Asura Cryin'

Natsume Tomoharu is a normal high-school student in every way with one exception: he's being followed by the ghost of his best friend, Misao.

After moving into his brother's old house, Tomoharu expects to continue living his normal life but is one day left with a mysterious and locked briefcase without any instruction. At first he plans to leave it in storage; however, his house is soon invaded by multiple groups of people after the briefcase. Although still not knowing the purpose of the briefcase, Tomoharu and Misao attempt to escape with it.

From there on, Tomoharu tries to learn the secrets behind the briefcase, the connections between it and Misao, and why it has the power to change the world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Takatsuki, Kanade Main

Nonaka, Ai Japanese

Minakami, Misao Main

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

Natsume, Tomoharu Main

Irino, Miyu Japanese

Kurosaki, Shuri Supporting

Tanaka, Rie Japanese

Kitsutaka, Touru Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Fortuna Somesheru Miku Crowzenbruhi, Ania Supporting

Yahagi, Sayuri Japanese

Shizuma, Aine Supporting

Satou, Satomi Japanese

Kurasawa, Rikka Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Saeki, Reishirou Supporting

Morikubo, Shoutarou Japanese

Higuchi, Takuma Supporting

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Nakanishi, Go Producer

Kamimura, Osamu Producer

Kusakawa, Keizou Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Reviews

Oct 11, 2015

thumpz99

Recommended

The first season is a decent setup for the better second season. It's an enjoyable anime overall but it does have some shortcomings.

There are some parts of the story that they went out of their way to make viewers realize what's going on. They pushed so hard that they made the main character seem dim witted and unable to do simple guess work. I'm not sure why they did this but it did take away from the story for me.

Repetition. Get used to it. They use it a lot to fill some episodes to stretch them out to meet their ... time obligations. There's a couple of fillers in the first season that I can't figure out WHY they put them in the first place. There was plenty of story available to do an entire 2 seasons with but they really gyp the viewer with these fillers.

A number of characters blend in with others enough so that if you're not paying attention that you'll be wondering who you're looking at more than a couple of times during this first season.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Nov 1, 2015

Zaku88

Mixed Feelings

Asura Cryin is a series that seems to be about ghosts... but then turns into a story about mechs and humanoid demons. It is a combination of comedy/mystery/action/mech. I originally jumped on this series due to some fairly interesting teasers and good OP/ED. However, the series seems to hide everything from the viewer to the extent that I ended up confused after each episode. The character development seems half-hearted and the story, though eventually interesting, is cryptic for the majority of the show. If you have a short patience, this isn't your show.

Animation:
The animation quality is fairly good throughout. Colors are vivid, effects are of ... good quality, and characters are well drawn, though I don't know how being a demon entails multiple eye colors... Sadly, all the mech scenes, and a significant part of the fx, are done with CG, and not in a good way. It is used enough that it seemed to be a huge cost-cutting measure.

Sound:
The OP and ED were above average with an electro based OP and eerily dark ED. The bgm is average but decent. The only VA that stands out here is Misao. I didn't find anyone that outstanding. I was also wondering why one of the girls is like monotone all the time (explained near the end of the show).

Music: 4/5, VA: 3/5

Story:
Asura Cryin seems to merge verbally-named special attacks from with the random appearing mech aspect of Kyoshiro and a ghost/apparition aspect of . The combination of so many disparate bases doesn't mix very well, yielding an angry fruit salad based product that is anything but smooth.

There are constantly mysterious themes that repeat throughout the show that are either only explained near the very end or (for the most part) are totally unanswered. It was very displeasing to finish the show and still have no idea what the majority of the show was about. The only consoling aspect is the fact that there will be a second season. The second season does yield more dividends, see that review for more details.

