Back to DrPillow's Profile DrPillow's Profile

Story:
The quality of the storytelling is excellent, yet bobs and weaves at some points during the plot. The story is competently told, almost expertly at times, but some episodes just don't fit with the flow of the series, and other episodes have their story stretched over multiple episodes in a lengthy and completely out of place manner. Most of the issues with storytelling occur as the series is wrapping up. The last few episodes take up an inappropriate amount of time to unfold the plot and the storytelling at this point gets a little clumsy. This occurs once or twice before in individual episodes. The ... overall plot of the show is unique, complex, and thought provoking, and thankfully does not fatigue the watcher by the end. The show takes some interesting looks at complex issues in a mature manner that very few anime, or pieces of media in general, succeed in doing. The ending is satisfying, while leaving a few questions annoyingly unanswered, and the journey there is great.

There was one plot element in the story that felt out of place which has to do with the sexuality of the characters and how sexuality is handled in their society. This element attracted some controversy with some saying that it was included for fan service purposes. In defense of the creators, I believe that they handled this plot element quite well. The episodes that heavily featured this "sexuality" element were handled maturely and these episodes felt as if the writers were exploring the world and the characters as they underwent puberty instead of providing blatant fan service. However, looking back, I find the inclusion of this plot element bizarre as it never seemed relevant in any other part of the plot. It seemed to serve little purpose than giving flavor to the world, which it indeed achieved in doing. But considering its heavy emphasis in the series, it felt like there should have been more purpose for it. On the other hand, I believe that this element did provide for a stronger bond between characters.

9/10

Art:
One of the things I enjoyed the most about this series was the art. Both the beautiful scenery and terrific character designs contributed to, and fit in with, the overall mood of the series. The designs of the characters and monsters were well done and nice to look at. The animation takes some dips throughout the series, but none of it is unwatchable. The art style, scenery, and character designs were all great and contributed to the series.

9/10

Sound:
The sound direction in Shinsekai Yori is one of its greatest features. The voice actors fit perfectly with every character and one voice never took me out of the experience. The sound track is especially well executed and does wonders to evoke emotion in many scenes. This series does not feature an opening song, a stylistic choice that feels appropriate considering the different moods presented in each episode. It would be difficult to match each episode with a fitting opening. One episode, however, did feature an opening song. This was a clever device used to introduce background information for two of the main characters which was essential for the episode to work. While the series lacks an opening song, it makes up for any drawbacks with two fantastic EDs. The ending that accompanied the first half of the series was excellently done in both visuals and audio. It provided the perfect ending for each episode. The ED for the second half of the series was well done but not nearly as memorable or as accentuating as the first ED.

10/10

Characters:

I am mixed in my critique of Shinsekai Yori's characters. On one hand, I sincerely enjoyed each of the characters. On the other hand, they never achieved true growth within the story. While more than generic cardboard cutout characters, the characters were not completely 3d, but rather caught in a 2.5d limbo. Many may consider this a bad thing, but the characters were rather fleshed out and fit their roles well. They behaved, for the most part, in a consistent manner and moved along nicely in the plot. While I would have liked for some more interaction between the characters and some more character introspection, the creators did a good job in making some relatable and likable characters. The characters work in the story, and I really liked each of them.

8/10

Other:

In this section I will discuss episode 5. This episode was a complete embarrassment to the series, and as such I have excluded it from evaluation. Episode 5 had a guest director who changed the art, story, and sound direction completely. The art style completely changes and left me, and many other viewers, baffled for a while. The mood and tone shift from the new art style startled me and completely took me out of the experience. The art wasn't bad, but just didn't fit with the mood set by the previous episodes. The director fumbled with the plot and took the characters out of their roles, changing Saki from a level-headed 12 year old girl to a clumsy dumb preteen. This episode truly is baffling and makes me wonder if the show's creators reviewed it at all before releasing it. Moral of the story: never let another director jack your story.

I truly consider this to be one of the best shows I have ever seen. It competently tells a complex story with solid characters and great art and sound direction. I want to give Shinsekai Yori a 10, but it has some flaws that warrant giving it a 9. This series is a truly enjoyable and complex work.