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Note: If you found this review helpful (or not), leave me a PM or comment, and give me some constructive criticism!

Post-note: All scores are compared to titles I have watched personally and represent the verbal "score" of that number, with a 7 meaning “Good". It is unrelated to the 1-10 grading that a lot of people seem to solely apply, without thinking of what it means.

And now, without further ado, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 !

From reading the synopsis, we come to understand that there is a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 or above earthquake occurring in Japan (and a 90% chance of one of 8.0 ... or greater in the next 50 years for anyone interested). This is the major theme, if not the only one, due to which Tokyo Magnitude was created. We should keep this in mind when analyzing the strong and weak points of the plot. The fact that this particular anime was created with such a theme playing in the back of the minds has its effects on other parts of the plot, namely that one factor strongly determines how and what the plotline will look like.

BONES chose to follow the life of a brother and sister, helped by a new (somewhat older..) friend, as they travelled across Tokyo following such an earthquake, as they try to find their way back home to their loved ones. We encounter both tragedy and hope, both misfortune and luck. The theme of the earthquake is however, ever-present; not only in the artwork (it's hard to ignore the major upheavals caused by it on the skyline and buildings of Tokyo..), but also in terms of the personal stories told by both the main characters and the supporting cast.

This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it brings a breath of fresh air into an industry heavily influenced by highly unrealistic storylines which seem to break the laws of physics (and logic too, at times..) at every turn and twist. Tokyo Magnitude shies away from this, and tries to accurately represent how life in Tokyo would be like right after it was hit by a massive earthquake. This should be applauded, for obvious reasons; however it also causes one major problem with Tokyo Magnitude as a whole. Firstly, there's the fact that there really isn't much room for originality (story-wise), seeing as everything is already pre-determined. For the first half of Tokyo Magnitude, this makes the anime look more educative than enjoyable, while for the second half, when the creators try to move away from the earthquake "theme", new problems arise.

The major problem with moving away from a theme so ever-present is that it moves away from exactly that which BONES has endorsed, a "realistic portrayal" of life in Tokyo after a devastating earthquake. The last few episodes of Tokyo Magnitude, although very emotional, do not go along with the flow which has been set from the start. I see it as nothing more than the creators trying to fit in existing elements of anime, something which shouldn't happen. It has its merits and doubts, but I'd prefer if BONES had stayed true to their formula all along.

One thing I did find very enjoyable in this particular anime was how they represented society, the main characters, and how they dealt with such a disaster. We all know Japan to be a somewhat artificial and materialistic society, which sometimes cares too overtly about appearances and such. This is exactly how society is represented in the start of the anime, and also to a certain extent our main protagonist, Mirai. With the advent of the earthquake, these characters wake up to a nightmare. Their carefully created facades no longer hold any value. Although at first self-survival seems to be the norm, as the plot progresses, characters tend to open up and shed their facade. Nothing can so well illustrate this as the transformation that occurs in Mirai. Originally a spoilt girl, who cares more for texting than for her family, and who ridicules her brother's interest in robots, she opens up and sees that there's more to life than complaining and societal judgment. We can see this as a general criticism of Japanese society, although personally I tend to think that the difference between anime and reality in this particular case is somewhat overblown.

The artwork is generally simplistic. I won't criticize it extensively because it does after all grow on you, other than the fact that with current technology, especially that which is available to BONES, more effort should have been put into this department. Character faces are generally more realistic than many other anime, but they're not the epitome of realism either. Character designers should have made a more clear-cut decision on this particular aspect. Background artwork is very good though, well drawn and realistic. One could clearly picture oneself in a particular part of Tokyo just by looking at it, if you're familiar with the city that is.

The music score is nothing spectacular. The opening score by Abingdon Boys School (if the name doesn't hint it, I'll tell you that they're quite influenced by Radiohead) is enjoyable, yet not very original. The insert songs, although nice the first time, get somewhat overplayed, even for a 11 episode short anime such as Tokyo Magnitude. In short, nothing spectacular, but not bad either.

Coming back to my earlier argument of educative vs. enjoyment, I’d have to say that you're somewhat more hard-pressed to find examples for the latter than for the former. This has its merits, but trying to counter-balance it with forced in emotional dialogue and events, which does happen, is not the way of doing this.

In conclusion I'd like to say that this particular anime brings up somewhat mixed feelings in me. Although I’ll readily highly praise the decision to give realism a go, I’m just as likely to criticize this show when it moves away from it. It was moderately enjoyable. I did not like watching the series, nor did dislike it either. I am however quite ready to admit that this show is far from average when comparing to the rest of the anime industry, which is why a rating of 7 (" Good") should suffice quite nicely.

