Back to BladesArisen's Profile BladesArisen's Profile

Shikabane Hime / Corpse Princess
Rewatched June 2023
TV, 25 episodes + OVA, Dubbed
Recommended

Sometimes good anime gets lost in obscurity. In all instances it’s tragic; any viewer who watches one of these hidden gems will end up shaking their head, wondering why so few have actually seen what you’ve been appreciating week after week. It fills me with a bittersweet pride that I can easily recommend Shikabane Hime, known only on Crunchyroll as Corpse Princess.

VISUALS [ 8 / 10 ]

>>>>>Classic hand-drawn animation paired with beautifully composed backgrounds are what make up the backbone of this action/horror anime. Movements are swift and deliberate. Action is soaring and ... brutal.
>>>>>The visuals take a hit from the very obvious, deliberate budgeting that happened in several scenes and even some of the later episodes. There are dozens of rough frames in this show, and while none of them ever outright ruin a scene, the particularly rough spots will be distracting to most viewers.
>>>>>Overall it’s a strong showing, especially for a production that was clearly stretched thin.

SOUND [ 9 / 10 ]

>>>>>The OP and EDs all have beautiful, fantastically composed tracks. The english dub was so good that my brain can’t even fathom the concept of watching this anime subbed. The score is quite minimal in this anime; I remember very few instances where background music is noticeable, but when it is utilized it’s expertly done.
>>>>>The only real issue comes from the script, which if anything clearly stuck to the original japanese dub a little too closely. The terms ‘Contracted Monk’ and ‘Shikabane Hime’ are said a couple hundred times throughout the twenty-five episodes; at least it felt that way. Viewers who are picky about dialogue will likely be bothered by this anime, regardless of which audio track they choose.

SETTING AND PLOT [ 7 / 10 ]

>>>>>Let’s just get this out of the way: the ending isn’t very good; probably because the anime technically doesn’t actually end. It’s yet another goddamn Gainax ending, and I am sorry for it; another twelve episodes of Shikabane Hime would have been great.
>>>>>Setting the main grievance aside, there are numerous minor writing flaws in every aspect of this anime. This is a full-length TV anime and it will be treated as such; two dozen episodes is enough to work through all relevant plot details. Shikabane Hime makes a point of focusing on the bloody undead underworld of its setting, which is an odd sticking point considering very little about it is ever revealed, even during the final arc of the anime.
>>>>>Essentially, every aspect of this anime’s rather interesting, secret society-driven world is either minimally explained or completely open-ended. So much is never touched upon. Relevant details, such as the frequency of undead attacks, how all the damage and carnage are covered up, how these undead monsters are tracked, and several other plot threads are rarely even acknowledged by the show, much less explored in detail. Would the show have been better off just playing into the atmosphere and thematic storytelling so much that the viewer doesn’t care about the writing so much? Definitely. The production comes off as not knowing how to handle horror from a writing standpoint, and that’s a serious issue here since it’s front and center in nearly every episode.
>>>>>Of equal concern is the script’s bad habit of constantly telling instead of showing; the two of those are supposed to be reversed, of course. Most shounen anime are guilty of yammering on about random characters’ powers or motivations, but that doesn’t excuse the subpar world building present here, either. A lot of time is wasted on unimportant information that would have been better spent on atmosphere or world building. Horror doesn’t work so well when half of it is explained beforehand.

>>>>>What the viewer is presented with here, however minimal it might be, is unexpectedly engaging and thoroughly disturbing. Horrific yokai/wraith hybrid undead monsters called Shikabane roam the streets at night, plagued with regrets strong enough to bring them back from the dead. These monsters often transform into grotesque abominations of decayed flesh, which are so nasty looking the viewer will be somewhere between ‘Oh god what is that!?’ and ‘Kill it with fire!!!’ Already the premise is more compelling than most horror media out there. Then the distinctly japanese anime part comes in, and living-dead girls start battling them with high-end weaponry. Nice. And there are warrior monks too, because the anime needed to sneak the male cast in there somehow.
>>>>>The titular Shikabane Hime, the Corpse Princesses; they are beautiful, tragic, fierce heroines that get an unexpected amount of screen time. It is easy to get roped in by the strong premise here, which is exactly what will make or break this show for most viewers. Too apathetic to care about a bunch of pretty, undead killing machines? Yeah, those types won’t care for this anime at all. Everyone else should go grab the popcorn and kick back.

CHARACTERS [ 9 / 10 ]

>>>>>Now THIS is how you write shounen anime! Relatable but somewhat disturbed cast? Check. Absolutely phenomenal dynamics between characters? You bet. Relationships and interpersonal drama developed gradually over multiple story arcs? Also well executed. Character arcs set up well in advance and subtly foreshadowed to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat? Expertly done.
>>>>>Be they main or side characters, everyone is at least interesting if not outright likable. Every character has their moments of contribution to the plot, which is always good in an anime that has a large cast like this one. The focus shifts between characters, usually in pairs since each monk has their own murder maiden. Since screen time is distributed so evenly among the many pairs, the viewer gets a good feel for the dynamic between them, which is nice to see, considering so many anime struggle with their supporting cast. Fascinatingly, for this reason there are monsters and hunters of the week in this anime. There weren’t many standout character moments, which is no issue when the entire cast is so well written.

>>>>>First off I’ll mention Machina, the titular Shikabane Hime. She’s one of those relentlessly punished tragic heroines seen from time to time in anime. Machina is surprisingly likable in spite of her fire-and-ice tsundere personality, which comes off as particularly tsun at first. She also gets caught in an odd love polygon which is impossible to discuss without having first seen the show. In general, her entire character arc is heavily gritty and dramatic; even compared to the rest of the cast.
>>>>>Ouri fills the role of main protagonist and male lead, which he does decently well. He’s a more sensitive take on the typical shounen protagonist and serves as the audience’s surrogate as he ventures into the world of the dead. The only real flaws in his character are the typical shounen protag density and a tendency to pursue rash, boneheaded plans that a more cautious individual would likely avoid.
>>>>>Keisei acts as a sort of parental figure and stands as the show’s favorite warrior monk. As the viewer will quickly realize, Keisei is one of the bros. He’s the cool big brother that everyone wishes they had, which should go great lengths in explaining why he’s such a well written and endearing character. Keisei is smart, courageous and mischievous, all wrapped into one.
>>>>>The second warrior monk I’ll mention is Takamasa, whose role shifts around quite a lot as the narrative progresses. He’s sort-of like Ouri’s rival, only with a way sharper and more level-headed demeanor than is typical of shounen protags. He is undeniably likable in spite of his stoic, philosophical characterization. His character beats were all excellent as well.
>>>>>Itsuki is more or less the stand-in for all the Hime that don’t get proper screen time, as she is by far the most normal out of the female cast. She was immediately likable with her warm, bubbly personality. Obviously she’s also waifu bait, but who really cares?
>>>>>Briefly, I’ll run through the other notable pairs. Rika and Saki were an excellent pair with an interesting dynamic. The handful of moments they received were all excellent. Sadahiro and Akira are another good pair, with even less screen time. Fortunately all of it was well-written and typically entertaining; Sadahiro is basically the lovable rogue but as a monk instead.

PACING AND PRODUCTION [ 7 / 10 ]

>>>>>Corpse Princess is paced surprisingly well overall, with the only real complaint being that the plot was a little slow. Too much time was spent on the same handful of recurring themes; time better spent building atmosphere and giving the viewer more excellent action scenes to enjoy. Again, show; don’t tell. Certain scenes early on were too long as well; likely a result of the studio not having found their stride yet.
>>>>>Regarding the early production in general, Machina likely needed more screen time early on for characterization. She comes off as too sharp and prickly in the beginning. Introducing her character dynamic a couple episodes earlier would have done a lot for early arcs.
>>>>>The show plays into its themes too strongly on a few occasions, making the impact of certain story arcs somewhat diminished. The studio never did quite find their stride during dialogue scenes, either. Broadly speaking, dialogue needed to be de-emphasized in favor of much better pacing overall. Production constraints were not handled very well either, with early episodes being a lot more consistent than later ones.
>>>>>Finally, the show was set up for a third season, which was desperately needed to finish its final story arc, which was left depressingly incomplete.

