- Last Online4 hours ago
- GenderMale
- BirthdayNov 12, 2005
- LocationHyogo, Japan
- JoinedAug 16, 2023
Also Available at
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Apr 11, 2024
For a very long time, Mushoku Tensei was one of the most exciting LN series I’ve gotten into when it came out. It has a very interesting case where it takes some very basic ideas from your typical Isekai and how it uses them in a compelling way. It creates a story that shows how you can learn from your mistakes and how your journey goes despite your mixed vision. This would make for a very good series… Or in this respect, you SHOULD have one. While I’ve been very curious every time a chapter has been released, as time goes on, this has turned
...
out to be one of the most disappointing series ever. I don’t even mean that in a sense that makes it horrible but in the end, this falls under a definition of “wasted potential”. It has interesting elements, sure, but it doesn’t utilize them quite well.
Before I get into my problems, I should first explain what the plot is about. Mushoku Tensei starts with a 34-year-old fat bastard who has been kicked out of his family and wandering around the streets. Eventually, he would get killed by a truck and teleported to another world. And in that world, he is first reincarnated as a child named “Rudeus”. With this, he sets his goal on when to redeem himself after knowing what he was in the past. Now looking at this, it would make for a compelling story. A guy who got his ass kicked so many times to the point where he got reincarnated and starts everything from scratch is something I truly admire a lot. I really like how even for a power fantasy, it sets up a presentation where it shows you how you could challenge yourself. It may be hard to understand, sure, but I’d say it’s a great plot to look at.
However, that’s where my possible praise towards the series ends here. Look further at the series and you’ll notice something off. Now what Mushoku has to offer seems great. But I find that the amount of fanservice involved felt either grating or unnecessary. I must admit that Rudeus being a weirdo isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s part of his character as it adds more challenge to his progression. The problem is with how it’s handled. The series for the most part uses him as a goofy molester with little insights to place. He gets away with disgusting shit with very little consequences and that’s almost out of character. I’ll explain Rudeus later on. But I feel like Rudeus isn’t the only victim of this. Other characters that act as weirdos also tend to be gross with next to no context. Do you know the scene about the Roxy figurine? That’s my example of how the fanservice went wrong. The series tends to reallocate a lot of its story elements into what feels averagely gross.
Hell, even ignoring the juvenile fanservice entirely, the series’ very important aspects are pretty mid. It is way too plot-driven for its own good. You know how the story is about a reincarnated being setting his journey to learn from his mistakes? In this respect, that element is barely present in the series. The series doesn’t utilize much on that and instead, relies too much on drama that felt either cheap or filler. That aspect I’m talking about is admittedly present, sure, but the story tries too hard to use it by throwing in elements of surprises that aren’t even terrible but tend to keep the writing quality in check. Another problem I’d like to point out is the exposition. Mushoku takes too long to set up what contributes to the plot and even if we get there, what we want to see is rushed all thanks to the previous problems I just talked about a while ago.
Although these problems do invade the series from left to right, there is one more scene I would like to cover, and that in itself manages to save the series, even though it’s not too big or anything like that. Of course, what I’m referring to is the dance scene. It’s not your average dancing presentation where it is for style, it also adds charm to it that connects with the series’ main objective well. It truly shows the nature of Rudeus’ progression and elevates the amount of characterization he has alongside his chemistry with Eris (and too bad, the potential of both Rudy and especially Eris is thrown away later on).
The characters… Oh boy, now where do I begin with them? Let’s start with the main cast, most notably Rudeus, the key character, and the neet, Roxy, a goddess and mentor of Rudy, Eris, the goblin slayer, and Sylphiette, the childhood friend.
Starting with Rudy, he’s honestly weird. I already mentioned how he has interesting characteristics hindered by a certain gimmick. He’s supposed to be the kind of boy (or man) who sets his goals to achieve what he needs in order to refrain from what he did wrong back then with his obsession being his big obstacle and while that is interesting, in practice, him being a weirdo with little consequences for the most part gets in the way of his development. He pretty much molests girls he sees and yet, almost all of them weren’t addressed. But this doesn’t matter because, after all, it’s “part of his character” from now. Yeah, no. That’s like saying “Oh but mom, that “dildo” you call it is still a toy so it’s still kid-friendly”. It doesn’t work like that. The worst part? Rudy hasn’t changed at all. The first 10 chapters pretty much cemented his intended development. After that, he kinda remains to be the same loser he is. Not a bad character by any means, I’ll admit that he gets some development from the middle portions of the series but still, we could see better.
