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Sep 20, 2014
It's funny how often you hear about "not judging a book by its covers" especially in reviews and such.Well in this case I wish i did judge it by the first impression it made or even by the number of mixed reviews ,some bashing it, I heard about.Because as it turned out Aku No Hana was one of the worst titles I've seen in recent years.
Before going into the review I want to point out that i didn't read the manga before starting the anime,which in retrospect was a very bad idea because now due to the bad taste this series left in my mouth
...
I lost the much needed curiosity to find out how the manga is in comparison, so keep in mind that this a anime version only review.I'm sure that a lot of things were explained much better in the manga,character interactions had more room to develop and so on....
STORY
The story is surprisingly simple ,especially for a tile labeled under the psychological genre,our main character Kasuga Takao is a high school student ,loves to read books and has a idealistic crush on his popular classmate Saeki Nanako.
One day due to a stupid circumstance he ends up stealing her gym clothes ,but is caught by another classmate Nakamura Sawa who blackmails him to form a contract with her in order to not reveal what he just did,which due to how the series progressed meant toying around with him making Kasuga do a few ,well lets say some indecent but very petty stuff (ex: Kasuga wearing said gym clothes) for her own amusement and as she stated "to break down his walls".Oh and yes it sound like the premise of a hentai title if that's what you're thinking.
And that's pretty much it,yeah I wish i was joking.Did you expect something more? Because you wont find it in Aku No Hana.
So in direct consequence due to how minimal the plot and story are ,there is very little happening in each episode.These 13 episodes could have easily been condensed into around 4-5 episodes without much of a problem and without missing any vital information.What keeps it at 13 episodes is a absolute indecent amount of padding and just wasting the viewers time with very long shots of the scenery,close up of objects and in one case just the 2 main characters simply walking for half a episode.
*final episode spoiler
Also in the final episode they even had the nerve to recap what little has already happened that far in the first half of the episode and in the second half to show previews of "things to expect" in the second season,which to this day has yet to be announced because of its bad reception and lack of sales.
The studio actually animated some short scenes/moments from the second half and were cocky enough they would get a green light for of this abomination.Well to our luck we were sparred of this second season so far.
CHARACTERS
And here we go right into the belly of the beast,all the characters are completely unlikable and simply a pain to have to endure watching.While i did hear that's what the producers were going for it still doesn't excuse how undeveloped they are and just how things happen because the plot dictated that way not because of the characters motivation.
Starting off with Mr Personality himself :Kasuga Takao. A complete push-over ,spineless, uber bland main character, he mostly does what Nakamura dictates without that much of a consideration.
Only thing you can say defines his is that he is angsty and later on develops Stockholm syndrome towards Nakamura ,which honestly you would actually expect from someone who is so damn pathetic.
Saeki Nanako is the (initially) love interest for the main character ,although as he describes it its a platonic kind of feeling aimed towards a "muse" status.She is the classroom's beauty and also the most intelligent (although that is highly questionable due to her actions) Not much to say about her,in retrospect she is the most grounded and normal character in the entire anime.
Nakamura Sawa ,the blackmailer.Initially presented as a problem student who dislikes/hates everything around her.After witnessing Kasuga stealing the gym clothes she developed a sick interest in him as she thinks he is also a deviant like her and want's to witness his actions.
Simply put she is downright toxic :foul mouthed/vulgar,unpleasant ,bipolar.All what you would expect from a mental patient that's for sure.
But what makes all of this worse is she is presented as quirky kind of character ,even charming in her own way if you will, , and that we aren't presented to the reason as to why she is this way,the anime had to keep us waiting for the second season to find out about her past/reasons.Huge mistake.
Secondary characters are almost non existing.We see a few classmates here and there,the teacher,the main characters parents.And that's it.
Notable mentioning goes to Yamada ,one of Kasuga's friends, who looks and acts like a young version of real life actor Dan Fogler.A very bad and obnoxious actor who just makes you cringe rather than laugh,same goes to his "anime counterpart".
