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Mar 27, 2016
Hai to Gensou No Grimgar
While my enthusiasm of this show was great, I felt further compelled to write a review to counter some of the more premature and unappreciative ones that I’ve read so far that I feel have been a little unfair in their judgment and criteria. As such I would like to word this to aid potential/reluctant viewers to consider this show by giving them a fair idea of what it is:
Intro:
Just as the ages of anime about the stereotypical hero fights a demon lord inspired boredom and more novel ideas of SAO/Virtual Game Survival Genre threw fans in a frenzy, Hai
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to Gensou No Grimgar might be one step further in the evolution of the genre:
Introducing the king of [hyper-realism fantasy] aka what a SAO x Attack on Titan baby might look like (with some slice of life, with daily life being war, so… #slice of war)
Introducing the [hyper-realism fantasy, slice of war] genre! <An anime that focuses on being the countermovement of all the stereotypical things you see in anime nowadays> achieving this by extreme attention to detail!
Story:
If you read the synopsis, yeah you know what this story is about. The premise seems promising, is uncomplicated, and its success solely depends on the execution. It is important to realize early on that this isn’t the story of characters who were born messiahs or unrealistic figures with some hero bone implanted upon birth, different in any way, but rather normal folk surviving in a WORLD (where realistically the WORLD/NATURE > an individual) and this principle is made clear early on and stuck to that gives much integrity to the identity of HtGnG. As the characters (dynamic in their own right) struggle in their circumstances in an idyllic impressionist illustrated background, it becomes clear later on how much beauty there is in reality and in the successes of finding survival. This is essentially a core component of the beauty of HtGnG that would have been lost if it had let artifice and deux ex machinas taken away from that final victory. The alternative title of: Story of the Kick-@$$ Goblin Hunters also gives you a good enough idea of the plot. But anyways this brings us to the…
Execution:
There is an ever-evolving perspective that has a changing focus in each episode that makes this short series so spark-filled with moments and depth and each episode interweaves with another to depict different aspects of either the characters, their development or struggles, or the world that they must survive in. An early scene of the party struggle in the longest fighting sequence in anime history against a lone goblin truly aided in depicting the gruesomeness and brutality of war/survival as well as how the condition of kill or be killed is reciprocal to any living thing in that universe. This isn’t replicated again of course but such moments of telescopic detail really do make the show unique. There are also several small nonchalant details that add to the realism tag like the novel mechanism used in a contraption meant to start a fire – this I found fascinating for some reason.
Overall this show is one that I have been longing for a long time with good vision, flow, camera work, detail, message, and most of all, realism. I’ll refine this review a little more in the future but it’ll do for now.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 29, 2015
The simplest way to explain the allure of psycho-pass is in understanding how it is a less-plot driven story and has strong elements of "hard science fiction" where through layers of abstraction and interplay of theory-of systems and exceptions to those systems and acknowledging the potential aberrations to those conditions, a very realistic or at least theoretically-sound world takes form.
In essence the very stage and world of psycho-pass includes interesting elements that all fit naturally together and is quite enjoyable and thorough.
The cast and dialogue speak from a clear sense of position and individuality that makes every line again seem natural and contributes to their
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character. There is a split portrayal similar to The Great Gatsby with the inspector/enforcer relationship that was interesting to watch and a psychological chase not as intensive as Death Note but still of good quality.
Every episode and plot development and crime pokes at the very basis of society, there are plots to undermine that society, as well as struggles to realize the worth of protecting said society after its true form comes to light. Psycho Pass's charm and very existence relies on the world it tries strongly to portray and it does so with episodes of substance, a small enough number of unique characters, a main antagonist that forms the backbone of the overarching plot, good animation, and several other elements that are well done (action, drama, psychological/philosophical, and deductive reasoning). If you're interested in the exploration of the theoretical world, this anime is for you~
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 1, 2011
Do you want to get your heart broken and battered? The Wolf's Rain series ends here and I have to tell you it is not very pretty with a typical Japanese-Animation-World-Apocalypse-Ending. I am getting sick of this!
