So Gleipnir follows the story of Shuichi Kagaya, a seemingly normal high school boy has the ability to transform himself into a monster but has no idea how he even got the ability. To protect himself, he hides this secret from everyone. But one day after saving a fellow classmate, Clair Aoki, from a burning building, she now blackmails Shuichi into helping her find her sister or she will reveal Shuichi’s secret of him being a monster.
There are hints of a more deep story with monsters secretly among them and the mysterious coins but then I saw Clair half naked wear Shuichi’s monster form like a flesh suit and say she kind of p**sed in it at the end and I’m like, “Yeah this ain’t the reason why I’m watching it.” Because if there is one word that I have to describe Gleipnir, it would be shameless. It doesn’t try to play down what it is and merely embraces it but doesn’t go too far with it to the point of sheer ridiculousness. You want fanservice? It’s got fanservice. You want crazy? It’s got crazy. You want edge? It’s got edge. It’s got elements that makes it entertainingly stupid which is fully embraced by our main female lead, Clair.
Clair is a shameless, sadistic and crazy b**ch who is merely using Shuichi for her personal gain and does not understand the concept of empathy. She matches the tone of the show. Is she a great character? No. She is really unsympathetic and a bad person. Is she entertaining? Yes, because of those traits. But of course, because she is crazy, our main lead suffers because in order to emphasize these traits. Shuichi is stereotypically the wimpy, pushover character you would expect in this scenario who is scared of his power and really doesn’t have much else going for him. Even by this show standards, I really didn’t care about Shuichi’s plight about him worrying that he is slowly losing his humanity. Mainly because Clair’s personality and drive completely overshadows Shuichis and, as such, takes away all of the spotlight from Shuichi. Easily the weakest part of the show.
Now one thing that really surprised me was the production value in this show. The show’s animation is done by Pine Jam, who’s last TV work was back in 2017 with Just Because! and Gamers! They did some other stuff between but it’s not really worth mentioning. The show looks great and the animation is impactful. I point to the big fight in episode two where you can really feel the impact of the punches and kicks. They really got some force behind them; which you would expect from monsters. Character designs are solid as well, with Claire really rocking the crazy b**ch look with her expressions and that smile. Something I don’t know whether to protect or to eliminate. The ost is solid and matches the tone of the show with it trying to be gritty and dark with a dab of techno thrown into there, but I wouldn’t say it really stands out. The opening, “Altern-ate-” by H-el-ical is okay if not a bit plain with the usual character showcase, character drama and the fight scene at the chorus. While the ending "Ame to Taieki to Nioi" by Mil, I actually really like, mainly due to the visuals as it looks good maintains a calm tone to relieve from the chaos from the episode.
So is Gleipnir worth checking out? Well depends really. Like I said earlier, everyone has a tolerance as to how much they can take this kind of ecchi edginess before just getting annoyed by it all. For me, it’s entertaining as to how stupid this show is. Because let’s be honest, this show is stupid. It’s not exactly brimming with scenes of deeper meaning or just simply clever writing or directing. But it is fun and has not bored me yet as the great animation and Clair have carried the show pretty well. Come in with that mindset and you will see a ridiculous but fun show that definitely has its moments and that’s enough for me at the moment.
First Impression:
Story: 4/10
Listen, the story so far isn’t exactly fleshed out but the vibe I’m getting from the narrative isn’t that interesting
Characters: 5/10
Clair is such an entertaining character. Shuichi, not so much.
Animation: 8.5/10
Surprisingly good. From what I’ve seen so far, this is definitely a high point.
Sound: 6/10
It’s fine. Does it’s job of setting the atmosphere and the opening is okay. Definitely like the ending though.
My Personal Enjoyment: 8/10
This show is entertaining and fun to watch but that really is my opinion though. Yours may be different.
Overall Score: 6.3/10 Recommendation: Consider it