ART
And this is the reason as to why this title got so much controversy,it uses rotoscoping technique to achieve its character design and animation.
I wont go into much detail because its something that has been discussed over and over again.To put it simply it looks really bad and hard to look at,not enough to make you drop the anime ,although this may very from person to person.It's not really a "deal breaker" but its not doing Aku No Hana any favors ,that's for sure.For characters who are supposed to be in high school they look like they are in their late 20's some even late 30's, female characters look like male characters,character facial expressions/features simply don't appear from a distance....
Backgrounds on the other hand are very well done and looks very realistic,but they did re-use certain shots and angles over and over again.
SOUND
Not much to say here ,its a very minimal type of soundtrack that doesn't get in the way of the action .Voice actors did their jobs decently if you keep in mind the material they were given,no notable standouts here.
CONCLUSION
While watching it I wanted to give Aku No Hana a 5,maybe a 4 depending on the situation that was going on.But after finishing it and witnessing all that it had to offer ,a score higher than a 3 wouldn't do it justice.
Its just that special kind of bad that you watch to amuse at how much the producers screwed up and at their incompetence in producing a worthwhile story.
Flimsy plot,unbearable character who take up the entire screen time due to how few they are,slow progression that crawls at a snails pace,bad ending.That's Aku No Hana in a nutshell.
As a 2-3 episode OVA or perhaps as a movie it could have worked ,but as 13 episodes series who even had the nerve to keep you waiting for another season it failed spectacularly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Aug 27, 2014
Golden Time should have been called Cubic Zirconia Time.It might have looked extremely impressive and interesting at first glance ,but upon a closer inspection you clearly notice the blandness,"low cost values" and just overall sloppy work.
Adapted from a novel written by the same author who also wrote the massively successful Toradora! you would obviously have very high expectations from it or at the very least expect a great romantic comedy series in the same manner Toradora! was.
What unfortunately unfolds is a very decent rom/com who does have some genuinely good parts ,but because of its heavy reliance on tired and extremely used plot convinces
...
,problematic cast and also because of its unnecessary long number of episodes ,fails to deliver as initially promised.
STORY 6
Starting off with the story : its centered around a boy named Tada Banri who has just graduated high school and is starting off his college life .There he and his close group of newly found friends,one of which he is romantically involved with and another who is a high school acquaintance ,make it trough their first year of college.
The twist is that he was involved in a accident the day he graduated high school and can no longer remember anything up to the moment of the accident,so he has to start a new life with his new found friends.
At first you might be deceived when you hear that the anime is set in a college setting and not in the usual overused high school one,but unfortunately that all falls apart very quickly.With very few exceptions here and there,some minors details (having a drivers license,being able to skip courses with no consequences) ,the college years theme is barely used ,nowhere near its full potential. There was no reason whatsoever why it didn't take place in high school especially since the main characters join a classic dance club (you cant have a high school without any kind of clubs or club related activities) So don't expect something in the lines of Honey of Clover or Nodame Cantabile,because Golden Time will utterly disappoint you in that regard.
Secondly you would also naturally expect a more mature cast of young adults characters that have already passed their troubled high school years and are just 1 step away from adulthood.This again is completely thrown out the window right from the very start.
For characters that are 18-20 years old they act,look and talk like they barely are in their first year of high school (some even middle school) Angst,sudden change of moods in a matter of seconds ,indecisiveness,quick to judge and not listen afterwards .... its all here for the viewers (dis)pleasure.
Now lets touch upon the main problem Golden Time suffers: heavy reliance on amnesia as a constant plot device.I'm sorry but in this day and age making the very dated and used to the extreme amnesia mechanic and not even giving it a proper serious tone (its used as a on/off switch whenever the plot dictates) is just a recipe for disaster.