On a more objective note, the characters remain constant to what they were before the OVA - each with their own individual personalities. They continue on their journey to their paradise but eh this trial is different from all of the others.
If I were to grade this OVA, it would receive the same grade as Wolf's Rain, there's no real difference in quality when compared to
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the original series. However, the ending strays from I think the typical happy shonen themes we've seen in the previous 26 episodes...
One can't help question some of the illogical happenings throughout the OVA and for me it was a little frustrating.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 1, 2011
Oh My God, what have I just watched? I've finished this series in four days, but what the hell? In retrospect, I will always suggest watching the first two or three episodes of an anime before you decide to drop it. For Gilgamesh, the first three episodes were in a strikingly beautiful gothic-noire style with high levels of tensions fitting of Edgar Allan Poe. The science theme is incorporated later on and remains. Bits of pieces of information and of the past come together and at around episode 10/25 all the pieces come together.
Psi-fighting, transforming monsters, transgenics, guns, sibling love,
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adopted family, and love that trespasses differences of species all fill the 26 episodes of this series. Sure the general storyline is pretty goodish (the reason why I gave this a one will become apparent later), and the only REAL problem was the excessive re-using of scenes.
Everything you really need to know is: The Countess with her psychic-wielding children and her ex-lover fight each other to bring their own "peace" to the universe.
Now where did everything go wrong? What killed this series with a -9DMG hit to its score? By episode 25 I was pretty curious as to how this series would end. Would it have been possible? Let me quote one character in the last episode:
"It looks like this foolish badly written play is finally at an end"
I think I have been laughing through the last episode due to how terribly ironic, laughable, and depressing it was. The heck? It makes School Days and Neon Genesis Evangelion look like happy endings. Gah...
I am not particularly fond of the storytelling here, it's not particularly riveting or out there, but it's bearable and gets the key points across.
If you're looking for something mildly deep and don't mind watching a twisted ending, I think this is worth a go.
On the other hand, THIS SERIES HAS THE BEST EPISODE PREVIEWS EVER :D
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 29, 2011
While I did finish this series in a 24-hour period, it seemed forceful on my part to watch some episodes. Was I completely captivated? No. Do I rank this on my top list of anime? No. Could I have? M...sure maybe.
It is important to know that this series begins in a very typical fashion and follows the synopsis closely, but ONLY UP TO THE FIRST FOUR EPISODES. For some I can imagine that they would like to see the main heroine discovering her riding style and showing her prowess and creative ballet-based moves. If you are looking
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for the story of a talented girl who rides Mecha, stay away, or at least stop after the first four episodes.
This anime takes a certain twist (one that I myself was not particularly fond of since it was executed in a fashion worse than the previous portion of the story). There are more "gun-fighting action scenes" than actually "ridebacking" scenes which seems contrary to what the title implies. Hell, we are introduced to characters who go under this quest for vengeance, but how the characters were betrayed is completely unknown and resultingly, their revenge is moot/unimportant to us.
My largest disappointment in this series is that it was not "touching" at all. One might find this as a personal preference and personal weaknesses towards some situations, but I will say that a talented actor playing a sad role can bring tears in all eyes while an artificial one will only bring yawns. There was great potential in the story, and had it been held in a more cohesive fashion and revised, could have greatly improved the anime on the whole. While I would like to complain about more things in this series, the statement that there is good, but under-performed suits my complaints the best.
[Again brain diarrhea, I will need to revise this or rewrite it later]
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 28, 2011
I'm still waiting for that Balsa+Tanda baby, but whatever.
So perhaps you've seen the anime KEMONO SOUJA NO ERIN, an anime that is based off the same novelist as SEIREI NO MORIBITO.
Overall, this series is one that has one of the most consistent levels of epic and journey (absolutely no lag) that is a great example of good storytelling. While the series is more diffused in development than KSNE, this is more of an action story that focuses on the given plotline.
Some things that I have noticed is that the author appears to have a thing for surrogate mothers, as both Balsa and
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Erin have that kind of role. I cannot help laughing when imagining Tanda and Balsa having female-prejudiced and male-associated lifestyles/roles.
