely on each other, form strong bonds, and make decisions that will shape their futures.

The anime's emphasis on teamwork and trust is particularly noteworthy. In a world that often celebrates individualism and competition, Bokura no Ameiro Protocol reminds us of the value of relying on others and working together towards common goals. The anime also highlights the importance of making informed decisions, as the choices made by the characters have a profound impact on their lives and the lives of those around them.

Story: 7/10
Visual: 6/10
Detailed: 6/10
Characters: 7/10
Emotions: 6/10
Smoothness: 6/10
OP/ED: 7/10
Audio: 9/10
Originals: 8/10
Intense: 8/10
Uniqueness: 8/10
Fun/Laughter: 4/10
NSFW: 2/10
Boring/Idling: 3/10

A Recommendation for Thoughtful Viewers

While Bokura no Ameiro Protocol may not be a perfect anime, it is a thought-provoking and engaging story that deserves to be seen. Its modern setting, immersive audio experience, and focus on teamwork, trust, and decision-making make it a worthwhile watch for anyone seeking a captivating and thought-provoking anime experience.

About this anime... on paper it sounds interesting and fun, but the other is true.

At the beginning show tries to make us care and everything other than the esport. The fact that esport and the weirdly named game aren't properly fine tuned in the anime really brings it down. Teams behave like normal players in ranked and not pros. Instead of communicating with their team they sqeak with each death and use tactics from ebay.

The game itself is just bad, idk in what universe such game would be popular. Its trying to be spin on counter strike and valorant, but that's all it ... is. 5 playable characters which can't be picked more than once. Graphics from ps1 (maybe 2). Game has serious issues with visibility where everything is just dark or black so some colourful characters are perfectly visible but others are almost invisible. Next them trying to run away from exploding objective. Why? There is nothing even remotely close to showing us there is any sort of disadvantage to dying. Guns... oh boy weapons in the game are capable of 1 shot but sometimes they just need to hit 20 rounds I to each other. No recoil. No reload. No variety. Each character gets its own weapon and you go. Also there exists some very bad system of switching sides where 1 team with 5 won rounds and then they go attack or defend depending on what they were doing before, but!!! After that sides dont switch until one of the teams reaches 7 round wins??? (In csgo you play first to 16rounds out of 30 and you switch sides at 15th round) I just wanna know what they were thinking when they came up with that. Anyway the fact its all cgi (the game, everything else is animated properly) wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so plain. Anime about esports and game, where both take about half of the runtime, but esport is full of 8yo kids and game was made 20 years ago. Not fun to watch as a gamer.

Yes, I'm biased against the esport and game characters play. I was quite excited to watch some esports anime, but not enough effort was put in it. This show would probably work better with some battle royal if they wanted to keep expenses low.

Lastly if you like games or esport, just don't watch this anime. For casual ani.e lovers it might not be bad.

The story is mediocre, the drama is forced, but this is still worth watching because of:
1) Sawano Hiroyuki's opening – trust me, that OP is so good that you won't skip it even once.
2) It has reasonable girls – they're not mentally unstable, they're not trying to jump onto the MC's dick, they don't behave like assholes.

Ok, now, what might cringe you out is:

1) The main antagonist – the typical "I want to play around with the MC" type, who evil (not so evil, though) just because ... he's evil. He doesn't have any real motivation.
2) MC's little sister – she's just so passive that it's annoying.
3) Gameplay – those 90's Doom style walking and running animations are really cringe for a "very popular and highly acclaimed" shooter game that is worth of holding a tournament.

So, my rating, including the personal bias, – 7/10.

The moment you start watching this anime, you'll feel that something is off. The CG graphics in the in-game scenes are so outdated that it's hard to believe it's a work from 2023. It feels like you've gone back 20 years in time.

But it's not just the graphics; the story is lackluster, and the characters are flat and passive, making it impossible to relate to them. There's no anticipation for the next episode due to the unconvincing narrative.