[Analysis section redacted due to spoilers]

OVERALL [ 8 / 10 ]
- Underrated, underappreciated anime that shounen and horror fans will probably like.
- Visuals are decent, albeit with noticeable budgeting for some scenes.
- Action is solid, with unusually brutal fight direction.
- God-tier dub, excellent OPs and EDs, all other sound is minimal.
- Sub-par, half baked world building that still manages to be interesting.
- Gainax patented lack-of-an-ending.
- Too much telling; not enough showing. Too much dialogue in many episodes.
- Incredibly well-written cast of characters.
- Pacing is good but was a bit slow.
- Plot has a bad habit of retreading the same themes over and over again.
- Main heroine Machina came off as too prickly at first; likely needed more screen time early on.
- An anime I like very much. Score is sadly nuked by exposition scenes and lack of an ending.

For recommendations, I’ll start with Highschool of the Dead, which is still my favorite anime. It’s a zombie/fanservice mashup show with incredibly good direction and characterization, not to mention godlike action scenes. For seconds, I’ll choose a less gritty action anime in the form of Kill la Kill. It’s an unusual anime, but the action and direction are both excellent, with many unexpectedly deep themes explored. Finally, I’ll go off the rails a bit and recommend the Rising of the Shield Hero, for its dark themes and excellent characterization.
That’ll do it for this review. As always, good luck with finding your next ten out of ten.

Chrome Shelled Regios
TV, 24 episodes, dubbed
Completed April 2023
Not recommended


>>>>>Well, Chrome Shelled Regios is certainly memorable, that’s for sure. Being memorable isn’t always a good thing, however, as this anime will certainly teach you.
>>>>>Is it sci-fi? Is it fantasy? Is it... Magic or future tech or what? In fact, what is even happening?

Such are the questions that every viewer of this anime will be asking before the end. Oh boy; this is gonna be a long one.
...

VISUALS [ 6 / 10 ]

>>>>>Regios certainly has a look, that’s for sure. Other than some excellently done character expressions and visual gags, however, there isn’t much separating this anime from everything else of the same era. The main strength of this production was clearly the background artists’ ability to portray really good, grounded atmosphere in certain shots and occasionally, even full episodes. There are plenty of genuinely beautiful locales on display in this anime.
>>>>>The issues arise as soon as screenplay or direction come into play, and wholly crap are there a lot of them. This production supposedly had three directors, which is hard to believe given the extreme lack of good direction seen anywhere in this anime. Most episodes are decidedly watchable, at least, albeit with extremely sporadic, borderline manic pacing and an almost comical lack of transitions between scenes or any kind of proper continuity.
>>>>>Fights range from tolerably average to disappointingly stiff and lackluster. Occasionally something might be animated for more than a couple frames, but don’t expect too much. Actual direction for these fights is almost universally mediocre, which is the real let down here, given this is a shounen anime. At the very least most characters are kept on-model and most individual scenes are at least watchable, which is better than can be said of many other dime-a-dozen light novel adaptations.

SOUND [ 8 / 10 ]

>>>>>Someone on this production was super passionate about Chrome Shelled Regios, which the viewer can immediately identify by this anime’s banger soundtrack. A bunch of superfans even got together and formed a band just for this anime adaptation, cosplay and all.
>>>>>Techno, EDM and softer electronica tracks are all heavily featured in this show, with the hyper-energetic action tracks being the most memorable. That’s not to say the OST is perfect by any means; there are a couple odd-sounding tracks meant to build suspense that have odd composition and just sound kinda weird.
>>>>>The already competent OST is backed by a surprisingly good dub that fits the show perfectly. I don’t recall hardly any of the classic bad english side character voice overs sometimes heard in older anime. There were a couple hiccups in the script here and there, mainly during the genre-standard arguments over ideologies that occurred in the middle of fight scenes. Overall the sound is solidly done.

SETTING AND PLOT [ 3 / 10 ]

>>>>>Welcome back to Generic Not-Really-Magical-City, Japan; specifically, Generic Somewhat-Magical-Academy, yaaaaay. I just cannot contain my bloody excitement. Somehow, the madman that wrote this setting managed to make it a Mad Max apocalypse as well, just because? That’s one way to do post-apocalyptic world building, but I can’t say I approve.
>>>>>A lot of the issues come from the adaptation itself, which clearly lacks a strong sense of direction from the studio. There are a few areas featured in the anime that could not physically fit inside the Regios cities that supposedly contain them under a big dome forcefield... thing. With Regios in the title, the viewer expects a reasonable amount of emphasis placed on said giant moving cities. Unfortunately, the various Regios, especially the titular Zuellni are consistently off-model, to the point where it’s impossible to tell what on-model is even supposed to be.
>>>>>The plot is too complex for the viewer to turn their brain off, so that’s no defense here; as if it ever was. This results in many, many minor plotholes opening up as the story progresses, of the open-ended variety. The viewer, whether they wanted to or not, will be forced to ask several obvious questions, such as ‘Why guns?’ ‘Why cernium mines?’ ‘Why is humanity even still alive with these ridiculous giant death laser bugs running around everywhere?’ ‘Why are there these random, short film noir scenes randomly thrown into every episode?’ And so on.
>>>>>Those questions are never answered, and the few that are tend to just open up even more plotholes. The viewer, if they’re paying attention and not completely numb from the millions of subplots being thrown around, will quickly realize they’ve already put more thought into the worldbuilding than the actual author probably did; and certainly far more than the production team did.
>>>>>The plot itself fares no better; far worse, in fact. The plot and its numerous surrounding subplots are a mess, in the most overcomplicated way imaginable. Regios is the anime I coined the term ‘deepest darkest web of light novel conspiracies’ from, if that gives any indication. Basically, there are too many subplots all happening at once and all competing for screen time and the viewers’ attention. Presumably the dense web of plotlines was written to be deep and engaging; in reality it’s like the messiest of Piccaso paintings. Even after doing my best to pay close attention, I still could not explain any of these ridiculously convoluted subplots.
>>>>>The main plot, if it even qualifies, is the typical Shounen anime style only worse. Story arcs just happen; they could be almost completely rearranged and the viewer probably wouldn’t notice. Much like the direction, there is very little tying the narrative as a whole together. The whole thing is loose, conceptual, and in desperate need of a concerned friend to talk the author out of doing quite so many drugs before writing his stories. Like most anime adaptations, the issues with the narrative should have been ironed out by the production team. Sometimes faithful adaptations aren’t the best idea; especially when excessively complex, directionless narratives are involved.

CHARACTERS [ 6 / 10 ]

>>>>>Regios has a huge cast, most of which never get proper introductions, much less any actual screen time. The early episodes of the anime are particularly guilty of barraging the viewer with unimportant, nameless side characters; to the point where they’re ‘non-introductions’ more than anything. The author certainly is not talentless, but most certainly wrote a cast far too ambitiously complex for his own good. In both the light novels and the anime itself, having such a huge cast serves no purpose but to confuse and often outright lose the viewer.

>>>>>There’s a major recurring problem in Regios; specifically with the way the narrative handles character development. Most characters at least develop, thankfully. Unfortunately it’s in a rather stiff and lopsided manner. Essentially only certain characters are given the spotlight while the rest of the cast goes completely static and becomes unchanging. The selected characters then experience all their development, all at once, and then get put on the back burner when the time comes for another character to develop instead. After Regios pulls this a few times it becomes obvious this is the only way any characters are written and the only way the author, studio, or both knew how to handle character development.
>>>>>The anime portrays it’s main cast well, on occasion anyway, which is probably the entire script’s only redeeming quality. Character interactions not centered around the protagonist are often surprisingly interesting. Miscellaneous gags, jokes and other forms of lighthearted anime nonsense are extremely hit or miss, so it is highly doubtful that every scene will be enjoyable, regardless of the viewer’s preferences. Regardless, an effort was made to flesh out the main cast and give them some actual personalities.
>>>>>Broadly speaking, characters are written fairly well, although not always with much depth. Nina, who takes on both leadership and action girl roles, was decent but ultimately felt like a wasted opportunity due to her very limited character development. Sharneid had the aforementioned lopsided character development, and so ends up in more or less the same situation as Nina; he was entertaining, decently interesting, but lacked proper development for most of the show. Speaking of the show; Felli steals it; the entire thing. I’m kidding of course, but she was incredibly amusing, endearing and easily earned best girl status by the end. She also had the strongest chemistry with Layfon and was the only girl that really felt like a proper girlfriend for him; you’ll understand what I mean if you actually watch their scenes together. Ah yes, and Harley; he got completely shafted in this adaptation. He’s supposed to be the heartfelt, gentle member of the squad but ultimately got like three scenes in the whole damn show; a shame, truly.
>>>>>It would take far too long to dig into the supporting cast, so just be aware that most side characters are either cliche, completely lack development, or both. Supporting characters are a major weakness of both the original novels and the anime adaptation.

