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Dec 31, 2017
This is the Mass Effect 2 of the Kekkai Sensen series.
In the first season, we are introduced to our universe, its major players and the themes, both philosophical and phantasmagorical, that bind this series together. It's a wild ride, and it really gets at the heart of the human condition -- it's through fantasy that it makes its greatest statements about reality.
In this second season, the focus is on character development. Each of the important characters introduced in the first season is given an expose into what makes them tick -- the deeper issues that both differentiate them, and also bind them together as
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a team. The focus is not on Leonardo Watch this time, though he is still very much the MC of the series. Instead of following his life, which makes up the extensive bulk of the first seasons, we see him through the snippets of life he brings to /other/ characters' perspectives. I agree with the series creators -- Leonardo Watch is established well enough, now lets see how he fits into the lives of all the people he's touched.
If I had to guess, the next season will be the series conclusion. We have been given a glimpse into how Leonardo's sister will come into play, though I will leave out the details to keep this review spoiler free. If this is the series' Mass Effect 2, the next season will be its Mass Effect 3, and I think we can expect big things to happen. There is definitely something to be said for the Bioware formula, and though I'm sure any likeness to it in this series' structure are purely coincidental, I think we will most appreciate what this season has set up for us when it pays off in its entirety next season.
That's not to say that this season is purely build-up -- it has plenty of stand-alone strength. But I vehemently disagree with the assertion that this season feels like filler. I think that's a disservice to what is, in my estimation, a solid season. That all being said, the first season is stronger overall -- it's hard to beat the sucker punch that the first season laid down on the Spring and Summer of 2015, but that's no reason to give this season a low rating -- and I think that's reflected in this season's current ranking as the #358 anime season of all time (a position of potentially deceptive prestige on a list that spans more than ten thousand anime seasons to date.)
The bottom line is: it's well worth the watch. No pun intended
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 13, 2017
This anime is a miracle. It's an absolute phenomenon. Never before has there been such a tonally confused, unlikable, pretentious and yet completely superficial, amalgamation of inappropriate, clashing and frankly bizarre components in any media anywhere. This is a sprawling, choking, frankly apocalyptic, train wreck. I'm talking real Gog and Magog stuff here. Not one single thing works. Not one element is executed with a shred of care or dignity. Never have I felt so personally insignificant to a writing, animating or directing team than upon the completion of this anime.
Right, so, story time. Once upon a time, My Anime List had a rating called
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"unwatchable" that coincided with a numerical value of '1'. I had vowed never to assign a '1' to any anime that I'd watched to completion, because, simply by virtue of watching it, I had proven that it was not unwatchable. But this anime is so pernicious in its execution, so unforgivable in its conception, that it has granted to me an epiphany: something can also be considered unwatchable if you wish you could go back in time and unwatch the entire thing.
Where, where, where do I begin? The fact that literally eighty percent of the characters in this anime are not drawn ninety percent of the time? That backgrounds are routinely reused, and sometimes even entire clips deployed, sometimes when they don't even make sense? That there is absolutely no distinction, or care to make any kind of distinction obvious, between what is actually happening and what's just going on in some character's head? That this anime defies all classification? That one second it's Tokyo Ghoul, and the next it's Lucky Star, and other times it's Mekakucity, except in those moments when it's suddenly a fetish film, only those are actually decent expressions of their respective genres? It's as if there were fifteen writers in a room, and they had a dart throwing tournament every day to decide who would write which scene, and another dart throwing session to actually pick what would happen in each scene.
I can only presume that once this rabbit from a hat writing sequence was completed that it was passed on to the art team, who proceeded to literally just write 'go fuck yourself' over and over and over again in paint shop pro before handing it off to the animators who desperately tried to at least draw two of the relevant characters in each episode before sheepishly handing it to the dubbing team, who were also, it happens, the editing, aftereffects, and quality control team. That's how I imagine this process went, except that actually, no, all of the teams are literally just one person using multiple voices to make themself feel like they weren't being paid $10/hr over a twelve hour period to do literally everything.
