"Has potential" means "has not yet lived up to it". That's the lesson I hope people that were all over hyping Time Paradox Ghostwriter get out of this because that's certainly how I ended up feeling. I can't blame people for getting excited over a series like this as it seemed like this series would be Bakuman minus the stock romance + Stein;s Gate, a cool seeming idea that had some interesting questions to ask about creative writing, particularly whether or not it's truly possible for a different writer to take up someone else's beloved intellectual property without losing the intrinsic value that made the
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work so special in the first place. It's a question that the protagonist, the failing wannabe mangaka Teppei, finds himself having to answer with his own belabored effort when he receives a piece of the future from his microwave in the form of an issue of Weekly Shounen Jump featuring the debut of White Knight, a series set to make waves when it debuts in 10 years, but does not exist in the present. Teppei takes it upon himself to steal the manga wholesale and uses the weekly magazines he would receive henceforth as drafts for his own redrawn version to pass off to the public as an original work. Add into the equation the real creator of White Knight, a teenage girl named Itsuki Aino, has already conceptualized the story and is herself currently trying to break into the manga scene as an assistant, and you've got one spicy set up full of potentially rich and fulfilling avenues. There will be spoilers, but given how this series is set to be axed with next issues as of the time of writing, it shouldn't matter.
Of which the series takes absolutely none. It's kind of hard to say why. How much of it has to do with incompetence on the part of the writer and how much with how poorly Japan's reader base took to the idea of following the exploits of a shameless plagiarist (to the point to which all mentions of words "plagiarism, or plagiarist had to be replaced with synonyms for the first poorly-selling volume release), I can't say. But what I can tell you is that what we got as a result is confused, poorly paced mess that bulldozes all of it's oppurtunities for sudden time skips or just lazy storytelling. Did you want to see how Teppei would force himself to evolve as a writer to match the higher bar set by the Future Aino? Sorry. Were you wondering how Present Aino would approach the man profiting off of ideas so similar to hers they far exceed being called uncanny similarity? Well she befriends him immediately and shows, showing not even a hint of suspicion and even starts another smash hit manga soon after (a feat her future counterpart wouldn't accomplish until nearly a decade later).
The problem with this accelerated approach to storytelling is that it doesn't give any of the questions raised in the first chapter answers with any room to breath. What is it that makes White Knight so good to begin with? It just is. How does Teppei fill such big shoes when the issues from the future stop appearing? He just does. I brought up my positive comparison to the series Bakuman, a work that showed far more interest in showing what it truly meant to be a manga artist. The specific writing techniques Muto Ashirogi had to adopt when tackling different genres in there struggle to find something that would stick as a multi media franchise, the weekly grind to hit the top survey rankings and the resulting rivalries. It's because of our witnessing of the grueling routine of these starting artists that each of their victories and failures feel all the more uplifting and devastating respectively. TGPW beyond the first few chapters likes to tell you that all that struggle really did happen, for real just trust us, but taking shortcuts just makes everything about the story ring as empty and what's this all in service of?
Well I also did compare this series to Stein;s Gate, and while that comparison is a bit more tenuous, both works undergo a sudden shift into a "save the girl" type narrative via time travel. The shift really did feel like the manga equivalent of a "rating trap" but at this point the manga's fate was likely already sealed, and I already had checked out. Too many narrative opportunities and I could smell the axe coming a month ahead of people who are only now surprised to know this series didn't do too hot. These past few chapters feel as though they might have worked better for a final volume for a much longer series in which the relationship between Teppei and Aino would have felt far better realized, but that level of investment was left behind in one of the timeskips. So what we're left with is nothing more than the skeleton of what seemed to be a great story that died too soon and was picked to the bone before it had the chance to be told.
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Aug 30, 2020
Time Paradox Ghostwriter
(Manga)
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Not Recommended Preliminary
(14/15 chp)
"Has potential" means "has not yet lived up to it". That's the lesson I hope people that were all over hyping Time Paradox Ghostwriter get out of this because that's certainly how I ended up feeling. I can't blame people for getting excited over a series like this as it seemed like this series would be Bakuman minus the stock romance + Stein;s Gate, a cool seeming idea that had some interesting questions to ask about creative writing, particularly whether or not it's truly possible for a different writer to take up someone else's beloved intellectual property without losing the intrinsic value that made the
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Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Mar 24, 2018
Dragon Ball Super
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
As someone who not unlike many of you, has been a fan of this franchise since longer than I could remember, believe me when I say that all I'm going to bring up here is from a place of love. I also want to say that, in spite of everything Dragon Ball Super was still at least an entertaining experience on some level but I can't use that as an excuse to ignore the disappoinment I've felt continuously with this series time and time again.
When we look at the the first 27 episodes of Super, you can pretty much take anything nice I have ... to say about the series and put in the dumpster since besides the odd filler episode here or there, their's next to no fun to be had with the retread stories of Battle of Gods and Resurrection F. I understand it was done in order to bridge the gap between the new storylines for those who hadn't seen the movies as well as retcon said movies in some handy ways (like how in this version, Beerus wasn't using any where close to 1% of his power to fight SSG Goku, forget 70%). But there's really no excuse in the world that could make a bad product good and these arcs only serve to fuel the most cynical of views towards a franchise that many would argue past it's prime decades ago. These two arcs were just ugly, slow, and didn't even bother to take the opportunity to fix what issues were already present in the movies. But enough about low hanging fruit, let's look at what happened when Dragon Ball Super set out to do something original. Yes, the Universe 6 arc, the place that myself and likely many others consider the real beginning of Dragon Ball Super, and I'll say, it certainly was an improvement at the very least. Animation-wise it was still incredibly shabby in places and as a tournament arc it didn't exactly have very high aspirations and essentially no stakes. But at the very least we managed to get some actual decent fights in if nothing else, with Goku vs Hit setting the bar far higher than anything to that point. Beyond that we got a brand new storyline featuring everyone's blue(?)-haired time traveler Trunks and his ongoing fight with a now inexplicably evil version of Goku. It's probably the most unapologetically fanfic-ish premise to ever get greenlit that I've ever seen and the way the story bends over backwards to and explain how it all happens doesn't make a lick of sense, even by Dragon Ball standards. Plot-holes and dumb choices by characters are nothing new to the series as anyone whose ever really thought about any these stories for an extended period of time can attest to, but the ones here are incredibly distracting since the arc spends more of it's focus building up a mystery then any others. The ending they opted for with this arc was no less ridiculous and only further cemented this arc as nothing but superficially cool ideas with bafflingly stupid execution. And now we arrive at the Tournament of Power, which by my estimation, was easily the most fun story arc to follow by a country mile. The level of scale and the immediate stakes grab interest from the word "go" and the promise of seeing characters who haven't had anything to do for the longest time get some shine is something that the arc did an OK job of following up on (even if by doing so they managed to cause much confusion with anyone who at all cared about power scaling). I have no doubt that the vast majority of Super's best episodes came from this arc, but that doesn't make the overall structure of this arc good. The set-up for tournament itself was excessive for sure with nearly 20 episodes from the beginning off the arc focused on getting the gang together with not as much time spent on getting to know the other Universe's combatants as their could have been. A missed opportunity to try and get us invested in the stories of these off these other far off places. The actual event itself suffers from how the series rarely does anything interesting with the fact that this is