Doubts arise about whether the writer even watched an esports match before creating this anime, given how little it seems to understand the subject matter. If you remove ... the esports theme, there's hardly any differentiation from other anime.

If you have time to spare watching some trash related to esports, you'd be much better off watching actual esports matches.

I like this show, and I'm writing this because I think there's a perspective a lot of the negative reviews are missing.

To start with the obvious: the esports game they play. I'm not a big gamer so maybe that's why this didn't bother me. There's no denying the 3D game graphics looked bad, I personally had no problem with that. But if you're looking for a show because you want the esports version of sports anime like Blue Lock or Haikyuu then this show isn't for you. They don't go in depth on any game details or strategy and the game scenes aren't visually appealing. ... That said, I still think the game scenes are interesting enough to do their job in the plot if you go in with the right expectations.

With that out of the way, I think this is a decent show if you watch for the characters. I won't spoil, but the main character is easy to root for and I think the decisions he is forced to make are what make the show worth watching. The plot isn't earthshattering but there are a couple different character dynamics at play that are interesting. The villain feels a little odd for this genre, but he was still a positive addition to story.

The show has a solid ending imo, but I do understand the complaint that a couple of the storylines never get addressed. They are definitely secondary stories, but it was odd that the show bothered to open a couple threads if they wasn't going to close them. I don't know anything about the development of this show, but it feels like it might have left them open for a possible season 2, though the main plots are resolved so I wouldn't call it incomplete.

Overall, I think this is a solid show if you want a character drama that uses esports as a backdrop to tell its story.

Protocol Rain is an interesting show, the things it does right, it does decently well.
What it does wrong though it does very, very, poorly.

I will say this opinion is exacerbated by me being a counter strike player, which this anime was seemingly based on as one of the maps is a layout copy of the bomb defusal map dust 2; the tactics, gameplay, and general gamesense felt atrocious to me, while they were able to capture team dynamic, storyline, individual player thought process, associated with E-sports.
It utterly fails to display player skill.

TL:DR Protocol Rain feels like the delusions of grandeur of a silver who thinks ... they know how the game is played.

I was very excited to see where this show would go when I saw that they were actually playing a game I spent thousands of hours on and I was sorely disappointed.

Um... So this show was kinda whatever. I liked the premise from what I heard of it; a guy who had a gaming addiction in the past gives up gaming entirely to take care of his family after a tragic accident takes place. But surprise surprise, he gets back into gaming in an attempt to become an MLG pro gamer that can support his family with tier 3 subs and Raid Shadow Legends sponsorships! The game in question is a generic MMO FPS, aka a game that I have NO nostalgia for. I'm sure if this is a type of game that you enjoy, you ... might find it fun to see it being represented in an anime like this. But constantly having to look at the mediocre graphics of the gameplay wasn't really interesting for me. I feel like they could've used this setting as an opportunity to show the characters literally within the game world, AS their characters, or something cool like that. Instead of just... people sitting in chairs and reacting to the 3D models on the tiny screen awkwardly shuffling around. The show also just doesn't care about any of its cast. It's really just the "Shun and Yu Show" from beginning to end. And even then, parts of their storyline don't even get resolved in the end. The "villain" if you can call him that is really dumb and makes NO sense whatsoever. I kiiiiinda get what they were going for, but it was just done in a very awkward and nonsensical manner, in my opinion. I get the message they were going for with the main story and I think it had potential to be very dramatic and heartrending. But it just kinda feels very awkward and uncomfortable with a lot of forced drama and conflicts. It also just feels very "Big Bang Theory-esque" in its portrayal of gamers, streamers and their fans. So don't expect much positive representation in that department, other than the obligatory "and then everything worked out with the power of friendship and gaming and they all lived happily ever after!"

5/10

It's underrated, looks like you procrastinating a lot before start drawing a day before deadline.

However what's lie behind the graphics, the story plot is somehow make me related with his struggle and also every character development make me remind when I started my career, don't get me wrong but it horribly written that the details are forced out that I could missed out such detail in later story.