No, but, in all seriousness, I would liken this to that group project you got in high school where maybe one person really tried, but everyone else half-assed their portion, and one guy didn't show up at all, before you were forced to nervously present your project without the powerpoint because someone saved it as a word file. Oops.
The characters are shallow. The motives make no sense. Plots are picked up and abandoned at a rate that can only be described as emotionally abusive. Nothing connects to anything. People know things they shouldn't, and are good at things just because the writers decided it would squeeze the story along. For instance, changing variables in an abstract mathematical equation allows you to, no joke, have god-like control over reality -- no, seriosuly, I'm not joking, and no, it's not a spoiler. For it to be a spoiler there would have to be some kind of coherent storyline to spoil -- there isn't. I watched this entire anime, maybe because I was so engrossed in the outrageousness of it all, maybe I was in shock, maybe I was hoping it would be comedic. But I watched it. And I have /zero/ clue what the first nine episodes were about. It seems like we /finally/ got to the story in episode 10, only to have it assassinated in the most unbelievably unceremonious way in episode 11.
And that's actually the most amazing thing about this anime. It does nothing, and I mean /nothing/ by the book. So please explain to me how this is somehow one of the most cliched, regurgitated, anovel conceptual traffic accident that has ever inserted itself into the confused pile of garbage that is B-rated, effortless anime? Oh, wait -- I know how. It's because this anime is actually an incredibly lazy hodge podge of anime tropes from other /successful/ anime series all smashed together in the hopes of making the most money for the least amount of effort (money.) For chrissakes, they literally leave over three-quarters of the characters depicted in the anime as silhouettes. Or mannequins! When it's trying to be art.
I mean, it could not be more obvious how little of a shit these producers gave about the viewer. They sat there, folded their hands over their knee, looked you straight in the eye and said "this is a pile of garbage, and you're going to eat it." Not one ounce of love or, my god, compassion -- mercy even -- was spared for this anime's creation. And here's something else that's bizarre -- because this anime is apparently part of a franchise, the characters all share their names with another series that is coming out right now called Trickster. But the characters have nothing to do with each other. They don't share personality traits, they don't share backstories, they don't share physical features -- nothing. Zilch. Nada. The main characters in the two stories (if I dare even try to parse out who might be a 'main character' in this mess) aren't even the same. There is literally no connection. No similar motifs. No suggestion that it even takes place in the same universe. Someone just decided that they would be connected. For no reason!
And if that wasn't bizarre enough, you might recall me mentioning that at times this anime is a fetish film. Yeah. I didn't say that to be flippant. Literally we are treated to not one, not two, but three different scenes where a chained up woman is inexplicably turned on past her tipping point by another character unironically and unemphatically telling her that he doesn't give a shit about her. In what tasteful flavor was this handled? She pissed herself in what can only be described as a hasty, poor, who actually gives a shit, euphemism for a spontaneous orgasm. Am I even allowed to bring up that that actually happened? Because it did. And I'm not sitting here knocking anyone's kink, but it did. not. work. It was out of no where. It had no build up. It had no point. It was as if one of the writers decided that he's into that, and, fuck it, no one gives a shit about this project anyhow, I'm writing it in. Or maybe it was put in out of pure contempt. I can not reconcile the disastrous state of this anime with the idea that any effort was actually, at any point, put into it.
And, I know this is nitpicking. I know it is. But they gave one of the main characters lime green highlights in his eyes. It's such a small thing, but it so poignantly demonstrates my point: there is not a pixel in this anime that wasn't in the wrong place. The mood of the scenes was confusing. Colors never worked. Every frame was busy, cluttered and utterly without any sense of balance or framing. CGI was just overlayed over computer animated backgrounds. Backgrounds literally disappeared when we were supposed to be in the character's heads (except that sometimes the things in their head turned out to be what actually happened [?!?]). And, God forgive me for even mentioning the name of this anime in a review for a piece of shit like this, but sometimes it just had that Madoka Magica animation style out of no where. Like, it looks like they literally ripped it out of one of the witch scenes If you're not familiar with the series, and don't mind spoilers, just watch any scene in Madoka Magica where there is a witch and you'll understand exactly what I mean.