Character:
The characters feel very underdeveloped in this series, mostly since additional background will be given in the second season. For this series, much of the characters pasts are completely unknown and the rare flashbacks that the series provides tends to beget even more questions. The lack of story focus carries on here as well as numerous secondary characters appear, play a significant role in a single instance, and then join the gang and from that point onwards play a minor role (until maybe the second season?). Regardless, it was difficult balancing so many seemingly unimportant characters.

Value:
There are some humorous moments, some occurrences that are just wrong, a bit of fan service, and a few relaxing moments. However, the majority of this series can be described as chaotic and anything but normal slice of life. It tries to bolt on too many features to the extent that none of the characteristics stand out in the end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 7, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Not Recommended

NOTICE: This review covers both seasons of this title.

It’s a light novel adaptation so TADAAA you already know it is trash material for people with low expectations. It tries to be spooky at times, only to end up sounding as such: Thunders and spells and dramatic set up, and zooming to a wizard using magic speels full of weird lingo. In the name of God’s blissful existence I command you to… Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to grab your boobs! Really! And my Johnny magically appeared between them! I’m sorry for being a normal teenager; I’m terribly sorry! Well thanks for killing the mood ... you idiot!

For a 2009 work it hardly looks as one. The characters are drawn rushly, with their facial anatomy looking too sketchy and distorted half of the time. Not that they would be that eye-catchy even if they were drawn more consistent; they overused the school uniform fuss and everyone seems to wear only one set of clothes. Most monsters have really lame looks and the koala mascot animal wasn’t even shaking its mouth. So lazy! The 3D mechas also have some really crude movements, a further indication of low budget. This doesn’t apply for the final episodes; the budget is tripled there and everything looks awesome. Also, throughout the series there is variety in background settings and special effects. They did a decent job at mixing hi-tech with religious allusions, even if it was superficial and eventually forgettable.

Directing-wise it is a mixed bag, as almost every battle looks like a random line of independent shots, where things pop out of nowhere, pay no real attention to physics and end in quite boring and uneventful ways. But what a surprise, every time the lead is in an ecchi situation the girls’ looks and naked bodies are given a lot of focus. That tells you a lot about what they really cared to animate properly, doesn’t it? Anyways, the finale is an exception, since it had very good battle choreography. That dimensional eye in the sky and the energy beams were really something! If the rest of the series was like that I would be left amazed. The cinematics they used in the opening and ending videos is another sign of how they had the talent but not the interest or money to offer a steady level of quality.

Typical to most light novels, they think it is cool to throw as much as possible in the script, hoping that will make it interesting, only to be quicky proven they are just lazily trying to dress up a typical harem comedy. Variety in themes and symbolisms may be making something more interesting to pay attention to, but not when it is used superficially for some really trashy content. Religion clashes with fringe science, summoning monsters, contracts with demons and ghosts, mechas popping out of shadows, teenagers with superpowers, magic gismo that fulfils wishes, alternative dimensions, ero-jokes… Yes, sounds cool, but down to it, it is a disjoined random compilation of anime clichés.

The concept is damn good. The whole alternative dimension theory and the pseudo science parts are very interesting, even if you have no clue about them up until the last half of the second season… which is surprisingly very good just for that. That’s right, the terminology is explained almost at the end. I mean, ok, they don’t have to start by infodumping everything and revealing all the mysteries at once. But wasting three quarters of the show in seemingly random battles and ecchi humor and then expecting us to give a damn in the end is plain retarded. If you expect to make the viewer care, you should offer the juicy parts right away.

Other elements like pacing and action were also below average up until the final arc. It offers a satisfying closure and nice last impressions, but up until then it plays out like random scenes from different series exchanging places with no order. On one episode the lead has a fight that determines the lives of millions. On the next episode… beach fan service! Yeah, that’s what should follow an epic battle for the salvation of the Earth, where each one of them almost died. Another huge battle happens, after of which we get a… spa episode! Yup, 18 episodes of archetypical date sim girls interacting with the dork lead and lots of subpar battles with robots and superpowers. And of course, the police or the army or in many cases casual bystanders simply DON’T EXIST! And wow, look at that, a high school student council is running around with enough firepower to level half the world and the teachers or parents don’t mind. Doodily doodily doo, my disbelief is trying to escape through the ventilation shafts, someone stop it!

