Sep 16, 2019
I'll start off by saying I don't recommend you ever watch this show. I don't think this show brings anything new to the table, and every aspect of this show has been done better elsewhere. This show is episodic, with the main characters hunting down a different incarnate each episode. This concept by itself is what made me want to watch it, because of how different it sounded from conventional series, with fights cool fights between these awesome monsters, but I don't think they could have botched this idea any worse than they did. Keep in mind, I haven't read the manga, nor do I
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intend to, so many of these issues could stem from the source material for all I know. The first problem I have with the show is how they to pound the same message into your head every episode about how tragic the story is, and try to make you feel bad for the incarnates they have to kill. There was not a single time I felt bad for the incarnates, or truly felt their mission was justified, or made sense, especially for Schaal. The incarnates all have different powers, which, on paper, are very diverse and compelling, but they somehow failed to make a single incarnate feel interesting. The fights with these incarnates were all incredibly predictable. they all played out the same way. Each fight starts with Hank telling the incarnate what their doing is wrong, then the incarnate says some half-baked philosophical bullshit that is supposed to make the audience question if maybe the incarnate is right, they fight, Hank is about to lose, Schaal shows up, Hank thinks, "Oh shit, I can't look like a bitch in front of my girl," pops off and wins, then they brood and say edgy bullshit about what they had to do and their "mission" for the rest of the episode. Every fight plays out this way. None of the fights have any weight. In the fights, injuries appear, disappear, and heal left right and center, making none of the damage Hank or the incarnates take feel meaningful. There is also the issue of how rushed the fights are, but I think this this is mostly due to the constrictions of the episodic format they were forced to use. As you can probably tell from all the edge I'm talking about, the script is atrocious. If you hit pause at almost any time on any episode of the show, then think of the most "anime" line they could say next, 9 times out of 10 thats the next line. It is ridiculously predictable, to the point where it felt like they googled "cliche overused lines in anime" and were just copy pasting them in to pad for time. I see many people say that a redeeming factor of this show is the characters, but, personally, I hated every character in this show. Hank was your generic, hardened by tragedy hero who just wants to complete his mission. The thing with Hank was, despite being an incarnate, he didn't want to use his powers, or at least it was until he had to use them once then just forgot about it, using his power from the start of every fight from there on out. Schaal exists just to give Hank something to protect and show he is something past his gritty exterior, which is so cliche and overused it hurts the show more than helps it, and makes Schaal feel at times like shes just a damsel in distress Hank takes around with him for their enemies to use. There are a few times when Schall does something helpful, but most of the time she feels like a useless character. Speaking of their enemies, the main antagonist, Cain, was the only reason I got through this show. Every time he showed up on screen it turned the show from bad to laughably bad. He weirdly felt a bit like Dio from Jojo's, with lots of just yelling his name and the like. During the course of the show the dude somehow creates an entire fucking country out of nowhere to the west that is significantly larger then the one in which the main characters are in. He feels like a Bond villain in that he just gets a bunch of his guys killed by the good guys for no reason and has multiple opportunities where he could have just killed Hank but just decides not to because plot. The most hilarious of these instances is when Hank is badly injured and unable to fight, With Cain standing over his disheveled body. It felt like Hank might actually be dead, but instead of finishing him off he kidnaps Schaal, gives Hank an invitation to a Banquet where he is holding her hostage, just so Cain could try to kill him again at the banquet. Another problem the show has is that it at times just forgets the tone their trying to achieve and has weird attempts at humor through dumb jokes or visual gags via unrealistic character model changes which you might see in something like the comedic parts of Bungou Stray Dogs, mainly during conversations between Schaal and anyone who's not Hank, despite the main audience and appeal for this show bring how dark and edgy its supposed to be. In conclusion, its a jumbled, formulaic, super predictable mess that tries way to hard to be edgy. The concept of this show is genuinely interesting and I think if done correctly this show could have been great, but unfortunately, this is in my opinion the worst show to come out this season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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