an 80 person Royal Rumble. Sure their's no shortage of teamwork on display, but it never feels as if anything is happening besides the one or two fights that are the focus of the episode, even during many of the earlier episodes. It instead feels like an extended gauntlet match for Universe 7 to grind through. While the first few episodes manage to capture the appeal of what a fight like this could look like, it fizzles out from there. Most of the combatants may as well be sitting around picking their noses for all it matters. The endgame of the entire arc also falls flat thanks to Jiren being a strong contender for the worst antagonist in the entire series, someone who was hyped too soon only to lead to the reveal of a hollow personality/backstory and a lame moveset. Not to mention the transparent way he was made to look villainous when the spotlight was on him merely to make Goku look righteous by comparison, even though good/evil was never supposed to be a factor in a fight between entire Universe at risk of vanishing. I look at his character and see a hole poorly filled for another combatant more deserving, Hit. After all him and Goku already had a fun rivalry set-up between them and what better way to have it settled than on such a grand stage? Instead we got yet another addition in the miles long conga line of antagonists with power dwarfing the last and that's really it. Please note that by pointing out problems here, I'm not suggesting that Z wasn't guilty any of the problems Super had. Not that it should matter either way but I've noticed that a lot fans of Super mischaracterize critics as people who "thought it was OK when Z did it". My point here isn't that Super created many wholely unique problems all on it's own since a good deal of what's wrong here was also an issue with Dragon Ball Z. The problem is nothing resembling what Z at least somewhat competent by today's standards is here beyond some good fights. There are no character arcs here that could hold a candle to what Z did with Vegeta and Gohan (they even went back and made Vegeta Goku's eternal rival again when he already put that part of himself to rest in Z), and besides Goku Black, Zamasu and I suppose Jiren towards the end, their weren't any truly detestable villains whose defeats we could come back each episode to look forward to. I respect how Super goes out of it's way to portray it's characters moreso as normal people during their downtime than Z did with how it shows characters in lifestyles that don't involve fighting for the sake of the planet/Universe but the low-key scenes and episodes only served to make me wish I was watching a chill slice-of-life spin-off than what we ended up getting. This series frustrates me less for how bad it is, and more for how good I wanted it to be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Dec 25, 2015
Noragami Aragoto
(Anime)
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Recommended
Amongst the many sequels I've seen from 2015's offerings, the biggest and most welcome improvement I've seen would be from Noragami Aragoto. Even though I still like the 1st season, the fact remains that all we got was a basic introduction the characters before Angsty the Ghost and some boring filler antagonist took over the 2nd half. This time, Noragami brings out the big bats and swings hard, real hard.
On top of doing what any good shonen ought to past the introductory phase by introducing higher stake conflicts (something I felt was sorely lacking in the 1st season) this season gives even more focus to ... the Gods themselves and what it takes to have that kind of status when imbued with emotions shared by the people that worship theme on top of their flawed ideologies. This, of course, means that Yukine and Hiyori feel more like they're a part of the periphery this time around, but I don't think this equates to either of them getting the shaft at all. Whilst I’m not a big fan of seeing Hiyori play the role of damsel in distress, her presence in the 2nd half of the season as the primary reason for Yato keeping himself tethered to a life of peace (away from bad influences like Yato's Nora, who alway seems to be ready to lead Yato astray) and even to his very existence is enough for me. She feels more like an accessory to Yato than an interesting character in her own right, but she’s a fine accessory nonetheless. Despite also not being a central character in either of the arcs this season, Yukine has still come a pretty long way from the lad who only thought about his misfortunes. Anyone who found themselves at their wit's end as a result of his endless whining will be happy to find out that Yukine has permanently washed all the salt out of his boipussy. I think it’s also worth noting how characters like Yato, Bishamon and Ebisu have a lot more worth looking into because of their long, tragic histories. The Gods ought to be the ones driving the story here, and that's what this second season gets. This time, we're split between two arcs. The 1st is centered around a mobilizing threat within Bishamon's ranks, consisting of scores of regalia picked up over the years. What made this arc work is the way in which it is driven by the flaws of the characters, and forces them to come terms with those flaws. Bishamon's main flaw being her Mother Theresa-esque impulses that compel her to collect as many needy regalia like some kind of compulsive cat hoarder. She lacked the proper means to properly shower love upon the many she has taken in, yet continues to bear the physical side-effects of maintaining a link with so many fallible souls. Kugaha, the antagonist of this arc, and one of Bishamon's most trusted regalia works as some kind of master manipulator of sorts in the way he schemes to eliminate everything between him and the creation of his idealized version of his master. The idea behind his character is a very interesting one. His motives aren't selfish, as he treats his actions as if they're bitter but necessary pills for Bishamon to swallow. The arc also highlights a lot of the problems with the God/regalia system as Kuguha is always able to use loopholes as workarounds for his heinous acts. We also learn a great deal about Kazuma (a character who appeared in the 1st season yet didn't leave much of an impression) and his complicated history with Bishamon and the burden he carries as her exemplar, which makes an already good arc even better, If their's anything wrong with this arc, then it's the fact that the way it wraps up was not quite as impactful as it should have been, as the consequences for the chaos that was the climax weren't quite there. A painful lesson for the main characters of a story ought to be painful for the audience as well, and I think Noragami Aragoto let me down a little in this regard. I don't have as much to say about the following arc as it didn't quite have the emotional highs of Bishamon's story, but it remained fairly strong from beginning to end nonetheless. The 2nd half of this season focuses on a newly introduced God, Ebisu, one of the Seven Gods of fortune (the real Ebisu, not that pink-haired, disaster-bringing piece of waifu material). Bishamon's arc made it clear that no one can pass judgment a God. Ebisu's arc, however, makes it clear that law only applies to those of the Near Shore, and that under the scrutiny of the heavens, a God must tread carefully. Historically speaking, Ebisu is a God that is prone to making bold moves (as is proven by the fact that he has a reputation of being killed and reincarnated for more regularly than his fellow deities). As a result, his current incarnation is not afraid to break the ironclad laws even Gods must abide by with his fascination with the idea of controlling phantoms. Initially framed as an antagonist, through his interactions with Yato, we get a much better picture of what Ebisu is aiming for and the type of God he really is. Speaking of Yato, he also gets some much-needed development with this storyline, as in the previous arc he was more of a supporting character necessary for getting the plot moving. Here we get a much fuller picture of not only the God he once was, but the God he wants to become. In doing so, Norgami's already likable lead character make his leap into being truly lovable here. With the story lines presented this season, I say that the combination of Bones and Adachitoka (the original mangaka) lead to the creation of something that soundly nails all of the requirements expected of a worthwhile sequel. Compounding all of the emotional devastation, is Taku Iwasaki's return as the composer. Once again his distinctive South Asian influences are instantly identifiable, and the fantastic composition and music selection are always welcome additions to any scene at hand. Not only that but the opening theme, Kyouran Hey Kids! is cool as hell. Whilst obviously not without its share of blemishes (a couple of questionable decisions script-wise on top of what I described with Bishamon's arc and the fact the art quality dips somewhat in later episodes), there are still a lot of reasons to look forward to another season. I just hope it won't take so long to announce this time!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 24, 2015 Not Recommended
I don't know about you, but the whole "mundane, reactionary dude and a sociopathic genius with a knack for solving mysteries " set up has been rubbing me off as of late. I already had the atrocious "Ranpo Kitan" sear itself into my memory just weeks before Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation began, so realistically speaking (even with the cliche premise I described) the show could not be any worse. I sure as hell was right, but not by anywhere near as far a margin I would have liked.
