Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

18if – 04 [The Witch of Gluttony]

by SuperMario, posted in 18if, Currently Watching:

Well, it was a very shaky 18if episode this week. After episode 2 when the show went for much darker territory, and episode 3 when 18if filled my heart with its bittersweet moments, episode 4 goes back to the style of premiere episode and even when putting these two episodes together, this one gets pale in comparison. The director of this episode is Hiroko Kazui, who mostly known as the storyboarder of later Monogataries series, and key animation of Tokyo Godfathers. As you can guess from the title “The Witch of Gluttory”, this episode is all about eating, food-porn about curry rice and donuts. Here come one of the main issues of 18if, and it isn’t about the different directors handling each episode; the 18if’s cases lack urgency. Only episode 2 produced some sense of urgency because the cast tried to save the bad guys in real life. Other episodes though, no one in the risk of danger, even the Witch that it’s hard to see any importance of saving the case throughout the episode. One thing worth mentioned is that the girls don’t necessary have a Sleeping Beauty Syndrome or in a coma to become a witch; as Airi still keeps her normal daily routines at day and become a chibi witch at night.

The episode follows a girl who has eating disorder known as bulimia because she wants to maintain a skinny body. Thus, she consumes a large amount of donuts and cakes at night, then immediately purges them out. I know18if is very inconsistent in its art and quality, but what they’re really consistent so far, is how jerk they portrait the male characters who break the Witches’ hearts. This one simply breaks up with Airi because he finds someone else who skinnier than her. Jerk. She ends up feeling insecure about her weight, which lead to her eating disorder and her distaste to her favorite curry food. Well, she isn’t really distaste the curry meal, because she still cooks them tastefully, and in truth I still can’t connect it with her problems. Look, this episode is way too vague about her issues. I bet most of us after watching this episode don’t even know whether she gains weight by eating a lot or loses weight by throwing those foods. Can anyone even guess who was the other little girl in her dream? You can’t? I guess so – why include her then? Consider that this aspect was already the episode’s strongest, you would know how misfired this episode find itself in.

Because when you start mentioning other aspects then it falls apart rather quickly. The dream sequence is string of cartoonist wacky adventure (with overloaded cakes) and experience a severed tonal issue that it’s hard to take any of this seriously. Not only Haruto, our recurring cast fares so much worse and overall are inconsistent with their character so far. The scientist has a “curry kick” and singing and exaggerating with no purpose whatsoever; Lily suddenly has an urge for donut that makes her more superficial and goofy than engaging; and Haruto has zero chemistry with the Witch that I don’t feel any emotional investment in any of this. The story and its pacing all have its problems and worse they can’t even maintain a consistent tone. 18if is fascinating project, that’s for sure, but they need to do better than this to really engage us. This episode is a big “meh”, not bad enough to be a disaster, but unmemorable and uninspiring.

Made in Abyss – 03[Departure]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Made in Abyss

This episode looks to be setting up the big adventure to guide us through the rest of the season but I really cannot comment enough on how much of a terrible idea it is. Riko is pure rookie when it comes to abyss diving and here she is deciding to take on the challenge of making it to the bottom of the Abyss. All for the vague idea that her mother just might be waiting for her down there. In the world of children is a brave and noble quest. But in the world of common sense it’s just a really dumb idea that’s certainly going to get them killed. But hey we got to have a story and I certainly cannot call this a plot hole as no adults are consenting to this mad gamble, though the dorm leader seems to be letting on that he knows more than he’s letting on. But I am with the other kid on this once, either Riko’s mom is dead or she’s in a place where she can afford to wait a few years. The smart idea would be for Riko to earn her way through the ranks and get close to a white whistle. Then decide to drop down to the lower levels as right now I don’t think they even have enough food to last them the trip. But I guess that’s what going to make this whole journey all the more tense, seeing these two notice just how ill prepared they truly are.

