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Mar 23, 2012
I'm writing this review in order to help balance out the disproportionate number of positive reviews. I'm not doing it out of spite; having seen all of both the first and second seasons, I can definitely say that I was disappointed with how this series turned out. So, let this be fair warning so others do not make this mistake: Hayate no Gotoku is NOT a story-driven anime. While I began watching with some knowledge of this, the total absence of any plot whatsoever and any character development at all (I will say the second season provides a lot more development though) were incredibly frustrating
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for me, and I'd like to prevent others from having to endure over 70 episodes in order to learn the same lesson. Please understand this is nothing more than my personal opinion, and that while I recognize that others did enjoy the show, it reached the point where I no longer could.
Story:
1/10, Mainly because there is none. Nor is there really a pretense of one. The purpose of this show is nothing more than comedy; it's goal is not to tell a story, and so there is no plot. If you enjoy this approach, then it can certainly be amusing, but for anyone looking for the barest hint of a story, you will find nothing.
Art & Sound:
8/10 and 7/10. To be honest, I rather enjoyed the art style, and that's part of what kept me watching for the duration of the series. That said, for most of the first part of the season they "censored" out a lot of the blood/violence/random words (not even explicit language). Although this was amusing at first, it was heavily overused and became incredibly annoying.
Character:
4/10 For a reasonably strong cast. Unfortunately, there is no character development whatsoever, which makes it very difficult to watch the characters making the exact same mistakes they did 50 episodes ago and having it still be funny. Because of the lack of plot, the characters really needed to carry the show, and in the early episodes they do an admirable job. But a series this long really demands more than what was provided, and by the end I was totally unsatisfied with almost every aspect of the show.
Enjoyment:
3/10 As others have mentioned, the series starts off strong, but it really does become a grind to get through the second half. And getting to the end and realized that there has been no progression whatsoever really makes it difficult to look back positively on the show as a whole.
Overall: 3/10
Solid art and sound work, but every other aspect of the show is totally inadequate for meeting the demands of a show that is more than 50 episodes long.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 1, 2011
Kino no Tabi is an absolutely incredible show, and definitely one of the best I've ever seen. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but I really loved it. The overall tone of the series was fairly dark, which goes well with the theme "The world is not beautiful; therefore it is".
That said, there were a few moments of brilliant achievement, and for all of the darkness they seemed that much better. Although the series ends on a note that could be called bittersweet at best, it was consistently thoughtful and imaginative, and every episode had an underlying philosophy that provoked a
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truly difficult question; I felt this to be especially true for the finale.
Looking back, I can't remember a single thing about this show that I would change; even the discovery that Kino was actually a girl (which I didn't find out until halfway through) was a kind of neat surprise. This is probably my second favorite anime, after Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve).
10/10 all around.
(To be honest, the art probably doesn't deserve a 10 - I'd probably but it around a 7 - but the rest of the show is so good that it doesn't matter in the slightest). ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 1, 2011
I was surprised by this show. I went in with admittedly high expectations, and for the most part they were met. On the other hand, it was definitely too short: the last episode left a lot of loose ends and unresolved issues that could have been explored if the anime had been just two episodes longer.
Story: 7/10
The story was fairly solid all the way through. My biggest problem was that it really fell apart at the end. It wasn't a dramatic and show-breaking failure, but it's unfortunate that all of the events in the show culminated in a half-hearted conclusion that left too many questions
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unanswered.
Art and Sound: 8/10, 9/10
I absolutely loved the sound effects in the show: it actually reminded me a lot of Boogiepop Phantom, with noises that would be disturbing and jarringly out of place. The art was also pretty good, though the "baby" projections were more of an eyesore than they were disturbing.
Character: 9/10
The characters were definitely the strongest aspect of the show. To be honest, it was probably the support characters I liked more than anyone else: I didn't find Taro to be especially deep, and though it was repeatedly hinted Masayuki had a much more complex personality than he revealed, there was very little development in that direction, which just made him feel cliched. Of the main characters, Makato was definitely my favorite in that he demonstrated the most growth, but I was really pleased to see Michio grow from being a support character to joining the main cast. Likewise, the sub-plot (if you can call it that) with Taro's psychiatrist was also very interesting, and his personality was virtually the exact opposite of what I'd expected, which was refreshing. That said, toward the end, there were a few things that felt too rushed (namely the developments concerning Taro and Masayuki's mothers), and also a few unexplained relationships that were hinted at but should have been better explained.
Overall: 8/10
I really enjoyed the show up to the finale, but I went into the last episode feeling that it would be impossible to have a satisfying conclusion, and that unfortunately proved to be the case. In light of everything they could have done with the show, I'm grateful that most of the choices were generally good, but I can't help but feel the plot got lost during the character development in the middle of the series, which ultimately made it impossible to finish well.
*Slight update- in retrospect, judging a show based largely on it's final episode is rather unfair. It's quite entertaining up until then, and my score hopefully reflects that better*
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 1, 2011
This is definitely one of the better shows I've watched.
Story: 9/10
The story was surprisingly good. Besides a few "too dumb to live" moments and the apparent special abilities of the main characters (which was kind of explained, though pure skill definitely doesn't account for all their abilities). The end was *slight spoilers* a total sucker punch, and I felt the conclusion certainly could have been done in a way that didn't make it so cheap.
Art & Sound: 8/10, 7/10
The art was generally pretty good, and I can't think of any real problems I found with it (though I did watch this a while ago). The
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sound, while generally good for the first arc, seemed to drop off noticeably in the second. Reiji and Cal's main themes both got old fast, and Reiji's especially just annoyed me.
Character: 8/10
Reiji's development was actually fairly good, and Ein underwent some dramatic changes, even if they didn't show as much superficially. Cal, on the other hand, was really disappointing to watch, especially since her entire life purpose stemmed from a misunderstanding that could easily have been rectified.
Overall, it was still an extremely good show. There were a few moments that were downright chilling, and the action just kept coming. Despite a few obvious flaws in plot and an unsatisfying finish, it was still a great show. 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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