"You're all like, 'The story ignores the source material' and ''The voice acting doesn't match what I had in my head' and stuff!" -Ene
Ene might just be predicting my review, but I'll try my best not to base this review on source material, although I may make some comments about the original songs or the manga.
I'll be straightforward. Mekakucity Actors wasn't very organized. In fact, it was a complete mess. Previously, I had written a very optimistic review, but after mulling over the massive disappointment that this anime gave me, I decided that I must rewrite this review.
Mekakucity Actors is an anime that does
...
not seem to deserve such a high score, yet is still decent after one's careful consideration.
I've realized that my greatest, and possibly only compellent in watching this series was that I am a die-hard Kagerou Project fan. Aside from that, I held little affinity for this anime.
Story: 6/10
Mekakucity Actors has an interesting setting. It takes place in your generic city, complete with malls, parks, skyscrapers, and suburbs, but this allows the watcher to consider that this story could occur anywhere, and gives the watcher a unique feeling. The story starts right off with an intriguing and complicated exposition, followed by a quick deceleration to a humorous showing of Shintarou's rather drab everyday life. This first episode was packed with information, and interesting enough for most viewers to continue on to the next episode. Throughout the series, each episode introduced new concepts, which to my specific knowledge, are interlaced with deep philosophical significance. To the ordinary viewer, however, it's a cluttered fiasco. Many ideas are introduced and then discarded, never to be seen or heard of again. I had previously expected for the producers to answer these in the last few episodes, but what we were left with instead was a rushed ending and a dissatisfied conscience. SHAFT took a gamble on its methodology, and it lost. Its lack of planning was more than just conspicuous. I cringe when I think about the two or three well-executed episodes scattered across the series, mixed in with stale episodes, and some that were plain miserable. While I do hold great disdain for ANIPLEX's decision to only make this series twelve episodes long, I commend the producers for their conciseness of the story's telling. They have done a model job in fitting such a huge storyline into a single cour anime. Unfortunately, they producers were only able to vaguely explain the central ideas of the story, and not the story itself. With that said, even the fundamental time loop aspect of the story was completely glossed over. This, in turn, leads the anime more into the Slice of Life department than it should. Completely disregarding any source material, the anime didn't have much of an explicit depth.
"These things are all style and no substance!" -Momo's Classmate
Art: 10/10
The character art is fantastic, and perfectly matches the original PVs. SHAFT's usual habit for creating abstract and unrealistic scenes fits this anime like a glove. The art both exemplifies and understates different aspects of the physical world that surrounds the characters, giving the watcher a state of mind that perfectly matches the scene--fully intended by the producers.
Sound: 9/10
Although small, the selection of background music is perfect for the anime. One particular track is played often, which produces a sensation of the hotness of summer and a feeling of isolation, mystery, and internal turmoil. Another track delivers a mood of lightheartedness and provides comic relief. Both the OP and ED, respectively "daze" and "days", are spectacular songs by Jin. The voice acting was well-done, too, although several characters had voices that I didn't particularly feel were fit for them. One downside of the anime, with respect to sound, is the rather poor quality of the song covers placed at the last scenes of certain episodes. The singing is sometimes unclear, and the lyrics are sometimes misinterpreted, which lead many to feel that it would be more fitting to use the original songs, or even some of the high quality covers sung by Utaite.
Characters: 10/10
I'd give this category an eleven if I could. The progression of most episodes adheres well with the original songs. With ten main characters and twelve episodes, I'm thoroughly impressed that this anime was able to so deeply develop every one of them. Each character has unique traits, and they are all extravagantly developed. Despite the unusually high character to episode ratio, Mekakucity Actors has some of the best developed characters whom I've ever seen.
Enjoyment: 7/10
Perhaps it was an illusion. But I enjoyed Mekakucity Actors a little more than I should have. Kano's sheer awesomeness, Momo's complaints, Ene's snide remarks, and Kido's remotely tsundere qualities all complement the anime with some satisfying humor. No scene comes to mind when talking about these humorous moments, but I do remember feeling glad that I was watching the anime several times.
Overall: 8/10
Mekakucity Actors was an utter mess. But I still enjoyed the watching the producers' attempts at interpreting such a profound storyline, while giving it a rather episodic nature. The progression of the plot was hard to follow, even for someone like me, who has spent years in admiration of the source material. Mekakucity Actors had fantastic character development and high sound quality. I would have given this anime a lower score overall, but the averages of the five said qualities justifies a score of 8/10. However, a large amount of the hype preceding the airing, due to the fanbase's enjoyment of the source material, was unqualified.
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Jun 29, 2014
Mekakucity Actors
(Anime)
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"You're all like, 'The story ignores the source material' and ''The voice acting doesn't match what I had in my head' and stuff!" -Ene
Ene might just be predicting my review, but I'll try my best not to base this review on source material, although I may make some comments about the original songs or the manga. I'll be straightforward. Mekakucity Actors wasn't very organized. In fact, it was a complete mess. Previously, I had written a very optimistic review, but after mulling over the massive disappointment that this anime gave me, I decided that I must rewrite this review. Mekakucity Actors is an anime that does ... |