So it’s been around for awhile now but beneath Made in Abyss’s bubbly like exterior does hide some rather disconcerting elements. Like Riko’s room originally being a torture room, the slums of the town which seem to have people regularly dying of toxins from the Abyss, Skeletons found in praying posture, foreign invaders and we even have a rumor of children that die on their birthday with they look into a mirror. That last one is rather concerning as the smallest child’s birthday is soon and he’s showing signs of being sickly. That sounds dangerously like a death flag to me. I have said before that I am wary of this show transitioning into a darker tone as such a change requires a deft hand at writing and plenty have failed to capture the potential such a tonal shift brings. Though perhaps these dark details will just be food for thought in the background like the way Adventure time slips in details about the world that betray it’s sunny disposition.

I can’t say I was that broken up over Riko’s departure from her friends as her friends haven’t really been around much to get attached to. Though it seems that people did get broken up about it when my focus was on Regu’s introspection on why he was made and his connection to the Abyss. As well as questioning whether he’s a robot, Cyborg or Android. Based on RIko’s inspection and him still possessing biological traits I am putting a firm bet on him being a Cyborg, a human modified into a robot. The purpose to this is still up in the air but it was confirmed in this episode that Regu isn’t affected by the curse of the Abyss. So he could very well be an ambassador from the lower depths who has forgotten his mission. Though considering he has Megaman arm cannons his intentions may not have been peaceful. As to where he came from the best bet would be this Capital of the unreturned level of the Abyss meaned in the map. Could those who have ventured into the abyss have established their own colony in the lowest levels of it? And if so, are they friend or foe?

Fate/Apocrypha – 04[Price of life, Redemption of Death]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Fate/Apocrypha

There are many things that can lead to one anime downfall but even with certain weaknesses in area a anime can shine through. Berserk 1997 showed that a strong story can make up for a powerpoint level of animation. Tatami Galaxy showed that even with lacking art a compelling story can be told.(I am sorry but despite it’s creativity I find Masaaki Yuasa’s artstyle to be ugly.) However I believe there is one thing which no amount of quality in animation, story and art can make up for. That thing is pacing and there are two shows this season which prove that. One being the Vatican Examiners anime and as of the last two episodes, Fate/Apocrypha. Yes, no amount of quilty could make a difference when you rush through the story like a speeding train. It kills emotional impact and makes it hard to truly connect with the events on screen. Fate/Apocrypha isn’t Shakespeare(Despite it well…featuring Shakespeare.) but this episode truly felt to me like actors soullessly reenacting the events of the novels. With the gravitas of reading a wikipedia article, the events of the novel are places on screen but without any of the significance that make them meaningful. It’s a true pity as from what I hear these novels start strong but grow weaker as they continue. So we are essentially fast fowarding what could be the best parts of the story.

Art and animation have certainly taken a hit with the berserker scenes featuring some truly cringeworthy examples of poor quality. Still frames and crude artwork really killed the scene along with a pacing that robbed it of it’s meaning. This episode should have been a big confrontation from the big players on the scene but it just felt so lackluster. For an example of missed connotation and am certain anime only watchers would be confused over just what Darica was so mad at Gordes for. To clarify this has to do with Siegfried’s legend where it is well known that he was bathed in dragon’s blood which provided him with a level of invincibility. The blood covered all of him except for one patch on his back which was covered by the leaf of a maple tree. What this means is that Siegfried has a massive weak point on his back which is why Grodes refused to reveal his name in the second episode. However in that battle Grodes was forcing Seigfried to use his noble Phantasm which would announce his identity to his enemies. In fact this makes the slip up last episode all the stranger when he announced himself to Karna and Gordes didn’t make a sound. Point is that informing an enemy that you have a critical weak point is generally a bad move. Hence why Achilles kept his identity to himself as his his very name has become synonymous with a metaphor for a fatal weakness.

Speaking of Achilles he certainly got shafted here along with Atalanta. Unless you know the history the significance of these events will likely puzzle the regular viewer. Thing is that Chiron is Achilles teacher and he taught quite a number of heroes. He also outranks Atalanta as a Archer as he is the basis of the star sign of Sagittarius and possibly one of the best heroic archers.(That well…are actually Archers) Might as well note that it’s nice to see some genuine archers in the Archer class for once. Both Zero and Stay nights archers only qualify as an Archer on a technicality. Though one thing that is odd is that the servants of this war all seem to have independent action which is a trait generally only given to the Archer class. Servants should have to stick close by their masters but because the Archer class is primarily a long range fighter they are given the ability to be able to last without a master and move a significant distance away from them. Here that rule seems to have been thrown out completely but somewhere in the massive bunch of tangled wires called Nasuverse lore there bound to be a technicality of sorts.