This is also if made worse by the stupid decision of making Tada Banri past memories take form as a haunting ghost and not just a spiritual/narrator type presence ,but instead as a active physical presence who gets in the way when the story progresses to much and needs a urgent "hand brake".Basically what happened in Natsuyuki Rendezvous anime with the ghost happens here,although to a lesser extent.
And finally the last straw is when your main character Tada Banri is just a bland ,uninteresting,spineless,no goals or dreams type of main character and you still focus most of your screen time on him.Yes to be fair the anime does try to make him sympathetic with his back-story and emotional struggle ,but its all handled very poorly and drags on for a unnecessary long amount of time. You just wish they would get it over it and give some of the secondary characters their turn with some much needed screen time.
These 3 things combined really take down Golden Time from the heights it could have otherwise climbed upon and straight into the depths of mediocrity.
The other main character is Kaga Kouko,she is initially introduced as Mitsuo childhood friend and also stalker ,but is extremely quickly turned into Tada's girlfriend.The process where she gets over Mitsuo and falls for Tada happens so fast and is so badly handled that it really makes you question her character altogether.
She is very jealous,obsessive,quick to judge and act out,but in contrast also is very lonely (although this is barely touched upon),devoted to the people close to her and genuinely has all the best intentions at heart.
Nevertheless she is still the best thing to come out of this anime and would have honestly deserved a better series for her to star in.
The romance between the 2 main characters is very hit and miss,like I said earlier it starts off much to fast (Banri instantly falls for Kouko at first sight) and doesn't take enough time for it to properly build up.There are some genuinely good moments shared between them ( the beach part,the Eiffel tower scene) but overall its not a very convincing romance ,mostly because of how bad of a character Banri is.
It also doesn't help that there aren't all that many scenes for only the two of them to share screen time.There always has to be another friend just popping up,boring club activity ,the usual funny bit during a serious moment part.... for them to actually develop like a normal couple would.
Secondary characters are very bland and underdeveloped : Linda is nothing more than a walking plot device meant to start and stop the story whenever things progress to fast,its never made clear what her true intentions are towards the main male character until the very end of the series.
Mitsuo ,the best friend character, is just there to take out screen time.He starts out as the reason why Kouko joins the same university in order to follow him around,but that quickly goes by.His romantic progression with Oka and later on with Linda is very basic ,completely forgotten and thrown out the window like nothing ever happened.
"2D-kun" is a comic relief type of character ,who does manage to get a few smiles and chuckles out of the viewer here and there.But like the other secondary characters is completely underdeveloped.
Notable mentions goes to the Nana character who is literally taken from another series altogether ,well its not exactly 1:1 Nana from the Nana anime, but its extremely close to her original form.I'm not sure if this was intentional by the author or not ,like some sort of inside joke of sorts ,but borrowing a character from a series that is much,much better than your current one is a disastrous idea imho.
CHARACTERS 5
Art and Sound are ok-good for the most part.Nothing to noteworthy to report ,production values are what you would expect from a anime made in 2013.Nice character models ,decent backgrounds,good animation...
The VA who voiced Banri was the weakest part sound wise though,its true that he didn't have much to work with in the first place,but he didn't help alleviate the pain that was Tada Banri to deal with.
ART & SOUND 7
In conclusion enjoying Golden Time solely depends on what your expectations are.Hopping for a second Toradora! will probably leave you slightly disappointed but still able to enjoy it depending on how much you can suspend your disbelief ,tolerate the characters and overuse of plot conveniences.
Hoping for something like Honey and Clove ,where it follows the lives of a close group of friends during their college years, will really make you disappointed.The way GT handled its group of friends ,out of which two are romantically involved, was nowhere the level of Honey and Clover where comedy and romance was blended superbly well.
By no means is it a bad series, but its still a shame that it ended up the way it did. A lot of unfulfilled promise that was just badly handled.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 14, 2014
Giant Killing is a adaptation of long running and popular manga series in Japan by the same name,so one would expect a proper adaptation to please current fans as well as bringing new ones.