If you like where character could being development very good, this might for you, their weakness is what make it somehow relating.

Don't expect anything that you get a life changing event after watch this, this show is entirely ... and merely entertainment.

The only thing you could get is watching how the main character solve his problem with realistic solution, not the average anime with overpowered skill or idealistic solution.

A good anime ruined by pointless melodrama
I liked the characters and design. They all seem unique and likable. Animation, sound, voice acting and music are on or above par. No the problem is the story outside the cafe and esports. No spoilers but isn't the drama of using esports to save the cafe enough? Couldn't that be built upon? Yuu's drama could've been solved with one adult conversation and/or a few social media posts. Who wrote this? The esports portion is fine, but the rest of it feels added on for the sake of building drama, that still takes a backseat to the esport.

I never do reviews because it's not really my thing, but this anime made me want to give it one, it has a lot of bad things, more than anything in the matter of coherence of an fps concepts and bases, they name normal things as something difficult to achieve when the majority mediocre players can do it, even so, watching this awakened feelings of my old self, I was a professional FPS player, that's why I recommend this anime, if you are a competitive gamer or you simply love to compete in whatever this anime awakens that fervor that you carry inside at least ... a little

This is the perfect 4 out of 10 show that I only have a vested interest in because I want my friend who is an actual ESports Caster for Valorant, @endercasts, to VA in.
If you have connections, he is interested and willing to take a role. No cap

That aside, where to begin.

This show sucks. Like really sucks. Like your bottom fragger is a squeaker who keeps peaking their mic telling the team to Rush B... while on defense.
But somehow the strat works because the other team is just brain dead enough to run that play every round even as you buy Odins ... and demolish them. And now you have a 9yr old as your shot caller and IGL in your new ESports team.

That is the kind of vibes the show has

The premise is okay, not anything to write home about, but just the right amount of drama that you can maybe eke out a few drops of emotion from the stone cold hearts of the gamers who'll actually watch this show, maybe. I mean there really isnt much to comment, it's like Code Red Mountain Dew and Cheetos: junk food for gamers, except the Cheeto dust doesnt get stuck in your keyboard but instead coats it completely as your cat knocks the two litre bottle over and fries your PC. You know how the story is going to go, you know it's not good, but you watch it anyway.

Characters are lackluster, but honestly true to form, sorta. MC Shu refusing to take a shower is probably what saved the entire cast since that single quirk made them feel believable. He's a true gamer so much so that you can almost smell the stench of Gamer Gunk only present at anime conventions, Yugioh Card Shops, and local LAN tournaments. 10/10 character quirk, but otherwise a soggy piece of public restroom toilet paper without it.
Everyone else is whatever, though I love how everyone just accepts there is a socially awkward older man who inserts himself into a group of teenagers like it's nothing. That part kind of bothered me, but at least nothing too weird has happened so I can ignore it

As for the good, they at least got the maps right and know basic gamer terms. That's cool. I guess.
Oh and they have a love triangle with the milk toast MC in it. That's pretty poggers.

Yeah, that's about it.

I'm enjoying the show, and you might too, but much like the hot spring episode just don't take it seriously and ignore the details and you'll probably have fun with it. Just ignore how everything was done on MS paint by some dude they hired in Uganda off of Fiver and you're good.

For that I double my score: 8/10 show.
Do not recommend unless you are gamer enough to handle it

The story of this anime is very interesting, it is not as interesting as king's avatar is but is still well above average. I can't say the story is unique but it is very interesting that one will look forward to.
The anime is an original anime so I cannot talk about future but for now the story totally revolve around shun the protagonist.
It has many life lessons and it may become inspiration for anyone who have abandon there passion in favor of a more realistic options in life.
I suggest this anime for all who wants to follow their passion and also to those who ... once had a dream that they abandoned now.
The art style is good.
9/10 excellent

So... if you are reading this review at this moment, there is a big chance that you have not watched this anime yet and are probably thinking of giving it a try after reading the synopsis or maybe after seeing the cast of voice actors or maybe you are just curious to see Ruka-chan's isekai gaming journey. For whatever reason you had thought of watching this 'Video Game' anime, just drop it.