>>>>>Layfon Alseif; if you are a named character and have a womb: congratulations, it now belongs to him. Please do not resist. In all seriousness, this is another anime that does the weird insta-harem thing. Main guy Layfon somehow has a harem going by the end of the first episode, for no real reason at all. Later on in the plot this actually causes issues with his character, since it makes no sense for him to be stringing all these women along; that's probably the worst thing about the characterization, surprisingly.
>>>>>Layfon’s character is full of little inconsistencies. In much the same way as many other generic shounen leads, Layfon constantly betrays his own morals and even motivations in order to serve as a self-insert for the viewer in addition to fulfilling his role, somewhat awkwardly, as the main character. He’s regularly dragged around by one or more of the female cast members, serving as both masculine protector and meek, easily manipulated boyfriend. Obviously this quickly wears on the viewer; especially if said viewer is bothered by weak willed protagonists. The problem with all of this is Layfon himself; he legitimately is a surprisingly deep and well-written character when he’s not being used as a surrogate for the audience. Layfon is too much of a distinct individual to work well as a self-insert, which puts him in an incredibly awkward, often questionable position in the narrative. Sadly Regios can’t help but constantly employ generic light novel tropes. The writing would be far better if the dumb anime bullshit was simply left behind; it’s clear that the author could have written his novels without using tropes as a crutch.

>>>>>None of this does any favors for the anime but at least the cast is likable for the most part, aside from the confusing, unexplained side characters that are mostly used as walking plot devices. Best to quit while you’re ahead when it comes to the characters in Regios; and by that I mean immediately tune out any weird unexplained nonsense or else risk giving yourself an aneurysm. Go read the source material if you’re crazy enough to try and decipher any of the aforementioned deepest darkest web.

PACING AND PRODUCTION [ 2 / 10 ]

>>>>>Where does one begin when breaking down one of the strangest, most poorly handled anime adaptations imaginable? After twenty-four episodes of sporadic, unhinged, messy direction, the viewer starts to forget what competence really looks like in stark contrast to the broken down nightmare of an anime this really is.
>>>>>From the beginning, poor transitions tear up what little continuity may have existed. Regios is one of those anime where the viewer can never tell how much time has passed, or even where locations are in relation to each other. The subtle confusion that slowly builds up over time is largely drowned out by the absolutely ridiculous flashback scenes that plague nearly every episode, hammering the viewer with almost entirely useless information that only worsens the confusing viewing experience. Even when flashbacks make sense they are placed terribly in the episode, crammed in wherever the directors thought they could get away with it.
>>>>>The issue only compounds when a second variety of even worse flashback begins rearing its ugly head, in the form of the film noir segments thrown in seemingly completely at random, absolutely slaughtering the pacing and then handing out little pieces of main timeline, recent flashback and ancient history flashback, sometimes with absolutely zero regard to continuity, clarity, or any other basic form of scene transition that’s supposed to be figured out in the storyboarding phase of the production; long before a single frame gets animated, in other words.
>>>>>No one can deny that the Chrome Shelled Regios anime has personality; the personality of a drunk old guy spouting out random nonsense in between fits of clarity. I’ve read tax forms that made more sense than most of the decisions the studio made for this adaptation. At one point there was even a bizarre sort-of lampshading gag, where the characters were apparently watching the film noir flashback scene on a weird pre-paid tv and were ‘wanting to see what happens next’ in exactly the same way the viewer does every single time one of those short scenes is randomly thrown into an episode. All the viewer can do is helplessly shrug the whole dumb scene off and try to figure out where in the main storyline the show is afterwards; it’s so bad it’s kind-of embarrassing.
>>>>>Obviously, with so much extra nonsense thrown in there’s no way in hell the anime needed a full twenty-four episodes to get through the modest amount of the main storyline that actually got adapted here. Honestly, that’s one of the worst parts about this production: it has no respect for your time or attention. The whole bloody production just feels so self-indulgent and half-assed, simultaneously. The viewer can be presented with a beautiful, painted background of a quiet street or a train car at night, only to be hit with an extremely scuffed action scene moments later.
>>>>>Sitting down after a few days and watching some properly directed, well-animated anime really made me realize just how messy this production really was. Things just happen in Regios; there’s no explanation, no build-up, no payoff, and absolutely zero thought put into the direction of most scenes. When a hit lands during a fight, it just does; at no point can the viewer tell who is winning or why; only that somebody probably is and if Layfon is involved he’s probably the one doing the winning. It’s exactly the kind of lazy fight choreography that drives action junkies like myself completely ballistic. A weapon gets knocked out of someone’s hand and in the next scene they’ve apparently fought off their opponent and retrieved it; entirely offscreen. I really wish I could sit those three incompetent directors down and show them what good fight scenes actually look like.

>>>>>If not for episodes eight through ten, this production would be entirely appalling. At least the viewer gets treated to one decent story arc of Chrome Shelled Regios. Unsurprisingly, that particular arc is completely different from the rest of the show; it’s almost devoid of all the major direction errors, so the viewer actually gets treated to some good dialogue scenes and interesting locales. The handful of good episodes really put the rest of the production into perspective, and more importantly prove that the studio genuinely could have done a lot better.


OVERALL [ 5 / 10 ]
- Good visuals hide a dark secret: the plot is absolutely terrible.
- Has an encyclopedia's worth of side stories that contribute nothing to the plot.
- The plot is difficult to follow even for attentive viewers.
- Worldbuilding is bare bones.
- Almost nothing is explained in any capacity.
- Incredibly messy, hectic script with zero regard for continuity.
- Terrible direction overall.
- Abysmal, chaotic, almost intolerably bad pacing.
- Unimpressive fights.
- Decent main cast of characters.
- Inconsistent characterization.
- Excellent english dub.
- Banger OST.
- Far too many side characters.
- One of the weirdest anime ever to exist; for better or worse.

For recommendations, look to Crest of the Stars for sci-fi with excellent world building and characters, Fate/Zero if you’re interested in fantasy anime with a crazy twisting narrative, and Heroic Age for a solidly written sci-fi with a complex and fascinating world and plot.
Pretty much any anime with complex, intricate writing will entertain fans of Regios. It can be difficult to differentiate between sci-fi anime, however, so I will tag all the sci-fi I’ve seen on my list and wish you good luck from there, as always.

Demon King Daimao
Completed March 2023
TV, 12 episodes, dubbed
Not Recommended

>>>>>Let’s make this one quick, seeing as we both have better things to do than waste any more time on this extremely budget anime. It passed the three episode test, albeit barely, so I felt the need to power through and finish it to see if it goes anywhere. Yeah...

It doesn’t.


... VISUALS [ 3 / 10 ]

>>>>>While I was never personally offended by Daimao’s presentation, I was disappointed; often. The two major letdowns were the character designs and the fight scenes. Both were barely animated, consistently. While being budget doesn’t necessarily ruin a show, it does make it noticeably worse than it otherwise would have been; in the case of something like Daimao, massively so.
>>>>>Ecchi isn’t a genre known for its intelligence; quite the opposite, in fact. So when the viewer is presented with something that is neither eye candy nor food for thought, it kinda kills the anime before it even starts. Characters are off-model so often it’s hard to tell what they’re supposed to really look like. I used the OP for reference, and even then I was mildly disturbed at just how often someone was drawn either badly or outright wrong. A shame, really, as Daimao could have managed to look passable at the very least, going by the handful of good scenes that do exist.

