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Oct 7, 2020
I only feel compelled to review shows that greatly disappoint me, if nothing else to rationalize why personally.
To start off, I love Eureka Seven. It was one of the original “great,” shows I watched, and still resonates with me to this day. That being said, after widening my palate, I couldn’t in good conscience consider it a “10/10 masterpiece” due to plot related short comings at times: shaky world-building, inconsistent characterization and motivation, and a rather lackluster conclusion.
Enter Xam’d, a show with more than just superficial similarities to E7, so naturally it would be a great watch, right?
Well kinda.
Aesthetically, the show is
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downright beautiful. Top notch animation, an absolute banger OP/ED, nice character designs, neat locales & monster/mech design, etc. Honestly no complaints at all in the art or sound department.
The show starts off with a great first few episodes, which introduce a (seemingly,) rich world with lots of interesting conflict. The plot raises a lot of pressing questions at the outset, then proceeds to answer literally none of them.
I can’t count the number of times I was begging for context for the gibberish that was being presented about the people, places, and things of this world. Instead of extrapolating on concepts introduced, new characters & dynamics are introduced until all we’re left with is a convoluted narrative mess with no direction.
Akiyuki & Nakiami were compelling protagonists at the start of the show, but wound up feeling rather hollow with poorly fleshed out motivations.
Surprisingly, Haru is really the only character to receive convincing growth & progression throughout the story, and is really the saving grace of the show.
In regards to plot-holes, they may be the only thing the story does consistently. I would say watch for spoilers from this point on, but it’s now like the show does anything with the following concepts: the pregnant test-type Xam’d, the specifics of the emperor, why Nakiami had to take the role she did during the climax, the exact nature of the Haruko and their parasitic existence with human hosts, Sannova and her followers actual role in the current climate, Kakisu’s motivations with his mother, the reasons for the war between the north & the south and Raigyo’s & Ishu’s role in it, what Akiyuki’s father was treating/in the vial he gave to Haru etc.
I seriously at times felt like I was missing entire episodes worth of content. The show could’ve easily doubled in length and still not have been able to address everything aforementioned.
There’s a shocking lack of actual action as well. I think our boy actually turns into a Xam’d a total of 3 times, which was rather disappointing.
It’s a damn shame, as this show had all the pieces to capture the same magic and even surpass E7. Rather, I was given was some migraine-inducing eye candy, and a nostalgia trip.
“I have a vacancy in my heart.”
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 3, 2020
Describe Fire Force in two words: “wasted potential.”
This show is prime example that you need more than solid visuals, a good musical score, and a mildly interesting initial cast to provide a fun viewing experience. The hype this show carried at the beginning of the season, coupled with an admittedly very interesting premise and a few decent world-building episodes at the outset pulled me in; only to be blindsided by a complete dismissal of pacing, refusal to develop characters, senseless and contradictory plot reveals, and lazy fight choreography.
The main cast appears likable enough, and it’s frustrating when their backstories are quite literally glossed over,
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or ignored altogether. Chemistry between the “crew” is stated repeatedly to be improving throughout the season, but with the minimal meaningful interaction the viewer is privy to, it all feels rather shallow. The majority of characterization comes from some of the most tasteless fanservice bits I’ve seen in quite some time, and the timing of said events is terrible. Most moments of tension are broken with something stupid, making the whole related scene feel meaningless. Hints and potential plot threads at the beginning of the show are pushed aside, and the writer’s solution to this seems to be interjecting a plethora of new (and equally underdeveloped,) characters around the half way mark. Around the same time, the firefighter shtick fades away completely, and we’re left with some generic action. The fights dip tremendously in quality with questionable animation choices, and some contrived gibberish about powerplants, the sun, and the end of the world are brought to the forefront as ambiguous ways to explain the source of Shinra and Sho’s strength. The “big reveal” in the last episode appears to be rather inconsequential, and very weakly sets up the next season. I’d be lying if I said the ending felt inconclusive, as it felt like the show barely began telling it’s story in the first place.
Now this may sound like a nihilistic review, and I don’t want to leave the impression the show was all bad. Some definite standouts were Shinra vs Rekka (which was unfortunately a victim of the aforementioned tension-breaking fanservice,) Hibana & Benimaru’s respective arcs (probably the two most developed non-protagonist characters,) and the second OP (seriously, it’s a genuinely good song, and not just for an anime OP.)
As a result of all of these factors, I give the show a 5. I certainly don’t regret watching it, as it presented some memorable scenes visually, but nothing of substance content-wise unfortunately. I’ll end this by saying that I WILL watch the upcoming season 2, as I still like the show conceptually, despite it’s misguided direction.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 11, 2018
Darling begs the question: “can a lackluster destination ruin the journey?”
Part Gurren Lagan, part Eureka Seven, with some NGE vibes and Kill La Kill attitude thrown in for good measure. On paper it sounds like a pedigree for excellence, and it really almost is.
The mech and character designs are interesting, the OP/ED’s are honestly phenomenal, and the cast seems solid enough at the outset to get your hopes up.
The first two thirds of the series is immensely entertaining, the show builds it's dystopian world under a veil of secrecy, and the characters play well off each other.
These were my thoughts as
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I binged watched the season. It was a euphoric ride and was already getting those post-series feels before my last session of episodes.
Then EP 19 info-dumps the mystery away and 20-24 shit on any progression, open plot threads, relationships, and previously established themes.
Our main couple start out as interesting troubled characters, Hiro being a washed-up child protégée who can’t even get it up... er start up his robot; and Zero Two being a mysterious, possibly even dangerous, otherworldly ace pilot alone in a world that is dependent on couples.
They have ups and downs; alternating between puppy love, and doubt that leads to resentment which climaxes into an emotionally rewarding reunion.
Unfortunately their characters almost regress after this point to one dimensional “If we get separated, I'll come to you.” Which happens. A lot. In these last few episodes. It’s almost as if the show runners completely ran out of gas, and just started throwing every mecha cliche and trope out there in an effort to copy TTGL.
That’s not what this show was working towards; it didn’t have to go to space with a terribly designed giant Zero Two mech. It didn’t have to build up the Klax princess just to throw her out and introduce aliens as the “real” antagonists. It had no build up, no reason.
It was just so unexpectedly asinine, and truthfully retroactively made me angry at the series as a whole. I can handle controversial conclusions (I looked past Akame Ga Kill, and am one of the few people who are content with how Gurren wound up,) but this is something else. It took an easy 10/10 masterpiece for me, and tainted everything pleasant about it. It made all the joyous moments and trials/tribulations of our cast seem like a waste of time, and it’s a damn shame.
I’ll rate it an 8/10 soley for the fact it provided me more enjoyment than anything else has in years up to a point, and that alone makes it deserve recognition. If ep 15 was the end of the series I would’ve been content.
This series deserved much better; perhaps an OVA or movie to give us a more fleshed out and less cringey conclusion. I have never encountered a more frustrating work of fiction, and that’s because I so desperately wanted it to be great. It felt like I was finally getting a quality spiritual successor to Eureka Seven, and instead I got burnt.
I suppose that’s life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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