Ok, so I am going to talk about the eSports aspect of the show first. I am guessing that most of the gamers from the last decade (casuals included) have at least heard of ... Valorant and Counter Strike. The characters of this show play some sort of rip-off version of those two games which somehow looks way worse than the games of the PS3 era. I don't get why some of these anime are having serious issues with the CGs. Yeah, they are horrible in this one too. But bad CGs weren't the only issues. This anime has these pro eSports squads taking on each other who do not behave like actual pro gamers at all. At least I have not seen a functional gaming group acting like that. More on the characters later. You just have to know that they weren't even close to creating a realistic rip-off and a set of realistic characters who would give the intense vibe these games give in real life. They were off by a lot.

Plot (3/10): Shun, a guy who has a ton of family issues, starts gaming for the second time. He has a gaming cafe where they flirt, eat, sleep, etc. He, along with his group which consists of a pedophile, a childhood friend, an isekai-d Ruka-chan and a random fat gamer. (Yeah, I am not using their names because I forgot most of them). Anyways, the way this show progresses is really messy. The whole 'Sister being mentally weak' thing makes little sense. The events of this show were hard to follow, sometimes random and sometimes unnecessary. They tried to give the main two characters some common complex scenarios to deal with which is fine but they failed miserably while doing that. And this show apparently has some romance in it. This statement is maybe partially a lie. This seems like two timid girls chasing after one oblivious guy who probably has no intention of dating either of them as this dude's only concern is his sister's illness. And they didn't even resolve that whole love triangle problem. Everyone seemed fine at the end. I forgot to mention earlier about the cringy antagonist who drinks curry every time he is on screen. Thank God he does that. Otherwise I would have forgotten his existence entirely. Other side characters were also bland and had no involvement in the story whatsoever. Overall, if you put every half-baked idea in an anime together it would be something like Protocol:Rain probably. Or it might be even better.

Animation (2/10): I have spoken about the horrendous CGs earlier. Now I am going to talk about another matter which bothered me for at least a couple of episodes. The fact that they used a character (Yuu) who is almost identical to a character (Ruka Sarashina) from a totally different show just surprised me. You take off the ribbon from Ruka's hair and that's pretty much it. We have been talking about those Kirito rip-offs all these years but none of them were as close to the original as this character is. So, it lacks originality in character designs as well which adds to the failures this anime already suffers from.

Audio (6/10): This anime had great voice actors working in it. All of them did their job just fine. The OP and EDs were average. Still not as bad as the other departments though.

Overall (4/10): I generally do not give any anime below 5 ratings unless I am extremely annoyed. This show as a whole had nothing to offer the fans of any genre at all. It had terrible visuals, a non-existent plot, useless family drama, pointless love triangle and on top of that, it made a mockery of the 'eSports' concept while not even aiming for it which summarizes how bad this anime is. It will be some sort of miracle if it gets a second season to solve those drama issues they left undecided. As of now , this is a strong contender for the worst anime of fall 23 along with 'A Girl and her Guard Dog'.

"Don’t watch this."

Protocol: Rain a.k.a Our Rainy Protocol - When it rains, what can we do? Shall we play a game?

I'm sure you've heard of the term eSports; it has become a global phenomenon from games like Counter Strike:GO to Fortnite, with international championships that are a high-stakes fame and fortune roundabout way of saying that this is the job of professional gamers.

Well, I'm sorry to tear your gamer card: Take one look at Bokura no Ameiro Protocol, and what you see is what you get. Props to the studio for trying to create their inept imitation of Counter Strike, but it looks janky...and also programmed like ... you ought to know what is happening in real time. The answer is: WE DON'T!

I could've just directed you to watch the greatest eSports series ever made, which hails not from Japan but from China, and you might even have heard it before: Quanzhi Gaoshou a.k.a The King's Avatar. But hold your controllers first; let us understand what this show is all about.