SOUND [ 6 / 10 ]

>>>>>Another case of good voice actors being forced to run with a bad script. For a few of the later episodes, there practically was no script: the english VA’s were basically just reading direct translations off a used gas station napkin and praying the editors could clean it up in post; they couldn’t, of course. I don’t imagine the sub is much better, but at the very least I doubt they had to scrounge around in translation notes looking for usable words.
>>>>>All that said, the cast themselves were actually decent and the score was inoffensive. Decent song choice for the OP, which was weirdly better than anything else in the entire production. I still can’t believe that talented voice actors were wasted for multiple episodes in a row... but just judging the quality, it’s far above average when the scriptwriters actually decided to show up that morning.

SETTING AND PLOT [ 2 / 10 ]

>>>>>Welcome back to Generic Not-Really-Magical City, Japan. If not for a couple interesting dungeon locales featured in some of the middle episodes, this would have easily achieved absolute failure. The background artists knew how to set the tone, at the very least. That’s about as much credit as I can give them, given the extreme lack of originality, creativity, ingenuity... anything that makes a light novel adaptation palatable, really.

>>>>>The plot is your standard run-of-the-mill Deepest Darkest Web of Light Novel Conspiracies. In normal english, a convoluted mess of loose plot threads that tries to batter you with so many random side plots and pointless side characters that you get lost and confuse the writing for something actually deep and well thought out.
>>>>>With more effort from both the original author and studio Artland, something decently written seems possible. As you likely guessed, this isn’t it. The plot just kind of jumps around, throwing in random episodes dedicated to one particular character or just outright filler. Almost nothing of worth actually happens, and when it does it’s either at the beginning or the end of the viewing experience. Daimao could have been a comfy, goofy little OVA with better planning and far fewer episodes. Sadly, it was greenlit for a full twelve episode TV anime run. If this anime was toast, the butter would be stretched so thin you’d just be eating bread. What a nightmare.

CHARACTERS [ 5 / 10 ]

>>>>>For everything bad about this anime, at the very least the main cast isn’t a total trainwreck. About half the harem, including the demon king Akuto Sai himself are actually quite likable. These characters may not be well-written but at the very least they seem like alright versions of the archetypal cliche anime tropes every viewer is familiar with.
>>>>>Main guy Akuto actually has some decent motivations and really is just a standup kind of guy, which is nice to see in a genre plagued by sad, miserable helpless loser protagonists with no identity. If you’re the kind of viewer that likes deadpan loli characters, there’s a decent one here in the form of Korone, though I don’t think you should sit through this hot mess of an anime just for one side character. Everyone else is either one dimensional or zero dimensional; as in, the character does not in any way deviate from their tv tropes page. Wonderful. How did I even get here? Ah right, a power outage. Moving on.

PACING AND PRODUCTION [ 1 / 10 ]

>>>>>It would be quicker and easier to just beat your screen to death with a rock than it would be to sit through an episode of this godforsaken anime. The pacing moves at such a painfully slow crawl that at times you’ll be wondering if the animators just fell asleep at the keyboard, or if your friends are alright, or what the weather is like tomorrow; then you’ll snap back to reality and the same boring scene is still playing at the same boring locale. Then you’ll sit quietly for a moment wondering what the hell you’re doing with your life; maybe even get up and make yourself a sandwich. That is the true Daimao experience; and it is truly an unpleasant one.
>>>>>When the show isn’t wasting your time with elongated, nothing dialogue scenes, it’s aggressively cliche. When it’s not cliche, it’s disappointing you with a poorly animated action sequence. Sadly, there are few redeeming factors anywhere in this anime. It’s easy to see why studio Artland went bankrupt; it was undoubtedly lackluster productions such as this one. What a sorry state of affairs.

[ Analysis section redacted due to spoilers ]

OVERALL [ 3 / 10 ]
- Visuals are painfully budget.
- Characters are often off-model and rarely drawn well.
- Fight scenes are poorly done as well.
- English VA’s were good.
- The script ranged from terrible to nonexistent.
- Setting is almost completely barren.
- Plot is messy with many loose ends.
- Characters are a mixed bag; some likable, some not.
- Peter is best girl. Korone is second.
- Pacing and production were both appalling.
- Writing was so generic you could sell it on a shelf at Walmart.


For recommendations, you’re mainly looking at Campione, which is more or less leading the charge for good ecchi harem anime. Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar is another solid recommendation. Everyone will send you in the general direction of High School DxD, which you’ve probably already seen. In all honesty, it’s hard to recommend good fan service shows because there are so few of them. As always, good luck with your animu.

- The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project -
The Twelve Kingdoms
Watched October 2022, dubbed

Obscurity and age are likely the two main factors for an anime being seen at all, by anyone. For those of us who brave the rough, blurry waters of standard definition 4:3 anime, however, there are great treasures to be found; even in the depths of obscurity.
Maybe I took that treasure hunting metaphor too far; then again, maybe not seeing as the Twelve Kingdoms is shamefully obscure in spite of being damn impressive across the board. Seriously, there aren’t many anime longer than twenty-four episodes I can ... manage to slog through at all, so that says a lot right there. Are there pacing issues? Absolutely. Are the issues so bad that they harm the overall viewing experience? For the most part, no, actually! And believe me, that was a pleasant surprise.

I expected a decent, straight-laced fantasy animu after watching the first few episodes. What I actually got was a phenomenally directed, multi-arc epic starring some of the best-written characters I’ve seen anywhere. No doubt the character writing alone carried the Twelve Kingdoms for many viewers. In my case, I was enamored by the halfway point and found myself thoroughly impressed by the end.

As is often the case with well-made anime, the artstyle presented here is unique and shows high attention to detail, with decidedly less anime-style character designs. Instead the viewer is treated to richly colored hand-drawn animation with grounded, fairly realistic character designs. World building is so impressive and visually stunning at times that I legitimately got lost in one of the kingdoms and stopped paying attention to reality. That’s unusual for me, and speaks volumes to the quality of the world building; artwork, writing and all. Finally, a glorious high fantasy soundtrack ties up the whole package nicely, as if it is a gift from the world sent to you personally.

I will spoil nothing, other than to say that I am thoroughly satisfied with how Twelve Kingdoms plays with its setting to set up some wicked story arcs and character motivations.

Twelve Kingdoms reminds me a lot of Scrapped Princess, with a more grounded overall narrative and worldbuilding style. The anime on the whole is really about forming connections with other people and overcoming your faults in an honest and open kind of way. Thankfully, the viewer is shown all of this, and never hammered over the head with expository dialogue or sloppy, highly questionable storytelling shortcuts. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to let the viewer come to their own conclusions instead of trying to inform them of what their opinion should have been.

There are really only a handful of issues keeping this show from a glorious ten out of ten. While there are no standout problems, there are many small, fairly insignificant issues that add up, especially towards the end of the anime. Budget frames here and there, a couple recap episodes that sneak a few new scenes in, and of course the studio struggling to balance the screen time between the many, many characters. No definitive ending, either, but at least the anime wraps up nicely.


Yup, the Twelve Kingdoms is an excellent, if admittedly dialogue-heavy fantasy anime that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy, regardless of age or experience. The high points are soaring and the low points cut purposefully deep. I can’t ask for much more than that.


For recommendations, well, good luck! Twelve Kingdoms is highly original, which makes sending viewers to similar anime fairly difficult. I’m gonna start with a sci-fi show actually: none other than Space Battleship Yamato 2199, a recent favorite of mine. It’s got a narrative of similarly epic proportions. Next up is the venerable Made in Abyss, a fantasy adventure anime with an equally original and fascinating world. Mushi Shi is equally, if not even more, unique and fantastical, so if you haven’t seen it yet, go do that. Finally, this section would not be complete without Log Horizon, which shares many themes and powerful worldbuilding elements with the Twelve Kingdoms. Good luck, sailor, and may the obscure anime winds favor ye!

The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project:

The Orbital Children
Completed September 2022
ONA, 6 episodes
Recommended

The red ‘N’ of doom… doesn’t strike again? Well, that’s a pleasant surprise! For once netflix funded an anime that doesn’t suck.

Orbital Children is an interesting little six episode anime with a shocking amount to say in its movie-length runtime. Well, supposedly the show was originally released as a two part movie in Japan, which makes perfect sense given the pacing and structure of the anime. As such, I advise finishing this ONA in two sittings as was intended. I didn’t, but it’s probably a good idea so the ... pacing doesn’t get butchered any harder than it already has been.
Anyone who views this show will immediately draw parallels between Orbital Children and every other big budget anime film released in the last decade; the structure is similar and the pacing is once again slow and barely passable. The narrative is acceptable but nothing special and does indeed contain a few minor plotholes. Characters would be okay as side characters but aren’t nearly developed enough to be good lead C’s. All in all the whole production side of things seems pretty mediocre.