The mood Beautiful Bones goes for is a pretty strange blend between the macabre and the mundane ... varying one weekly episodic endeavour to another. To give you an idea, the script goes from murder mysteries to something as innocuous as finding out the final wishes of a dead grandmother. This is not really a problem to me in theory since it isn't uncommon for episodic titles to jump back, forth and sideways between tones, nor should it be discouraged. Bluntly put, it's just that the mysteries are either boring, badly written or both. Right off the bat the series asks for a high degree of suspension of disbelief when Sakurako arrives at a crime scene with human remains and is allowed to push around and belittle the police their despite the fact she lacks the credentials to even be at a crime scene to begin with, and it only gets worse from there. To further illustrate my problems with how mysteries are dealt with in Beautiful Bones, allow me to draw your attention to another episodic title starring a genius investigator, Master Keaton. It's a series where you could reasonably make a case for the main character being a "Mary Sue" in how his deductions are never wrong and the way in which he can competently handle all kinds of dangerous situations, but the reason why Master Keaton can get away with it is because the writers restrict Keaton's intellect to his broad areas of expertise as a human civilizations buff and a former British SAS soldier. That way you can, at least, buy that he would know how to do everything from identifying obscure pieces of jewelry to disarming criminals at close quarters. Sakurako, on the other hand, spends her entire life studying bones as an osteologist yet is sometimes able to draw random factoids convenient to the situation at hand. One moment she can be an expert on knot-tying, the next, a 19th-century paint aficionado. The emotional impact the show tries to go for with some of these stories is always hampered for one reason or another, whether it be the realization of how the characters bring misfortune due to their own stupidity, the pacing being rushed, or the mysteries themselves being just too low in stakes to care about (without good characters driving them) the show always found a way to leave me cold. If you watch Beautiful Bones for the character interactions, you may find yourself as disappointed as one looking for well-written mysteries. The only characters in the show worth wasting digital ink on are Sakurako and her sidekick Shoutarou. I already went into how Sakurako's Sakurako-isms are bad for the mysteries, but the character herself went someone I originally found to be mildly amusing to watch at 1st to one I found rather unlikeable by the end. There's a difference between being unsentimental and being outright cruel to people, and I was hoping that through her adventures with her social norm abiding sidekick she would come to find that line. Instead by the penultimate episode, Sakurako is still the type of person who would wave around bits of newly discovered human remains around the people that cared about the deceased. There's also some subplot regarding Sakurako's history with a dead younger brother which is continually hinted at, yet never gets any closure by the end, so much for that I guess. No better a character is her boring accessory Shoutarou, whose main role in the story is to be the voice of proper social etiquette to counterbalance Sakurako's wackiness (sort of like a straight man of a comedic duo but applied to a mystery anime). It wasn't enough for him to be a boring archetype, however, he also gets to be a part of annoying and cliche drama. Such as the time where he cries over how Sakurako doesn't show the same level of sentimental attachment to the bones of long dead cats (which shouldn't be a surprise considering not even seeing dead bodies phases her at all). The drama usually ends with Sakurako turning out to be a bit more kind-hearted than normal before ending the episode on a happy note before starting it all over again later. The formulaic drama didn't make me like either of them more as characters so much as it accentuated just how little the two seem to learn from each other. The final episodes put up one last-ditch effort to convince me of their friendship, yet failed since the two of them as individuals aren't particularly likeable, and the fact that it became clear that the main hanging plot thread (Sakurako's quest to stop a pretentious serial killer who collects sphenoids for some reason, aptly named "the Sphenoider") was left as bait for a 2nd season I don't care to ever see come into existence. The worst thing I really have to say about Beautiful Bones, however, is that there is no reason to remember it now that it's done airing (asides from the fantastic background art). It's not utterly terrible like Ranpo Kitan, but it never showed enough promise to even be a memorable disappointment
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 22, 2015
Yoru no Yatterman
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
I don’t think I’ve seen a show from 2015 go as far south from what I initially wanted from it more than Yatterman Night. For those of you who don’t know about this series, it’s basically yet another retooling of those old Japanese kids show franchises no one cares about in a similar vein as something like Casshern Sins or Gatchaman Crowds. Yatterman Night is a far-flung sequel to the Yatterman franchise (meant to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original series) in which the roles of the original heroes and villains have been reversed in a huge way. The legacy of the original heroes,
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the crime-fighting duo Yatterman lives on in the form of a large kingdom known as the Yatter Kingdom. The series stars a young loli named Leopard who, when believing in the Yatter Kingdom as a beacon of hope and kindness, is disillusioned when she is harshly refused entry into the country to obtain medicine for her ailing mother by the very heroes she looked up to. Having been red-pilled on the true nature of Yatterman, Leopard and her two reliable family friends Boyacky and Tonzra set off on a journey to take down the false heroes and the Yatter Kingdom whilst donning the masks of the villainous gang of thieves (the enemies of the original Yatterman) known as”Dorombow”.