The female leads, however, are pretty much the worst offenders of the series. But first, let me make an exception. I like Roxy and she’s a decent character overall. Her role as a mentor is solid and her dynamics with Rudy are passable. Not the greatest but they definitely hold value. The other girls… not so much… Eris is stupid for the wrong reasons. In fact, she’s the worst character in the whole story. Her dynamics with Rudy are cliched and make no sense. On one hand, her rudeness is off the charts, and just pushes him. On the other hand, her confessions seem rather silly and rushed. And that’s ignoring how she’s been cockblocking Rudy for half of the series, Hell, Rudy would be a lot better venturing around without her. Sylphy, while not as bad as Eris, is just really boring. Yeah, she’s a big friend (or love interest, if any) of Rudeus but that’s about it. Half of the time, she’s merely a plot device to push Rudy’s character further with no unique substance within herself.
Side characters are ones I either don’t care or get annoyed at. Half of the side cast is just there to keep the story’s pacing in check. They aren’t too bad like heck, I prefer most of them over the main cast, but you know, they’re just walking mannequins with brains and feelings. The other half is what also pisses me off. Remember when I said that Rudy is a weirdo for giggles? Most, if not all of that logic applies to those bastards. Again, they are creeps with nothing else and they become big pushovers at this point. Now, of course, there’s another exception I have in mind and that would be Ruijerd. Ruijerd is interesting because of how he guides half of the main cast and how his development is connected to his backstory. Not much to say here honestly, he’s also a decent character.
I genuinely have very mixed feelings about the series but there’s one last aspect I would like to talk about and that is the batch of volume cover illustrations the light novel contains. While yes, they’re superficial and are not counted, they are the best parts of the series. The art style is very pleasing to look at. The details are excellent and the coloring is both balanced and adequate. The character designs, even for non-isekai standards, have a lot of heart to them and fit well with each character, regardless of simplicity and complexity.
And those are my opinions on Mushoku Tensei’s light novel. The real question is: is it good or bad? To me, that’s a difficult question. On one hand, it has among the most enticing build-ups a series could ever hope for all because of how it creates its intended story. But on the other hand, it’s filled with a handful of decisions and exposition that tend to limit its writing. To me, Mushoku Tensei is alright. It offers what tends to be pleasing and it actually tries. It’s just that how it tackles its plot point as well as the character writing tends to be on the mixed side. Apart from 1 and 2 characters, the cast could have been a lot more logical with their statistics and objectives. While the art covers are amazing and something I can’t forget, overall, this series… exists, and that’s how it is ‘ahem’ at least to me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Feb 26, 2024
Redo of Healer… ‘sigh’ I have to talk about this, do I? You know, there are quite a lot of anime that fail to capture what writing means. Those titles are very lacking, and thus, be forgotten once they are finished. But do you want to know what most of them succeed at? Despite their bad writing, they at least manage to be mindlessly entertaining. While they offer next to no value, they at least hold your attention by being fun to watch for a magical reason. Some of them might even be guilty pleasure material. However, there are some bad shows that don’t even
...
have that very niche charm and they felt like insults to even what being basic means. They manage to do so much wrong to the extent that they are just painful to watch. Redo of Healer in particular is one of THOSE things, to say the least. If you aren’t convinced by what I said already then I can assure you that you have been warned…
STORY: I’m sorry, what’s the story again?/10
The story behind this is about Keyaru who has a dream about being a hero and defeating the demon lord (as you know, the one trope most Isekai protagonists follow), and with that, he begins his journey as a healer. As he gets stronger and gains more interactions with anyone he meets, he starts to take a turn for the worse. Not only does he become more evil but he also develops very sexual thoughts. Just by knowing this, I’m already concerned. From what I see here, it’s about a guy who becomes a healer class just to be evil and by extension, a r**ist. This is a massive hit-or-miss for a story. Sure, not all healers are created equal but even then, molesting people with healing magic is more stupid than intelligent. But worry not, this is just a fraction of how shitty this show can get.
From here, it only gets worse. I mean worse and worse and worse. This show is heavily focused on the protagonist gaining more negative confidence as well as sexually harassing everyone he encounters. And not just that, pair those with incredibly monotonous dialogue on top of it. Does this look like writing to you? If you’re so desperate about constantly assaulting girls around while being generically evil then you’re not even trying. This is practically the whole setup for the entire show and it’s just pure torture. It creates a massive ball of shame while being shameless. Worst of all, it really tries to be deep while THIS is happening. It doesn’t come close to remotely functioning. Like how can you be a serious story while having such an egregious setup? It’s just really sad to look at.