That is where the similarities start to dry up, however. Orbital Children is ridiculously well animated at certain parts. Even when the scene is more about the spectacle than the animation it is still impressive. Animation and direction would get near-perfect marks if not for the scuffed budget CG used at times. Rarely does it look like it belongs and even more rarely does it look acceptably good. It’s a shame but by no means does it ruin the whole anime.
Overall this film (chopped up into an ONA) is easily recommended to viewers who like spectacle above all else. It is a visual medium, after all, and in that regard this anime is certainly a success. Orbital Children is a much harder sell to viewers who prefer well-written, well-executed anime productions. For those individuals, maybe give it the first episode to grab you or not.
Personally I appreciated the interesting themes and duct-tape-and-spit world building, but would have liked the script to be more polished to better match the sweet visuals.

For recommendations, well, that’s a pretty tough shot since the themes are so unique in Orbital Children. High-level feature length anime films are probably a good start if you haven’t seen them already. For everyone else, Knights of Sidonia will likely be a good watch, if you can tolerate CG anime. The world building is decent in that show and it doesn’t fall into the same pitfalls with its writing and pacing. For a grittier cyberpunk take, go for Psycho Pass season 1. It’s a damn good anime all around. Finally, taking a step in a different direction, mecha fans should try Break Blade, six episode OVA version. It’s a long time favorite of mine and the world building is similar but kicks things up a notch. Good hunting, you netflix-anime-viewing maniacs.

The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project:

Cagaster of an Insect Cage
ONA, 12 episodes, dubbed
May 2022
Not Recommended

Ah yes, the red ‘N’ of doom strikes yet again with Cagaster of an Insect Cage, a 3D anime adaptation that tries desperately to compete with other sci-fi anime titles. You already know from the rating that this show ultimately failed to make it to even baseline quality; allow me to elaborate.

The limitations of budget 3D animation are all too apparent in all of these 3D anime; in this case, tragically so. Cagaster actually looks surprisingly good at times. Some of the character models aren’t ... bad, about on par with JRPG characters from the 2010’s scaled up to HD. But like every 3D title I’ve seen thus far, the budgeting goes too far and you get choppy animations and poor visual effects. Occasionally an action sequence looked good, but far too rarely to really help the show.

In Cagaster’s case, it’s particularly sad because some of the staff that worked on this show are legitimately talented. The direction overall is surprisingly solid, with decent pacing within individual episodes as well. Everything else was sub-par except for maybe the english dub performance, which was acceptable.

It’s hard to tell if the manga has the same issues in its narrative, or if the numerous weird little writing issues are from the adaptation. Regardless, while there weren’t any particularly serious issues with the plot, there were a concerning number of small writing errors everywhere. Inconsistent characterization, mild edginess throughout, a lack of proper character development for main guy and an over-reliance on generic sci-fi character motivations all plague the script of this anime.

I genuinely like the concept here, even including most of the characters. The execution, which is always key, was lacking for this one, big time. There was legitimate potential for a decent anime here, but between the excessive budgeting and the messy writing, there’s just no recommending this rather interesting but flawed apocalyptic sci-fi to anyone. The manga, perhaps, may have some merit.

Directing you to some better apocalyptic anime is actually rather tricky, as I haven’t seen many good ones. If you like chaos, apocalyptic scenarios and fan service, go for my favorite anime called Highschool of the Dead. Gosick is a mystery thriller that, while not in quite the same vein, is similarly structured and also has an excellent, complex narrative. Soul Eater is a high fantasy anime, but if you want a strong narrative with strong lead characters you might consider that one.

I’m basically just throwing darts at a board here, since the only anime I’ve seen that was similar to this one was none other than Guilty Crown, a show I personally didn’t care for. You can still try it if you’re brave. As always, good luck with your animu.

[ The following review previously contained spoilers. They have since been edited out. ]
The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project:
- Btooom!
- Watched March 2022
- TV, 12 episodes, subbed
- Recommended (just barely)

What a journey this was. It’s been years since the last time I watched Btooom, and coming back to it was both pleasantly nostalgic and intellectually distressing. Can’t say I’ve ever had a rewatch go quite like this.

Watching Btooom for the third time for review/analysis purposes was a much greater undertaking than I could have ever predicted. I forgot some of the most egregious issues with the show and in essence, ... had rose-tinted nostalgia goggles on prior to this viewing.

Let me make one thing abundantly clear: many aspects of this anime’s production are amateur at best and insufferable at worst. I had completely lost it by the end, crying out in ironic laughter because I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Yes, it was so bad it came back around to being good, but that does not excuse the dumb anime bullshit on screen at the time. I’ll elaborate further in the spoiler section.

To begin, let me explain the surface details of the rather odd anime production that is Btooom. Visually the show is wildly inconsistent, ranging from good hand-drawn animation and good environmental detail to blatantly budgeted everything. Shot composition is below average most of the time, with a few notable exceptions in the anime’s better scenes. Overall the visual elements are barely passable, reaching some pretty epic low points as well as some moments of decent production.

Action scenes are all over the place, too. Many are decent or even good, others are just flat out bad and anticlimactic. These scenes are where the budget went though, and you can tell because suddenly Btooom starts looking really damn good. Nothing super standout here, but plenty of enjoyable moments with good animation and crazy mind games. I like most of the action in Btooom.

Also worth mentioning is the art style, specifically the character designs: they are excellent and in particular the way characters’ faces are drawn is interesting. In this show characters are decidedly less anime than usual, with smaller eyes and more realistic body proportions. It’s a good style that feels right at home in a gritty action anime. I am uncertain if this style was inherited from the manga, but I hope so; that gives the manga some appeal based on artwork alone.

Plot-wise, Btooom is above average, thankfully. The source material gives a good impression when viewed through this adaptation. Story beats are pretty good, characters are well-written overall, and the premise is strong enough to make for a compelling narrative. The anime’s best moments are the ones undoubtedly ripped straight from the manga. Much of the characterization in Btooom hits home, with moody, sublimely lit flashbacks conveying the defining moments of characters’ lives. Well-written internal monologue helps fill in the gaps for the audience, with key moments being greatly enhanced by this feature.

Unfortunately, decent source material is not enough to save a troubled production, which this anime undoubtedly had. Both main protagonists are inconsistent throughout the show, especially for the latter half of the anime. By the end it had become a running gag for me that main guy legitimately had brain damage due to head trauma. People just keep trying to kill him and he just keeps on refusing to kill them. It’s a bit of good guy syndrome, and I didn’t care for it at all. None of this broke his character for me, but I can see the inconsistent character writing driving more observant viewers completely nuts.

Main girl is no better. She makes a couple of questionable calls, does a bad job of having her partner’s back at times, and just generally is less than reasonable for most of the show. Our blonde heroine is a tsundere, too, but I do have to give credit to her being one of the better written tsunderes I’ve seen. She stays pissy for too long in my opinion but overall she is likable. Several of her moments are excellent, with good writing and character motivations. I appreciated the nuance to her character; she struggles a lot with her own demons, in a way that is believable. More on her, later.

Finally, as a last note on the characters, a word of warning: there is some fan service in this show. It’s not frequent but it is pretty extreme, as well as some darker themes of sexual assault also being explored in the narrative. Btooom is often gritty as all hell, so if you are a sensitive viewer you should probably pass on this show entirely.

The bombs that give Btooom its name are a grievance as well. They’re called BIMs, and they are the most inconsistent weapons imaginable. For the most part they aren’t very powerful, with a few exceptions. Small blast radius and low lethality at distance means that these explosives only work well at point blank range. Due to the difficulty of securing a kill, most players suck at Btooom. I guess that’s better than having people constantly trade and end up killing each other, but it’s a bit odd and leads to a lot of near-miss moments.

