The cover art (and possibly synopsis at a certain site) lead me to believe that this was a shallow anime about card games and cute girl sexual fanservice for males, and therefore I did not even try this anime when it was released until recently when I accidentally bumped into it.
A definitely must-watch anime if one is into good unique stories and realistic characters! :D
Story 10/10:
An amazing masterpiece I would say! Events and contents were definitely fresh and unique. Each individual character feels real. WIXOSS is more of a character-driven story but it is also supported by a really intriguing and well-thought-of setting. Having the story driven by characters makes it much more interesting because the characters have choices and their choices affect the story. Not many things are forced upon the characters.
Definitely NOT a copy of Madoka. Anyone saying that clearly does not know what they are talking about. There are similarities but definitely not a copy. The similarities are "What is your wish?" and stuff/wishes not going as predicted upon being selected as a participant in the WIXOSS game. The entire wish system, battle system and the rules are much more complicated compared to Madoka. Whether or not bad or good stuff happens, or whether a wish will or will not be granted and how it is granted, highly depends on certain situation/condition and is it not as straightforward as Madoka.
What makes this story unique is that not all characters go through the same route and not all the outcomes are the same. There are harder choices to be made and more realistic and gritty events in WIXOSS compared to Madoka. It's not all about characters suffering because of "story". And definitely not just bad things happening just because it is a "dark story". This story touches quite a bit on what it means to be human, learning about one's desire, understanding oneself, humans' interactions and relationships with each other and how each individual character views the world.
Good things do happen in the anime, which delivers a much more powerful punch when things are somewhere in between and bad...This show is somewhat like roller coaster ride. A much easier explanation would be, WIXOSS's story graph is more chaotic but Madoka's is more linear.
I'm not saying that Madoka is bad. It is definitely a masterpiece of its own BUT it is not fair to say that this anime, WIXOSS is a copy of Madoka. It's like saying Gundam and Macross are the same because "mecha" or Death Note and Code Geass are the same because "plotting". Just because this anime has "wishes granting disaster" as part of their theme, and just because all the main cast are females, it does NOT make this a copy of Madoka. FRIENDLY REMINDER, most shounen anime have a mostly/fully male cast, wanting to be strong and mamoru(protect) others, yet we don't see people emphasizing that they are copying each other.
All in all, it was a pretty intriguing, interesting, brain grinding, fun anime to watch. :)
Bonus points for a few touching scenes in this anime <3.
The only thing about the story is that perhaps the storytelling/directing could be improved-upon. It might just be me but with the contents they have in the story, somehow I got a feeling it could be done better. It started of freshly interesting then there was a slight dip in the anime quality around the mid part, but it quickly picked up its pace and soared its way into awesomeness. :D
Awesomeness aside, some did point out that they can't relate to the characters and I totally agree with it. I do root for the characters, but I can't seem to really get into the character and be enthusiastic about cosplaying them. After giving it some thought, I figured that it might be due to not having enough screen time for characters' monologue or for the character to tell their story from their point of view. The story of the characters are usually are being told by either another character or by the story showing what happens. This part could definitely be refined more.
One annoying thing (thankfully just a bit) about this anime is that it has a bit of suggestive sexual fan service. Suggestive words carefully picked to make it sound as if the characters want to have sex with each other or that they are turned on, random blushing and gasping while what they are actually doing is just the card battle and so on. But as-mentioned, thankfully the total of those scenes for the whole season is probably just around 5-7 minutes.
Character 9/10
A character driven anime, and it certainly does not disappoint! Good characters means that you could swap the gender of the characters and it would not affect the story, and WIXOSS is one of the very few who managed to pull it off! Hats off to Okada Mari. <3
Despite not being able to relate on a personal level, I could definitely relate as a human being. I really enjoyed how all the main characters are portrayed like real humans. No/not much stereotyping in this anime which is a huge bonus point. :D They are not perfect, some are mean, some are selfish but it is portrayed in an understandable manner.
It's always nice to see characters doubting their flaws and coming to terms and/or understanding their failings whether they decide to fix them or not. But the main point is that the show shows it as a failing and that decisions comes with consequences, may they be good or bad.
Art 7/10
The design of the characters are kind of plain. Definitely could have put in more effort in the designs, especially for the LRIG/characters in the cards. Environment and effects are standardly nice. Nothing much out of the ordinary.
Music/sound 5/10
I was rather disappointed by the OST for this anime. There is nothing special, and it doesn't stand out. It doesn't even sound particularly nice. The opening was somewhat nice, but the ending was okay. Music and OSTs are very important terms of having people remember the anime. They should have definitely put in more effort in the OSTs.
Would I recommend watching it?
Yes! :D
Reviewed by: kyu-erien
I cosplay, draw and sing. :D
www.facebook.com/kyuerien