Whilst I'll admit to not being wholly enthused by the 1st episode as much of the people saw it were, but Yatterman Night seemed like it would be on to something, that it would be more than the boring kids show it was based on. It turns out however that the show didn't have the grand ambition I was hoping for. Given the set-up practically screams, "original take" Yatterman Night opted for anything other than being original. Unfortunately, the 1st episode is the only one that gives off the promise of potential theme exploration. The idea of symbols slowly warped to betray original intentions, or how happiness can be sought from the most unexpected of places are cool ideas to build a show around. Where Yatterman Night fucked up royally 1st and foremost was with its handling of tone. We have this extremely morose, impoverished setting, with people being overworked for the sake of a monolithic governing body from overseas. Basically, no one in Yatterman Night has any reason to feel the slightest bit chipper at all. However based on how the script carries itself, its hard to see how I'm supposed to take this all in I'm not really sure of since most of the episodes are interlaced with tons of lame, childish and badly timed humor. The script seems like the unfortunate result of throwing the entire tonal spectrum from Texhnolyze all the way down to The Teletubbies into a blender. Aren't the fans of the original too old for the childish gags? Aren't the kids too young to appreciate anything that sets it apart from other titles aimed at younger demographic? What Yatterman Night does not seem to get is that the most enduring kid shows should be able to appeal to adults and children at all times. This is the reason why the Animaniacs and the earlier seasons of Spongebob are things I can appreciate as an adult or as a kid. Same goes for less comedic examples like season 3 of Digimon and Princess Tutu (both, of course, being popular examples shows that manage to be "mature" without being inaccessible to younger audiences). The real cost of the show’s ridiculous approach to having wide-spread appeal goes beyond the fact that the humor sucks. It also becomes impossible to take the serious bits, well, seriously. What I mean by this is how no one would bat an eye at how the Dorombow gang conveniently pulls robots out of nowhere when being pursued by Yatterman’s goons if the series had made it clear from the get-go that show was leaning solely towards being a goofy action comedy. But, as we’ve gone over already, it’s not. Yatterman Night wants to be more than just “fun” without making any of the requisite sacrifices. The scriptwriters sort of wanted to have their cake and eat it so to speak. I was never convinced that Leopard’s childish idealism was actually putting her and her friends at risk for nothing since all the conflicts play out as cartoonishly as possible (to the point where explosions have about as much effect on them on them as they do on Team Rocket). Don’t expect anything from the character development department. The closest the series came to having poignant character development is one episode within the 1st half in which the Tonzra and Boyacky begin to question whether or not to keep up with this silly attempt at a rebellion. This welcome dosage of realistic thinking is nowhere to be found in future episodes however since the series continues to let the childish idealism it called into question briefly go unchecked for the rest of the series. There was one attempted character arc between an amnesiac father turned villain and his mentally handicapped daughter, but the way it was executed was laughable with hardly a few tacked on minutes devoted to it. Coming off the boring comedy-centered episodes in the middle of the series, the last arc did nothing to restore enthusiasm for the show so much as it went ahead and backpedalled on its promise even further. The final conflict itself, on top of being rushed, the lame cartoony tropes finish off eating away at the harsh realism. The mystery behind why the Yatter Kingdom ended up the way it did turned out to be disappointingly simple (not that that was enough to keep the show from explaining it for half an episode). All the goofing around the series did earlier would have made it impossible for the overall net-sum to qualify as good in any case, but the only thing worth remembering from the final stretch was the hilariously unfinished animation for episode 12. Such a shame to see a potential dark horse break both its legs the moment it leaves the gate. I wouldn’t recommend watching the poor thing drag its way to the finish line.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Nov 27, 2015
Saishuu Heiki Kanojo
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
The term "emotional manipulation" isn't quite on the level of the word "pretentious" when it comes to canned, overused, and empty criticism. However, it is down there. The problem with the term stems from the fact that all stories in some way aim to manipulate emotions. Where we to draw the lines is when for some reason or another, we the audience begin to see the cogs spinning. Characters then become plot devices to us, and plot-holes become impossible to ignore, as does the desperation to get a reaction out of you from the script. Once things like these take us out of the experience,
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we see can see a lousy story for what it really is, and it just so happens that the show in question here is is extremely manipulative, to the point where you might as well watch the puppy-beating scene in Elfen Lied for four straight hours instead. Saikano really wants the audience to cry, and if it has to do so through repeatedly and savagely insulting the intelligence of the viewers until they bawl in submission, then so be it.
The issues with it essentially boil down to the fact that it tries to frame a tragic love story through the lens of a war setting with sci-fi without any idea how to handle said setting or sci-fi elements. The story is literally about a 10 year- old-looking high school girl and how she fell in love with a male classmate (that looks like he's 7 feet tall and in his thirties) only to be abducted by the Japanese military, enhanced with a bunch of bizarre enhancements that enable her to fly and drop nukes everywhere, and allowed to wander free. The purpose of all this for them call her up to bomb faceless enemies that they're at war with part-time. It's about as ridiculous as it sounds and there's no rhyme or reason to any of it. Why would the Japanese military implant weapons into a civilian? Why allow an extremely dangerous military secret walk freely when she can accidentally blow up entire cities? Who the fuck are they at war with anyway? It seems as if the original manga artist had this idea that sounded really cool and decided to pursue it in the most threadbare way imaginable. It's not like a premise like this is impossible to work with. Gunslinger Girl had a story that I largely expected to give me the similar result as with Saikano, but it managed to somehow make its ridiculous torture porny-sounding premise work really well since the author knew that good world building would make the story easier to believe, and thus easier to connect with. Such nuance, however, is sorely lacking in Saikano. If the world of a story creates a tragic scenario for the main characters, let it be because of how said world is understandable yet unfair, not because it's fucking stupid. I think I've harped enough on how the senselessness of the script caps the emotional investment Saikano is going for, but the anime doesn't particularly shine as a character study either. The cast here is about as simple as one can imagine for a story of this nature. The female lead, Chise, for example, is a character you can know almost everything about by reading the brief synopsis I gave above as she's really just an ugly moeblob in love that just so happens to be able to destroy the world. This segues into a massive problem I have with romance as a central focus in storytelling, and that's when the romance is all that matters to the characters. I like to see love stories that are more than about "will they end up together and have babies?". Give me characters with conflicts that are external to their love-lives. A lot of what goes into making a relationship interesting is to see who said relationship affects other aspects of the lives of the characters involved. I have no idea what kind of person Shuji was before meeting Chise or what he wants out of life besides Chise. This is why I don't particularly care to see characters clearly fall head-over-heels for each other from episode 1. Beginning the story by fleshing the main characters out in other ways first will give me a reason to get emotionally involved with