(There is a possibility I spoil minor details of Kiznaiver in the following review. So be warned. I won't spoil any plot-heavy elements, but I do delve into the shows themes, as well as lightly describe a few characters and tease a late-series scene, but don't actually describe it in detail.)
Kiznaiver left me with just one feeling at the end of its twelve-episode run: understanding. Not an understand on my part, but an understanding from the studio. It seems legitimately like Trigger understands something that other studios just do not about the human experience. Obviously, they have showcased understanding of what makes fun things fun, namely in Kill la Kill, Inferno Cop, and Space Patrol Luluco, three of the most fun, hype, exciting, etc. shows I have seen since Gurren Lagann. But contrary to what the hedonists in your time will tell you, there is more to life than just having fun. I think, after instinct, humans have two basic "things" for lack of a better term: emotion, and connection. As people, we can both feel things that are not in the physical realm, as well as connect those feelings with others. In a way, we become part of each other, sharing our experiences and overcoming hurdles together. And before I continue any farther, I should say that I believe those two "things", those concepts of emotion and connection, are the driving force of Kiznaiver. They are the show, the story, the characters, the animation, and the sound. They pervade every part of this series, and they left me with something I had never quite felt in anime before.
If I just score this show on the outline to the side, using Story, Animation, Sound, Character, and Enjoyment, I cannot do justice to Kiznaiver. Just like human emotions, there is an intangible to this series, something that can't just have a number slapped on it to explain it. The more I write about this show, the more brilliant I think it is. The only way to understand my true feelings is to experience the show, and funnily enough, experience is such a core theme of Kiznaiver. I couldn't tell you for certain if this was Trigger's intention, but damn is it successful. Since I don't believe the score's for the five categories will truly highlight why I love this show, I will say now that this intangible I speak of is also factored into my overall rating. That may be confusing, but it is the only way I can see fairly assessing the show.
The story of Kiznaiver is interesting, using a textbook definition of science fiction as its plot. From Merriam-Webster, science fiction: stories about how people and societies are affected by imaginary scientific developments in the future. This is Kiznaiver's story, exploring how connecting pain between individuals can affect said individuals. Initiall, the show posits that world peace would be attained if this were applied globaly, but it doesn't focus on that. It instead uses a sort of slice-of-life format, choosing to zero in on eight main characters: Katsuhira Agata, Yoshiharu Hisomu, Honoka Maki, Niko Niiyama, Noriko Sonozaki, Chidori Takashiro, Hajime Tenga, and Tsuguhito Yuta, and delve into how their lives are affected by this "Kiznaiver", which based on the Japanese words for wound/scar and bond/connection. While Noriko Sonozaki archetypes the rest of the show's characters as "Seven Deadly Sins", it is my belief that this is one of the best casts of characters I have ever seen in terms of realism. I feel like in life I have met someone just as eccentric as Niko, someone just as closed-off and bitchy as Maki, someone as emotionally cut-off as Katsuhira, someone as confrontational as Tenga. The characters reminded me of the Great Gatsby, in the sense that they all felt like accurate depictions of people, not characters written for a story. Each one felt unique, and different, and it was wonderful to see. To add to that, the characters actually progressed from episode one to episode twelve. I was most surprised by Hisomu's progression from a seemingly-forgettable side-character to one of the funniest characters in the show, hands down. Each character reacted normally to situations, and didn't feel like some esoteric, philosophy spouting mouth-piece, but like people!
Speaking of mouth-pieces, they were all fantastically voiced by their actors and actresses. In fact, all the sound of Kiznaiver was excellent. Hayashi Yuuki, the composer of the My Hero Academia, Death Parade, and Haikyuu!! soundtracks did this one, and he was wonderful. The music brought out emotions like nothing else I have seen in anime, making you feel melancholy, joy, elation, excitement, and levity. In addition to the show's OST, the OP by Boom Boom Satellites was an entrancing electronic tune, and the ED was a solid, catchy J-pop song. And I would be utterly remiss if I didn't comment on the sound design, especially of episode ten. The shows sound director, Kameyama Toshiki, crafted one of the most heart-crunching, bone-chlling, emotionally-haunting scenes I have ever listened to in the final part of episode ten. I also feel I must bring up the excellent performances by the voice actors in this scene. I mean it when I say I do not think I will ever forget the word "itai" for the rest of my life.
And I guess I could not end the "objective" portion of the review without mentioning the animation. With Trigger, you have three options, animation-wise. One, Little Witch Academia-tier, which is consistently amazing through out. Two, Kill la Kill and Space Patrol Luluco-tier, which shows flashes of brilliance but also poorly animated sequences, whether by lack of funding or by intention. And three, Inferno Cop and Ninja Slayer-tier, which, to borrow Demolition D+'s word's, embraces the "clip-art animation techniques". It brings me great joy to say Kiznaiver belongs in the top-tier of animation, surpassing Little Witch Academia. The design of the city looks modern enough to surprise you with sci-fi elements, but also feel eerily like real life. The literal animation showcases some amazing talent. For some reason, the shadows stood out to me. The color palette was superb, with vibrancy when needed and dullness when required. And the character design is something to behold. Each character looks unique, with the exception of Tenga, because he just looks like red-haired Space Dandy. Yuta and Hisomu were probably the most original designs I have seen in the Spring 2016 season. Also, the fashion. It's like the gods of good clothing taste blessed these animators, not only allowing for incredibly stylish characters, but also for bright, colorful, and stand-out clothes to associate with the characters. The clothing honestly did so much as to contribute to the characterization, that is how amazing it was.
If you couldn't tell after slogging through my review, I have nothing but praise for Kiznaiver. It excelled at animation, sound, and character, while having a passable and intriguing story. But now I would like to attempt to explain the "intangible" I described earlier. Because that is what pushes Kiznaiver so far, not its superb animation, not its wonderful sound design, and not its diverse and animated cast of characters. No, it is the themes of the show, and their expression that push this show to new boundaries. To not spoil anything, pain, connection, and friendship are explored with more depth than I have ever seen. I believe that depth comes from the realistic nature of the presentation. You literally see pain, you literally see connection through pain, and you literally see friendship bloom because of that connection. The themes build upon each other, each one necessary for the other. Without pain, connection can't happen and friendship cannot either. With connection, then we would become isolated and most-likely calloused, maybe even jaded. And without friendship, we would lack a meaning expression of connection, and feel like pain and connection were purposeless. This is what I meant at the beginning when I said that Trigger understands. They simply get it. But what is "it"? "It" is to be human. I often hear the saying, "Humans are social creatures". And they are right. Humans need connection and friendship, and while it is unfortunate, pain creates connections like nothing else. Pain births people into the world as babies, and often times, pain takes people out of the world. Pain is absolutely core to our being, just like it is absolutely core to Kiznaiver. Without pain, the show, the story, the characters, the sound, they are nothing. But with pain, they are connected. With pain, they are friends. And with pain, they feel love.
I can never truly justify my 10/10 rating of this show. By no means is it perfect, as my rating of the story should prove. And I doubt anyone will really experience the same thing I felt when watching this anime. But the positives of Kiznaiver far, far outweigh the negatives. No show has ever so uniquely and so piercingly explored its themes in the way Trigger explored its themes in Kiznaiver. And no show will likely ever connect to me on the emotional level like Kiznaiver did. Isn't that funny in a sense? A show about connection passes through the TV screen, and connects with its viewers heart. That is something beautiful, remarkable, and something I believe is worth celebrating.
Thanks for reading.