The show, in a nutshell: It's basically Quanzhi Gaoshou, but dialled WAY down to 1 (or even a BIG FAT ZERO), incorporating what the former series had ignored to make its star stand out: its characters engrossed in the games and getting better at it. Think of whatever tropes you can use to describe this "anime": annoying, overused anime tropes such as stupid love triangles, a high school setting, anything. Whatever you can think of this show has it all.

Basically, you have this character who's at the centre of the game: Shun Tokinoya. He was more than just your typical high school sophomore: he's once a pro gamer of the show's lazy-ass Counter-Strike imitation of the Xaxxerion game working at the "highly acclaimed" Team Fox One eSports cafe, that is, until his world came crashing down with an accident that ripped the family of their father and crippled their sister Mio for life. As if that's not enough, the cafe that Shun is working in is experiencing a prudent level of debt that the old team could not muster. So, together with his friends Nozomi Inatsuki, Akito Sendo, Ryusei Nagamine, and Yu Saegusa, along with Nozomi's father of Souta Inatsuki being the cafe and team owner, they establish the new wing of the Fox One team to participate together in the Xaxxerion championships to win and pay off their debt, with Shun experiencing a turning point thanks to an gamer who goes by the IGN Bakuretsu-kun, who helps him move forward in life.

First off, this show...it's a mess. Shun has to take care of a lot of things in his life: his family that's now left with their mother and the crippled sister, whom the "prodigal" son wants to work hard to bring to rehabilitation, leading up to the Xaxxerion game, where the newly minted Team Fox One has to find capable members to form a team to win matches and win hard-earned prize cash. And in the process, the not-so-hidden romantic fight develops an interest in the MC: Nozomi, Yu, and even Mio (who developed a severe bro-con status). Much so in particular that Yu is a full-time actress that Shun has been crushing on for quite a while, and this gets exacerbated in the face of the fight between siblings, where Shun and Mio feel like they're each responsible for the deadly outcome. If that isn't enough, one of Shun's competitors is a literate red flag for being an IT-ceptive stalker who forces him to forge his own path and forget about the outside world. Even worse, the other characters are really one-note at best. Par for the course for Team Fox One's members, but having its two loyal fans, Seshiru Sato and Emiko Takanashi, supervise them in their playing, then what's the point of playing when the fans have a better receptacle than the gamers themselves? This just looks and sounds so wrong on all levels.

I never had faith in this rather "new" old studio Quad. Their only 2 shows, from Winter 2022's Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san a.k.a Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department, to this Winter's infamous Inu ni Nattara Suki na Hito ni Hirowareta a.k.a My Life as Inukai-san's Dog., they are adapted decently, but still have a part to play in the downfall of the anime overall. Add this show to the studio's mediocre showing, and what else is left to salvage, giving the 30-year-old studio a chance to redeem itself? It looks like there's no one willing to.

Not even the OST that has the SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] treatment is able to save the show overall. If anything, this show didn't need to have the acclaimed music composer's work here; it just tarnishes all of the effort that he's put into the show, which is just uncalled for. SennaRin's OP and somei's ED, easy skip.

Trust me when I say that Bokura no Ameiro Protocol is just plain bad. Everything about it just screams amateurish or even to the point of false advertising, not to mention the game elements, which, by intentionally hiding them in the PV trailers, should have been a red flag that the anime was D.O.A. even before it began.

Let this be a warning: Just skip this show; you'll be wasting your precious time.

I'm fed up with this, MC has no stance and is easily influenced by the talk of the mutsuki.does the MC not understand his sister who is afraid of losing your attention, and why do I see his sister like seeing a siscon?
For the quality in the game, it is very bad even though SAO is better, if outside the game, it's still ok tp when playing games like stiff.for the storyline it looks like this anime can't have romance because the mba nozomi is made like a mother who loves the guy lol.
For those who want to watch it, it is recommended not ... to watch because the anime makes emotions and I seem to be going to drop and immediately watch it at the end of the episode.