THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Hot off the heels of Madoka Magica, many studios tried their hand at the newly created "dark magical girl" genre.
Some, like Yuki Yuna is a Hero, branch off in new directions and really don't deserve to be compared to the vastly superior PMMM. They should be taken on their own merit, and are definitely worth your time.
Others, like Day Break Illusion, will suck you into a dark and imaginative world...then hit you over the head with a baseball bat studded with nails.
As usual for my reviews, I must include a SPOILER WARNING. It's been 2 years, so if you want
...
a better and more comprehensive review, check out the others, which were probably written at the time of airing. I can and will complain about the ending. You have been WARNED.
Still here? Good. Let's begin.
Day Break Illusion takes a lot from PMMM's playbook. It differentiates itself enough by changing the monster specifics and introducing some interesting questions with the origins of its magical system. You enjoy uncovering the mysteries of this world, the relationships between characters, and the ultimate implications behind both the villain and the evil power they wield.
You know what you don't enjoy? SEEING A CHARACTER BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD FOR NO F***ING REASON JUST FOR A HAPPY ENDING!
This anime has an identity crisis. It wants to introduce elements like a mysterious corrupt celestial council, a death penalty mechanic, and social hatred of the heroes, but ultimately is caught between two roads:
Does it want to be a "monster of the week" anime?
Or does it want to tell a cohesive story?
Day Break Illusion can't choose. It spends a solid 3 episodes without any plot, and as a result crams the rest into the other 10. It's oddly paced, and has no closure.
Why, then, do I want a sequel?
I'm serious, I want a sequel. Too many questions are left unanswered, too many plot threads go nowhere. I want, I CRAVE, some kind of closure. It's probably not going to happen, but I want it nonetheless. This show made me INVESTED, and that's an important thing for any anime: that you wish to continue watching. And boy, do I wish I had more to watch. I suppose that's a point in the show's favor.
Even if I got my sequel, however, two problems still exist at this show's core concepts.
Number one is the monster mechanics. You see, the monsters that our heroes fight are humans possessed by an evil set of tarot cards. Our heroes wield the light side, and the dark side sends out thousands of copies of themselves to kill and destroy. There is no known way to cure a possession, so our heroes must kill these innocents in the line of fire. Pretty harsh, right? Our heroes are actually executioners. It makes for some excellent drama, right?
Maybe. Killed humans don't die, they're ERASED FROM EXISTENCE. No one remembers them except for the tarot card wielders.
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No, it's NOT horrifying. It's dramatically bankrupt.
Sure, our heroes feel bad about making somebody go bye-bye, but since that person no longer exists, we don't get to see any effects of their missing presence on other people. The weight of murder is lessened by the fact that there are no crying loved ones, no consequences to this loss of life. Killing a monster, and the innocent person trapped inside, brings a feeling of...
"Meh, another one bites the dust."
That's not okay.
You know what's also not okay? Going against the established rules of your universe.
There are 14 cards in the standard tarot. There are 14 heroes who wield the 14 cards. Every card has a dark counterpart.
Day Break Illusion decides to raise the stakes by introducing a "no light without dark" mechanic. If a dark tarot is destroyed, the light tarot is also destroyed, like matter and antimatter. That's cool, right?! It introduces a death penalty, and a moral dilemma. If the heroes ever want to save the world, they must also leave it without heroes. Do they simply treat the symptoms, or cure the disease at the cost of their own lives?
According to the last episode, neither! You can just defeat the dark tarot without dying yourself through the power of FRRRRRRRIEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNDSHIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!!
...
...
...
GOD
FREAKING
DAMMIT.
Why would you do this, Illusion?! Why would you OBLITERATE any sense of consistency by removing such an amazing death penalty with no explanation?!
I'm serious! During the entire fight with one of the dark tarot, the hero in question magically receives the exact same wounds as their counterpart. They KILL each other, and it's an awesome wham moment.
Then at the end of the series it's just like:
"We're going to be trapped here in this rift in reality, stabbing each other in the chest, for all eternity. You can't hurt anyone ever again! I accept my fate-"
"I'm telling you not to give up despite believing that you're already deeeead!"
"Welp, can't stay here, my friends are in trouble. GOTTA GO 'KAY THANKS BYE!"
"Wait, shouldn't you killing me also kill you-OH GOD IT BURNS YOU'RE ALSO DESTROYING THE VIEWER'S SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEEEEEEEEEEEEEFFF..."
What the F***.
So, should you watch this show? Ehhhh...I give it a solid shrug of indifference. The character style is bright and colorful compared to the monsters, which are strange and cool looking even if it doesn't go full artsy collage-style like PMMM. The opening and ending songs are amazing. Finally, it tries to humanize and develop its characters, even if it does fall flat. It has some good ideas, but doesn't know how to use them, and is engaging all the way up to the finale. I genuinely enjoyed it, even if it all got ruined in the end. You'll just have to make your own choice on it.
Dec 6, 2015
Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou
(Anime)
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THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Hot off the heels of Madoka Magica, many studios tried their hand at the newly created "dark magical girl" genre. Some, like Yuki Yuna is a Hero, branch off in new directions and really don't deserve to be compared to the vastly superior PMMM. They should be taken on their own merit, and are definitely worth your time. Others, like Day Break Illusion, will suck you into a dark and imaginative world...then hit you over the head with a baseball bat studded with nails. As usual for my reviews, I must include a SPOILER WARNING. It's been 2 years, so if you want ... 
Oct 21, 2015
Vividred Operation
(Anime)
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I have a couple of animes I consider "guilty pleasures". I know they're below average, but I was sucked in by an interesting universe, premise, or art style, and became invested in what I was watching. Even when things become dull or predictable, I continue to plow through because I genuinely want to see what is next. I'm INVESTED.
Vividred Operation fails to invoke investment. At all. In any way. The entire thing felt like magical girl paint-by-numbers constructed from the leftover scraps of Strike Witches. "Spiritual successor"? More like "shameless knock-off"! The first 2 episodes were some of the most ... |