Moving on to my biggest complaint with the entire anime; the pacing. As stated earlier, I had a hard time with this rewatch. I am sensitive to bad pacing, and wow are about half of the episodes in Btooom amazingly slow. The amount of material that Madhouse decided to adapt into anime was just not enough, and the viewer is reminded of this fact frequently. Many scenes are elongated far too much, with several dialogue scenes being hit particularly hard. It’s a shame, too, because the script isn’t bad; just everything else surrounding it.

Btooom can basically be summed up as an experiment; one that went wrong in several areas. The experiment was using a woman named Kotono Watanabe as the director for the show. This was her first ever role as director, according to MAL, and I fully believe it. Unsurprisingly this was also the last anime she ever directed, as of writing.

Far as I can tell, that was for the best. Most of the issues with Btooom can be traced back to the direction. It’s hard not to place most of the blame on Watanabe when she is the common element in so many of the show’s problems. From bizarre shot composition to incredibly poor pacing all throughout the animu, there are too many instances of questionable directing to not submit the novice director as the core problem; especially given that around this time Madhouse was putting out some phenomenal releases in a similar vein to Btooom. All signs point to success, which just makes it all the more tragic that we got a lukewarm adaptation of some decent source material.

Brace yourselves, because I am a fan of the narrative but I despise the directing and production of this show. Btooom had so many good elements; heck, to the novice viewer it was even good! But just like sword art online, as soon as you start paying attention to what’s actually happening it all just crumbles between your fingers like sand. The directing here is so damn bad that it makes the show almost irredeemable. Almost. I still like Btooom. I just couldn’t bear to give it a five, even after all I’ve seen.

Ho boy do you see some shit in this show, too. [redacted spoiler] This is not kid stuff. [redacted spoiler] Yeesh, talk about extreme. Nobody tried to burn down crunchyroll in twenty-twelve when this anime dropped, but if it dropped today it would be goblin slayer’s release all over again; likely even worse.

I am never bothered by these scenes; not when they’re well-written and thematically relevant. It’s only when the assault is pointless that it gets nasty, for me at least. I always try to warn sensitive viewers, ‘cause there are an awful lot of them watching anime these days, for some reason. I think the outcry is mostly just happening because it’s trending. I’ve never seen a sexual assault scene I thought was bad enough to be pulled from television. That said, this is some R-rated shit - which crunchyroll said nothing about, by the way. There are hate threads somewhere, I’m sure. I just hope they’re not hating the show for what crunchyroll should have a content warning about. Weird climate in the community these days.

Hopping off of my tangent there, I really need to point out Ryota’s inconsistent character. He is the protagonist and a pro Btooom player from the video game itself. This dude [redacted] and he seems out of it for the rest of the show, ‘til [redacted] him back to his senses. It really felt like that to me, and was a running gag by episode eleven.

The heroine is a different story. Himiko is good overall, but there are a few flaws in her character that should have been ironed out during the adaptation to anime. They weren’t; nothing is ironed out. In fact, the manga is undoubtedly better than the anime, and I would go as far as to say that everything good about the anime was probably copy-pasted straight from the manga. Not a good showing for the staff of this production; Kotono Watanabe in particular. If she was a competent director the show wouldn’t have most of the problems it does. Everything should have been cleared by her, as the director. The other major staff are to blame as well, since they could have pushed to do a better job. These are Madhouse guys; they know what they’re doing on an individual level. As a production team they’re an appalling mess, however.

Himiko is likable to me. She was really the highlight of the cast, due to her being the first tragic heroine I’ve seen in ages that I actually thought was well-written and justified in her brokenness. Her tsundere makes sense, and the original author clearly thought about her character a lot. She’s traumatized from [redacted paragraph]

Her struggle throughout the show is fairly well done. [redacted] It’s tragic but also beautiful to watch someone fight so hard to overcome their past and get better. [redacted]

Some side characters are a bit cliche. Doesn’t really matter much though, since their time on screen is very limited. Taira is well done all the way to the end. He represents what a bad situation can do to a good person, and all of his character moments hit home.

The original author did have some trouble writing the narrative as a whole, however. The observant viewer can tell that the manga was written without a plan; in other words, without outlining the whole narrative in advance like an author should. Characters only enter the scene when they are relevant to current events; not as naturally as they could be introduced. There are a few flashback scenes later in the show that are awkwardly placed in the narrative, and would have made sense far earlier. Nothing terrible, but I did notice I was only being clued in at the last possible moment. It happened several times, during the final arc of the show. This, combined with the pacing, made for a rough viewing most of the time.

A notable issue with the writing itself is in the world building, specifically regarding [redacted paragraph]

[redacted paragraph] [ To read the full unedited review, please visit my profile. Otherwise, just be aware that this version of the review is incomplete.]

By now you’re getting the picture; Btooom is all over the place. It looks good for some action scenes, and looks terrible whenever the production team thought they could get away with it. Character writing is strong overall but inconsistent moment to moment. Both protags make bad decisions a couple of times each, which should have been avoided by the narrative since most of the time they’re not idiots. Ryo gets lucky too many times. There’s even a minor plothole in the form of [redacted]. All in all this is the most ‘read the manga’ anime I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t have a proper ending, and unbelievably they even set it up hoping for a season two. Not enough effort, guys. It wasn’t gonna happen.

Speaking of the ending; it was mostly good but ultimately got soured by the worst directing I’ve ever seen. Watanabe and crew made some bad calls up to this point. Ryo had an unexpectedly good monologue; too bad it was soured by erratic, shitty directing. Several earlier scenes were just flat out uncreative and low effort. But what happens during the ending takes the cake.

[redacted paragraph]

This finally broke it for me. I started crying out, first in disbelief but ultimately in laughter. It was just too stupid for my critical mind to handle. Watanabe just couldn’t let me get away without finally outright ruining a scene for me, and ultimately, the entire adaptation.


There’s so much to like about Btooom. I still like it, even after all that. I do still recommend this show, but only to those who know what they’re getting into. This adaptation ain’t great. It’s troubled by frequent budget animation, bad directing and poor pacing. The high points are enjoyable; the lows are inversely just as terrible. If you are willing to give it a shot and aren’t afraid of sexual assault in fiction, give Btooom three episodes and see what you make of it.

For recommendations, well, there aren’t a lot of good death games in anime. Go watch the first 26 episodes or so of Death Note, if you haven’t already. It’s less action and more thriller, but if you like death games you’ll probably enjoy it. Basilisk is a solid death game featuring two shinobi clans. Bokurano is a thriller with a hell of a twist that fans of death games will likely appreciate. Danganronpa and Gosick are both mystery thrillers, but if you enjoy tension and mind games in your anime these two will likely be enjoyable. If you still need more recommendations, go to my profile, click anime list, then click on the ‘thriller’ tag on anything I mentioned and it’ll show you every thriller I’ve seen. Good luck, especially if you’re a death game fan.

[ The following review previously contained spoilers. They have since been edited out. ]
The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project:
- B: The Beginning
- Completed December 2019
- ONA, 12 episodes, dubbed, only watched season 1
- Not Recommended

Terrible name, seriously. This is a netflix ‘original’ funded anime, which should be an early warning sign of its quality.

This particular studio did a good job with animation and shot composition, but everything else is ametuer at best. The plot is one of those B-grade anime you dream up at 2am. Pun intended.
...
B isn’t insultingly bad or anything; it’s just poorly written and has some weird pacing and transitions, especially shifting from the early phase into the meat of the show and then into the climax and ending. I’m gonna be blunt here and admit I called every turn at least two episodes in advance, probably more. The show is trying to be a thriller, but the experienced viewer already knows the generic story structure these twelve episode animu go for. Without spoiling anything just yet, you can’t even call this a thriller. The writers just pull a couple minor bait-and-switches then follow it up with one of the classic anime villain tropes. This writing bad. It don’t challenge ape brain at all.

Finally, we have made it to the biggest and most ludicrous issue with this anime original budget burner: the plot armor. I cannot hammer this home enough. The main character in particular survives absolutely ridiculous shit, to the point where the opponent should have won. There are also several weird plotholes regarding this survivability, the big ridiculous final fight, various characters not exploiting weaknesses they should already have been aware of, and to top it all off, those weaknesses being incredibly inconsistent. The actual flow of the fights ranges from average to decent, with a few off camera angles thrown in there. The entire action side of B can just be summed up as ‘big stupid fight.’

