So, I've been meaning to read the manga for a while, never got around to it. In late september my friend and I, on our weekly anime-watching-session, gave in to our curiosity, because the preview picture of this anime has been intriguing us for weeks at that point. So we decided to just try one episode, to see what exactly this anime was, and were surprised it was five minutes long. And then, without realising it, we ended up watching all sixteen? seventeen? episodes that were availabe back then.
It really, really sucked us in.
Story - 8 Points
Now, don't let this high score fool you. Bessatsu Olympia Kyklos is not a deep show, at all. And it doesn't try being one, either. It's comfortable being a weird couple minutes of content sandwiched between its OP and ED, and does that well. It's a story about a young man who does amazing pottery but sucks at painting occasionally time travelling from his small, Ancient Greek town into a more modern 60s Tokyo; essentially, to come up with a sporting event for his town. One, that rivals the Olympics, even! There's also the asshole major, a very intelligent dolphin (who's a better painter than him), a girl he likes; an old Japanese man who helps him, his family; spartans, the threat of war...
It's not a show you go into, expecting something deep and meaningful. It's a few minutes of sillyness, and that's what I appreciate about it. It doesn't try to be anything more than that. I like that.
Art - 9 Points
Now, this one might be where opinions differ the most. It's not a regular anime. It's claymation, paper cutout looking things, figurines, paper, real people sometimes. A lot to take in, and something that blew me away. Because it's creative and fun, giving it a charming low-budget edge. Think early 2000s adult swim, the more.. avant-garde things. The Greek characters are made of grey clay/plasticine, clearly giving off the air of an ancient statue. Their enviroments are made of miniatures. Whenever the MC interacts with the drawn Japanese characters, in drawn Tokyo, he looks off in a stylish. Zeus is straight up just a real-life guy in the sky. The opening works with Greek paintings on plates, lots of colors, more of that wonderful, fun stop-motion, the Endings (plural!) include not only everything I mentioned before, but cheap animation (on purporse) and more real people, stock images/videos, and so much more.
I love the decision to do it this way. It's eye-catching, fun and allows for an odd way to make it more dynamic. It's really just fun to look at!
Sound - 10 Points
This is what blew me away the most! The voice acting is good. Daisuke Ono as the MC was something I didn't expect, and he does a good job like always. Actually, all the voice actors are doing great! But that alone wouldn't have landed those 10 Points. The SFX aren't to "blame" for it either. It's the OP (the Willhelm Tell Overture, recreated solely by singing "Ba"/"Da") and the endings.
Every single ED is different. A bard is serenading is about a certain Greek word/custom somewhat related to the episode, and they're all so, so fun. Only about 30-40 seconds a piece, they all are just a bite-sized bit of crazyness, which I love. I'd even recommend just checking the EDs out, they alone already are just fun to watch.
Characters - 9
The characters aren't it's biggest strenght, but I still enjoyed them. Demetrios is a fun MC, his dolphin friend is never explained and still fun as well. Everyone is just.. fun! I'm sorry, there really isn't much more behind them. This entire anime is supposed to be fun, and it does it's best at that.
Enjoyment - 10
I wouldn't have binge watched it if I didn't like it as much as I did. Best to watch with a friend, but even my rewatch alone still made me laugh. It's two hours of weird, fun, colorful stuff and I looked forward to each new ending. I'll definitely rewatch it again at least once. Probably more.
Overall - 9
Objectively, it would be more of a 7. But I truly loved this little show, and I feel comfortably giving it a 9. It was a dark horse that pulled through, and what it did just worked for it so well. I truly wish for more anime like that.
I definitely recommend it to everyone. Like, really. I think everyone should give this one a try, simply for how.. out there it really is.
