Night Head 2041

In the year 2041, World War III has wiped out two-thirds of the human population, and in the newfound structure, the belief in any god or beyond-human entity is considered a preposterous notion. In order to prevent citizens from bearing possibly incriminating thoughts, the government has assembled a Special Weapon Enforcement division to capture and rehabilitate such believers.

The Kirihara brothers, Naoya and Naoto—who were hidden away from society by their captors for years to conceal their psychic abilities—were promised freedom once the world was ready to face their existence. Now, wandering in the appalling new societal climate where psychics are not welcome, the brothers find themselves on the run from the Enforcement's devoted operatives, Yuuya and Takuya Kuroki.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kirihara, Naoto Main

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Kirihara, Naoya Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Kuroki, Takuya Main

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Kuroki, Yuuya Main

Ono, Kensho Japanese

Kobayashi, Kimie Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Misaki Supporting

Kiyokawa, Motomu Japanese

Futami, Shouko Supporting

Maeda, Kaori Japanese

Kazama, Kouji Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Shinjou, Emily Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Roshkov Supporting

Hirota, Kousei Japanese

Mori, Akitoshi Producer

Hirakawa, Takamitsu Director

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Iida, George Script, Series Composition, Original Character Design

Reviews

Sep 29, 2021

robert788

Recommended

Night Head 2041 (2021)

What a show, inspired me to watch the original show now.

Things of note:

Episode 4 has a real nice siren sound use that really makes you feel the effect of the emergency.

The OST is spectacular especially the piece Sacrifice. Has the real classical emphasis on it.

... The show also doesn't have too many 'ahhhhhh' scenes.

The story at first I was unsure about but it definitely has become spectacular by the end especially with coming full circle. You get some unexpected situations during the show that really push you back into your chair.

The art for this show is brilliant. Characters and many effects use CGI and backgrounds are a mixture. I honestly think it is great to look at and will really stand the test of time superbly.

The sound is the best part and I don't mean the OP and ED of which are both good, I mean the SFX sound and the composed music to lift you into every situation are just so powerful and do such a great job.

The characters are 2 sets of brothers both with roles to play. Most other characters also have roles to play but they are the most seen. Shouko Futami is a really complex character since she is at the forefront of the story itself. I honestly think she was superb even with her underlying tones of knowing it really is goodbye in some cases to who can or cannot exist.

The show was superb in the end, the first episode and I mean maybe 10 minutes of it had me hanging a bit but then it really caught me. I think for me this is the best show of the season that I have seen. I obviously didn't watch every show that came out.

Also, Shouko Futami is the best girl and not just because of her character design with that unusual hair style but her entire characters story and her voice are so superbly chosen.

9/10. Such a shame it is over but then again Night Head Genesis is now on my watch list.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Aug 24, 2024

ToasterMart

Mixed Feelings

If Marvel made a Disney princess movie and had it animated in Japan, that would be Night Head 2041.

Night Head 2041 does everything right that Night Head Genesis did wrong.
Night Head 2041 is perfect in that it is only 12 episodes (I don't think I had it in me to sit through another 24 eps of night head brothers). So much is happening all at once in every point of the show that the 12 episodes go by very quickly so I would say you might as well watch it if you are interested. However, I would not say that the story ... itself is particularly well written, as previously stated, it has all of the cliches and over action scenes of a super hero and a princess movie. The CGI animation was originally off-putting, but I felt that it improved as the episodes went on (or I got used to it).

Over all, I would say go watch it if you want, but its nothing particularly amazing.

Art: 4/10
Story: 7/10
Characters: 5/10
Sound: 5/10 (atleast this version actually had an intro song)
Overall: 6/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 29, 2021

LoveLetter100

Not Recommended

I expected another Ex-arm
Instead I got Akira that was just way too much on the nose.
(And worse in every other aspect as well)

At first I thought it would be a political story considering the genre, but then it suprised me when the show started inclining towards more religious route. In the second half it went back and connected it with the political aspect.

Don't get me wrong. In it's core the idea is decent enough to follow and expand upon. The problem lies with its terrible execution and abysmal handling of its own characters. If you can even call them that.

Show started in ... a rather mysterious way with too much exposition. Exposition that will keep on not only repeating but also multiplying. I mean, why would you even relay an information to your brother that he has already been well aware of for MANY years ? Like he gets it. The water is wet and our parents are sacks of shit. Shocker.

