Back to Fijiwuiji's Profile Fijiwuiji's Profile

Izetta has succeeded in becoming my biggest disappointment this season, and possibly, even this year. It initially had everything it needed to succeed: an intriguing premise, serviceable animation, and promising characters. An alternate history exploration of WWII, with magical girls, would have been a fascinating twist to the historical war drama. However, it becomes painfully clear that Ajia-Do either had no idea what they were doing, or they simply did not think this whole thing through well enough.

The animation, while it does have its moments, ranges from relatively average and even sub-par in certain episodes. Some episodes have beautifully animated action sequences, which is something ... I can commend the show for. However, some other episodes will feature poorly done background characters, some even lacking facial features at its worst. The CGI used, mostly for military vehicles and Izetta’s anti-material rifle/broomstick and weapons, is serviceable but nothing truly stands out.

The story is inexcusably sub-par. The whole narrative is built on a mountain of plot conveniences and deus ex machina. Characters and plot devices are shoe-horned into a scene to get things moving, and the plot contrivances are many. The war side of the story is often sidelined in favor of showing Fine and Izetta together. You wanted a show that featured a small country locked in a dance of death and political intrigue with world powers? WELL TOO BAD! You’re either getting episodes of the girls hanging out instead, or episodes of Izetta single-handedly annihilating everything which, in turn, encourages the rest of the good guys to not do much of anything.

The biggest fault in this entire mess are the characters. The female leads,
Izetta and Fine, are two of the biggest Mary Sues I’ve ever seen in an anime, coming close to such characters like Medaka Kurokami of Medaka Box. Izetta is a complete tool with no sense of agency. Fine is somehow a flawless master statesman out of the gate, in which we never see her struggle for most of the time. The villains are laughably cartoonish and two-dimensional. I don’t really need to talk about the rest of the side-cast as they really weren’t characters, and the anime didn’t care about them much either (and don’t even get me started on the “Royal Guard”).

For the vast majority of the anime, these characters, Fine and Izetta especially, all show far too little character development. They don’t really encounter any plot development to precipitate any sort of meaningful change until the very end, and by then, it’s too late for it to matter. You will have stopped caring about them.

The relationship (and heavily implied romance) between Fine and Izetta, a major selling point of this series, is a painfully droll affair that just doesn’t feel like it belongs in the anime all together. It really feels like it competes with the rest of the anime for attention, rather than it enhancing the narrative experience. It’s almost as if this show can’t make up its mind as to what it is, and what kind of experience it wants to tell.

Arguably the most frustrating aspect, is that Ajia-Do forgets that this is an anime that is just as much about WAR as it is about a couple of lesbians. There is so much potential that is wasted to use the unique setting to both shape our protagonists and tell an interesting story. Izetta pretty much murders a small army by shows end, and she never seems affected by the horrific reality of war. You really don’t see Fine really struggle with the reality of running a country at war as a young, new, and inexperienced head of state. Instead, they just keep plodding along as they are. Ajia-Do completely disregarded this psychological element that would have made the story much more compelling.

BOTTOM LINE: I cannot recommend this anime to anyone. It is a production that is too unfocused and fails to make use of the premise’s incredible potential to tell an interesting story.

There are no words to describe my desire to rate this show highly. I want to like it, truly, I do. However I just can’t. No amount of rationalization can justify me giving this show positive accolades.

So the premise is that we have a war between a generic Empire and an equally generic Republic, a war that the viewer barely ever sees over the course of the series. Despite that going on, the viewer spends most of their time with a group of small, but talented, military school students faffing about. It isn’t until a major shift in the conflict thrusts this stalwart group ... into the fire and the flames.

This premise should make for a satisfying, popcorn-munching couple of hours. The viewer witnesses the rise of a group of military school cadets, who are just trying to survive, amidst the backdrop of two civilizations waging war on an epic scale. Sounds all well and good, yet it falls majorly short of what it could be.