So we have the first casualty of the Great Holy Grail war and by Suicide of all things. As mentioned before it’s hard to truly feel for Siegfried’s sacrifice when we barely knew him and the pacing is so fast that all you can really feel is mild surprise. Even in the novel I didn’t quite care for him though his nature of acting as a hollow automaton which carries out people’s wishes is a similar demeanor of that of Shirou. He said he had no wish for the grail but it appears his real wish was simply to do something for himself rather than someone else. Such a shame that this act would be to save the life of what seems to be the most agreed upon weakest element of this story, the Homunculus character. I didn’t see a lot of him as I only read the first two volumes but I do remember the parts that featured him dragged horribly. I truly don’t look forward to seeing this fellow more in the future. Still there is something rather odd here, the opening of this series featured Siegfried facing Mordred and yet here shows he committed suicide before he could face her in battle. How very strange.

18if – 03 [The Witch of First Love]

by SuperMario, posted in 18if, Currently Watching:

At this point, I wholly expect 18if to bring different approach, have different style on its same themes each passing week. This week, they indeed pulled a very different episode from its first two. It was a fascinating episode. I said “fascinating” because if I’m gonna mark this week as a standalone episode (or as a premiere episode), then I wouldn’t rate it too highly because its flaws are massive. But If I see this episode as one jigsaw piece in this 18if universe, then it adds up. Episode 3 addresses the issues that I have with 18if from the very beginning, even with the expense of the main cast. In order to sell us on the Witch’s case we have to invest to the Witch, and this episode spends a fair amount of time to develop her. Tojiro Fujii, an animator most famously known for his work with studio Pierrot, was given full creative control on this episode, as he directs, writes, storyboards and animates this piece, and his input surely shows: the characters are more expressive and the dream world is more grounded, with muted color palette. This episode actually reminds me of Flip Flappers for good reasons, so despite its shortcomings I don’t deny that this episode is my favorite 18if so far.

One thing, for better or for worse, that you can all take out from this week is that episode 3 feels and tastes different than the previous two. Instead of the excessive LCD psychedelic images of the first episode, or red blood disturbing atmospheric second episode, this one is surrounded by isolated normal town with only Kayo, the third witch, and Haruto, stay in. Kayo wanted to experience the normal high school life, but she was so sick she missed all the activities most of the time. All those visual choices actually help deepen the insecure state of Kayo, from her sitting alone in the middle of the empty town, to how 18if maintains the distance between the Kayo and Haruto (If you split the screen right in the middle, then those two would fall on different side) until she opens up to Haruto. This isn’t showy type like previous episodes but this is very well-handled direction, which I greatly appreciate. This episode also develops Kayo greatly by telling the episode from her point of view, so we can get into her thoughts, her nervousness and what she wants to achieve. Haruto and Kayo spend some solid chemistry together as well and seeing that little girl having small moments of happiness make my heart swell. I don’t really like the romance first love part but it does have its merits. The direction and the great development of the Third witch are understandably the highlight of this episode.

But its flaws are too big to ignore. Haruto spends an entire episode being passive, hanging around and doesn’t know what to do. Remember his main mission is to solve the case and get out of the witch’s dream? Well, this Haruto doesn’t have that purpose anymore, or any purpose whatsoever except for playing around with Kayo. I don’t like to say this but he has no personality this week so his tears in the end just don’t do anything to me. Other recurring characters are all relegated to some small lines and one-off, which of course hurt the consistency the show has established so far. And honestly I don’t know what to make of Kayo transforming into the witch. By any mean she would become extremely dangerous but 18if simply leave it aside. Well, witches aren’t necessary dangerous but when Kayo doesn’t use any of her power then what is the point of making her the Witch then? In the end, I consider this episode an anomaly in this 18if universe as it doesn’t follow the game rule established in previous episodes, and the results have its fair share of strengths and weaknesses. My usual complaint for 18if is that this is style over substance series, and I guess that’s likely where they will go for the rest of their run, but this episode proves that 18if still can go deep into the psyche of characters to tell a compelling personal story.

