Zettai Shounen

Oftentimes, people are most vulnerable when they are lonely and unable to get along with those around them. Isolation is felt more keenly amongst a crowd, so some will try to find solace in the strangest of places, where the unknown lurks. Such people include Ayumu Aizawa, a former city boy now living in the countryside of Tana, and Kisa Tanigawa, a young girl who has a hard time relating to others. What these two share in common is a feeling that their life has gone astray.

Zettai Shounen tells a story of strange phenomena affecting two different settings, with no explanations of their origin or sudden appearance. All that is known is that these phenomena seem to center on individuals with mixed emotions toward themselves and others.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tanigawa, Kisa Main

Kobayashi, Akiko Japanese

Aizawa, Ayumu Main

Toyonaga, Toshiyuki Japanese

Miyama, Miku Main

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Miyama, Miki Main

Mitsuhashi, Kanako Japanese

Yamato, Rieko Main

Sadohara, Tomoko Japanese

Sukawara, Akira Supporting

Matsumoto, Miwa Japanese

Wakkun Supporting

Takeuchi, Junko Japanese

Toudou, Asako Supporting

Mizuno, Risa Japanese

Dosshiru Supporting

Miyama, Mika Supporting

Suzuki, Masami Japanese

Morijiri, Kazuaki Producer

Okamura, Masahiro Producer

Morimoto, Kouji Producer

Itou, Daisuke Producer

Reviews

May 13, 2009

Halo_s_Maze

Recommended

I don't write reviews, but this show only has one short review so I feel inclined to do my part.

Zettai Shonen is an anime that stays away from a lot of the normal conventions found in anime with the label of supernatural. The pace is much slower and more heavily focuses on the characters than the supernatural event itself.
Ultimately I would say that the focus is on how each character internalizes and acts on the odd things that are going on around them.

The story is broken down into two arcs. The first arc is the summer arc and the main character is a ... middle school boy named Aizawa Ayumu who is visiting the tiny town of Tana for the summer. The second arc called the winter arc,takes place in Yokohama and the story shifts ahead a year and a half. Also a new main character is introduced, Tanigawa Kisa. A girl who is considered an outsider among her peers. In both halves of the show, weird creatures have begun to show up and cause confusion and mild chaos.

STORY: 8

This story is heavily driven by character development, however the plot is there pushing the character's in a general direction. If you're looking for a story that delves deeply into the occult or the science of aliens than this is not the series for you. All of the supernatural events are shrouded in mystery and give off a feeling of long ago fairytale or folklore. Nothing is ever concretely explained what you are handed by the director is all that you will get.

The story moves slowly and things take awhile to develop. It doesn't necessarily take long for weird events to start occurring in the show, it's just that the development and progression of these events is not rushed. To find enjoyment in this show you have to like these characters, because outside of the characters there isn't much else for the viewer to grip onto. The upside is their are plenty of characters all of them vastly different from each other and playing out a different roll in the show.

It's not the most complicated or quickly paced story I've ever experienced, but if you give it enough time it grips you. With time you'll find yourself caring more for what is happening around the awesome cast, the story amps up the supernatural eventually until the plot seems nearly as important as the turmoil that the characters are facing.

CHARACTER: 9

The characters are the driving force of the show they are the breath by which this show breathes. Yes this is a story about odd occurences, but the important part of Zettai Shonen is how the individual characters react and change in concurrence with the strange things happening around them.

The characters in this show are strong and dynamic, they all change and grow and learn. The development of the individuals in this show feels more slice of life than anything. In fact it wouldn't be ridiculous to call this show a slice of life with a little mystery and supernatural events thrown in. There are many different people in both arcs and none of them completely abide by the typical anime stereotypes. The characters are the heart of this anime and where this story shines. You can see the motives and reasons for all of the characters actions, they don't do unnecessary things, and they react as you would expect normal people too.

I found myself falling in-love with many of the characters, especially with the residents of Tana, like Miyama Miku and Unno Shione. They were interesting and dynamic, so even as the plot dragged by slowly I could count on the interactions between the characters to keep me interested.

This is the show's strongest aspect by far, at least in the summer arc. In the winter arc I found that I was slightly more drawn to the supernatural events occurring around the cast.

ART: 7

The art style isn't exactly typical, but it isn't radical either. The way the characters are drawn is hard to put into words exactly, but it's very child like even kiddy, however I thought the style suited the show. The background scenes were nice, but didn't dwarf the characters or whatever events were occurring in the story. My only complaint is the CGI used for the creatures, it stuck out a lot in certain scenes where it was used. It could possibly have been done on purpose to highlight the other worldliness of the creatures that disrupt the town of Tana and Yokohama, but for me I would be engrossed in some scene when suddenly I'm pulled from the moment by a very harsh CGI image thrown into the mix. With time though it grew on me.

SOUND: 7

The music used for this show was appropriate, I really like the ending theme song too. They had this one repeating chorus that they used throughout the show, it helped build up a sense of familiarity and was usually placed in situations that were similar to each other or reminiscent to something else that had happened. As if the music is helping connect all the interrelated dots. The reused chorus is really light and unobtrusive so it doesn't get annoying after repeated use. At times I didn't even realize it was playing till it ended.