Look. I'm not an art guy. I can tolerate some pretty egregious art mistakes. But the art and animation, like everything else screamed "we could not care less about how this turns out. It's anime; people will watch it no matter what we do." And that's what all of this really boils down to. It's lazy. It's insulting. It has no idea what it wants to do, and it has no problem wasting hours of your time figuring it out, only to realize it used up its entire season getting there and the only solution is to immediately kill the plot before you can muster the energy to care.
If you like bad anime, this has to be one of the greats. If you are entertained by such things as watching asteroids wipe out humanity, stars imploding at the end of their life cycles, and the inevitable heat death of the universe, and you're having yourself a bit of a chuckle just imagining any one of those things, you'll probably love this anime. I'd say it's analogous, in many senses, to the other belovedly horrific phantasms of our time, like The Room, Birdemic, Titanic: The Legend Goes On and all of its sequels, and Food Fight, except that at least those had enough cohesion to convey a comprehensible plot. This does not. There are quantum expressions fourteen pages long that I could probably explain better to you -- and at least those mean something.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Nov 26, 2016
This has instantly become one of my favorite series. I am in love with Lag Seeing, and all of the other great characters, and the artwork is fantastic, but let me break down the full payload of my opinion.
To begin, this is a fair warning to anyone who intends to watch this series: it's bittersweet from start to finish, and doesn't hold your hand in terms of answering all of your questions. What I mean by that, without giving anything away, is that, though you might expect this series to be cathartic from the way it is written, and from the huge heart its characters
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have, it actually does not conclude in this way. The ending does not tie up all of the loose ends, and it does not have a truly happy ending. Instead, you are kind of left with the same level of knowledge as the characters you've followed throughout the series, and left to wonder about the deeper lore of the story. This is not a series for people who want everything finished up with a nice bow on top, but for people who prefer a 'living' story that has a feeling of continuity into the future... a kind of potential for more to happen.
That is not to say that the story doesn't come full circle. It does. The most important questions of the series are answered, the major conflicts are resolved. Completely. It's just that that doesn't always mean you get to know everything. Some people say that it would be nice for this series to conclude with a movie that wraps everything up. I think that would be absolutely wonderful, but, optional. As it stands, the story and the characters give you everything you /need/, just not everything you /want./
You can consider that to be the 'con' section of my review, the part which qualifies whether or not you should invest your time in this series. But now I will talk solely about the series' strengths.
Lag Seeing. He needs his own paragraph. He might be the most precious, lovable character ever written. He's got a gigantic heart, and is a huge crybaby, but he gets. things. done. /He/ is how you write an emotionally deep and affected character who is also equally strong. He's an argument for why being emotional doesn't make someone weak, and why you can be full of love and empathy and forgiveness and still be a strong person. He's soul medicine. Seriously.
As for the other characters, where to begin? Niche, Lag Seeing's sidekick, and would-be deuteragonist if not for Gauche Suede/Noir, is the embodiment of how gratitude and loyalty can make for inseparable bonds. She's utterly devoted to Lag, but not without being her own person. Lag and Niche found in each other an amazing partnership, and with it, a deep and moving friendship. One of Niche's quirks that also makes her an interesting character is that while she doesn't express emotions in quite the same way as Lag, and that, even though she's a straight-shooter, and has a matter-of-fact tone, we can still always understand how she feels. She isn't emotionally stunted, or particularly kuudere, but her mode of expression is action, and words, a lovely counternote to Lag's more expressive way of conveying his emotions.