CHARACTERS: Incompetent Douchebags/10
The characters in this show, HOT GARBAGE. There’s not a single bit of redeeming factory to any of this “cast”. Let’s start with Keyaru, the power-hungry and lustful healer. This guy is unlikable and not even in ways that make him good or decent. I have a soft spot for assholes in animanga. In contrast, characters like Dio from JoJo and Elaina from Wandering Witch act really negatively as humans but they tend to hold a lot of characterization for me. Back to Keyaru, he’s extremely evil and… yeah. His whole character is to be an ass, r**p girls around him, and create a harem. That’s it, that’s his entire character. Worst of all, he’s insanely cringy and offers even nothing to entertain. He’s written to be as loathsome as possible. He just makes me want to stay away from the screen.
The girls in the show also suffer from a similar issue. Flare is the stupid asshole princess and Setsuna is the stupid slave wolf. The rest in Keyaru’s harem are a blah blah blah whatever. Again, that’s really about it. They’re written to be one-trick ponies of their own as well as being massive Keyaru banana riders. They’re not even considered to be characters at all. They’re not even one-dimensional in the safest ways considered. The series doesn’t really know how to touch these buffoons. It’s blatantly absurd to see how much these “characters” fail when we take basic writing into account.
ART: Well… I guess there’s detail./10
Alright, I can at least give the visuals credit for being the least offensive aspects of the show and that’s saying much because even then, they’re still one-dimensional… at least in a safe way, unlike the story and the characters. They’re the same generic power fantasy aesthetics you’ve seen in quite a lot of anime. One would argue that there is SOME charm to it and honestly, I can’t disagree with that. It’s just that the general art direction and the character designs aren’t really my cup of tea. Moving on…
SOUND: Bitch, can I tape your mouth for an hour?/10
All I can say is the voice acting in this show is alright. Not that great but it’s there. But the moaning in this show is so desperately overexaggerated that it gets annoying really fast. They are frustrating to bear with that I might consider muting for a while before they end.
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: I think I’m okay with ripping my thumbs off./10
Redo of Healer is just the embodiment of tormention. It tries to do something with a bit of its story and manages to get EVERYTHING wrong. It has a stupid gimmick and it excessively abuses the hell out of it, it’s just getting out of place. I mentioned earlier that there are shows whose bad content is entertaining, but this one manages to stand out and not even in a good pattern. THERE’S NOTHING ABOUT THIS SERIES THAT WORKS AT ALL. This is so bad, not even enjoyably bad like Mirai Nikki or Hand Shakers. It’s just AWFUL. My mental fortitude dried up so hard just by watching this god-forsaken show. Never in a million years would I slightly touch this atrocity ever again…
OVERALL: -2/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 19, 2024
Serial Experiments Lain in many ways is weird. It’s the type of anime where even if you watched a few seconds of it, the show would immediately question the sanity of both yours and itself. As someone who watched this around the years when I was in middle school, even a couple of years later as well as giving it a re-watch, I clearly have no idea what this was supposed to be. But in Lain’s case, that’s okay. You don’t even need to know what it is. Serial Experiments Lain is an anime that, yes, is borderline questionable when it comes to how it
...
was constructed, but at the same time, it has a profound message that isn’t even directly shown or told, instead, you can follow the protagonist through her narrative role and listen to her philosophical monologues.
The story of SEL is about an introverted girl named Lain who explores the dark magic of technology around after receiving an email from a dead girl named Chisa, who recently committed suicide. At the start of Lain’s complicated, egregious journey, she has no idea how basic technology works; yet, when the hatred of technology opens the email, things start to lead her into the depths of absurd information and such. With this, Lain plans to show and tell everyone the connection between reality and symbolism by messing with everyone’s technical properties and their minds. So right off the bat, this is very confusing, even to those who have very high knowledge of understanding. There are so many things going on and I can’t even lay my finger on how it’s supposed to work. Trying to understand Lain is like trying to chew a chicken bone until you get to gulp it.
But again, that’s always fine. Lain doesn’t really need to be understood literally. Granted, I’m not saying that stories that are confusing so they could be confusing would be confusing. They undeniably don’t. However, SEL has this presentation that is shown and told indirectly. And when I say “indirectly”, what I’m saying is that it creates a symbolic perspective where we can see the connection between real-life scenarios and the unfathomable curse behind technology and how they interact with each other. To resonate with this, we follow Lain traveling around her hometown and listen to her monologues. When listened to properly, we, the viewers following Lain’s path, can feel that in a way, the world is corrupted and is used as a tool to tell people that their very own realities are barely a possibility and would live with what is actually true, whether they like it or not.