them. I want to know why he and she complete each other. This is a principle is what makes a romance like Kare Kano great since it gave us an interesting look on both sides as to why Arima and Yukino are drawn together, and what implications their relationship have on all aspects of their character. The difference here is that Saikano sets its sights low by wanting to be a story about just love, whilst Kare Kano aims more broadly at being a story about people. This problem extends across rest of the cast. Side characters in Saikano don't exist but to do anything other than be a part of unrequited, and sometimes taboo (I forgot to mention, there is a fair amount of cuckoldry in this anime) relationships, and then die. I've already established why throughout the entire series I could never bring myself to care about Shuji and Chise's relationship, so why should I care when even blander archetypes with less screentime get to take center stage? All of them at some point are put through physical and emotional straits with random tragedies taking place, such as airstrikes or even an earthquake. Yes, an earthquake. It's about as random as killing off a character by having him or slip and fall down a flight of stairs. As if the unconvincing romance between side characters isn't enough for you, a few of the girls fall in love with Shuji. I'm sure this was meant to add depth to the central relationship, but it felt like I was watching a playthrough of a shitty visual novel in which the player had a bit hesitation when it came to picking a route, but ultimately goes for the moeblob cyborg that dispenses bombs like Pez and cries all the time anyway. About more or less as faulty as the show's story and pleads to emotion is the overall presentation. Saikano is definitely as far on the wrong side of the 2000s Gonzo visual quality spectrum as possible. Saikano was 1st made back when digital animation was considered new and it really shows, as the visuals are ridiculously drab and murky. The character designs are about as unappealing as the rest of the artistry as the proportions often lack consistency and the characters look blobbish to the point where with the in profile shots, you can see Chise's forehead slants directly into her nose, and her nose to her chin. Not improving anything, of course, is the CGI, but that goes without saying as this is Gonzo after all. The show I imagine never looked particularly good when it first came out I imagine, and as of now it's aged about as well as a glass of milk left outside for a week. I chose to watch most of the show with English audio, not because it was good (the story is unsalvageable so it's not like good acting would matter in the least anyway) but because it made the overall experience that much more unintentionally hilarious. Seeing these greenhorn actors (that haven't done much of anything since) try their best and fail miserably with their ridiculous sounding voices was the closest I came to having a good time with Saikano. Chise in particular always sounded as if she was about to burst into tears, even if the scene didn't call for it. If this review plagues you with the bug known as "morbid curiosity" then the dub is the way to go. If you want decent acting, however, then you probably want decent writing and characters too, in which case, you're obviously better of forgetting this anime exists. Saikano is easily one of the most thoughtless, plot-hole filled schizoid hodgepodges I've ever seen in anime. It's not as if using shaky and vague sci-fi elements to serve as a conduit for the journey of flawed characters can't work (I do consider Neon Genesis Evangelion to be a masterpiece after all) but goddamn where is the effort? In Saikano however, any kind of pathos to be found feels woefully undercooked and hamfisted, and its all wrapped up with plot elements that solely exists to extract as much suffering out of the characters as possible without context or reason to care.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Sep 17, 2015 Recommended Preliminary
(23/37 chp)
As far as titles set in the Middle Ages (or whatever fantasy settings that mirror that period) are, there's no denying that the bar for many has been set incredibly high. Such a time period of course embodies the idea "life sure ain't fair, the fuck are you gonna do about it". These stories involving folks that have to flounder about to in order to overcome harsh environments and extreme oppression tend to offer plenty of room for character arcs paved in blood and guts. Stories like Vinland Saga, Berserk, Vagabond, etc all easily satisfy those looking for well-drawn violence and well-handled characters so
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it would make sense to expect much from Wolfsmund as well (which happens to have been written by one of Kentaro Miura's assistance during his lengthy breaks). I can't say Wolfsmund holds up in all areas as well as some of its better genre contemporaries, but there is certainly enough to make it stand out.
The storyline of Wolfsmund so far is exclusively held in with a small space in early 14th Century Switzerland, where 3 the three different groups of the Swiss cantons, all continue struggling against that the Duchy of Austria, who has violently taken over the land of their forefathers. In an effort to stymy the rebellion against the Austrians, the border fortress known as Sankt Gotthard's pass is kept under strict watch so as to effectively weed out the rebels or those who would enable them. The pass that would lead would be rebels into Italy is under the watch of the sadistic Bailiff Wolfram. The focus of the story at 1st is placed upon individuals who for one reason or another need to make it past the treacherous checkpoint in order to accomplish their goals, whether those goals be to simply looking for asylum or to pass weapons/information to those who would oppose the Duchy of Austria. The story takes semi-episodic approach, each starring a pair of individuals. The most notable common denominator between these stories is Wolfram, the one man standing between the characters and their goals with a gleeful smirk. Wolfram is essentially one of the most unabashedly accurate portrayals of the "Magnificent Bastard" trope you'll ever find in storytelling. He takes the utmost pleasure in tormenting those who garner suspicion at the pass both mentally and physically before bringing down the law. Through his harsh treatment of suspected rebels, Sankt Gotthards earned the nickname "Wolfsmund" (The Wolf's Maw). It should suffice to say at this point that this is the type of manga in which expects loads and loads of heavy content. Gut punches are plentiful, hopes are dashed and lives are trampled unfairly. The structure of the early volumes allows readers to see the rebellion from multiple different perspectives as it changes focal points every couple of chapters to focus on different characters. Because of this Wolfsmund isn't a story in which you'll find one incredible character arc to follow from beginning to end which will understandably be a turn off for many. Though the individual characters won't offer too much to remember in the long run, they do behave quite believably for the roles they're given. Through these characters, we see many of the smaller, more personal battles taking place during the rebellion. From from a young ladie's journey to escape capital punishment for her dead father's role in the rebellion, to a meek Swiss pub owner who becomes a paid informant to satisfy his wife's vain desires and to get back at the men who enjoy mocking him. It is with these smaller scale conflicts that the setting is fleshed out, the facets of the rebellion become known, and the foundation of the reader's hatred of Wolfram expanded. The semi-episodic approach doesn't always work however. Mileage with the extreme cruelty that these characters are often put through will vary of course, but there are definitely instances of the author being mean for the sake of meanness. For me, it was chapter 10 that showcased the height of this manga's indulgence in shock factor, and it was then I began to question whether or not I would be able to stomach any more of this kind of storytelling. Thankfully, Wolfsmund as it turns out is not a one trick pony. The 2nd half of Wolfsmund (of the 6 volumes available as of this review, so volumes 4-6) shifts the focus away from the daily lives of of the characters and the details of the upcoming revolt against the barrier station, to the revolt itself. There was more than enough going on in these volumes to garner preference over the 1st three. The siege of Sankt Gotthard's Pass is truly a battle on many fronts, which is what makes it so riveting. Both sides employ various tactics via exploitation of many resources and their environment. The attention to detail that went