Well for starters you look at the studio producing it and you see Studio DEEN,which in all fairness has produced some great series (such as Rurouni Kenshin,Higurashi ) but overall they usually lack the talent,resources and production values that other companies have and released a lot of mediocre/bad series.
Fortunately their work on Giant Killing is on the good side of the "balance spectrum".
The story revolves around a initially weak team by the
...
name of East Tokyo United ,playing in Japans first football league with very little success.Everything changes however when one of their former star players,now a coach ,returns from England to take control of things and manage the team trough their efforts in facing tougher teams.
So yeah basically its a "from zero to hero" type of story,fairly straight forward and quite well done for the most part.
Starting off with Tatsumi Takeshi the manager of the team and main character of the series,its quite obvious that the author wanted to make a character based on real life manager José Mourinho and for the most part it succeeds in doing so :arrogant ,all-knowing ,while being self aware of all these traits.But still being a excellent manager who has a keen eye for the players under his command and knowing to use their full strength.
However often times in the series he takes a very laid back attitude towards training and preparing the players for their next match,even as far as going for a childish "the one who has the most fun will win..." or "let the players decide on their own" which can be very debatable all things considered.
Also in the anime we don't get to see his back-story properly as to why exactly he left the ETU team,his play style, why he retired rather early.... This most likely is covered in the manga,but the anime does not mention these things they way you would expect.
Secondary characters aren't all that great to be honest,the players are quite one dimensional and not very interesting varying from usual:the serious captain who gives all he has on the field,the up and coming new star player who lacks the necessary courage,the arrogant but experienced player,the constantly angry one ..... you see in other sports related series.
Most of them do get their own moment in which they shine on the field and get a bit of character progression,but overall they don't leave a huge impression as you would expect.
This also goes for the opposing players,some stand out more than the others but again there are no noteworthy mentions .Its clear that the author spent more time and effort in fleshing out the managers of the teams rather than the players.
Animation wise the series sufferers quite a bit.Up close the characters look decent for the most part and its nice to see that Studio DEEN tried to recreate the art style from the manga.
However when the camera goes further away for a "birds eye view" the anime switches to a very awful 3D CGI rendering of the players and the crowd.And its very poorly done ,the very basic way they look and move is nothing short-worthy of something you would expect a novice 3D rendering artist to produce.It simply looks awful and downright disgraceful for something made in 2010.
Also a lot of moments are single non animated panels taken directly from the manga and colored ,again something very cheap for a producer to do that you would expect from old series made in the 80's and 90's.
Sound is also nothing to special .The voice actors do their job ok-ish with no noteworthy performance and the very few dramatic songs are overly used and wear off their welcome very quickly.
The salvation comes from the sounds of the crowds during matches,the way they cheer on and sing for their supporting team is very well done and does manage to take you to the unique atmosphere you experience in a real life stadium.
But how does the anime fair compared to other sport related series?
Does it go for a realistic approach on football or does it go for a cartoony,over the top way like in Captain Tsubasa ?
Well the answer is the first type ,but not as realistic as you would expect.Firstly during the entire series they don't ever mention what kind of formation the team is using (its a 4-5-1 type,a very defensive formation) which they changed only once.
Also a lot of real life and very common in game situations such as: free kicks,faults,offside only happen one single time during the entire run.That's extremely hard to swallow for a series that takes pride in its realistic approach.
Others never happen at all :hands, simulations,penalty shots.All just completely disregarded.
Its a very lite take on football,a very movie-esque disregard for real life situations in order to keep the action non-repetitive and not backtrack to something that already happened.
Overall Giant Killing is a good series,but in can be a mixed bag depending on your expectations.If you're expecting a over the top sports anime like Captain Tsubasa or Kuroko no Basket you will probably be disappointed and bored.
If you're expecting a realistic take on the most popular sport on Earth in anime format you will surely like it,but will probably feel a slight disappointment for the liberties it takes at times,but it can be avoided as long as you suspend your disbelief in order to fully appreciate it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 13, 2014
Stating that Mirai Nikki is a bad anime series would be a severe understatement,its enough to look at the existing reviews to notice that the reception it received is mostly negative.
