Reviews

Problem Children focused on three superpowered teens from different time periods who get whisked away to a parallel world where they have to assist a struggling land with reclaiming its status by competing in competitions against demon lords. For a 10-episode TV anime, this series does offer enough to engage its audience as the games that our leads have to contend with have a bit of variety to them outside of fighting such as one challenge where one of the leads have to ride a griffin and having to put some effort at thinking things out, as the series usually dabbles into elements of legendary and mythical lore when our leads accept challenges in games. The teens in this series appear to be rather intelligent and competent when it comes to the use of their abilities, and several of the leads get enough fleshing out of their backgrounds and some character growth where you could care for them (including Black Rabbit). There is also a decent level of world building in the series to explore how the competitions in the series effect differing kingdoms and show the amount of risk that they have for the alternate world's residents and status.

The series does have its issues. The title's male lead Izayoi is rather underdeveloped compared to the other leads and doesn't go through the difficulties and developments that the girls underwent, making his character a bit shallow. The series also usually tosses in moments of fan service that are a waste of time, including its bonus OVA episode, and has an open ending as things with the No Names are still unresolved.

Visually, the series sports gorgeous scenic shots of the parallel world in the series and decent-looking character designs with vivid color and a good amount of visual detail, though designs are a bit on the conventional side. Animation is modest with basic movements yet resorts to shortcuts during any action scenes to simulate fluid movement, especially in sequences that involve intense action such as Izayoi's use of his powers in action. The music does its part to complement key scenes with a mix of upbeat and comical insert tracks and use of J-pop songs, though nothing in particular greatly stuck out with the series for me with the music.

Gripes aside though, Problem Children is still a decent time-killer with characters that break the mold for a fantasy-adventure title and having some unique elements to the games that they have to confront. It's worth a look if you want a break from more conventional fare.