There is very little reason to care about this conflict. It has utterly failed to give the viewer a reason to be emotionally invested in what is going on. Major questions are left unanswered: Why are these guys fighting? For what reason, other than the fact that the MC is on their side, should we root for the Empire? What makes the Republic the bad guys? Why should I care about any of this? For a show that is largely centered about a major armed conflict, there is hardly any reason to care about the nations involved.

We are told so little about this world. I want to learn more about the Alderan Church, those spirit creatures, and more of the people of both sides. I want to see the history of these two nations, and how they came to be enemies. There are so many shortcomings in the world building. As a result, I grown to not care about the Empire, or the people that live there. I care even less about the Republic, because I know even less about whatever that place is.

Another major letdown are the characters. The only real characters of note are Ikta Solork and Ms. Igsem, and the only noteworthy character relationship is between these two. Their classmates are uninspiring at best. The rival genius character that is supposed to go toe-to-toe with Ikta arrives far too late to establish any sort of history and dynamic rivalry with Ikta.

The plot, while it does have satisfying moments, still leaves room for improvement. Until the final arc, there is no sense of tension for most of the show. Ikta is a freakishly smart military genius, his victory is assured. There is never any doubt in the viewer’s mind that he will win. It suffers the same problem that I had with No Game No Life: the characters are simply TOO GOOD at what they do. It’s just not fun.

BOTTOM LINE: A Potentially great military drama seriously held back by sub-par world building and lackluster characters. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Kiznaiver is the result of allowing shippers to run an anime tv series.

Back at the beginning of the season, I decided to read more into the seasonal line-up. That's where I ran into Kiznaiver. I thought to myself "hey that sounds like a neat premise, and it's made by Trigger too! Kill la Kill was pretty cool. This should be solid!"

But by the end of it all, the only thing I know for sure that's solid in this show is the brick that is the main protagonist's personality. It is an experience for which I no idea how to feel about it. Instead we are ... treated to an awkward, drawn out clustershow of character relationships that never really feel like they amount to anything. So complicated that two of the support characters actually had to draw out a vusual diagram of who likes who.

While we do get some very emotional scenes, it never feels like it really contributes to the development of the characters as people. For example, one girl reveals a very dark moment of her past that led to her being cold and distant. After this dramatic scene plays out, she goes back to being a complete bitch. Instances like this make me feel as if none of what I'm seeing really matters, and it can be incredibly immersion breaking for people.

Arguably the most frustrating thing about this show is that it has enormous potential to go deeper into complex themes surrounding it's science fiction premise. The ethics of child experimentation, the concept of the good of group over the good of individual, and the morality of the Kizna system. These are all themes lightly touched upon over the course of the series, but is unfortunately obfuscated by the confusing litany of "friendship and love can overcome any obstacle" that the characters keep spouting through the duration of the anime.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just some dumb American guy who is not enlightened enough to understand whatever the hell message this anime was trying to get across. The only message that I took away is that Trigger's attempt at making a deep and meaningful show about emotions ended up being so emotionless.

You know what? I honestly have to thank this show. It has taught me a valuable life lesson that I will cherish forever: It’s that I should never EVER live in really-small-town, Japan. So thanks, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry), I love you man.

But no seriously, this anime is a decent horror offering that suffers from a few common flaws inherent to the genre.

The premise is simple, because of main character’s family, he has to move to really-small-town, Japan. But this innocent-looking village has some dark and terrible secrets (because of course it does), and when the spooky shenanigans start happening, ... it’s up to Kei-chan and his trusty harem to make things entirely worse for everybody (because, you know, anime plot).

The atmosphere of this setting, clichéd as it may be, nails that “everything just seems slightly off” vibe you would find in traditional horror films, tickling at your morbid curiosity and compelling you to move. There is a legitimate sense of lovecraftian fear felt by both the audience and the cast, as if these people are messing with a power far beyond what they can hope to overcome. It permeates into every action and thought, and you can feel the sense of the hopelessness about their situation. Friends and family turn against each other. Delusions and paranoia feed increasingly disturbed mental states. And the entire cast is forced to live a gruesome and deadly cycle of death and despair. There are times when you just simply don’t know what to believe anymore. Are the ones that went crazy, really crazy? Are they legitimately onto something, or are they just plain bonkers? Who is really the bad guy here? Are there even any good guys? And what is even driving everybody to deception and murder?