But as I said, the final 6 episodes are in fact damn good and I almost beg you to skip the rest and watch only those. I was thinking something along the lines of “OMG, my date sim performed a fusion dance with Noein!” This clearly shows that the producers CAN offer something good if they try. I have nothing against showing some bare leg from time to time, but focusing on those alone for MOST OF THE FRAKKING SERIES becomes a challenge on your nerves.

Fan service ruins the personalities of any character, and this series is yet another example. The lead character is your typical lame, spineless, useless, self-insert indecisive lead characterTM all lazy scriptwriters use instead of… I don’t know, trying not to do the obvious thing. As a result he is a boring character, who, as his archetype dictates, keeps bumping on boobs and naked women and keeps asking for forgiveness before being accused of being a sex driven beast… which translates to a normal teenager. He also has this annoying long line of hair on one side of his head, which is supposed to make him stand out from all others of his brood but it was REALLY pissing me off. I wanted to yank it off!

And then there is his harem… Man, they threw in every archetype you can find in typical eroges. But hey, at least each one of them has an extra feature to make her look a bit more unique. We get Childhood friend/ghost/part of an apocalyptic conspiracy, Miko priestess/fire user/shy with huge boobs, loli tsundere/luck eater/that changes age, bold mature glasses woman/missile thrower/with meek twin sister. Yeah, we have something cooking up nicely here. They have personalities, backdrops, agendas, there is hardly anyone useless in the story. Even the lead male grows some balls and gets more active. And they all get a decent catharsis by the end of the series.

It is a real shame how this meal was left to burn, because of a mostly aimless story and the fap service which sapped all their dignity. Seriously, if it was half as long and lacked the pointless beach and spa episodes, it could have been far better. It is one of those cases where you scream WHYYYY? IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO GOO-OO-OOD! Japan has a thing for sabotaging itself by trashing titles with potential just so it can please roneries with softporn. The story is fine, every single character is there for a reason, the premise for epic battles and mystery is there. But they all went to hell by throwing beach episodes and boob jokes and put to death harem situations and uneventful battles, which effectively translate into 75% dead time and masturbation. And it’s not like titles such as Steins;Gate or Noein didn’t already handle the same premise far better.

Call me a grumpy old man if you like, but modern anime focus way too much on erotism to appeal to a mature veteran like myself. The producers simply gave up. Nowadays they just rehash previous ideas with a boost of 500% more eye candy and fan service. What’s so bad with that? Well… I watch anime for the story and the characters. If I expect ero stuff, there is always hentai or some porn site. Being bombarded with ecchi humor in a series which is supposed to be action, drama, and mystery is like they are telling you “Screw the story; it’s one of the same; just look for pantsu.” Well excuse me then if my reaction to that is giving up and going for a beer…

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Jul 1, 2019 2:44 PM by Sakana-san | Discuss (2 comments)

	Poll: Asura Cryin' Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Rei_12 - Apr 2, 2009	101 replies	by Airs »» Aug 4, 8:09 PM
	Poll: Asura Cryin' Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 ) ShanaFlame - Jun 25, 2009	81 replies	by Archean-Return »» Dec 11, 2023 1:38 PM
	Poll: Asura Cryin' Episode 10 Discussion ShanaFlame - Jun 3, 2009	29 replies	by Archean-Return »» Dec 11, 2023 11:49 AM
	Poll: Asura Cryin' Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) japanme32 - Apr 9, 2009	89 replies	by Archean-Return »» Aug 17, 2023 2:56 PM
	Poll: Asura Cryin' Episode 6 Discussion dbaranyi - May 7, 2009	44 replies	by DonTrumpolino »» Mar 13, 2020 6:05 PM

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