Re:Creators – 15 [Waves Approach the End of Wandering]

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Creators

This week’s episode didn’t have any action once again but there is a lot more movement on the main plot as each faction solidify their alliances and plan out their new moves.

As speculated last week, the latest creation has a snowball’s chance in hell in be competitive against every other creation as her only power is flashing her panties to seduce men. That doesn’t comes as a surprise since her source material is an X-Rated eroge ported over as an all-age version and with Mamika out of the picture, it’s up to Hikayu fill in her shoes with her  future magical powers via fan side release. I’m skeptical that there is enough time or compelling development to do that since it will just be a repeat of a naive kind-hearted girl coming to terms with the harsh reality of this world. Her creator doesn’t fare any better as his buck-tooth appearance and behavior towards creations leans heavily into the more unsavory end of the anime fandom. Out of all of the creators, he is truly a terrible human being.

As her creator speculates, Alice does something very out of character this episode and that is to seek out the help of Magane. For a creation that is pretty meat-headed and relies on brute to win the day, this is a radical departure from her ideology of honor and absolutes. Seeing the batshit insanity that is the money-bathing Magane trouncing around half-naked in a towel go along with her polar opposite is the sort of risk that Re:Creators needs to take if it wants a strong finish. With some incoming power-ups courtesy of her own creators and having Magane take part in  her ambiguous plans, this bores enough potential for a payoff that will definitely shake things ups as the series goes closer to its conclusion.

Blitz has always been an enigma with his backstory and reasons for staying on Altair’s side. His story has been now revealed to be a tragic and dark history with him killing his own daughter in order to prevent a catastrophe in a cyberpunk universe. It’s just that when the show try to link his backstory to Altair is when it gets a little creepy. As with Rui’s sudden transition from being a twat to a stewart defender of the real world, we miss all the nuisances and buildup to his confession to Altair and makes it seems rushed while coming out of the left field. It could have been a cool parallel story like something along the lines of Joel and Ellie’s twisted relationship in The Last of Us but Re:Creators really dropped the ball when it comes to those two.

Made in Abyss – 02[Resurrection Festival]

by AidanAK47, posted in Made in Abyss

Made in abyss continues strong as the animation remains beautiful, the music perfect and the story progressing with revelations at a good rate. I particularly lie that they provided necessary details about the different ranks of miners based on whistle colour  through a puppet show. It’s a good way of providing the audience information without having to sit the cast in a room and have someone drone on endlessly. Take pointers Re:Creators, get the audience the info it needs without dragging down the pacing. This episode mainly acted to setup the main plot of this series as we have Regu get integrated into the orphanage and the discovery of Riko’s mother’s white whistle. Along with the notes that seem to suggest that Riko’s mother is waiting in the depths of the abyss for her.

I really like the pacing of the anime so far as I found the manga wasn’t really moving fast enough for me while the anime seems to be quickly getting to the point. It does mean we have a montage over events but it doesn’t really felt like anything of worth was truly lost. The biggest piece of info here is that we may have the first hint as to what the title of this show actually means. I originally thought that it referred to Regu who was a robot Made in Abyss. However here we find out that Riko was born in the depths of the abyss because her mother was ordered to dive despite being pregnant. Due to the curse of the abyss which appears to affect people in different ways depending on how deep they dive into the abyss, Riko’s mother had to carry a heavy relic in order to protect Riko from the effects. As a result she had to abandon the relic she came down to find in exchange for saving her daughter. Actually a really badass back story that shows how legendary Riko’s mother truly was. Though one thing that is most certainly going to come into play here is that Riko wasn’t completely unaffected by the abyss’s curse and had to wear glasses due to the abyss curse affecting her eyesight. Riko seems to think this gives her some immunity to it though her trainer is quick to correct her on that. I however think that her eyes are bound to play a role in this story somehow.