Looking back at the series, I think I’m seeing the pattern in this show. While I don’t understand the concept behind it, I’m actually able to understand what it has to offer. SEL is about questioning everything regarding human existence and our influence on social media. It tells us that not every human being isn’t really created even remotely equal but how some can act very sad, others can act very cruel, and so on. SEL does a fantastic job presenting that. We get to see Lain interact and/or encounter normal people and mindless goons alike and how she attempts to trap them into her special hell and show them the unfortunate reality of both how humans act (even as of now) and how the internet is used. This is a lot deeper and meaningful than one would like to say otherwise. Human beings aren’t really the brightest group of organisms to talk to or think about. Like I said, some act sad, some act very neutral, and some would act like douchebags.
Lain is an excellent protagonist. She’s the key heroine who is first portrayed as a shy junior high school student with few friends or interests but then unfolds the true colors of her very own appearance. While she has little knowledge of the basics of technology, she immediately explores more of what witchcraft would be on the internet. And as time goes on, she starts to develop more, bolder personalities, both with her own existence and every setting she would possess. With this, she becomes a goddess who would show and tell everyone what is happening to themselves and how they are living with what they own. The reason why she really stands out as both an MC and a character, in general, is how she manipulates the story structures involved. You see, she spends most of her time studying and understanding the twisted nature of verbal and IRL communication, and she does this because she realizes that every piece of cruel action and disgusting truth would be everywhere. She tells her very own monologues and claims to not only every character in the show but the viewers watching the show as well, even if it’s not direct. It’s complicated, I know, but think about it, Lain is a symbol that represents the reality of how you talk to people and how you browse through the internet.
Some of my favorite lines from her are:
- “No matter where you go, everyone’s connected.”
- “If you’re not remembered, then you never existed.”
- “People only have substance within the memories of other people. And that's why there were all kinds of mess. There weren't a lot of times per se, I was just inside all sorts of people, that's all.”
Such words are so complicated and untouching yet really represent how things aren’t what you would dream of and how you actually live with what’s surrounding you as well as how she would respond to those things. Lain really delivers those. For the record, I am not a social media expert by any means but she might be the scariest character in any industry and I mean that in ways of how she would approach her overall objective.
Alright, I don’t want to talk about the writing any further. It’s messing with my brain. But what I want to talk about next is both the art and the sound. The art style is very good. Not my utmost favorite per se but it’s well-colored, well-shaded, and looks realistic. The atmosphere in this show is incredibly detailed and dynamic. The computers in any room Lain would be in look amazing and also scary when you know what Lain’s special hell looks like. The OST is haunting and beautiful. The songs would give you a warning of how the show presents by not only sounding horrifying but also virtually crawling through your spines. The Japanese voice acting is great. I don’t have much experience with English voice acting but I’ve seen some clips with it and while it isn’t a lot, I might say that the English does as great, if not, a little better than the original.
‘phew’ What a damn ride. Serial Experiments Lain is perplexing and visceral in a lot of segments. It’s very well-written but I was frustrated just by watching every second of it. I can’t really understand the premise behind it and I felt like I’m watching something in the shadows of a basement. But funnily enough, my personal frustration is also my personal enjoyment. SEL takes away your sanity by showing what would be one of the most creative storytelling in any industry. It’s very interesting and engaging in so many ways. It doesn’t need a literal plot to present to you what it has to offer but by doing so, it creates a figurative perspective. Sure, I would not recommend this to especially casuals but all in all, it’s a series that has held my attention for a long and had me learning about the overall life without being serious. Without question a show that is truly ahead of its time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Dec 4, 2023
[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS AND DRAWS SOME COMPARISONS WITH GURREN LAGANN AND KILL LA KILL]
Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill are some of Gainax’s and TRIGGER’s finest anime respectively. They have a beginning that feels endearing; as time goes on, they just get better. Each of them may have a goofy and wild cast, but their narrative hearts are placed on them alongside their respectable directions. They have charms that make them more than just dumb fun and if you trade most of that away, you get Promare, one of TRIGGER’s strongest works in terms of art and sound but also one of the
...
weakest when we take story and characters into account. This was one of my most anticipated movies when it got announced and as excited as I was, especially since I liked TTGL and KlK, with the whole movie released, I was both shocked by the production but also disappointed by how it’s constructed.