into making the setting feel as much like 14th century Switzerland was always a strong point of the manga, and the display of siege/anti-siege tactics do well to continue that trend. From different types of traps (boiling oil, pits, soldiers poking blades through holes, etc), to Greek fire that isn't put out by water, to even attempting to crawl up latrines, no possible option for success is left unexplored. It makes for an interesting exchange of one-upmanship for both sides. Another pleasant surprise was how unlike in some other revisionist history manga, the most important characters aren't given ungodly amounts of strength (looking at you, Vinland Saga). Sure there are few characters that can take on more than one foe at a time, but this is a manga that won't let the reader assume that they can't be cut down at any given moment. Another thing is how armored soldiers are at an advantage against anyone who isn't fully clad in a one-on-one duel, regardless of whatever skill the un-armored combatants bring to the table. What that means is that there will be no slicing through breastplates and chain mail as if they're made of wet tea biscuits here. After nearly ten chapters of weighty back-and forths between the two sides, this arc reaches a decisive conclusion during the sixth volume. Although the series has not completed its run, there is already enough payoff for the series to end and leave the rest to history. As of now it seems the manga is on hiatus, as the author is probably back to working with Miura to continue delivering his ongoing epic. A trade off I can't say I'm bothered by. From what these 6 volumes have to offer, Wolfsmund isn't likely going to be anyone's new favorite manga. While certainly a good and fun read, Wolfsmund simply does not have enough to offer in terms of layered character writing. There certainly was potential for just that in this setting, and with these characters. If more time early on was spent on fleshing out the main players of the rebellion a bit more then that could have worked wonders for me in terms of emotional investment (at the expense of maybe a couple of chapters of people being trolled at the barrier station). The only character whose fate I cared for at all was Wolfram, and as effective of a moustache-twirler I found him to be, he is still entirely one-note. I was also somewhat annoyed to see how one character in particular who seemed rather interesting in the 1st volume was offed in the 2nd, when I felt that said character could have offered more to the story than was allowed. Still, what we have here is a short yet overall satisfying experience that has enough to stand out amongst titles that share in its genre, even if it doesn't quite rise to the top. As a bleak anthology and as a brutal war drama there was definitely enough to tide me over.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 19, 2015 Mixed Feelings
Shiki originally came out during a time which vampire related media was on somewhat of an upswing content as a result of a certain novel/film series that was maligned by pretty much everyone who wasn't 13 or under female. It received much praise for going against the trend set by the accursed franchise by presenting a more classic take on vampire lore with an attempt to weave in some questions regarding the ethics of taking lives. That means premise-wise you can safely rest assured knowing at least what Shiki has to offer is more Salem's Lot with Higurashi vibes and less Vampire Knight or Twilight.
The ... first half of the series makes for a very, very, slow burn as an "epidemic" begins sweeping through the small village of Sotoba located in the middle of bumfuck nowhere Japam. The answer to said epidemic is made very obvious by the 2nd episode, or even before the series if you already know the premise and it takes a long time before the characters pick up on it. As a result the 1st few episodes focus on clinic owner Dr. Toshio Ozaki and local priest Seishin Muroi's attempt to get to the root cause of the "epidemic" by going off on red herring trails that audience should already know are completely off. Meanwhile, characters on the side continue to die from anemia, while all sharing the same two slight punctures wounds next to each other. It takes about a third of the series for anyone to have the slightest idea as to what might really be going on. Much of the time early on is spent introducing characters. A lot of characters. Far too many characters. The enormous cast wasn't something struck me as a huge issue early on since I was hoping that this would lead to some interesting character arcs from at least some of them. Towards the end, it became extremely obvious just how much the show was overburdening itself. A lot of the individuals that become shiki (the term used to describe vampires in this series) end up being rather disappointing as characters as they cling to maybe one or two character traits from beginning to end. Characters that ought that seemed like they would contribute more only end up providing simple side stories and nothing the central story. If that wasn't enough a problem, for some of the human characters there are times in which a suspension of disbelief is necessary to make sense of what they do. Would anyone, for example, attempt to hunt vampires at night with only a couple of companions without telling anyone? Or better yet would anyone lightly bury an unconscious vampire with a few teaspoons of dirt and hope that someone else will find and deal with it before it can wake up? Dr. Ozaki is the easiest character to get behind, probably for being neither useless nor moronic. It honestly wouldn't be much a stretch to say that if Ozaki was removed from the series that the majority of the plot progression would leave with him. His method of dealing with the threat is as cold as it is pragmatic, but with no alternatives presented, I found him to be hard to disagree with. Ironically, the thing I take issue with in Shiki was what I was most looking forward to seeing handled, that being it's themes. The way in which the script-writers attempted to shoe-horn the black and white conflict of the story into some moral quandary regarding "who the true monster is" is inherently problematic. For any conflict to wrap me into a moral grey area it has to convince of what good will come from either side coming out on top, and this is where Shiki fails miserably. From the beginning of the series to the end there was never any question from me that the shiki are a collective menace that ought to be curbed with one quick stake through the chest at a time. As much as the series tries to make you sympathize with the shiki, the simple fact they must prey on and kill humans just to survive puts them in the wrong. This could have worked if the whole idea of coexistence between the two sides was looked into properly, yet the series never really explains why they have to kill. Shouldn't sucking non-lethal amounts of blood be enough? It gets even worse when you consider what would happen should the shiki be allowed to continue to do as they do. More and more shiki would arise and eventually and the death toll would rise until there aren't any more people to kill. Then what would they sustain themselves with? It kind of makes the plan to make the village a den of bloodsuckers seem ridiculous once you consider how that might actually play out. The attempts to humanize the shiki in the last 3rd feel a bit some of them easy feel sympathy for (particularly the Goth loli Sunako and one of the side characters featured in the 1st of the 2 episode specials) but at no point was I convinced that the retaliation at the hands of people was wrong. All the shiki do for the majority of the story is attack people so they can selfishly continue their crappy lives. That said the massive pity party thrown for them in the final episodes does not at all ring true. There's also unnecessary references to the tale of Cain and Abel to demonstrate the show's central idea regarding the loss of humanity or something that came off as rather heavy-handed. To the show's credit I will say that it was nice that cliched PETA logic was never invoked to take the humans off of their moral high ground as if to say the lives of people are equal to those of livestock. Now that would have sucked. When it comes to the audio/visual merits there's one aspect that screams to be addressed, which of course means this is the part where I address frilly haired elephant in the room, the silly character designs. One can only assume that a good deal of the characters must have had their hair done by lobotomized hairstylists as the end result is rather hideous. Hair motion is noticeably absent as well so the wacky hairdos of the characters just seem to hang in place as if they are wearing strangely sculpted papier-mâché hats. Not only