I also have to compliment how the dark, morbid parts of every arc are mixed in between more light-hearted, comical, slice-of-life moments. This part of the show has the dual effect of easing the tension and lulling you into a false sense of security that everything is A-OK up until when the human defecation hits the fan.

The story is presented in a format similar to what can be found to shows like Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy). The entire show is divided up into partially self-contained arcs. Each arc contains a different flavor of spooky shenanigan that plays out over the course of 2-6 episodes. At the conclusion of every arc, the show is “reset” back to a beginning point so that a new arc can play out.

What this format has in redundancy (reintroducing almost everything at the beginning of each arc), it makes up for in its ability for clever storytelling. With each new arc, the story is told from a different characters. The change in viewpoints, and the subsequent change in what parts of the story are told this time around, slowly reveals more plot points by which the audience can use to piece together a larger narrative. This slow process of revelation, especially in a horror, effectively establishes an atmosphere of tension and over the course of the whole series. It compels you to keep watching for the sake of learning something new concerning the mystery and seeing the scary stuff happen in a different way.

There are some concerns I have with the show though. For one, the uniquely presented story isn’t airtight. There are some plot points that were never really resolved, and there were few inconsistences between the arcs that shared a connection. The occasionally some of the characters suffer from the classic “oh life-threatening scary movie situation? Something seriously aloof? Time to go full retard!” affliction affecting most horror show casts. I want to cut them some slack, but I was hoping that the writing was better than that.

In summary:
+ atmosphere and setting that provoked tension and suspense
+ cool presentation of story
- some plot holes

Good show overall with some flaws.

Ah yes, Shokugeki no Souma. An anime set in a magical world where apparently the food is SO good that everyone's clothes spontaneously disintegrate and they appear to climax. (No for real, I'm not kidding, this actually happens very frequently during the food judging segments)

All that aside, Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars!) is an extremely well-executed anime from a genre that I like to call "a bunch of talented people doing talented things."

The setting puts the audience in a world-class, elite culinary high school: Totsuki. An institution which is as famous for its alumni as it is notorius for its insanely difficult curriculum. The competition ... here is cutthroat, and students can be dismissed for the slightest mistake. The students are faced with constant, overwhelming adversity that would break the souls of the faint of heart. It becomes very clear that these guys are here not only to learn, but to prove themselves as the very best in the field of culinary arts. The environment establishes a sense of what is at stake very well, and you feel a genuine thrill/tension as you root for the characters throughout the series.

But here is where we run into potential problems with the "a bunch of talented people doing talented things" genre anime. Because of the nature of the show, talent is literally EVERYWHERE. Everyone is VERY good at what they do. Shokugeki no Souma is no exception. When you have everyone good at what they do it becomes extraordinarily difficult for anyone to really stand out. Thankfully Food Wars does not suffer from this issue. Due to the diverse nature of culinary arts, each character has a separate and distinct style of cooking, and I found almost all of them entertaining to watch.

What really helped this show stand out was the strong emphasis on just how much cooking meant to these kids. Some just want to prove themselves. Some want to make their parents proud. Some are doing it for giggles. Whatever the reason, these kids pour their heart and soul into every single thing they do not because they have to, but because they want to. There is an enormous amount of attention to detail, effort, and applied skill that goes into every dish, and it is an absolute blast to see unfold. It not only helps you emotionally invest in the characters, but also helps broaden your appreciation of the activity these kids love so dearly.

That isn't to say that Food Wars is without fault however. There is elements of harem that get shoehorned into the series. Almost every single female in this show falls for the main character, and as usual, the main character doesn't give a single care. It felt forced, out of place, and ultimately unnecessary in a show that's all about competition between students.

Solid Show with a few flaws. Definitely recommended.