STORY: 5/10
Promare is about an alien race named Burnish that suddenly appears and wreaks havoc ever since they invaded Earth. 30 years later, a group of firefighters, named Burning Rescue, would fight against a new group of aggressive pyromancers, the Mad Burnish. While fighting, the Mad Burnish appear to have a motive as to why they cause chaos. With this happening, who will take the gauntlet, and who will be proven right? Promare’s story is actually interesting, to say the least. A group of firefighters battling against alienesque pyromancers and questioning their goals behind them. This would feel like a refined plot because we get to see two groups battling each other in a court and let the judge decide who will be on the green and who will be on the red, especially when we get to know their motives.
That would be a shockingly good deal until the movie doesn’t bother adding nuance to its otherwise interesting plot at all. Promare’s storytelling in practice is embarrassingly lacking. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great elements put on the table but as the movie goes on, they are almost left in the basement. From here, all we get is a bunch of mindless fun action alongside some boring interactions. I’m not saying that having a lot of action would negatively affect a story at all. My biggest gripe with the movie, however, is that it’s given little time to explore the main objective and the ideals involved whatsoever. Sure, some interesting things are admittedly present but they aren’t developed properly.
The big reveal isn’t great either. The one thing both TTGL and KlK excel at is a big plot twist. They aren’t groundbreaking with it but they do play with it well. By comparison, Promare’s twist is either cheap or handled poorly. The good society being evil the entire time is really good in theory but how it’s interpreted is lacking and thus, didn’t make any sense at all. The cherry on the top is how the surprise villain is written or developed. It seems to be that the villain felt like he was built as a doomsday device and nothing else. The tragic villains aren’t handled properly too. Yes, your motivations are interesting, but kindly explain more of those. Overall, Promare’s story isn’t bad but it’s mediocre nonetheless.
CHARACTERS: 5/10
And now, we move on to the characters. Starting with Galo, the recent member of Burning Rescue, and Lio, the leader of Mad Burnish.
Galo isn’t that endearing of a protagonist, let’s get that straight. He’s pretty much 75% Kamina and 25% Simon but with none of what makes those two good characters in the first place. Both Kamina and Simon not only have complete arcs (even though the former died early in their respective series) but they also have great and distinct dynamics with both each other and the rest of their friends. To compare this, Galo feels like a generic hero and barely has any chemistry outside of his relationship with Lio. And speaking of which, Lio is undeniably the best of the two by default. He has a solid arc, he contributes to the story nicely, and of course, he has an endearing chemistry with Galo. The problem with him though is he could explain his motives further. KlK’s Satsuki does that better since she explains more of her goals and adds nuance to her interactions with any of her series’ cast but regardless, Lio is still good and is the reason why this movie is even remotely engaging.
The side cast isn’t anything to talk about. They have their bit of moments but they just felt like fodders to motivate the 2 main leads. As for the hero turned villain, Kray, he’s probably the worst character in the movie. On paper, he’s a great antagonist considering his desire to erase all of Burnish from existence as well as helping his people. But unfortunately, that concept is thrown into the trash can. As I said earlier, the movie turned him into a morning Saturday maniac with barely any impression (outside of his scary face, of course). All that buildup just to make him a bland villain… I mean… Come on. Anti-Spiral and Ragyo actually get to shine nicely as surprise villains, how come Kray is portrayed as the lonely child in a playground in comparison? The cast has a lot of great things they COULD show but are left in the dust which is sad to think about, especially now that they don’t have much depth.
ART: 10/10
Promare arguably has the best art of any TRIGGER anime. The shading is very smooth and colorful, the anime is filled with a very nice flow, and the character designs are over-the-top yet refined at the same time. The fights are great, even though they wouldn’t add anything to the story at all, a logic that can also be said with any other series.
SOUND: 9/10
Galo’s theme may be intense but Lio’s is off the charts. Not only is it very dynamic but it truly matches the adrenaline of Lio himself. The voice acting is also really good, though, I’m personally not in the mood to explain further on it.
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 8/10
In my opinion, if Promare wants to make a good and complete story, it would have to either extend its length just a bit further or try to make a movie series out of itself. As of now, it ends up being yet another popcorn entertainment. But as mediocre as it is, I actually enjoyed the movie for how it played out despite the writing. The choreography is very satisfying to watch and seeing Kray’s downfall feels really good. Overall, Promare is an okay movie with a lot of surface-level fun, but once it’s finished, it’s depressingly nothing to write home about.
