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- JoinedJul 9, 2017
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Mar 11, 2018
I'm just going to start off by saying that I have never played the game this is based off of and probably never will. If you are in the same boat, then I would recommend that you don't even try to watch this. I honestly would have dropped it pretty early on if I didn't need to complete it for a MAL challenge. It's obvious that this show was made solely for fans of the game and they don't really even try to make it appealing to other viewers. As a newcomer to the franchise, these are my thoughts of the show based solely on
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it being an anime rather than an adaptation of a video game.
First of all, don't be fooled by the underlying plot of these swords being animated to fight an organization bent on changing history because the anime doesn't really focus on that most of the time. Instead, the series is pretty much centered around the characters and their interactions with each other in the citadel. Throughout the series, you will constantly see the same exact plot points being recycled such as introducing new characters, forging bonds between characters, and dealing with internal struggles of characters. It's kind of obvious once you know the background of the series that the whole point of doing this is to give fans the chance to see their favorite characters stirring up emotions inside of them. However, without that excitement of seeing someone you know that you can only get from previously playing the game, the cycle becomes repetitive and boring after awhile. On top of that, they introduce like 50 different characters in the span of the series, so it is hard to keep track of them all without having prior exposure to them. By having so many characters, I felt a lot of the shows attempts to deal with internal struggles fell flat because it's really hard to be impacted by a scene involving a character you are still trying to figure out the identity of. I will admit that there were maybe 2 times where a scene involving a character actually made me feel something, but most of the time attempts to make me sympathize with them were unsuccessful and even the times I did feel something I get the impression it didn't impact me as much as it was supposed to. This series is definitely built around character interactions, so not developing characters before emotional moments and cycling through so many of them in such a short amount of time because you assume the viewer already has an understanding of them through the game is definitely the fatal flaw in this anime for viewers who haven't played it.
Honestly, I was just bored most of the time watching this series and you probably will be too if you haven't played the game. I understand that the anime would have been a lot better if i did play it and this may even be considered a masterpiece if you view it as an addition to the franchise rather than as an adaptation of the game. However, I don't think you should have to delve into a game in order for an anime to be good because if a show is good it should be able to stand on its own. Yeah, the series probably was more successful pandering solely to fans of the game considering it's getting a second season, but as far as being a stand alone anime, it is pretty bad in my opinion. The whole aspect drawing viewers into the series is their connections to characters from the game, so without that, there really isn't too much about the anime that keeps you interested. If you really want to watch this then do yourself a favor and play the game first. Based on the numerous top rated 10 reviews I've seen on this show's MAL page, it may be worth the time and effort. However, if you don't want to do that, then don't even bother watching this because you will probably just continuously lower the score to an anime that wasn't even meant for you to begin with.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Nov 20, 2017
This truly is a beautiful anime and is probably the best Slice of Life series I've seen up until this point. Its artwork especially with regards to certain scenes is phenomenal and like most other potential masterpieces they utilize music to accompany the series really well. The character designs are also top notch with most characters changing meaningfully by the time the series comes to an end. With that being said, there are slight problems that prevent it from being a true masterpiece. The series seems to skip several months at a time between episodes to show character interaction during special events which have the
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most impact to the relationships between the characters. This seems like a good strategy, but a lot of the time it leads to a lot of loose ends between main characters and side characters that may have been resolved during the timeskip, but there is no way to know for sure. On top of that, there are a lot of questionable relationships/interactions between characters like Houtarou's sister for example where they know someone and it impacts the story in a way but you don't know how they know them or why the interaction took place other than it led to an event in the story happening. The final problem with the series is that you just don't want it to end when it does. Wanting to watch a lot more of it can be viewed as a good thing, but I think it's slightly detrimental in this case. The series ended 6 years ago and the manga isn't in production anymore, so that means that the series is pretty much over at this point. If a series is over, you don't want the viewer to have a sense of longing to watch more of it because that means they weren't really satisfied with some of the outcomes. In this case, I would say the unsatisfactory part is probably the romance factor in the show. Throughout the series, multiple potential relationships were developed and seemed to progress albeit at a really slow rate, but by the end of the series, it seems like almost no progress has been made in any of them and they are at the same stages where they were towards the beginning of the show. It just kind of leaves the viewer wanting more and honestly I wish that they would release an OVA showing the characters years later wrapping up this aspect of anime. This series really is a potential masterpiece, but it's just plagued by loose ends concerning character interactions, conflicts, and relationships that slightly hold it back.
Edit: Just found out the manga has started up production again. Hopefully that leads to the resolution of my final problem with the series not wanting it to end, but even so I still feel like the series is a 9 considering its other problems.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 15, 2017
The premise, main character development, and art style of this series are exceptional, but this anime does have some problems. There are times I feel like the creators make events happen just to move the story forward without bothering to explain how they are possible in the world they created. Furthermore, some of the supporting character's backstories aren't developed at all leaving the viewer wondering about them, while other supporting character's personalities feel inconsistent and contradictory. Most of the problems I have with the show I feel like could of been fixed if they expanded the series to 24 episodes rather than 12 and incorporated
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more material from the manga instead of trying to fit so much into what we were given. Some of these issues can still be addressed in later seasons, but they don't have the material to make those seasons at the moment, so I have to rate this series based on what is here right now.
The thing that disappoints me the most about this anime is that I believe it has the necessary building blocks to be a 8 or 9 star series. The show’s premise is pretty unique, complex, and interesting once you wrap your head around it. Character development of Kyouma and Mira is well done with them having one of the best rapports I’ve seen between partners in an anime series. Its art style is beautiful and seemed to capture my attention drawing me into the anime while also portraying a fantasy world in a believable way that actually made it seem like it could be a possible future for us to live in.
In the end, I personally enjoyed it more than my rating suggests and I would probably rewatch it before most of the other shows I would rank above it. However, I can poke more holes in this anime than any other I can think of and that really bugs me, so my rating reflects that since I have to consdier the anime as a whole rather than just its parts. I do suggest whoever reads this though to watch the show especially if you are interested in the synopsis, but I recommend not thinking about it too much after you've finished the series. My initial impression of the title was a lot higher until I started analyzing it and realized how many questions the show left unanswered.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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