Well, that’s what I am going to look into today so gather around kiddos because today’s review is Shinsekai Yori!
A village barricade from the rest of the world inhabits people possessing the ‘god’s power’ known as pyrokenesis. The story mainly focus on Saki Watanabe a twelve year old who just got her powers and is now to going to attend this school to train along with her other friends Shun, Satoru, Mamoru and Maria. But, little does Saki know of all the hurdles she and her friends has to face along the way- as slowly over the years they change by losing their innocence and becoming more aware of the world around them and discovering it’s dark secrets! That’s all I am going to say about the plot, because I would be a total prick if I spoiled anything.
One thing that made me keep on watching Shinsekai Yori was how mysterious it was how it manages to shroud everything in mystery and keeps us guessing what the fuck is actually going on. But, also simultaneously each episode contributes to dropping certain hints that foreshadow of the story’s outcome. Whether it be the stories the characters tell, the odd behavior of the adults like Saki’s parents, not to mention that the background music managed to set the tone perfectly!
The character’s behavior and thought pattern also go through unexpected changes that the average viewer like me and even our main female protagonist Saki are in awe of. You like Saki also start questioning if whether everything in this show is what it seems or not. Cause remember looks can be deceiving and the end of the day this perfect world with powerful beings might not be as great as some make it out to be!
The way the story is narrated by I assume an older Saki is done really well, and from the tone of her voice we get an idea of the pain, suffering and hardships that our main character had to go through in her youth. Hence, it kind of hints that Shinsekai Yori is going to be one of those shows where after a handful of episodes- shit is going to hit the fan like crazy! And guess what? It does actually that too more than once, which is amazing! The story unfolds brilliantly and it takes quite the interesting take in EP8. For a minute had me wondering if this was the same show anymore! , which is not a bad thing by the way. Well, not in my opinion at least!
The animation for the show was done by A1 Pictures and I have been a fan of most of their work like Anohana and Your Lie in April. However, if you compare it to those works the animation quality doesn’t stand out all that much. I mean, alone the animation isn’t bad but truth be told I have seen better quality from this studio.
The reason I am saying all that is because the quality looked inconsistent and that certain scenes seemed too dim for my taste. But, the studio made sure that the important scenes and backgrounds looked stunning, with its use of serene/ fall colours that make Shinsekai Yori almost look like a painting that you can hang on your wall. The animation especially shines during the first ending them that I freaking love. I couldn’t care less that Shinsekai Yori hardly an opening theme because of how wondering its first ending theme it was with a song that managed to give off the same vibes that show did. And I love it! The second one was forgetful because and I just wished they kept the first one for the entirety of the show!
Now, as for the characters I hate to admit it but there was nothing too spectacular about them. Yes, most of them were likeable but none of them managed to be as interesting as I would want them to be. I would say that I however did like Saki and Satoru the most out of all of them and that they make a great duo. I am glad that the most of the story was centered on them and that by the end they were fully realized characters. Special mention goes to Squeeler, a monster rat that Saki and Satoru met that will cook up some interesting drama during the final arc of the show which you should look forward too.
The major issue I realize most anime tend to deal with is pacing and Shinsekai Yori isn’t no exception. I am not saying this is the worst paced show but it did lack in that area. The show is divided into three parts and the first and last part took quite some time to really get things going and come to its conclusion. The second arc was amazing from start to finish, but the other two wasn’t, hence some of the episodes and only some in the first and last arc were kind of boring.
Another thing most anime don’t have is a good ending. Shinsekai Yori, in my opinion, has a wonderful ending. No, in fact it has a jaw dropping ending which makes sense and again brings us to the topic of how looks can be deceiving and that everything is not what it seems.
As for the dub, I would say that it was pretty mediocre. I honestly prefer the subbed version more and I highly recommend you check that one instead. Even if I did like Emily Neeves as Saki, her performance alone is not enough for me to prefer the subbed version over the dub. I am not a Grey Ayres hater, but gosh they could have picked someone better to portray Satoru. Like why do I have to hear Sunohara’s voice when I watch this show? And no I am not a Sunohara hater either!
If you are going to watch Shinsekai Yori thinking it’s a horror anime, then you are going to be disappointed like I was. I know a show doesn’t need to rip people’s heads off and spill blood everywhere to be considered horror, but there was nothing about Shinsekai Yori that caused a shiver to go down my spine. I mean, Monster despite being completely different from Shinsekai Yori managed to live to being a part horror anime with its psychological elements. But, I guess that’s because Johan is one intimidating motherfucker!
Overall Shinsekai Yori, didn’t up being as amazing as I wanted it to be but it was still very enjoyable. It might fail as a horror anime, but it succeeds as mystery one – not to mention it has great supernatural elements induced into it- as it features as a unique and fascinating world. And so I am going to award Shinsekai Yori with an 8 and that it’s WORTH THE WATCH! If you love mystery anime then you are going to love Shinsekai Yori.