But not only is Mirai Nikki a terrible series, but its the kind of bad that makes you morbidly curious at how much worse it can get .And by the end of it actually delivers in that regard,but that's now saying much of course. A turd is still a turd no matter how you look at it.
Before going into to many details and without spoiling to much about it ,i would like to give
...
some examples of situations that happen and as to what you should expect from this series, so if you haven't watched Mirai Nikki and don't want to get spoiled in any way shape or form please skip this next paragraph:
**Minor Spoilers
A 5 year old toddler getting violently killed for no real reason that could have easily been retrained or at worst slapped a bit,a female character who gets kidnapped and tortured also for no real reason after which she is immediately and casually released by the same person like nothing ever happened,a character writing a phone text message and getting beheaded at the same time (with a kitchen knife no less!!!!)
Notice a pattern here? Yes unnecessary violence for the sole purpose of pure shock value that adds nothing to the actual plot of the series ,exactly like in a low budged horror movie.Whats funny is that without these stupid moments the series would have ended up completely forgettable ,so at the very least it has that going for it.
So lets get to the story shall we.
Like most anime series nowadays the story starts out immediately from the very first episode, you are literally thrown into this world and into its plot with no proper introductions or any kind of foundation to it.
All in the idea of suckering in the viewer and leaving him/her curios as to where its going and adding crucial details and flashbacks along the way whenever it feels like doing so.
The basic premise is a survival battle royal following a young high school boy (of course) named Yukiteru and his classmate Yuno ,the other main character, in their efforts to combat the other participating members with their help of their future diary phones which can predict the near future.The winner of this death game will be successor to the God of space and time.Sounds simple and straight forward enough right ? How can it go so wrong then?
Well for starters the whole battle royal premise if misunderstood by the author from the very begging since all opposing opponents all politely take their respective turns to "battle it out" with the 2 main characters and almost never go against each-other.There are just 2 exceptions to this,where they do fight but it also directly involves Yuki and Yuno so it might as well not even matter.
Secondly the writing is just god awful,completely amateurish (he-he) as if written by someone just starting out in their early teens.
Flimsy plot - check,completely inconsistent characters with sometimes multiple change of motivation in the same episode - check,overly stretched story that takes to much time to go anywhere - check,plot elements that go nowhere or are completely forgotten -check, lackluster ending that cops out of whatever has happened and developed so far -check.
Mirai Nikki has it all that's for sure.
The absolute worst part of this anime however lies with its characters.
Yukiteru is just a atrociously bad and useless main protagonist ,he even makes the infamous Ikari Shinji from Neo Genes Evangelion look good in comparison. Spineless,childish ,gullible to the point of mental retardation,but of course very kind to his friends with no other defining characteristics .He is absolute joke of a character and downright cringe-worthy to have to watch.Even die hard otakus with no self-esteem would be like "ugh even i'm better than that loser".
Whats worse is the series tries to make a sudden 180 turn in character for him in the very last episodes ,but by that time it just comes out of nowhere and in no way well presented or acceptable story wise.
The second main character and the entire reason this anime got any sort of attention (the ridiculous fandom she has received over the years is just mind boggling), Yuno is a straight up psychopath.Lets not miss words here with all the yandere crap and so on .She is a psychopathic character which would have been good and maybe great if the writing wasn't so damn bad.
The motivation for her behavior is just laughable and a complete disgrace for people who actually suffer from this mental instability.Plus the anime never bothers to explain as to why she is so strong and has such keen reflexes and senses,the writer probably believed that if someone is a psychopath than he automatically is a super villain.
And lastly her constant shouting "Yuki-Yuki" will drive you absolutely insane by the time the anime finishes.
