Reviews

Apr 22, 2011
Mixed Feelings
Usually I wouldn't waste any energy on reviewing such a bad product of entertainment industry, but I, like all people, sometimes just need to let myself go and get the burden of my back. Let me apologise beforehand for such an obnoxiously long review. So let's go.

If there is one sentence that could perfectly describe this series it would be: "What an utter waste of potential!"
The premise is a boy selling his soul to a demon and then solving mysteries related to the underground society in Victorian-era London. What an epic anime it could have been; a mix of Death Note, Hellsing and Sherlock Holmes - a guarantee of success. But it became the school example of wasting potential instead. Some series just don't have the premise that could make them good. But this - man I was disappointed!

The manga had several aspects that disappointed me, but there were other, redeeming points, and while it wasn't a masterpiece I hoped it would be, it was a decent story to pass time with. The anime on the other hand...

PLOT: 3
The fact that manga was ongoing and provided little material to work with is no excuse. There were enough chapters to make some 10-12 episodes. Instead, they stuck to the manga for the first 6 episodes and then dropped it. The first 3 episodes served as an introduction of the main cast of characters and featured little plot. Episodes 4,5 and 6 were "Jack the Ripper Arc". Speaking strictly about the plot, it was relatively good so far. Even episode 7 was promising - everything looked and smelled like The Hound of the Baskervilles. But beginning with ep 8, it was all over. The series featured a large number of "arcs", very loosely connected, and a number of filler episodes between them.
The basic ideas of the arcs were not bad, but they were horribly executed, too fast-paced ( most of them just 2 ep long ) and ended up making little if no sense whatsoever. The plot holes were not a major issue because the plot itself was just too incoherent. There were way too many facepalm and "WTF?" moments to enjoy anything and I ended up wondering if they were scr*wing the plot and basic ideas on purpose. 3 for the Jack the Ripper Arc.

ANIMATION: 7
One of the main problems of this series is inconsistency. It can't decide whether it wants to be Holmes-like, or angsty, or action series, or supernatural, or just yaoi/ bishounen fanservice for the peanut-brained 13-14 year-old girls. It unsuccessfully tries to be all at once, with the latest category ( fanservice ) prevailing. The animation follows the pattern. At times it's brilliantly depicted 19th century London, very dark and realistic. Then it's less realistic with modern hand guns and cars, thus spoiling the spirit and atmosphere of Victorian era. And then... we have domiantrix outfits, Italian mafia in modern suits, Gothic lolita and Steampunk fashion and very non-Victorian behaviour. It won't bother some, but if you're going with historical setting, then make it convincing, please. Some scenes are well animated and coloured and the visual effects flow well. But then they go with the cheap chibi animation and very bright colours. Pick one! The only bits of series that I find flawlessly animated are the first opening theme and the second ending theme. Nothing particularly special or stunning, but they are well-balanced and go well with the music.

SOUND: 7.5
The soundtrack itself is pretty good, one of the highlights of the show, but it's too quiet for the most of the series. The opening and ending theme songs are well-chosen, especially "Lacrimosa", my personal favourite. I like how they use Latin songs and combination of classical and electric instruments. The jazz tunes caught me off guard a bit, but they are actually quite good and give the soundtrack a distinctive level. If only the other aspects of the series were developed as good as the soundtrack.

CHARACTERS: 3.3
Ciel Phantomhive - In the manga, a well developed character, mixture of Artemis Fowl and Near from Death Note with a strong touch of evilness. Albeit suffering a terrible fate, he stays strong and becomes more ruthless and evil as the story progresses. A spoiled brat, but I like him both as a character and as a person ( there are many similarities between him and I ). In the anime, he's an angsty, two-dimensional character, whose motivations are unclear. Apart from being "out-of-character", his actions are very inconsistent and you can clearly see that the manga Ciel and anime Ciel are two different people. Shota and bishouned tones exponentially multiplied in the anime.
Sebastian Michaelis - First of all, I should point out that Sebastian isn't and cannot possibly be a Gary Stue, simply because he's not human. Yes, he's almighty and perfect, but he's a demon. What good would a demon be if he can't beat up your enemies and make you some fine tea? The bad thing about this aspect of Sebastian is that it backfires when it comes to the plot. In combination with helpless Ciel and incompetent plot-makers, Sebastian becomes "deus ex machina", the solution to every problem and every situation. His wittiness and teasing of his master vanish with ep7 and he shows some serious OOC-ness in the final episodes, when he ABANDONS CIEL ( against the unbreakable contract he's made with him ). In the end, he's nothing but a sex object for the fangirls to fangirl over ( and my only comment to his "special" relationship with Ciel is: paedophilia is not sexy/cute!
Grell Sutcliff - The potential for the badest psycho badass of all time. Had they made him female and more psychotic, Grell could have rivaled Alucard. Instead, we got the overly gay Reaper who likes to wear short shorts. God...
Most of the canon characters are, apart from Madam Red, given no or little ( good ) exposition and don't do much to make the plot going. The only exception is Fred Abberline, who's role in the series is far greater than in the manga.
All non-canon characters are piss-poor and cheap, not to mention badly designed.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 5
Ruining the premise with the awful plot was bad enough, but the amount of fanservice destroyed it beyond repair. Although I detest yaoi and similar perversions, maybe I could have survived it. But the inconsistency of the quality of animation, mixing of so many genres, the horrible plot, the bad characters... it was too much. I watched it through to the end simply because I dislike not finishing thing that I've started. And I wanted to have all the knowledge of the crap I'm reviewing. So here's my final mark. After viewing the anime I started to appreciate the manga more. To conclude this I'll say again: what a waste.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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