It’s a land of kill or be killed.
It’s pretty clear from the get-go that there’s way more to the forced game of survival than what meets the eye. Btooom!’s pacing is fast enough to maintain constant interest. The show begins as a straight up survival thriller where Ryouta goes through hell’s worth of bombs and violence, desperately applying his skills in the video game as survival and battle tactics so he can live for another day. Of course, there is an external force working behind the scenes that prevents the outside from interfering with the “game.” A change in focus from the battle of survival to figuring out the method behind the madness takes place. The plot’s flow is fairly straightforward, but it overall feels very fluid and not thrown together. Btooom! reveals itself to be not just an anime about throwing bombs to keep living, but a strong presentation of reading between the lines and defeating the system that restricts the freedom of the island’s inhabitants.
Despite the story being told mainly through the eyes of Ryouta, there’s a healthy amount of screen time and development for the supporting cast. Each character has a respectable personality and some even have compelling pasts that all add up to reveal the big secret behind Btooom! Island. No one particularly stands out since they’re all unique in their own way, but no one’s left behind either.
The characters’ interactions with each other vary in many different ways. One would expect that every encounter on the island always leads to explosions and extreme adrenaline levels, but it’s easy to notice that not everyone is dead-set on staining their hands for their own sake. Not even a Btooom! master like Ryouta can have the same killing intent as he does in the virtual world. His skills in the game are refined to defend himself and destroy his foes, but he still has a rational sense of reality and wants to find a way to escape the bloodshed that was forced upon everyone on the island.
The art and animation does not try to impress anyone with movie quality animation and pretty colors. Fancy special effects take a back seat as the art shows its focus on the fact that Btooom! is still set in the real world despite having video game rules set upon it. The island environment is not portrayed as the dream beach area, but drawn as close to a real island as 2D drawing can make it. It is a nice touch to see how the island slowly transitions from a peaceful resort to a bloody battleground of explosions as the episodes fly by.
Even though explosions aren’t the most exciting visual effects for anime and Btooom! is all about bombs, the action is kept very real. There’s nothing top-notch to marvel at here, but the animation delivers and looks very fluid when intensity unfolds.
Openings and ending aren’t all to what defines the sound of an anime, but nano really drives it home with powerful music that pumps the viewers up and portray the image of Btooom! quite accurately.
Outside of that, here’s nothing new about all the other sounds. Explosions sound like explosions, and there is no reason to be surprised by much of anything in the SFX and voice acting department. They all get the job done. The background music is subtle and it’s really most noticeable during action and times of suspense. The mood is well-promoted by the BGM, and combined with nano’s impressive performance, a promising soundtrack can be something to look forward to.
There’s no “boring” part in this anime, especially considering the likable cast of characters, the moderately fast pacing, and the intense moments that lead to engaging bomb fights. It’s very easy to stay glued to the screen when all these factors are playing.
Overall, not only is Btooom! a true blast to watch, but all the major themes that apply to standard survival anime are shown with a noticeable presence. The themes are not up for self-interpretation. Btooom! is here to tell a message about being forced out of normal society and balancing personal morals with what is really needed to continue living in whatever conditions that are forced upon the outcasts.
Final ratings:
Storytelling (40%): 8 -> 3.2
Characters (30%): 8 -> 2.4
Visuals (10%): 8 -> .8
Sounds (10%): 8 -> .8
Enjoyment Value (10%): 9 -> .9
3.2 + 2.4 + .8 + .8 + .9 = 8.1
Final Rating: 8.1