Instead of slowly explaining the themes and meanings of the show, the story just drops everything on you in one episode out of utterly nowhere. Up until that you could have interpreted it in couple of ways and theorize about your own possible interpretations.. But worry not ! There is no longer any need for using any percentage of your brain power. It could have been handled so much better. The entire thing was just couple of dudes sitting in a room and explaining what the story is about. What an easy way out of good writing.
The other thing that really grinds my gears is the Noah's ark bit.
Ark, rapture, dying for sins of humanity, return of Christ, crusifixion and all the other good christian stuff can be found in here. But Noah's ark showcases a big problem with the show. Instead of remaining as a painting in the big exposition scene, the show later draws attention to its own symbolism and that just makes me role my eyes. Don't tell me. I get it. I get the meaning. Why do you have a need to explaing everything ? Just shut up you. Leave something to my imagination. I know this feels like a minor thing but like I said. Its like this the entire time.

Of course its capitalism that gets the most amount of shit. I was suprised that the word capitalism wasn't actually mentioned. Words like competition, equality and new version of the word materialism get mentioned all the time. And its pretty obvious on whose side the story is considering what religious figures represent each side. I liked it more when there were subtle mentions of war in middle east (that is still going on in 2041(cringe) ) and ways how China and Usa distabilize those regions. Not that I disagree with criticism of capitalism but it could have been handled better. Just because I agree with some of its messages that doesn't mean it makes for a good show. For a while I also got the feeling as if atheism was getting blasted as well but I don't actually think its atheism itself. More like the act of not believing in utterly anything. Neither God/s nor reincarnation or not even something like nature. More than atheism it was criticising Nihilism. Some of its better ideas felt like an afterthought. I actually really like the ending to the Prophet character.

Overall it was as if the author thought of ideas and messages they wanted to put into their story and instead of actually making a story they made a numbered list of why this and this is good or bad.

The characters are utterly laughable. Well I would laugh if there was something to actually laugh at. They don't exist. There is not a single thing I can tell you about them other than the brothers like each other. And even those very strong bonds are showcased to us by the brothers calling each others names from a long distance. But trust me. They have like really strong bonds. But you don't wanna know about it here. It's something really special. They're not your usual brothers. They care about each other.
With that said. I still ship the blue haired brother with the brother of the pink haired guy. You know ? The black haired guy. I thought they were about to kiss at some point and like a droplet of blood actually started pumping through my veins only to have been wasted on nothing.

Also the designs. I know that rule of cool stands but since I am already at it I might as well mention it. An authoritarian world that supresses not only religion but also fiction and music has no absolutely no reason to allow its poster boys to wear such punk inspired clothing. Punk has always been going hand in hand with anarchism. Which is absolute opposite of what the government wants. Because you know....they want to keep on existing.
Also why do the soldier uniforms glow in the dark in such vibrant colors. Or why make them glowy at all ?!

Art is fun to look at. Might take a second to get an used to. But once you do its pretty ok. I actually like it. Reminds me of Dorohedoro. Sad thing is that it is so forgettable because of its lack of important and memorable character moments.

I really love the voice acting. Its filled with well known voice actors. Feels like home right away if you are familiar with them which you probably are. Too bad they had such terrible script to work with.
The dialogue is bad. Very bad. I refuse to elaborate.

Night Head 2041 was many things. But let it be know that it was not boring. I had fun. Wasn't enjoying myself. But I had fun. If you are going to watch it remember that it DOES NOT care about its own characters. But only themes and messages. Which they also don't really do a good job of presenting. They do this coming full circle at the end but its just not earned at all.
At least I learned something about how not to write a story.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Night Head 2041 Episode 3 Discussion Stark700 - Jul 28, 2021	18 replies	by RGreatDanton »» May 9, 4:22 PM
	Poll: Night Head 2041 Episode 12 Discussion KANLen09 - Sep 29, 2021	23 replies	by littlefrank103 »» Mar 22, 10:21 PM
	Poll: Night Head 2041 Episode 11 Discussion KANLen09 - Sep 22, 2021	10 replies	by littlefrank103 »» Mar 22, 9:39 PM
	Poll: Night Head 2041 Episode 10 Discussion KANLen09 - Sep 15, 2021	7 replies	by littlefrank103 »» Mar 22, 9:15 PM
	Poll: Night Head 2041 Episode 9 Discussion KANLen09 - Sep 8, 2021	14 replies	by littlefrank103 »» Mar 22, 8:20 PM