God, everything other than the original soundtrack for this show was either a waste of talent or budget. First of all, this anime is simultaneously garishly eye-catching and generic as hell. Most of these character designs are almost shockingly forgettable. I don’t know who did these designs but the obviously talented staff should have gotten someone better. I can just blast out character designs that are better than basically anything in this show, and you probably can, too. All the subtle, seinen-style characterization for many of these characters is soured by their forgettable designs causing you to get them mixed up in your head. I watched this show in like three days. You can’t make this shit up.

Part of me thinks this anime is actually supposed to appeal to women. There are a lot of moments where the guys are being incredibly vain or just are straight up put in shitty situations that force them to play the hero regardless of their personal feelings on the matter. It’s not obvious to anyone who hasn’t seen a hundred anime, but this style of writing and directing is common in shoujo anime, where the girl has to just stand there and watch the guy do something violent and usually brutal in her defense.

It could just be a perspective thing with the directing style - like I said, it’s a subtle directing choice, but I really get that impression. There’s just this handsome japanese boy running around getting f_cked up for his girl - [redacted spoiler] and it’s just empty heroism. News flash dibshit writers; it ain’t heroism if it’s empty. At that point the protag is just taking what he wants. Even if he’s destined to win, you gotta make that win have merit. Obvious enough, I know, but these writers just don’t get that.

[redacted paragraph] [To read the full unedited review, please visit my profile. Otherwise, just be aware that this version of the review is incomplete.]

The show can’t even be properly edgy; it only ever goes halfway with it. [redacted spoiler], none of which was necessary to the narrative. The superhero approach is far better for this stuff, where they’re either super tough or just straight up invulnerable to bullets. Then even though the hero is tough, they’re not invincible and can be taken down with persistence. Nah, we got a bunch of wolverine ninjas flying around making zero damn sense.

Finally, as a last lesson on bad sci-fi plot writing, the pseudo-science. What on earth do random math equations and theoretical physics or whatever have to do with anything that happens in this show? Something, apparently. I guess this was the best the writers could do in depicting a genius. They gotta make no sense or it doesn’t count, right???

And we’ve made it to the end. There you have it; an honest review of B: the Beginning. As if all of this isn’t bad enough, the previews I’ve seen of season 2 are even worse. Needless to say I won’t be covering that one. You probably shouldn’t watch this show. I’ll admit this was a decent palette cleanser when I watched it, since it looked good but was bad in every other way. I just sat there and vegged out for three evenings. Seven outta ten on MAL apparently. Cya in the next one.

[ This review previously contained spoilers. They have since been edited out. ]
The following is an excerpt from the Deep Dive project:
- STRAIN: Strategic Armored Infantry
- Completed February 13, 2021
- TV, 13 episodes, dubbed
- Not Recommended

Wow, that was amazingly, painfully average. Honestly, it was below average. How do I even begin to break down the weird-ass anime I just finished?

Well, for starters the writing is all around terrible. This was like a weird mecha adaptation of Black Bullet, only slightly less edgy and way less interesting. What first seemed like an odd, sibling-oriented hardcore drama turned into some kind of bad acid trip ... or something. ‘Woah dude, there’s all these trails of light smacking into each other all violent-like. And woooah dude, they’re weird robots. Radical. Totally radical.’ And like a bad trip, it spiraled out control into a total mess of themes and plot holes. Ugh, and trite writing. So much of that.

STRAIN is a sci-fi mecha anime that has far too much to say and nowhere near enough time or manpower to achieve it. Can I even call this a mecha anime? The fights are so damn bad: barely animated, barely choreographed, and most importantly, barely ever f_cking there! These mechs are in CGI for god’s sake, and yet even after such aggressive budgeting there’s still so little battle time. I doubt every fight scene compiled together even makes it past the ten minute mark - in a thirteen episode anime. Barely mecha. Anyway, this show is a mess. It’s got so many themes that all feel kinda weird in an anime of this genre, and it doesn’t really get anywhere with any of them. More on that later.

I have very little in the way of positive feedback regarding this show. The studio that did STRAIN is really talented in all non-CG animation. Top tier, expressive animations for these characters, even if the designs themselves are nothing special. Really liked all the artists that worked on this. It’s just a shame that all that talent and effort went to... this. At least the out of suit scenes are all animated well and pretty to look at. Well, most of them. I’m gonna quit while I’m ahead in terms of positivity.

[redacted] Don’t watch it. Me and my morbid curiosity already did that for you.

I have, in an afternoon, daydreamed up storylines that were leagues better than what STRAIN’s got. I have no idea how this script got cleared, or how this entire production even got greenlit. This studio couldn’t handle animating these complicated-ass mechs and it's obvious. There are approximately four types of mecha here, with the last one being on screen for like ten seconds. Every fight is either a spin followed by a bunch of explosions or two mechs doing passes at each other to no effect. I’m not even sure how these strain thingies even work. I know there’s stabbing involved and that’s about as much as I could decipher.

[ Two paragraphs redacted from the original review, due to spoiler content. To read the full unedited review, visit my profile. Otherwise, just be aware that this section is incomplete in its current state. ]

There’s no denying it; if Sara was better written she would have been a great protagonist. Unfortunately following a horribly traumatized girl for thirteen episodes is emotionally exhausting. No amount of ‘Hey, look at this cute expression’ could make me forget that one scene. The one where she just stops caring and [ redacted spoiler ]. Sara is so f_cked in the head she won’t even keep herself alive long enough to achieve her goals; and for basically all of the show, at that. I had to emotionally check out just to tolerate her character most of the time. Sara is like a beautiful flower with no scent whatsoever. You get there, you see the flower, breathe it in, feel nothing and then wonder what the bloody point was. All of her development is at the very end of the show, all at once, and with none of the emotional buildup or payout. They botched their cute female protag, basically.

Seriously, screw STRAIN with its dumb acronym and complete lack of substance. If any of this sounded even remotely good, go watch Gundam SEED. It’s like a much better version of this, with actual fights and mech animations. In fact, just go watch mainline gundam in general. Majestic Prince is another uniquely executed mecha sci-fi. It’s not amazing but it’s decent if you’re looking for sci-fi animu to watch. As for a mecha that has actual deep themes and not the mess described above, everything mentioned as well as Break Blade, one of my top ten anime ever. The six episode OVA run is the way to go there. If you’re brave you can also try Knights of Sidonia. It’s a 3D netflix mecha anime. I quite like it personally but be aware that Sidonia is very divisive in the anime community. Alright, enough of this review. I’m gonna go get some sleep and then watch something far better when I wake up.
( Editor’s note: Knights of Sidonia now lives on Crunchyroll. )

- This Review Contains Spoilers -
Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions

Grimgar. Is it good, is it bad, is it just ok? For starters, this is one of those ‘transported to another world’ shows. This one is quite unique, however. Chances are high that you’re interested, so read on if the idea of a dark fantasy/video game world show doesn’t immediately turn you off.

VISUALS [ 8/10 ]

If you’ve ever imagined what modern anime would look like in its final form, say hello to Grimgar. The art direction presented here is mostly unspecial, character designs are hit or miss, and the overall style isn’t anything you haven’t seen ... ten times before. What is unique is how far the animators run with it. Grimgar is a damn good looking show - no criticism whatsoever of the talent that brought this show to life. That said, that talent goes to waste on unimpressive character designs, particularly in the clothing. Armor and weapon designs alike are neglected heavily in this show, and the soft, unimposed designs conflict with the incredible talent of their animators, moreover. The characters themselves, while not particularly standout, work well with the narrative. These are trainee soldiers, not heroes tearing it up on the main battlefield.
Here’s where most of the points come from - the background art. Grimgar has some serious world building, with very much impressive watercolor and pastel artwork backing up every scene. Grimgar is one seriously beautiful place, with moody, vivid colors and soft, organic lines guiding your eyes all around the screen. If you can tolerate the show’s shortcomings, the beautiful still artwork alone is worth your time.
Also notable are fights, which so often get neglected by critics of the show. Fight scenes are solid, and have a natural, breathing motion about them that less talented animators and directors couldn’t pull off. Every action flows into the next, with very little padding for idle chit chat. While they’re not the best fights I’ve seen, we are certainly presented with competent and well choreographed scenes that action junkies like myself should enjoy without issue.