that but their bodies kind of have CLAMP's signature slim and gangling look, with chins about that look sharp enough to jab vampires through the heart. Designs aside the rest of the production soundly nails the kind of eerie vibe needed for this type of series. The visuals do what they can to convey dread and uncertainty with fantastically drawn night time background shots and visual effects. Glimmering red eyes being used to denote mysterious evil is not a novel idea by any stretch of the imagination, but tiny dots of red light to signify a nocturnal predator is nearby works nonetheless. This is anime that knows how to imprint lasting images into the minds of its audience with rather disgusting imagery, like burning flesh, bubbling and spurting blood from being impaled with a stake. Shiki can be a rather messy title, so be prepared to wince at least a couple of times once the violence begins to pile on. The OST isn't likely the type one would seek to listen to on its own (besides maybe the openers, between which I happen to vastly prefer the 1st). Music selection overall runs the full gamut of "spooky sounds" from the dissonant sounds and ensemble chants, and even some downer melodies to convey the heartbreak of losing loved ones. The seiyuu work for Shiki can be notably over the top, which works in well considering how extreme emotions often run high throughout the story. The more simplistic characters tend to have more exaggerated voices like the wimpy Masao, or the shrill and vain Megumi. Mood swings are deftly handled with the stand out being Haruka Nagashima as Kaori who exhibits the perfect range of fear/sadness to rage/terror needed for the role. As nicely as it was directed, to me the series overall came off as overly bloated with unimportant characters either doing nothing of interest or killing each other. I understand the point of of the enormous cast was to show the effects of mass hysteria and culturally based delusions on a universal level, it came at the high cost of having interesting individuals. All whilst being tied together with some weak rhetorical argument that assumes moral equivalence between two sides when there isn't any. It might work a bit better if for those willing to let appeals to emotion overtake logic. A series like this ought to leave its viewers emotionally eviscerated by the end, so it's a shame that I came out the experience as cold as I did. I still recommend watching this series all things considered. As much as I found the series hard to agree with in the end, I can't accuse it of not being thought provoking on at least some level.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 13, 2015
Texhnolyze
(Anime)
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Recommended
I'm going to be honest starting this review, Texhnolyze is a hard show to watch and, as a result, is just as hard to recommend. The reason why I say this is because the series tasks itself with presenting a complex world and cast as simply as it possibly can script-wise. No long bouts of exposition to clue the viewer in on how the world works and a near complete lack of dialogue in the earlier episodes make getting into Texhnolyze somewhat of a sink or swim experience. Those who are curious to properly know the context behind the strange, unexplained imagery of the 1st
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couple of episodes will make it through. Those looking for instantly appealing and an addicting storyline will be left high-and-dry if they don't want to compromise for this title. Texhnolyze isn’t completely like Angel's Egg, however, it does eventually open its dark heart for all to see and it is disturbingly beautiful to look at.
The world of Texhnolyze is bizarre in that manages to reflect on the characters living within it. The underground city of Lux is broken, dirty place to be, one where much of the infrastructure seems to be on the verge of collapse. Within the confines of Lux remains only a culture of utter chaos and violence as factions of differing ideals clash over their perceived supremacy. Watching it all unfold is a lesson in the many different things people will use as a crutch in order to desperately climb to an ideal future. From the idea that people should pin their hopes in technological advancements (in this case, the ability to merge man with advanced prosthetic in a process known as Texhnolyzation) to give them the cultural rebirth so desperately needed, to the separate ideals of the individual factions fighting for control over the city. Everyone has a role to play in this decaying setting, except for our main character Ichise. Having known only his former life as a prize fighter, Ichise is left without a set path or any sense of identity as he slowly wanders about the crumbling city, unable to face any adversity without violently lashing out like an animal as he's done all throughout his life. Even when enlisted by the Organo (one of the major factions of Lux) his lack of purpose stands in stark contrast with the rest of the cast, people who have nothing but their ambitions to keep them going in these desperate times. The world Ichise is a part of however is one where the hopes and dreams of everyone always come to naught, so striving for anything better is essentially the same as flailing pointlessly against the walls of a cruel fate. Some individuals flaunt their existence more than others, but who will be left to take notice? What will be left behind other then a pile of rubble? Through this Texhnolyze posits that there will be a time in which the efforts of the high-minded and the listless will be both equally crushed to dust and forgotten and thus mankind will die. The inhabitants of Lux inch towards their inevitable collapse, each day a messy combination of sex, violence, and finding sustenance to keep moving onwards for yet another day of sex violence and sustenance. If futility is the one constant amongst the cast, how they cope upon realizing the pointlessness of all they've done is what defines them in the end. Will they take Yoshii's approach and spend their remaining days looking for that which is most amusing? Will they shift gears completely and look to something/someone else for their salvation? Or will they simply give up hope and rot away? Not a show to pick up your mood! Though that's something that works in the shows favor for me. It's honest and confident enough with its core material to not add any distractions to the reality of the events by shoehorning in levity or fan-service of any capacity (there are some sex scenes/nudity but given the context of them they aren't exactly titillating). One also should never expect Texhnolyze to really go out of its way to make anyone like or sympathize with these characters. That's not to say doing so is impossible, it's just that it got me to care about its cast of increasingly desperate individuals through characterization that is far more subtle than dropping a character's sad backdrop on our heads all at once in the form of flashbacks. It manages to present the characters motives, philosophies and development without relying on shortcuts to get the viewer emotionally involved. It's the type of characterization that makes the cast feel less like "characters" and more like humans by presenting their day-to-day activities with little bias, leaving it up to the viewer to find someone to root for. For much of the show there isn't much of a semblance between heroes and villains save for perhaps Onishi (who strives to keep Lux from falling into utter madness without relying on underhanded tactics like some other members of his faction, the Organo), Yoshii who is essentially an agent of chaos, and the Class whose attitude towards the residents of Lux don't become clear until the later episodes. It's a tale of survival -often survival at the expense of others without really much room ethics. Overall I'd say the cast makes up for their lack of warmth with a surplus of depth, which is fine by me. All of this madness and despair is compounded by the top-tier direction which enhances immersion considerably. Sound design and shot composition are work together harmoniously particularly in the opening episodes to give viewers a better idea of what Ichise's confused new lifestyle is like. The series directors will make damn sure you know what it looks to struggle endlessly trying to climb up a staircase after losing a couple of limbs, or how it’s like to wander aimlessly throughout a city while having to adapt to complex prosthetic you never asked for whilst racked with bodily pains. Basic human functions are perfectly handled with bodily functions such as breathing, having sex or just listening to that fucking heart of yours still pulsating in your chest, all being presented their most raw way possible. The brilliant animation/art quality don't hurt much either. The strong visuals and instantly remarkable character designs speak for themselves (this is Madhouse remember? what did you expect?), but the score is quite understated, only perking up noticeably during less slow scenes for the most part. When it is prominent you'll hear an amusing variety of themes that ranges from guitar and violin solos to piano pieces that all fit the series perfectly and are great standalone works too. The standout piece for me is the ending theme by Gackt, which nearly brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to it. Texhnolyze is undoubtedly dense and as far as presentation goes, is as unforgiving as the setting it portrays. This is a title that expects a lot from the audience and will leave them behind at a moment’s notice. Everything about Texhnolyze is depressing, slow and often gruesome, but most of all believable in terms of its characters and its arguments. Stick it out through the mentally taxing start and you might never find a more harrowing, visceral think-piece regarding human civilization on its last legs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 30, 2015
