'Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings'
Story: 4
Where to begin, first we start with the protagonist which is a student that goes by the name of Yashiro Isana, a normal student who attends school at first glance however that is not the case. Yashiro Isana is attacked by a group of suspicious men because Yashiro is suspected of killing one of the groups comrades, however to no memory of Yashiro. This is the catalyst
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of the following events to come. Story wise we are left confused as the story starts to unfold later on the show and not much explanation is given early on. I can interpret this by the writers trying to replicate that same sense of helplessness and confusion that Yashiro is a victim of. When watching the show progress towards its end you would hope that stories and mysteries will unfold, however this is not the case 2/3 of the show we still do not know the full extent of the story.
This leads on to the criticism of the plot. With the story left to be fully explained towards the end of the series this means that story pacing feels unnatural and rushed towards the end as it feels the show is trying to tie up lose ends with what little screen time they have. I felt as watching the show I didn't care for the story as much because it wouldn't give me time to soak up story. With so many cool concepts for the show the 13 episodes did not do the show justice as there was room for the writer to build upon.
Art: 10
One section of the show that cant be criticised is the Art. Its visually stimulating, the way in which some scenes look almost real with what I can imagine are real life rendered images used as backgrounds for some sequences of the show, its as the anime world invaded reality. The colours of the anime are vibrant and bright which makes for a pleasant watching experience. Character models and attention to detail on characters are of high quality which adds a more authentic touch. Animations where also fairly good as most scenes where carefully planned out from a detailed standpoint. Compared to other shows such as bleach and Naruto that has a bad habit of recycled animation and static character models, K animates the show to a fairly high degree.
Sound: 8
The sound of the anime is also noticeably good. Voice acting is great across every character with characters such as Mikito, giving me goosebumps whenever he talks. As for selection of music its fair to say that the music choice they use is some of the best I've heard regardless that there wasn't many music selection as I would have liked there to be, meaning that music was sometimes recycled A lot but that's just me being picky. Overall the sound quality of music and voice actors they did use made the show a bit more pleasurable to watch.
Character: 5
Linking back to the original argument I made under the Story section with the story being to short and rushed this unfortunately carries over to the character development which I find there is generally none of. With Such powerful characters displayed from the very start of the show, its as if it almost intentionally sets up for these characters to develop and show a different side to the very linear personalities. The writer tries to compensate for this by giving us flashback sequences here and there, however this is not enough to fully immerse us with the characters on display. Furthermore some characters who play an integral part in the anime are introduced with no background story making these characters remain a mystery and for viewers to question the purpose of said characters.
Enjoyment: 6
For me personally I enjoyed the show at times but was left disappointed by the plot holes and the lack of details that I look for in an anime. The concept of the show was a unique one that I really loved but again was left disappointed on how the plot was lacklustre.The art made me really appreciate the show as at times it felt I was viewing a visual masterpiece with the amazing art direction is was going for. Overall it was a decent way to bide the time.
Overall: 6
To conclude I wouldn't recommend this show for any newcomer to anime not to say its a bad show but just because there are many other shows that perfect most categories I covered. However for someone who has seen most mainstream anime I would encourage you to watch it as the Art is some of the best you will see for any show. Finally with a Movie that is a direct sequel to the anime announced for release in 2014 there is still hope that they are able to tie all lose ends and build on characters to leave a lasting memory of the show.
Nov 22, 2013
'Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings'
Story: 4 Where to begin, first we start with the protagonist which is a student that goes by the name of Yashiro Isana, a normal student who attends school at first glance however that is not the case. Yashiro Isana is attacked by a group of suspicious men because Yashiro is suspected of killing one of the groups comrades, however to no memory of Yashiro. This is the catalyst ... |