I think this is more of a brain-farting rant, but in short:
THIS SERIES IS A NICE, FAST-PACED ADVENTURE W/ A VERY SLIGHT SPIRITED-AWAY FEEL. IF YOU LIKE THE FIRST EPISODE, YOU WILL LIKE THE REST. THOSE WHO LIKE PRETTY-MACHO WOMEN WILL LIKE THIS~
My one complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed, but whatever. Great series overall.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 25, 2011
Now how good is Kemono no Souja Erin? So good in fact that I decided to create my first account on a anime-related site and write my first anime review (ever)...
[side note]
After I received a small hole in my heart after watching The Twelve Kingdoms, I was searching around for a nice fantasy anime with a certain scope and detail in a fantasy setting. I did not know that my small open wound would be ripped further and leaving me *gasp* in further pain; anime is my heroin.
[review begins]
We begin the story that would have had the typical children's story feel, yet
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as the memorable character Erin encounters her major lessons in life particularly of death and passing, she develops a strong trait of maturity and her resolutions after each trial is really admirable. Yes, Naruto might have a similar lesson, but the story of Erin is something that I find more invoking of feeling and somehow more consistent as she continually remembers her saddening past and tackles the future.
The presentation of Erin is without a doubt unique, with its rustic-fantasy themed colors and selection in music. The only potential flaw that I see in the series is the continual reuse of certain scenes. Everybody's tolerance differs, but even as a person who might finish a 20 minute episode in 5 minutes (hell why not read the manga), I found myself watching through 99.9% of each episode. The pacing is that good.
In terms of pacing, the series has two time skips, which implies a total of three sections to Erin's life (about equally divided throughout the series). Each segment of Erin's life is again, well-paced with enough development in each episode to seem seamless. There are two filler episodes however, before the third time skip and I skipped over them to get into the real meaty juicy part of the main plot. What one should note, however is that Kemono no Souja Erin is an anime with several layers and three very different stories. In the beginning is the childish dream/anime that is similar to the story of a small blonde haired girl who lives in the mountains. As we progress it's the academic life of a beastarian scientist, and finally it's the story of a national hero who is involved in court intrigues and romance. It is this miraculous bilsdungroman across genres that I think makes Erin not just a 9.8-star anime, but a 10-star.
The realistic lessons and involving, touching lines, dynamic character portrayal, and a plot that is just "so right" all deserve a good watch.
[warning]
There is the end of my review, and I have to say, I was really finding myself in withdrawal, but I'm more seriously addicted than I ever expected...this is more serious than heroin
PART II
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I find that one of the more critical, compelling, and powerful moments in a series, just like human life, is in its poetic end. This series has been adopted from a series of novels, and as expected, the level of a conclusion of this anime is to me, so touching. Hell I've been crying throughout all the sad parts in this, and the last time I can remember crying was that first pokemon movie when I was really young...heck
This series to me has been a really moving piece with a similar impact to the Studio Ghibli movies, only that the artistic force has been slowly growing since each episode. To me, this is one of those animes that I will remember and cherish, a true masterpiece in my eyes.
I think that I've learned that it's not the special effects and sophistry of an imagery that makes a series worth watching, but the cumulative effects that pass to its viewer a deep sense of understanding. It appears to me that this anime focuses on a very beautiful story on the nature of relationships between species and the question left unanswered- will human relations be the same? This is a question I've also considered and I'm sure that many others have also wondered, thought, and perhaps gave a small sigh of despair.
I think that this is a masterpiece with a few small flaws if one considers them flaws. The messages throughout this series become increasingly complex and always emotional and powerful. How will I ever find an anime to match this I wonder (funnily I was watching Morbito: Guardian of the Spirit) before this (same author and animation studio(?) I believe). It's just a small coincidence.
Again, I think that most can understand and truly appreciate this series. It goes beyond simple "character development" and the sense of realism and life is apparent. I do hope that you'll all take the moment to enjoy this experience.
Thank You~
=SPOILER=
My mistake, there were actually 3 time skips ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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