Jul 21, 2021
I've never watched any Cardfight Vanguard series and wasn't really going into this expecting anything amazing but this surprised me a lot in various aspects.
I realized right away that the animation was familiar and after a quick search I found out that Clamp designed the characters, a big plus as a Clamp fan. The animation overall was really good, not just the character designs but the movement, facial expressions, and the backgrounds as well were amazing with the detail.
Another aspect I really liked was the score, especially later on when Danji bought a music CD and the music changed to classical lullaby. It all
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felt very natural and suited the scenes very well. Music is one thing that can make or break a show and this anime did a very good job.
Like I mentioned, I've never been interested in anime about card games so I never bothered to watch anything like Cardfight Vanguard, but this show kept my attention throughout all 12 episodes. I would say this is because it doesn't focus on just the card game, if it did then I would've probably dropped it instantly.
There are no long drawn out scenes (like in some sports anime) where the characters constantly talk to themselves about their card, their opponents cards, or what plans they have to win. Although I'm not familiar with the series, this decision felt as if it's partially for the sake of old time viewers that know about the game already. It gives the illusion that the viewer could be a veteran looking at the new generation of players trying out a fun card game. There are some introductions to the cards, and at the end of every episode a character will explain about a featured card. It doesn't go too in depth though, which I appreciate. It feels like both newbie card players and veterans alike can enjoy this anime this way.
My favorite aspect of this show is the characters. Each episode takes its time to introduce us to the characters, it shows their personality, their habits, thoughts, pasts, etc. Because I personally don't care about the whole 'card game' plot I really loved that the characters were well built. Of course I don't like every character but it's interesting learning more about them and being able to see them in a new light.
I particularly love Yuyu, he's an amazing protagonist in my opinion because of one very large reason. This is the fact that from the very beginning he was never an independent and bull-headed typical protag, but rather he's a caring person (quite the pushover actually) that treasures relationships most. I really love that his love for his friends isn't outshined by his love for playing the cardfight game. Many protags too often get too caught up in the flow, they're too obsessed with winning or being the strongest or whatever. Yuyu cares about what's really important, which is to have fun with friends, and this isn't care isn't tossed aside later in the story. He isn't forced to 'grow as a character' through hardship and by being defeated, that just makes him suffer, what makes him grow is the support he gets from the friends he made from being introduced through the card game, both through playing the game and from outside interactions.
I also love Tohru and Danji for two similar reasons, they are both older and veterans of the game (probably similar to a lot of viewers), but they both have a complicated relationship with the game itself. They both are aware that they are getting older and such a game isn't typically played by older people. One maintains his love for the game but chooses to distance himself from it, although never cutting it off fully he knows that this game isn't what he really needs in life. The other can't accept that he's playing a 'game' at such an old age and tries to twist his worldview to make the game fit into his life, ultimately leading him to make bad choices and ignore his original love for the game. They are both interesting in how they view the game and how they choose to interact with it and others through playing.
The ending was quite dramatic but I'm hoping for a second season, this anime was very enjoyable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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