Aldnoah.Zero Part 2
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Note: this review encompasses both seasons 1 and 2 of Aldnoah.Zero
One thing as an anime fan I've never really been able to get into is the idea that a single name behind a project can generate hype. I think it's better to prioritize looking at the scenario, and the studio's track record first and foremost as opposed to getting excited because of the reputation of one individual. Of course that "one individual" in this case just so happens to be one of the most controversial writers in the business to date, Gen Urobuchi. I'm not really here to get into my personal stance on Urobuchi ... obviously, though If I was to be honest with you, I am for the most pretty indifferent to his output. So I wasn't necessarily excited to hear that this was his brainchild nor was it much of a cause of alarm to hear he jumped ship. Considering how the quality of Gargantia and the Psycho-Pass franchise suffered after he handed those off (and not to mention the fact that the guy who took his place was the same dude who brought us Boku no Pico AKA everyone's favorite meme recommendation) perhaps some serious red flags should've been raised. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. After an OK start, the writing really unravels itself into complete oblivion in the most uninteresting way imaginable. Another issue is that none of it's battles feels particularly weighty or meaningful in the long run. The show doesn't really manage to make up for that with sheer entertainment value since the skirmishes between the two factions feel very samey-samey and repetitious to the point where you can make a sort of drinking game out of it. A shot every time UFE (United Forces of Earth) soldiers shoots repeatedly to no avail at overpowered marauders from Mars and end up becoming death fodder. A shot for every time Inaho appears, analyzes the enemy and finds out their weakness just minutes into the battle and wins. A shot for every time the plot isn't impacted in any meaningful way and all named characters come out alive. A shot for...OK, I think I've made my point. What also doesn't help is that the battles somehow turn a strong Sawano OST and turn into a negative. The issue here is that the music selection is incredibly shallow and overstated. They literally play the same theme for every battle against each Martian onslaught, only swapping themes once after the season break and continuing to do the same afterward. This way the OST not only makes otherwise good tracks seem stale, it also assigns the same level of importance to the battles with random irrelevant bad guys as it would the season-ending climaxes. Gimmicks are the only thing that set the battles apart from each other, the only real question is what broken power will the Martians bring to the table for a high schooler to overcome. From the mech that erases everything he touches to the mech that can freeze surroundings to the mech that can clone itself endlessly, it still manages to feel rote. The impenetrable layers of plot armor and the uninteresting hold-overs from skirmish-to-skirmish eventually make the action in Aldnoah.Zero a complete bore. Everything I've brought up this far has only really been enough to make the show completely mediocre at worst, but the characters are what make Aldnoah.Zero a true failure. It's hard to not feel anything but the deepest of apathy for the UFE in particular since most of them aren't given a lick of depth and the only character arcs that are thoroughly set-up (Marito and Rayet's) fall off the face of the Earth in the 2nd season because they become entirely irrelevant. Honestly, the entirety of the UFE may as well be renamed the United Job-squad of Earth since they'd be about as capable as an infant in front of a bloodthirsty pack of hyenas if not for Inaho, which finally brings me to everyone's favorite autistic ace-pilot. There really isn't much to say about the guy that isn't incredibly obvious from the 1st few episodes and that's what hamstrings the show most out of all of it's problems. There's no getting around it, Inaho is just one massive, expressionless plot-win button to the point where the likes of Kirito and Tatsuya Shiba. They try to make it seem as if he actually gives a damn about anything by having other people talk behind his back about the guy he really is underneath, but even then he fails to stir much in the audience besides boredom since he would swear vengeance upon the enemy for the death of a friend with same level interest one would put into ordering a carton of discount eggs, possibly less. He has no interesting backdrop, development or anything resembling catharsis. He's just "competence" incarnate and that's fucking lame. The Mars side fares better in the writing department considering, but that's pretty faint praise by my estimation. Of course, the only interesting character to follow throughout the entire series is Slaine Troyard for better of or worse. He has the benefit of not only being allowed to make mistakes, yet he also drives the story forward so he's already much better than any of the characters from Earth for that alone. The 2nd half mostly revolves around him and the decisions he makes that don't necessarily line up with the desires of the princess he once tried to rescue. His actions and his ambitions essentially run in opposite directions in the latter half. Without going into specific-spoiler territory, everything that befalls him in the second is completely a result of his own lack of foresight and thus it becomes difficult to feel bad for the guy. His evolution from a chicken running around with its head cut-off in the name of the Princess to some sort of Machiavellian-type mass-murderer overnight and it's hard to buy. The logic behind this character feels tacked on and silly. Sauzbaum had potential as a true antagonist because he was an actual character as opposed to most of the crazy warmongering elites, but even his character is wasted in a fairly stupid manner. Aldnoah.Zero is just one of those titles I've completed only to question why I ever bothered with it in the 1st place. It sure as heck isn't smart enough to win over Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Gundam fans, nor is it stupid or edgy enough to capture the appeal of Valvrave or Cross Ange. Of course Aldnoah.Zero is full of nonsense too, but it takes nonsense far too seriously to the point where laughing at the writers is the best reaction I could possibly hope for. It never even manages to become a complete trainwreck at the end because the resolution in the final episode just feels too damn simple and lacking in pay-off. Character arcs and plot-points (like the research of Slaine's father, the origins of the alien technology, the issues with Inaho's eye, etc) are tossed into the wind since the series has wasted too much time in the 1st 23 episodes to do anything but fizzle out in a way that makes much of what the viewers subjected themselves to feel even more pointless than before. It's a show for nobody, not even the most die-hard Urobuchi-philes since his influence on the majority of the story is non-existent and no attempts were made to even provide a cheap imitation of his voice. Want a mech series with romance, plenty of action and a strong OST? Watch The Vision of Escaflowne or Macross. Want a full-blown epic-scaled war between two sides with plenty of history behind it? Go check out Legend of the Galactic Heroes or get into the Gundam. As far as I see it, Aldnoah.Zero offers a war without weight and politics that lack intrigue.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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