shvdowd's Profile - Reviews

Last OnlineMay 6, 2023 6:40 PM
GenderMale
LocationExeter, UK
JoinedJun 10, 2014

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Jun 24, 2014

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha (Anime) add

Recommended

Okay, firstly this anime rocks. I'm not joking, it's one of the most gripping and thrilling animes (for me) to date. Written and directed by Tensai Okamura and produced by Bones, this anime tells us the story of what happened as a result of a certain anomaly at 'Heavans Gate' in South America. As a result, at the opposite side of the world in Japan, 'Hells Gate' was opened and massive changes happened to the country.
The night sky is a reoccurring theme in this series. The real stars were replaced by false ones due to the opening of Hell's Gate. With these fake stars came ... the Contractors. These are people [not sure if you can call them people as they have no emotions whatsoever but meh that's your decision] each have a different 'power' and a different price for that power. They have no emotions, they don't feel, they can only think rationally and what's in their best interest. As well as this, each Contractor has a corresponding star in the fake night sky, which allows the normal humans to track what each contracted is doing. Throughout the anime, the humans (that know of these Contractors) refer to them by their star names (eg BK-201 is the name for Hei).
[getting a bit complex right?]

Hei is a member of an organisation known as 'The Syndicate'. This organisation is considered to be some underground group with no real motif. But as the series progresses it becomes apparent that it's operatives work with Contractors in order to regain peace in the world and they strive for the destruction of Hells Gate.
In my opinion these is a lot of background knowledge needed to fully understand this anime, maybe rewatching season 1 before progressing to Ryūsei no Gemini would be more sensible than blindly binging on this show.
The characters really become noteworthy and it was a pleasure to watch this show. I personally didn't enjoy that I had to watch the episodes over and over again to fully understand it but I guess that's the beauty of it.
There's a fair share of humour, especially from Mao (a cat who talks) who's sarcasm is unrivalled but on the other side of the table, there are copious amounts of genuinely heartfelt moments (mainly between Hei and Yin) that you as a viewer can really relate too.

Please note that I neither have the energy, nor the words to fully review each and every character in this show.. Mainly as I'd give away quite a bit but also it's open to personal interpretation.. In my opinion this is a rare anime that should remain a favourite of mine for years to come.

Overall rating for this anime is a solid 9. It did get boring at times and it was somewhat predictable in places but my god was it brilliantly written. I think that it's the kind of anime that you watch on a rainy day (mainly as there's A LOT of rain in this anime, I dunno maybe it's just me)
Animation: 8/9
Music: 8
Storyline: 9
Rewatchability: Medium to High

I hoped you enjoyed reading this review as much as I did watching this anime, if not, tell me why in the comments or pm me to discuss it further - I'd love to hear from you lot! Give me suggestions for what to watch next, I want to keep these reviews regular! Next on the list is Kill La Kill…

Peace and Love,
Shvdowd

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Jun 23, 2014

Sword Art Online (Anime) add

Recommended

Sword Art Online (SAO) was originally a light novel written in early 2009. The story revolves around a futuristic MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) world called Aincrad. The world comprises of 100 'levels' and on each level there is a boss which needs defeating to reach the next level.
This anime (set in 2022) follows the events and happenings of Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya, who, like every player in the game, is unable to log out on the day of release. The only way that they can beat the game, is if they beat the boss on the hundredth floor. [It seems a bit sick ... to do that to a bunch of people tbh, not sure I'd cope but still, seems pretty cool].
Theres a catch though, as the games creator, Akihiko Kayaba states that if they wish to be free, they must reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss, but if their avatars die in-game, their bodies will also die in the real world. This seems illogical right? Nah, it's 2022 of course theres some kickass thing that makes this reality! It's called 'Nerve Gear', a virtual reality helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain. As a result players can experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. [seems cool right?]

Kirito was one of 1000 people selected to be a Beta tester for the game and as a result he doesn't seem too phased that he's stuck in the game as he's already acquainted with it.
[its also because he doesn't really like the world irl as he was always chastised and told he wasn't good enough, so he stayed inside and just played computer games - major feels]
As a result he decides to take the game on, solo, thinking it'd be easy. As the anime progresses, two years pass in the real world and Kirito makes a name for himself within SAO - he meets a girl named Asuna, and its your generic romancy business if I'm honest.

Will Kirito and Asuna beat all 100 levels? What happens if they do? Do they ever 'wake up'? If they do, would Kirito ever put his Nerve Gear back on? All these questions, and only one way to find out!!

Overall, there are some hilarious moments, some moments of complete and utter frustration, some 'awww' moments and obviously some kickass moments.
One of my favourite animes to date, would highly recommend it. The animation in places is absolutely stunning, the scripts are great and the character/viewer relationship is special.
I'm stoked for SAO II, not sure about the storyline but i'll see when it's released in July.

Enjoy the anime.

*NOTE* There was an OVA released on 31st of December 2013, just sums up the entire of season 1 and with a few extra minutes of new SAO goodness!

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