Story:
The story in Bubuki Buranki is by no means a masterpiece. But the way it’s executed and the amount of craziness that happens makes it one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve seen. The level of enjoyment I got out of this is equal to what I got when watching Kill la Kill, and Kill la Kill is in my Top Ten Favourite Anime. That’s not really surprising though since the studio that did Bubuki Buranki, SANZIGEN is in the same building or near (I’m not really too sure on this one) as the studio that did Kill la Kill, Trigger. The Trigger-ish insanity can definitely be seen in Bubuki Buranki which means that this story is one of the craziest, emotional and enjoyable things in this anime. Once the action starts it never really stops which is one of the best things about this show. It’s something that you will want to marathon either in one sitting or in two (like I did) since it feels like one big movie that you won’t want to stop watching. The story is almost flawless and the only complaint that I have is that they split this show into two 12 episode seasons instead of showing all the episodes at once, which means that this show ends on a cliff-hanger ending which isn’t a problem now since the second season is currently airing.
Characters:
This is where the only problem with this show comes in. My only main problem with Bubuki Buranki is that the main character is a little generic. He doesn’t do a lot of fighting in this show and his weapon is kind of useless in one on one fights, which this show has quite a few of. But there is a reason for that and I don’t want to spoil it here since I highly, highly suggest you watch this anime for yourself. Other than that all of the other four main characters and all of the villains are extremely memorable whether it be because of their colorful and unique designs or because they have really enjoyable personality traits, every character leaves an impact including some that only show up in the final couple of episodes. No character in this show is annoying and all of them (except for the MC) have really cool weapons and powers which makes the action scenes a joy to witness.
Sound:
In the sound department Bubuki Buranki definitely excels and is one of this show’s high points. The soundtrack in this anime is incredible as it has a variety of action themes, comedic pieces and some sad songs which all fit every scene they are played in and make the scene more epic or heart-warming depending on which part they play in. The voice acting is really good as well considering a lot of the voice actors are newcomers. As of now this show doesn’t have a dub and if it does I hope that Aniplex of America picks it up since as much as I do enjoy Sentai Filmworks dubs, I think Bubuki Buranki deserves a little better then passable. Or they could just not dub it which would be fine as well since the sub is really good. Now to one of my favourite parts of this show, the Opening and Ending songs. The opening Beat your Heart by Konomi Suzuki is an amazing song that is one of her best Openings in my opinion and it fits Bubuki Buranki really well. The Ending is really good as well since it’s done by the band MYTH&ROID who do some really good songs as well.
Animation:
The fact that this anime is done completely in CG is what I think turned people off of this show. Which is stupid since this is the best CG I’ve seen in any CG anime. The fact that Ajin is more popular than this and Ajin looks like crap is so weird to me. Even not comparing this to Ajin it looks really good too. The characters are smooth, the action is breathtaking and the expressions on the characters faces are even better than some normal anime. This show’s existence is the reason that I think SANZIGEN is a better animation studio then Polygon Pictures (they did Ajin and Knights of Sidonia). Out of everything the animation in Bubuki Buranki is its highest point and is one of the main reasons that I love this show so much. After seeing the quality of animation in this show it might be hard to watch Ajin or Knights of Sidonia since I would be constantly comparing them to Bubuki Buranki.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Bubuki Buranki is my choice for best anime of 2016. While I may be the only one that thinks this I urge people to give this show a shot. It has the best CG animation I’ve seen in any show (anime or not) and is a really fun ride that you are missing out on if you judge this show solely on the fact that it is CG. It is criminal that this show is already underrated.
Score: 9
Rating: Great