I really do adore the animation in this show that even small events like Regu using his extending arm to grab a pot just looks great. This show certainly captures the feeling of a Ghibli movie though from tidings I hear it’s going to be more serious than that. Though the question is just how serious? I personally like the current lighthearted nature so if it decides to go full dark it could potentially lose that. So with the tidings this episode that brings me to the strange third character appears in the ending of this show. Looks to be so sort of funny bunny creature of sorts and I can make a good guess that it could be a child affected by the curse of the abyss. It was briefly mentioned that traveling too far down can turn you into something other than human. Theres also the question of just how Riko is going to get permission to travel down so far but considering her personality displayed to this point I don’t think she will let a little something called inexperience get in her way.

Fate/Apocrypha – 2/3[The Appearance of the Saints/First Step of Fate]

by AidanAK47, posted in Fate/Apocrypha

So where do I begin? I am brain dead at the moment so forgive me if this gets a bit too much like rambling but I have to catch up with all this so here’s my best shot at being somewhat competent. WIth these two episodes we have the setup of this grail war established as well as the general master and servant pairings. There may be those wondering about the masters of the Red side but much like the opening suggests the only ones we really need to concern ourselves with is Kairi Sisigou who summoned Mordred and Shirou Kotomine. Now what is likely the question at the forefront of anyone’s mind if they are somewhat familiar with the Fateverse is likely “Is Shirou Kotomine and alternative version of Shirou Emiya?” and the answer to that question is no. These two have nothing connecting them and Shirou Kotomine is very much his own character. I admit that the idea of an alternative universe Shirou raised by Kirei Kotomine does sound really interesting but sadly this is not the case. So far Sisigou is proving to be the more likably of the two as Shirou is far too enigmatic to get a clear read on him. In fact Sisigou and his servant Mordred so far are proving themselves to be the most endearing characters of the cast so far though members of the Black faction are quite charming as well.

Mordred is indeed another Blue Saber clone but one of the things I find rather amusing is that Sabers clones often have far more interesting characterisation than Saber herself. I say the only exception to this would be Joan of Arc who is equally boring. I really like Mordred. Her brute force fighting style and brash attitude make for more interesting interactions between her and others. I also really like the correlation between her desire to attempt the selection of the king when Blue Sabers wish was to redo the selection of the King. Overall she just has far more depth to her rather than some self righteous purity. On the black side of things I feel A-1 pictures is starting to let me down. There definitely feels like favoritism going on here as interactions between the likes of Chiron and his master feel rushed whereas Moeserker and her master as well as Astolfo get far more attention. I really didn’t need to see two scenes of Astolfo’s master indulging herself with him as i am pretty sure there was only one in the novels and I think this is A-1 throwing in more fanservice. Though I do hear the writer of the novels is involved with the production. I do still laugh at how nonchalant Astolfo takes this molestation by his master though I should mention that his master is a real piece of work. Here’s the thing, she’s got a massive interest in torture and the only reason she isn’t torturing Astolfo is because none of her tools are effective enough to make a dent in him.

Gordes is getting the short end of the stick as well. I don’t like Gordes as a character though he’s not really supposed to be liked. However I don’t really like the anime skimping out on his characterisation. For you see Gordes was actually really looking forward to this whole Holy Grail War thing and sees it as a place to satisfy his ego. He treated the war seriously but ultimately he’s just a really petty. The fight between Siegfried and Karna is supposed to be a wake up call for him as it really hits home the point that a master has no place in a servants battle. He can play support but actually assisting is generally impossible. Well aside for special individuals. He tries to get some glory by baiting the master of Karna to show himself but as we know that master simply isn’t here. In this battle there’s no glory for Gordes and he is designated a support role, something which might come to urk him in later events.

As for animation I find A-1 is so far passable but I wish they would slow down and have some actual choreography. I find in fights that things often progress too fast or is obscured by explosions which doesn’t help as the sound design is rather weak with these explosions sounding too similar. What little choreography in the Karna and Siegfried fight was rough and choppy so it’s my hope that seeing as this series is rather battle heavy that A-1 is saving the budget for the bigger fights.