Who should watch this?

Recommended: For those of you less interested in unimaginative drab and looking for something original, at the cost of enjoyment.

Not recommended: To those that like action, romance, fan service and whatnot, and watch anime for this reason, you will not find any of that here.

Note: If you found this review helpful (or not), leave me a PM or comment, and give me some constructive criticism!

Post-note: All scores are compared to titles I have watched personally and represent the verbal "score" of that number, with a 7 meaning " Good". It is unrelated to the 1-10 grading that a lot of people seem to solely apply, without thinking of what it means.

So. Blood+

Originally an offshoot of an earlier movie, Blood+ combines both existing elements present in anime and new ones, to create a somewhat unique shonen (yes, shonen, because that's what this is, don't be fooled by the R+ rating) ... title. The original premise, that of cute girl with big sword fighting large monsters has been done many times before, but it is the encompassing plot and character designs that make this title stand out.

The fact that that the writers obviously wanted this series to stand out compared to a lot of other drab that comes out nowadays is evident. Sharp character designs (lack of moe characters) are the norm, and the plot line aims to be as realistic as possible, including many existing locations throughout the modern world. from Japan to Russia to France, it becomes evident that the animators have at least glanced at existing sceneries before sketching the locations where the story takes place.

We can understand the actions of certain characters (if the motifs have been revealed), and often the distinction between good and evil becomes blurred, something which lacks in a lot of series nowadays, where differences are usually black and white, with not much repose in between.

Then, you may ask " Why give it a 7?".
First note that a 7 to me means " Good", it holds no numerical value. Blood+ is a good show, but it doesn't have any factors that make it stand out to the point where, maybe a year later, you think "wow, that was quite a memorable show".

It is the same factor that makes it unique, that drags it down. The score is pulled down because of the lack of realism in a show that aims to include many elements pulled straight out of the 21st century world for the sake of appearing realistic and well thought through.

There is a scene where a protagonist is being pursued. He flees into a park, filled with happy picnickers. He rests momentarily on a bench, when suddenly his pursuer appears again. He runs through the park, but to our surprise, all those picnickers have disappeared. Is the director implying that in the few seconds that the camera pans away, all those men and women decided to pack up and leave? This incident is not standalone, and quite often outsiders (to the plot) seem to act illogically, or simply disappear solely for the sake of furthering a plot line and making the actions of characters seem logical.

Another small, annoying factor is that all characters seem to be able to speak to anyone on the globe. Now honestly, I don't believe that the entire world has started speaking Japanese overnight. This can be overlooked to a certain extent however, since such reasoning seems to be prevalent in many shonen titles.

Another factor pulling down an otherwise very good show, is the seemingly low budget of Blood+. It affects many of the most dominant factors determining the success of a show, plot, animation and sound. Firstly, the plot seems to suffer because directors and producers felt it necessary to include a lot of tangents, which lead nowhere. The entire series could have been done in 3/4ths of the 50 episodes that it runs for or less. Secondly, the lack of CG animation and lanky movements at times takes away from a series that includes a lot of fight scenes. Although it does give it some sort of visual appeal, it would have been much better executed with a larger animation budget.

Sound is another factor pulling it down. Although there are some good tracks in the OST, which are nice to the ear, the repetition and overuse of them is simply irritating, especially for a longer anime like Blood+. The OP and ED are of the common staple, including well known (at least, for us anime fans) J-Rock bands such as UVERworld and Hyde. Certainly not bad, but not very original either. Voice acting isn't terribly great either, although the actors can convey different emotions, it is not entirely convincing either.

Lastly, personally I found the lack of a deeper " meaningful" plot line distasteful. Although certainly not needed, it would have brought the enjoyment factor up quite a bit. Simply following the story of the main protagonist, Saya, can be a bore at times, especially when it becomes overly melodramatic.

Pushing my criticism aside, Blood+ certainly isn't a bad series. Even with these somewhat irritating flaws, it is still much better than a lot of Shonen titles nowadays, and for anyone simply wanting some enjoyment without a too much engrossing plot, i'd certainly recommend this. However, for anyone looking for something deeper, something with, say, moralistic or idealistic principles, i'd tell you to look further, because this wouldn't be for you.

Recommended for: (more serious) Shonen fans, those looking for something different than average.

Not recommended for: Fans of moe character designs, serious Seinen fans.