Story – Imagine if aliens resided on Earth in disguise alongside us humans! There would be aggressive aliens, peaceful aliens, and aliens that are on the verge of extinction. Not noticing their presence, they would be right under our noses living with us in harmony. That’s until Prince Baka shows up in baseball star, Tsutsui’s apartment…
Characters – There’s a huge variety of different aliens in this series and it’s certainly interesting to watch them! From flesh-eating aliens to alien assassins, new species are always being introduced to the show. The little backstories created for each alien race were also all different and exciting.
Our main character, Prince Baka, is a prankster who lives for tricking people. He’s very playful, light-hearted, and not too very bright. He’s also quite annoying at times. His poor loyal henchmen must have such a hard time always having to be by his side. They often play the victim of his antics and are all fun to watch. Tsutusi, the baseball star, has a love/hate relationship with Prince Baka and it’s great to see their interactions. The entire cast of this show were portrayed wonderfully.
Art/Animation – The artwork for this anime is very shounen and that’s understandable because it was actually created by Yoshihiro Togashi of Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. I often found that Tsutsui’s facial expressions and actions were very similar to Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho, so I wasn’t surprised to find out that Level E was by the same man. The artwork isn’t very complicated and there aren’t too many details; it’s simple. It worked perfectly for the anime because the animation was able to come out very smoothly. Fight scenes were very clear cut and you could see every single movement taken. The animation was very strong and enjoyable to watch.
Music – The music was fairly weak for this series, unfortunately. There were a couple of suspenseful songs used for some serious moments, but otherwise there wasn’t anything extraordinary. The only memorable song was the jazzy opening, sang by Chiaki Kuriyama,
Pros – Level E is a master of storytelling. Its ability to fool you into believing something is actually happening in the anime is extraordinary. I was deceived almost every episode because the layout of the episode was so believable! The producers of this anime did such an excellent job in directing this show by properly generating the moods that certain situations took place in.
Level E also has a fantastic sense of humor, as it actually made me burst out laughing pretty frequently. The material used was spot-on and had perfect timing. Tsutsui and Prince Baka actually reminded me of a manzai duo; with Tsutsui being the tsukkomi and Prince Baka as the boke. They constantly had epic interactions and their “fighting” was more hilarious than anything else! Seeing them argue back and forth with each other was very amusing to watch. Although the humor can be slightly random in some episodes (Prince Baka appearing out of nowhere was random in itself!), the comedy can be at its best when you are least expecting it.
Cons - If you don't like having your leg pulled, then this anime isn't for you. There are tons of "troll" moments in this anime that sometimes even I would actually get annoyed. Imagine watching something like Attack on Titan and finding out it was all a dream. It gets frustrating! Level E isn't as serious, of course, but many events in this anime turn out to be hoaxes or experiments that Prince Baka conducts for his own pleasure. He may be having fun, but it's annoying when you’re watching a whole episode about something mysterious and it turns out to be a tv show. Kind of makes you think, "What's the point of watching if everything turns out to be fake?"
Another downfall is that Tsutsui disappears for a few episodes. His interactions with Prince Baka were priceless and that is where the best comedic moments stood. The lack of his presence was very risky and the anime felt like it was missing something. The anime still had funny scenes, but they just weren’t as amusing. Plus, I really enjoyed seeing Prince Baka getting punched and kicked around.
Overall - Level E is definitely something I haven't seen any anime do in a while! It’s not everyday that I see a comedy mixed with some drama and sci-fi, so that’s pretty awesome. It wasn’t a perfect anime, but after the last episode, I was kind of seeking more. Too bad the manga is only 3 volumes long. Prince Baka may have won a spot in my list of “Most Annoying Anime Characters”, but Level E’s comedy and storytelling were spot on.
Rating - 7.5/10