18if – 02 [Time Stopped at Age 12]

by SuperMario, posted in 18if, Currently Watching:

18if (pronounced as eighteen – if… nah I’m kidding) is an anime version of a multimedia project The Art of 18 which also include a mobile game and a VR game. Watching the first two episodes you can see a clear influence in its game format: a self-contained case that more or less has the same setup. Haruto wakes up in a dream, enters through red door, encounters the Witch of the Week, solves her problem, exits via blue door and goes back to sleep. It’s worth noting that each episode is handled by different director (Space Dandy-style) with overall supervised by the great Kouji Morimoto (Memories, the Animatrix), hence explain the slightly different look both in terms of visual and character’s designs. Unlike the premiere episode with overloaded with random visual, this week’s dreamscape is much more stripped down, yet they nail the mood with the atmospheric dark murder room and everything bathed in red blood gore scenery, down to the red heel. Overall, this episode goes much darker territory than the first, we have more details to work with the dream settings but 18if still has issues with its storytelling.

The main case of this week starts with the murders of the whole family where three members were brutally murdered, leave only the youngest daughter alive as she was hiding in a closet. The three murderers, who all were minors at the time, didn’t receive a proper punishment and years later, they re-enter the society like nothing happen. If you think this is a jab at the Japanese criminal justice system, then rest assured that 18if just drop it as soon as they mentioned it, and it works more as a setup for the girl to kill them in their sleep, Freddy Krueger-style. As much as I found the concept intriguing, I can’t fathom the fact that after all those years of sleeping beautifully, she didn’t kill them then and just waits for 10 years (is it?) carry out her plan in 1 day. Seem pretty random to me except for the purpose that Haruto can come save the day. Other aspect that surely will raise conflicting opinions from viewers is the moral ambiguity towards murdering someone in the dream world. 18if stands by the side that those three former murderers deserved to be killed, even Haruto helps out to finish the last guy off. Revenge is a dish best served cold after all. But are they? In the end the Witch and Haruto get away with all the murders. While I certainly see those guys are garbage, do killing them like this make the Witch feel better? 18if says yes.

This episode further confirms the theory that Haruto isn’t a real person. Throughout the course of two episodes, he never appears in the real world. Maybe Katsumi (the talking cat) has the key for his true existence, as aside from Lily and the Witches, he’s the only person who interact with him and his only line of communication to the outside real world. As for if Lily was Katsumi’s sleeping sister, it remains to be seen but as of now I don’t think it’s necessary a case. Might be Lily is similar to Haruto, an entity who wanders in a dream and save people’s problems (she calls him “brother” after all). Again, the shortsighted in storytelling and characters’ development still remain. This case, by all mean, is bold and surely grabs viewers’ attention, but dig deep into the case and you find nothing much. The Witch this week has a compelling reason and for me she’s an improvement from the Thunder Witch last week, still I can’t call her role exceptional. She just doesn’t have much time to develop and again, the ending wraps itself up too clean that when it’s all said and done nothing much to remember, except for its gore and its atmospheric blood red visual design. 18if relases with both Japanese and English dub versions, while I haven’t checked out the English dub I’ve heard good reception from it. I will try the English dub out but make sure to check out its OP. Lovely groovy song.

Re:Creators – 14 [Why We Travel]

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Creators

Re:Creators starts off it’s second half of its series with a brand new opening credits from Sawano using the two same singers of gravityWall. Titled as shØut, it takes the same melody as AL:Lu and closely follows the first opening in its presentation. I thought it was about the same quality as the first one with a bit more action like having fighter jets coming out of Meteora’s Gate of Babylon and explosions everywhere. What information can be gleaned is that Selesia will eventually get back her prized Vogelchevalier and that two more creations, in addition to Charon, will be joining the show. The first is apparently is Yuuya’s rival in which his sister was killed by our sword wielding stand user. This is going to be turn out to be very explosive as these two are going to butt heads as one seeks vengeance for a murdered family member. The second character is so bizarrely out of place in her normality as she seems to be a character from one of those generic romantic visual or light novels. Other than her warm and kind heart, I don’t see any powers that could stand toe-to-toe with Altair’s dance of swords or every other creations wielding their massive abilities. Re:Creators has surprised me before and I’m sure they will surprise me with her.