The music isn't epic, but then again neither is the show however it worked perfectly and never took away from the rest of the anime.

ENJOYMENT: 9

I enjoyed this show immensely by the time I finished it. However when I started I was only mildly interested, I had to keep going despite the slow pace, and eventually the characters caught my interest, and shortly afterward the plot did too. I loved the slow and dreamy pace and the overall lack of urgency despite the events that were occurring. It vaguely gives me the same feeling that Natsume Yuujinchou gives me, except it's not as melancholy and doesn't emphasize nature or the elements.

OVERALL: 8

I give this show a solid eight, I really liked it from top to bottom, the art style is a little young-looking, if I can describe it as such. At first glance it doesn't look like much, but it really delivers if you're willing to give it a real chance.

You have to be willing to sit down and watch three or four episodes before you can even begin to understand or appreciate this anime. It's not a show for those looking for action or even romance. Really I want to compare it to Haibane Renmei, in that there is a story, but the nitty gritty of the story isn't the most important aspect.

If you have time on your hands and want something that is very character driven almost slice of life like, but with a little more flesh, then Zettai Shonen is a great anime to pick up.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Feb 24, 2015

windkirby

Recommended

I'm writing a review in an attempt to express my feelings on an anime I feel few have heard of. Zettai Shonen is in my opinion a masterpiece of storytelling and is my favorite anime/tv show of all time.

The guidelines say not to summarize, but I'll give my take in this paragraph if anyone is interested: The story is split into two halves. The first deals with a city boy spending a summer in a small, somewhat boring town, quiet but for the constant, tremulous calls of cicadas, but the summer becomes more interesting when supernatural occurrences begin to take place. In the second half, ... we are taken to a city in the winter to follow a reclusive girl who has stopped going to school, whose life also changes due to similar supernatural events. The two arcs are related but loosely.

The story is not ambitious or complex, and it is actually this simplicity that lends it such strength. The conflicts are small, perhaps even microscopic; but in the attention to minutiae I perceive such a deep love for the characters that I've rarely if ever seen matched in another visual storytelling work of art. I actually do not like supernatural events in animes I watch and prefer slice-of-life; however, the supernatural blends so well with the day-to-day that it doesn't feel like a gimmick or a ploy to keep you interested. Instead, the characters interact authentically with these happenings in a way that deepens your perception of them, rather than distracting you from them for the sake of a showy plot.

The story-telling is slow. Don't watch if you are looking for revelatory twists, sabotage, or some slow build-up leading to a fantastic climax where all the questions are answered. The twists are more "hmm" than "aha!", there are no grand schemes, and the climaxes come, but again, they are focused more on the characters than on the universal ramifications. We're not here to scientifically chart out something new but to just spend some time with some individuals.

With that said, I will state that the characters are somehow a bit simple in their depth. They are SO un-distracted in pursuing their personal truths that they don't seem like people you would actually run into on the street. Watching I felt almost as if I was getting to see humans who were more human than actual humans, due to the busy chaos of how life goes. But that's more of a pleasure than a complaint.

The art and sound are somewhat marked by the time the anime was made, though I personally like it that way. They seem old-fashioned but still beautiful. Even though the rural setting of the first arc is more naturally arresting in my opinion than the city setting, the team has a way of making even the crowded metropolis seem humanized and rightful in its existence.

I feel there really isn't a drop of hate, fear, or outlandishness in this anime. I suppose the closest it comes to outlandish are the supernatural child characters, which I forgive them for. As for hatred, the characters can be quite cruel--don't get me wrong. But it is the patience the anime has for these characters, somehow even supporting these cruelties, and its inclusiveness of them as a part of life, that make me feel as though the anime reveres the human experience like no other I've seen.

I'm sure I haven't done the anime justice, or perhaps I've soured its qualities by speaking too highly of them. If I've exaggerated what it is, that's my mistake. But I truly believe it is an anime worth watching--certainly not for everyone, but perhaps for some, even worth watching again and again. If you are in the market for a slow-paced anime to chill you out or perhaps get you to think about things you don't always have time to think about, I recommend Zettai Shonen. In its embrace of the mundane, it is a character-driven powerhouse.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 22, 2021

EarthPotato

Not Recommended

This anime feels like a shitty game.
This is mainly due to the slow progress of the main plot and the boring length side quest that I give 0 fuck. There's only like 20% of the main quest and the other 80% is filled with shitty side quest that are unskippable.

I'm not saying the whole anime are shit, the first arc is good because it feels like the main quest and side quest were moving along side each other so you don't feel that much of gap on the story going on. It slowly reveal the main mystery going on in the anime while showing ... the surrounding character lifestyle.

The second arc feels like it's a crazy ass shit filler. It take like 8-9 episode on this shitty ass romance bullshit going on between these 4 main characters that I hate. It's the typical childhood cliche shit where there is 1 girl like the dude, and the dude like the other girl, and the other girl like nobody, and then there's this 1 outsider group loved 1 of the childhood friend. Damn this arc is so stressful that it ruined the series for me. The main story for the second arc is on the last 4 episode or so. It reveals the "truth" on the mystery part. The story balance is way off for the second arc.

I would say that the ratio for the first arc feels like 10% main and 10% side story. Second arc is 10% main and 70% side story. The anime should've ended on the first arc.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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