Edward Elric lookin ass...
JUST KIDDING. WOW that was FRICKIN AMAZING. I haven't watched something THIS good in AGES! I genuinely think this scores above 9 out of 10! I can't find a single flaw! The plot isn't overly complex but isn't too cliche or simple either. It's unique, distinctive, but easy to understand and follow~ Episode 1 left no loose ends! Not only that but none of the characters were had any bad or annoying traits!
The serial killer's motives were clearly defined and reasonable! (Basically, he's a sociopath.) The crazy bat swinging girl was actually capable of drawing out sympathy (and some people on MAL Favorite-ed her character, too, which is kinda strange lol). But most of all, the protagonist and the bangs girl -- Ame -- were amazing characters too!
The blonde guy showed extremely decently paced character development. Not too fast. Not too slow. Just a gradual warmness over the course of the 40 minutes. He's a total bad-ass but capable of sympathy and being nice too! (In contrast to that overrated Spike Spiegel character lol.) I love how the blonde guy is a sick fighter -- and also is courageous enough to investigate a murder -- or chase after a distraught scream -- and yet he REALISTICALLY shows stress, surprise, and shock when seeing a corpse!
Ame wasn't necessarily a stagnant monotone character either. As a child, she was capable of expressing non-stoic mannerisms -- and at the end of the episode, we see her smiling and conversing normally without getting out of character. She's definitely a little nuts, but her clearly defined backstory was an amazing reveal. There's no otherworldly, metaphysical undertones here ("we were comrades in another life") but this whole time she was referring to an interaction in their past. That's such a perfect reason for her fixation.
I love how nothing is crazy or overblown. Everything in this series is clearly defined, logical, purposeful, and not cliched. It's a simple story that anyone can understand or get behind -- but is capable of drawing out intrigue and getting us invested.
I will say -- my only (personal) criticism -- is that nothing that happened made me feel emotional. I'm a pretty stoic watcher, but a truly good anime can make my eyes swell up or my body tense or make me feel like my soul is being vacuumed. I simply watched this with static contentment. Heck, when the blonde's bones were being bashed, I couldn't help but feel unfazed by what I was watching for some reason. Strange, right? I THINK it might've been the background music, which was like a playful bongo. Whatever the case, I'm not deducting any points for this or anything. Just a side observation. But hey, maybe this is what I (we) need. As great anime that doesn't make us want to cry, or doesn't make us feel depressed, or like curling up in a ball and being sucked into space lmfao.
Speaking of that bone-crushing scene, I have to say that it was really excellently executed. Extremely realistic. Like I said, the blonde guy is a total badass and yet he's capable of expressing distress and pain. But also, the animation fluidity and action there was pretty sick. Of course I'm not happy that violence was inflicted upon our dear protagonist, but you get what I mean -- whatever the anime is trying to pull is working.
Yet another thing I liked about the anime: Ame's deductive reasoning skills. Just the things she had to say when conversating with the blonde. Like when she said irrationality was impossible, and then everyone has a reason for doing things. I'm improvising my praise and am having trouble recalling her exact reasoning, but her monologue there was fascinating. Heck yeah. Ame really is just a good character. She's got a motif and a distinct characteristic but nothing about the way she acts ends up turning off the viewer.
The one other complaint I just thought of was the scene with Ame's little sister. If you removed that Episode 1 completely things wouldn't have been any different. That scene was entirely insignificant to the plot, and nothing would have changed if Ame didn't have a little sister. All that scene did was clear up the fact that the blonde didn't know why Ame was fixated on him -- and that there was some kind of reason FOR her fixation. But we find that all out later through different means. I don't know. Does Ame's little sister reappear in Episode 2? Was this scene just a character introduction? Whatever the case, I'm going to be pissed if she's not in Episode 2 of this OVA series... because if she's not, then that'll cement my suspicions of her scene being entirely trivial. A "filler" if you will, for screen time. But I digress.
Really, the more I think about this anime, the better my outlook on it becomes. The opening seen drew the viewer in. And yet the closing scene had closure and satisfied the viewer (although hopefully the crazy bat girl was arrested -- I would've liked to see that). (Also, the newspaper said the serial killer committed suicide... how is this possible if he was in custody? Was the newspaper a coverup?) BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN. Like I was saying, the more I think about his anime, the better my outlook.
When scoring an anime, you typically deduct points when there are major flaws that distract or take away from the viewing experience. That removes you from the immersion. Or that throws concepts around without a reason or a rhyme. This anime did none of that. It was a smooth ride. This anime easily gets a score out of 10/10, and anyone who isn't a nitpicker can see that.
P.S. Denpa-teki na Kanojo's score of 7.6 out of 10 is a decent score for an anime on MAL. It's not a bad or concerning score at all. And yet I ask COME TF ON guys? How could the score average out to 7.6?
7.9 to 8.2 would be a way more reasonable average, and I'm being generous here. 8.5 would be the most appropriate consensus, I feel. I usually try to understand the opinions of others, but there's no way there exists a portion of people who scored this anime LESS than 7.5! "Denpa-teki na Kanojo" literally lacks ALL the bad tropes that are known to decrease the scores of other animes. (If there's a manga:) the author, as well as the anime's production team, all appeared to do everything they could to shape this into a masterpiece. What else could they have done to raise the score? (And I feel like any answer to this question or suggestion would have to be based on a personal preference or nitpickiness, which should never be factors one uses to score an anime.) I saw that the first four reviews for this anime were all 9's too. I'm appalled.
P.S.S. I HAVE NOT WATCHED EPISODE 2 YET. As of now, I'm scoring the anime a 10/10 based on what I've seen of the first half of the OVA series. I sincerely hope Episode 2 is just as good and doesn't have me reconsidering. But as far as I'm concerned, Episode 1 is easily a 10/10. Especially when compared to similar animes. |