OVERALL: 5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 26, 2023
Kara no Kyoukai is perhaps one of the most acquired tastes in anime, whether you're a TYPE-MOON fan or not. It has gotten a reputation for being a complicated mix bag, whether it's boring and/or pretentious, too hard to understand, or possibly a masterpiece. I've watched the entire movie series and while I barely understood what any of that means, at the same time, I've been amazed at how masterful its craft truly is. A series that yes, it's super complex, but doesn't take itself seriously while still being a serious work of art. All of this is thanks to the golden tickets that are
...
Paradox Paradigm and Murder Speculation Part B. But... Those aren't what I'm talking about. What I want to talk about is Murder Speculation Part A, in my opinion, the most underrated installment of Kara no Kyoukai. My goal here isn't to talk about how the series works, it's more of me expressing my feelings with it and it resonates with me. With that being said, let's get started!
STORY: 9/10
Even though this is the second installation of the series, funnily enough, this is actually the beginning, especially if you watch the series in chronological order. It starts off with a boy named Mikiya walking through the snow and suddenly sees a mysterious girl named Shiki. Even since they briefly met, Mikiya begins to fall in love with her. That April, she started to attend the same school as he does. The Mifune City, on the other hand, is filled with unclear victims and the investigators have yet to find out who the culprit is. If I'm being honest, it's quite hard to understand. It has a lot of interesting ideas on the table but the story is heavily full of puzzles. I barely understood what it literally was supposed to be and at that point, I don't think I will.
That is... When it shouldn't be understood. Kara no Kyoukai doesn't have any literal meaning but is arguably more of emotional surrealism. This installation did a fantastic job of how Shiki is trapped in a virtual, non-linear prison. Shiki has a male personality gained from her family that is meant to show certain differences between her female one but is suddenly cursed to the extent that she's forced to commit a silent massacre. It's honestly scary personally. I still don't understand the whole situation but what I understand is that some of your human emotions may turn into a living nightmare. This series did an excellent job of how Mikiya encounters the complicated scenario. It gives more time for him to find hints on what went wrong with Shiki. Knowing TYPE-MOON, I would gladly watch the whole thing even if it means not knowing much.
CHARACTERS: 9/10
We have two main leads, one being Shiki, the maiden who has been invaded by her corrupted human emotions, and Mikiya, the clueless inspector. I really adore these 2 characters because of how much impact they brought to both their characterizations and the story. Shiki may be a mysterious figure herself but she really helped me explore the mystery surrounding the series. She may be quiet but she really shows a lot of expression in her writing. I find it very tragic how she's both the culprit and victim in one setting. Not to mention how she's nominated to gain her male personality in the first place.
As for Mikiya, yes, he may not fight back but what definitely makes up for that is how, again, explores certain hints regarding Shiki's murders. I really find it compelling how he investigates stuff on his own and encounters great danger, be it a mistake or on purpose. Even though he's inhuman for how he encounters said danger, at the same time, he's human for how he tries to act. Admittedly, I find it weird how even though he counters something threatening, he still forgives the culprit, even if they would be killed later on. But I really understand that. After all, he plays a major role in contrasting Shiki's grimdark emotions.
Both Shiki and Mikiya have amazing chemistry with one another. Even though Shiki has her own yin and yang, both portray separate elements incredibly well. Sure, it can be toxic at points but at the same time, they play well with each of their elements. The side characters are quite nothing to talk about but this is heavily protagonist-focused so it doesn't matter much.
ART: 9/10
Even though there isn't much action, the production is very fluid and doesn't have any of the slideshow nonsense. Shiki's fashion is very adequate. Cool jacket or not, her Kimonos are downright stylish and beautiful.
SOUND: 10/10
The music is haunting yet beautiful at the same time. The OST truly reflects both the atmosphere and the events very well. The voice acting is also superb, with my personal favorite being Maaya Sakamoto as Shiki for how portrays her stoic behavior very nicely.
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 9/10
Even though it's complicated when it comes to understanding what it literally is, I believe it to be one of the series' best chapters. It figuratively shows how corrupt your life can be and why you need to be aware of what's causing the world. I truly resonate with each of the 2 main leads for how they are constructed. Of course, not everyone is into complicated storytelling like Kara no Kyoukai and you know what? That's extremely fair. But if you're looking for a psychological series packed with beautiful action, this is the way to go. If you're watching the series in broadcast order, treat this as the second order. If you're watching (or preferably re-watching) chronologically, treat this as the first.
OVERALL: 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