I could also talk in detail about Noir, Roda, Sylvette, Aria, Dr. Thunderland, and the rest of the diverse array of characters, but, more to the point, is that this is a very character driven series. The plot, while not weak, is not the central focus of the story. This is very much a story about people and their relationships. The plot carries us through these relationships in a cohesive and meaningful way, but it's really the relationships and how they are tested, molded and grown that matters. They are surprisingly subtle, and people don't always react to each other in the way that you would expect. Selfless characters can be selfish at times. Strong characters have moments of weakness. Soft, unthreatening characters can show steel when the moment calls for it, while hardliners can suddenly express empathy. This conveys an interesting diversity that fleshes out characters and makes them feel real. If you're a real character-driven consumer of fiction, you'll really appreciate this point.
By the way, the artwork of this series is amazing. I know that's not what's most important, but the series is just beautiful. The scenery is detailed and lovely, and the characters are consistent, expressive and just appealing to the eye. The styles meld wonderfully, even with the addition of the CGI monsters. Somehow, the animators made it all work. In a way, the jarringness of the CGI lends a credence to the otherworldliness and danger of the gaichuu that serve as the series' primary/routine threat.
As for the plot -- as I said, it doesn't quite answer all of the things you /want/ it to, and it is not the strongest point of the series, but that's not because it is weak. Rather, it seems that the plot just wasn't as central to the story as the characters and the ultimate fate of all of their lives and relationships. The 'big bad' of the series, the organization Reverse, is the impetus behind much of what happens, but they are not inherently evil. Rather we learn, as we go along, what their motives are, and why they do what they do. And while we may or may not hate them for what it is they are responsible for causing, we don't get the sense that they are a one-dimensional villain force that only exists to give the protagonists something to overcome.
Overall, Tegamibachi has become one of my favorite series of all time, and I could dote all day on Lag Seeing, but, seriously, if you need emotional healing in your life, watch this series. Even though it is bittersweet, and you might not get exactly what you want, there is a prevailing sense of hope and emotional conquest that still delivers its own sort of catharsis -- the catharsis that comes with accepting that though things are sad, and though they are imperfect, they are still worthwhile, and still carry their own brand of happiness. If that's the kind of message you need in your life, then this is the series you need to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 10, 2015
Wow. What a roller coaster ride. There's so much you could say about a series like this, but it really only does it justice to watch it. If you're ready to take a plunge into the heart of hope and madness, then you've found the right anime. The experimental animation style, the disjointed storytelling, the surreal setting, and the atmospheric music really hold the viewer in sway, and allow this anime to accomplish the crazy immersion that it is able to. And the story, though more or less pretty straight-forward, is really able to free-fall through the themes and motifs that the plot throws at
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you thanks to the movement these components provide. And, while these disparate parts might seem unrelated at first, the story really does seem to manage to glue them all together. Suffice it to say that, by the end, you will be bewildered, intrigued and a bit dizzy, but, as everything comes full circle, you'll also be left with the brave uncertainty, and the catharsis that comes with, what I like to call, "a thematically perfect ending."
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 27, 2015
This is an otherwise amazing series, worthy of a "9" rating that suffers from regrettable instances where unwanted sexual advances are normalized, the objectification of women is present through out-of-place harem situations and unpleasant character reactions to female 'ugliness' (as per the show's standard's of beauty), and a massive amount of cultural appropriation, vis a vis the absence of any Middle-Eastern looking characters in a setting that is very obviously based on Arabia (and, therefore, the Asiatic Middle-East.) These problems have the potential to launch certain viewers out of the story, while normalizing for others harmful social views that they might already hold (without offering
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any voice of opposition.)
I don't want to fixate /solely/ on these problems, as the series, insofar as characters, art and sound are truly great, particularly the characters from a developmental standpoint. And the overall emotional tone and pacing of the series is executed to near perfection. Overall, it is a series that I would have liked to have in the top bracket of series that I've watched, but it's perhaps because it is otherwise so good that these types of unfortunate representations of marginalized social groups leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. If the whole product were bad, I could just dismiss these as part of the unsatisfactory package, but in this case, I can't. That is why, although I adore many aspects of this series, I am forced to give it an "8" instead of a "9," and I feel that that's a very lenient deduction for how glaring these problems are.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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