Unfortunately, it’s been nearly a month since anything really awesome has happened and since then, it’s just been mostly just theorizing and coming up with an elaborate plan to engage Altair and defeat her. Episode fourteen is no different with briefings and characters standing around talking to each other. It does answers several questions like having Altair being deliberately written to be weaker and confronts a few loopholes that the audience might have thought to exploit. I didn’t really enjoy all the info dumping and for the rest of the episode, the creative process takes center stage in how each creators approach their craft from being on a salary working for a client with specific needs to being utterly devoted to maintaining the artistic purity  of their work and totally independant. People like Kentaro Miura, of Berserk fame, comes to mind when it comes to telling a story that does not compromise in its quality, subject matter, or release schedule that sometimes takes years between the release of chapters. I was annoyed that they decided to omit the details of Sota’s little plot insertion as the episode was already so dry. At the very least, a date is given to us about when the grand event is to occur, which happens to exactly fall on when the sixteenth episode is aired. I expect it to be awesome because the last few episode certainly haven’t been given all the buildup that has been happening.

Seikaisuru Kado Review 51/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Reviews by AidanAK47, Seikaisuru Kado

Seikaisuru Kado was a title which caught my attention for a number of reasons. For one it’s visuals showed not a single teenager in sight and a cast mainly consisting of working adults. Another is that it deals with a premise not often tackled in anime, Philosophical Science Fiction. The story features an alien being who lands on earth and gifts humanity with revolutionary devices which could throw the economic, social and political climate into pure chaos. Our main characters are a Japanese Negotiator by the name of Shindo and an Alien being from something known as the anisotropic who refers to himself as ZaShunina. While I wouldn’t call the cast great, I do say they perform the needs of the plot well and are interesting enough to engage the viewer. Well up until the point where there characters are forced to change due to the direction of the story. There are examples of anime tropes which only cheapen the serious atmosphere of the stories tone such as a scientist girl who eccentricity is at a far too unbelieveable level. Though sadly anime tropes show up in other parts of the show as well, mainly in the rather rushed romance of the second half.

A positive aspect of this series is that it has some of the best CGI integration I have seen to date in a anime. In most series CGI is jarring and breaks immersion but here the CGI is included well enough to keep things looking natural. It does use a combination of 2D and 3D visuals and it is noticeable when it changes between the two. However I never had a moment watching this series where I was just taken out of the experience completely by shaky 3D work. The CGI also works wonders in displaying ZaShunina’s alien nature as his cube structure is a pure prism of visual marvel. The music likewise processes a grandiose and majestic feel which illustrates how this is the turning point of mankind. On the technical side of things I would consider Kado to be a success.

But when it comes to a storytelling standpoint this is where Kado fails. At first things look good as there is a focus on the diplomatic systems reaction to the sudden arrival of an Alien entity, while the Alien itself is slowly growing accustomed to human ways and learning about human culture. From the outset it feels like Kado is revving up to really dive into some deep topics but as the series continues you will find that these topics continue to get pushed into the background and not addressed. The series focuses more on ZaShunina introducing the amazing device and then implementing it. But when it comes to the long term ramifications to integration of such advanced technology, then this series instead decides to ignore it and move on to the next gift. You see the introduction and integration of the device, but never the conclusion. It appears as though the writer was never interested in these ramifications but instead in pushing some generic themes of humanity instead.

In the end Kado is a story that starts with a lot of potential and looks to bank on that potential within its first six episodes. However it moves away from a multifaceted issue to have a more black and white conflict instead. The story and characters suffer for it and it concludes in an ending that’s nonsensical, disappointing and terrible. As a result Kado is a series which most would likely regret watching as you see great ideas tossed aside to portray a stereotypical good vs evil conflict. Ultimately Seikaisuru Kado is evidence that just because someone is writing the story does not mean they know the best road to take it and in the future I hope there are those who see just what this series could have been so that they can fulfil its lost imaginable value.