SETTING [ 9/10 ]

World building and atmosphere are the two reasons you’re watching this show, and if they aren’t now, they will be later. By the time its finished, Grimgar feels so fleshed out that it’s as if you’ve actually been there. All of it is communicated visually as well, although the first couple of episodes try to explain a bunch of exposition to you anyways.
Rustic scenery dominates most of the screentime, with several other adventuring environments featured over time. You’ll wish this was a video game by the end of show, just so you could soak in all the scenery at your leisure. Characterization of side characters is mostly good, too, which is a nice touch to an already fantastic setting. Dark fantasy fans will have a good time with this show, no doubt.

PLOT [ 7/10 ]

The tale being presented here isn’t bad at all, but nor is it particularly memorable. A lot of the screen time in Grimgar is spent on the background art alone. No complaints here, but that does leave less time for plot progression, and in a 12 episode show, that’s a big hit. With only three story arcs, memorable moments are few and far between. Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions is one of those ‘It’s about the journey, and not the destination’ shows, so come into it mentally prepared for a slow build up to one of the main events.
What we’re presented with here is pretty much a generic rags to riches story, with lots of melodrama to shake things up during the less action-packed moments. For better or worse, this anime is a pretty accurate depiction of a bunch of teenagers running around with very little in the way of reasonable advice. These scenes can be pretty hit or miss, as the quips exchanged between characters, however believable, are frequently annoying.
Broadly speaking the story is surprisingly well written. That said, it’s not for everyone. There are several unexplained plot points, and a couple of minor plot holes at the very beginning. Grimgar is very much a ‘Go read the novels’ anime. There are the three story arcs and then that’s it - you’re done. Like many shows of its type, there’s no definitive ending this time either.

CHARACTERS [ 8/10 ]

On the surface what appears insignificant is sometimes much more when observed under a lens. In the case of Grimgar, the character designs pale in comparison to the beautiful watercolor artwork that takes up most of the screen. To my surprise, not only is the character writing decent, but the designs also turned out to fit into the story pretty well by the end.
For starters, we have Haruhiro. This sonovagun looks like a harem protagonist who woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Moreover, he is actually made fun of for this reason - a nice little touch of self awareness on behalf of the show. Next up is Manato, who comes off as the mature college student of the group. He’s an appreciative and all around nice guy, and ends up taking the leadership role. Ranta is the hothead, who completely lacks any sociability and instead clashes with others as much as humanly possible. I found him particularly annoying, but that’s probably just from personal experience. Last of the bros is Moguzo, the gentle giant and artisan of the group. His characterization is some of the best in the show, although I suppose it had to be, given that he doesn’t get enough screen time.
On to the ladies. Yume is the warm hearted and lovable idiot of the group. For me she was endearing and sweet, if a little lacking in common sense. Some of you might find a splash of autism in there, though, so be aware of her low mental capacity in advance. Next we have Shihoru, who is the shy, gentle girl that see from time to time in anime. She also has the D cup that comes standard with seemly every anime, and wears form-fitting clothing. This is my biggest complaint regarding the main cast. Her clothing makes no sense, given her extreme modesty. Hopefully your suspension of disbelief isn’t strained like mine was. Other than that, Shihoru honestly comes off as a fairly boring, if admittedly cute, character. You will either be inspired by her determination, or you won’t care at all. Finally we have Marie, who shows up later on. She’s a no-nonsense hardass who seems cold and uncaring at first. Thankfully she warms up over time and isn’t a total bitch forever. She’s also the most important character thematically, as her story is both plot relevant and deeply interesting.
As good as the writing in this show is, I’m conflicted. I like the show more for its characterization than I do for the actual characters themselves. Everybody has their moments, but I honestly can’t say I really like any one character notably more the others. The most interesting part is watching them all interact, in a character study sort of way. Individually they’re all just people, like any other volunteer soldiers or hunters you might find in the world of Grimgar. When you group them all together, on the other hand, suddenly you have the makings a pretty good cast.

PACING AND PRODUCTION [ 6/10 ]

As someone very sensitive to pacing, this was by far the worst part of the show. Contained within individual episodes, the pacing is fine. However, the series as a whole is very rough around the edges. The pacing seems to change nearly every episode, as if the production team was trying all sorts of different speeds but never found their stride.
There are also several moments where the overall production took a noticeable dip. Most of the time you won’t notice these brief budget dips, but in a show like Grimgar, where the artwork is half the appeal, you most certainly notice when the show is suddenly barely animated.
Sadly, just like many other shows by A1 Pictures, Grimgar has the same issues. The show as a whole feels like it was cobbled together by many many different hands, rather than by a unified team. Beautiful still art in the OP and ED contrasts poorly with the not nearly as impressive animation. Some scenes are just straight up better than others, and even dialogue has peaks and valleys, with some conversations coming off as deep and meaningful, while others, the super depressing scenes in particular, seem like more of a step back in quality. While nothing you’ll find here strikes a particularly harsh blow to the overall viewing experience, all these minor issues add up and it starts to feel like a lot of opportunities were wasted here that could have been used to make Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions a nine out of ten instead of a seven.
Briefly, the score - I don’t remember it at all, so it was neither bad nor good. At the very least, the music was fitting and didn’t intrude on my viewing experience.

Everything Else
Personal Score [ 8/10 ]

This was definitely a show that pleasantly surprised me. We’ve arrived at the spoiler section of the review, so if you’re still reading after all that, go watch the show. For better or worse it’ll be a good watch for you.
First topic that needs addressing: the genre that Grimgar is a part of. This was supposed to be an isekai show. Not sure if I’m spelling that correctly, but that’s weeb for ‘transported to another world’ show. Yeeeah, about that... Grimgar has almost none of those elements. There’s a mysterious “Oh no, we’ve somehow been transported here” subplot throughout the show, but it’s never elaborated on and ends up being a bit of an open ended plothole by the end of the show. I imagine that this all made sense in the novel, and that it just got screwed up in production. And that is but one of Grimgar’s many quirks. Taking into account all the other weird quirks, like the ridiculously good still art, the hyper dramatic ‘cry porn’ scenes and the unexpectedly good action, and this is one of the most memorable anime I’ve ever seen to date.
Having seen both dubbed and subbed versions of the show, I can safely say that the FUNimation dub is quite a bit better. This is mainly because the japanese cast gave a pretty mediocre performance. Neither is bad though, so don’t worry if you don’t have access to the dub.
Also notable are the previously mentioned cry porn scenes. There are several moments in Grimgar that can only be described as soul-crushingly depressing. These are the scenes that play up the drama to eleven, and were emotionally painful even the second time through. To the show’s credit, these weren’t necessarily unrealistic or bad portrayals of tragedy: they were just extremely painful to watch. Be prepared for maximum human drama, but don’t worry - these scenes are few and far between and didn’t break the show for me by any stretch.
The reason to watch Grimgar is for the intrigue. If you don’t like pretty artwork then this anime might not do it for you, but it’s worth watching because of just how unique it really is. I personally really enjoyed the show for the most part, although it definitely has its flaws, hence the lower score. I’d say this is a great show for new anime fans. Grimgar has a little bit of everything, and gives you something else to look at if you’re not super interested in the plot. Don’t let Grimgar’s black sheep reputation stop you from watching, because you just might find yourself rooting for the underdog. So yeah, pass this one around. That’s about all I’ve got to say, so onwards to the final score.

OVERALL [ 7/10 ]
TL;DR-
-Impressive visuals and awe-inspiring background art
-Realistic, if a bit annoying, dialogue
-Superb world building
-Interesting cast
-Rough overall pacing
-Occasional budget drops
-Character designs aren’t memorable
-Good action scenes
-Multiple minor plotholes
-No real ending
-Unique experience compared to others of its genre

For alternate recommendations, any good looking anime will do. Grimgar is similar to most of the great classic anime in that there’s not really anything else like it out there.
If you liked the show as a whole, try the original 1998 adaptation of Berserk if you haven’t seen it already. Other unique and awesome looking shows include Death Parade, Psycho-Pass (only season 1) and the Break Blade movies, just to name a few. If you don’t mind shows with lots of fanservice, Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar and Highschool of the Dead are both awesome. Finally, if you want to watch a good anime about video game worlds, you’ll find none better than Log Horizon.
Good luck with your anime and consider giving Grimgar a shot, eh?