Let’s talk about the things I liked first. There are some nice sequences, particularly during the fight scenes. They're very hard-hitting and keep a good balance of stylishness and realism. Shiki's in particular were very captivating, I can tell that my little emo princess was lavished with most of the budget <3 I also like the small design details like the eyes being drawn with additional detail (eg. w/cupid’s bow and red waterlines), the stark lighting choices/use of light and the neon red blood. It complements the edgy style just right. And of course, if Nitro Chiral is involved there will be a bumping soundtrack. The tracks definitely help sell the dramatic tension (and the release of said tension) and grittiness of the action. It’s a huge plus that I really appreciate because 99% of the time IDGAF about movie/TV soundtracks…That’s how good it is, dawg. There are alterations to the story to fit for time that I liked, especially how they integrated Nano as the narrator so his mystique and characterization still occur in small fragments that slowly fit together, like in the VN. They also added some fan service, not the BL kind but like extended action sequences and new fights that didn’t happen in the VN. This is Togainu no Chi, so of course I do like seeing men beat the shit out of each other. As a fan, I felt serviced.
Now for the bad. The animation is just straight-up bad at times. The characters are off-model A LOT, to the point where their derpy, detailless faces are genuinely distracting during scenes trying to convey emotional gravitas. It pans to buildings a lot, even during fight scenes which detracts from the action. There are odd stylistic choices like Dutch angles and fixed camera angles, to the point where I thought to myself “This would be so much better as a normal and boring shot-reverse-shot”, which is… Oh boy. It’s also lit way too dark in like 30-50% of the scenes to the point where you can barely see what’s going on. I understand what they were going for but it’s too much, they need to lighten up a bit (lol).
Because the plot is slowly unfurled bit by bit over multiple routes, the anime’s fast-paced treatment of it gets a bit slapdash at times with inconsistencies and omissions that I imagine a newcomer might get confused with. Don’t get me wrong, the plot was simple to begin with, but it was better-paced and more in-depth in the VN. And don't get me started on that non-ending in the anime. Seriously. What they did to my boy Nano was...! >:/
All the characters end up becoming really Flanderized, though to differing extents. Rin gets the brunt of this with a lot of dialogue that develops his character being cut, while Keisuke is more or less the same albeit portions of his backstory were cut for being too homo for TV (lol) (I say lol in a very sad, painful way btw). Shiki remains a villain and never has his mayadere arc, which wouldn’t be a problem if his character wasn’t a mayadere… You know, a cold, unflappable, prideful villain who only changes after developing an attraction to the MC. And even then, Shiki only sparingly lets down his guard every once and a while to show how much Akira means to him. He is the most subtle yet admittedly weakest member of the cast, so inherently sexual (not sexualIZED, there’s a difference) to the point where cutting out the S/M master/brat dynamic he has with Akira doesn’t leave much left to him.
The problem with the anime adaptation is by removing the different endings, the themes and character development don’t hit nearly as hard, or even at all due to this. They write themselves into a corner with this and have to scrap all of the route-specific character development since they simply do not have the time to dedicate character development between all the characters and Akira. Especially since a lot of it leads to love… The biggest problem with removing the L in BL is that TnC’s themes heavily centre around love and stripping it out results in, rather predictably, gutting the story’s thematic consistency and hard-hittingness. How the hell can Keisuke’s route, which shows that it is better to choose forgiveness over violence and revenge, ever hit as hard without showing Akira’s tender affection come to surface when he realizes that he was so close to losing him? How can Motomi’s route show Akira the dangers of his toxic masculinity and help him learn to process his emotions and trauma if it doesn’t show him holding Akira close, and the sexual tension that results from this? I could go on but I think you get the point.
This results in Akira lacking the depth he develops in the VN, which is a travesty. He is one of my favourite characters of all time BECAUSE he is an emotionally stunted young man who starts out as dismissive and distant, but is forced to confront his emotions due to the shock and trauma of his environment, and what happens between him and his new allies. He is forced to be vulnerable. He takes damage. He is traumatized. He is stressed. He is tested. He cracks. And despite it all, he chooses life, forgiveness and love. His growth is greatly influenced by what each romantic interest in the route has to teach him (whether literally like in Motomi’s route or perhaps a trial by fire like Rin) which makes him best appreciated in the grand, holistic scheme of things when you’ve been through every route after like 30 hours.
You’re probably wondering why I left a mixed review instead of a not-recommended one… Well, it’s because as a supplement to the VN/Manga, yeah, I felt very fan-serviced and privileged to see the written action sequences come to life. On the other hand, I felt like there had to be a better way to adapt the series than this, given all of the negative changes and flaws. A newcomer would probably see this anime as a meandering, plothole-ridden schlockfest filled with one-note characters. TL;DR If you're a fan, the anime can be fun if you turn your brain off and enjoy watching your husbandos slap fight each other. If you aren't, you will not like this at all.