The secondary characters are extremely lacking and completely forgettable,they vary from nonexistent just to take some screen time to boring with no strong or defining characteristics to just all out laughably comically crazy.Notable mentioning goes to Minene Uryuu who is completely inconsistent and changes her character and motivation like a hundred times throughout the series.
Animation is the only thing this anime has going for it,but that's not saying much for a series released in 2011.Character design and backgrounds for the most part are good but somewhat inconsistent ,some character looks much better than others and there is some very weird use for CGI for simple things such as bicycles or mobile phones.
Sound is also ok,the VA for Yuno actually does a pretty good job at representing the soft and angry side of her character (minus the whole repeating Yuki-Yuki a billion times over and over) ,other VA do their job decent as well with no other stand out performances.
Overall when its all said and done the series just falls flat on its ass in multiple ways,the primary being the story and character which are the main factors for making or breaking a anime series.You can have all the highest production values you can possibly get,but with a terrible story and weak characters it wont get you very far.
What Mirai Nikki achieves is making the viewer either disappointed if they somehow still had any sort of expectations by the end of it or angry because they wasted so much time on such a sloppy series.
26 episodes is still a large number of episodes all things considered,you could easily spend your time with so many other series that don't have the nerve to mock the viewer the way Mirai Nikki does.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jul 22, 2014
Going by the number of positive reviews this series has received so far here on MAL, you would expect to get into a good/decent show that maybe has some original ideas going for it or at the very least something something that keeps it apart from the rest of the crowd.
What most people agree on is the anti-social protagonist,about how the series deserves praise for tackling this type of character instead of having the usual bland boring lead most rom-coms have.
Lets get one thing straight out of the way : many other series had anti-social or depressed lead character (Welcome to the NHK, Sayonara
...
Zetsubou Sensei...) that have been handled much,much better.The closest thing explaining Hikigaya's behavior was him breaking his leg in a car accident and getting turned down of a few times in some very insignificant situations like changing phone numbers or practicing during Physical Education class while being in elementary school,that's it.
Secondly he isnt really anti-social, he is just a self centered ,overly cynical and downright hipster of a character,with the "im above all these sheep who get together and form friendships" that kind of self indulging superior way of thinking, all while totally contradicting himself by staying in same damn club ,which he was completely against being dragged into (only in the first episode of course) in the first place.It doesn't even cross his mind to leave the club because how else would the producers make a high school related anime without including this very tired and unoriginal trait?
Call this the Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya syndrome of constantly complaining and trying way to hard to be ironic about every little thing just for the hell of it.Because that's funny and in no way gets repetitive almost instantly right? right? ....
Yahari Ore no Seishun has almost no romantic elements ,which would be ok instead of forcing one down our throats,but it briefly tries having one mid series that gets completely forgotten by the next episode,like nothing has ever happened.Which is ever worse than having a bad romance in the first place.
And the comedy is mild to non existent ,this depends on your subjective taste of course.I can only remember 2-3 moments where the show got a smile out of me,most of the time it felt like a total drag despite being only 13 episodes.
The "story" ,if you can call it that, is just the usual high school slice of life with all the usual situations and locations you've seen a million times: the fireworks festival,going to the mall shopping,the school festival....
It had a episodic nature where it introduced new character each episode alongside their petty problems in order to resolve them,no that all fine and dandy but surprisingly almost no of the issues really get resolved,they are either forgotten or just handled in the most .In some cases it goes into complete nonchalant territory such as :"Hey you're sad and lonely,stop being sad and lonely" - "well ok if you it that way" , "Hey you need money to provide your family.Why don't you get a scholarship?" - "Oh ok,ill get one right away".
That's when the writing was just abysmally bad,it also didn't help that everything was brushed away under the rug after each episode ended with no future mentioning.
I've touched upon the main character ,but what about the other 2 female characters? Are they well developed or interesting in some way?
Nope ,Yukino is a condescending ,overly direct ,perfect in all she does type of character .You could have literally replaced her with a robot with no understanding of human nature of emotions and it would have been exactly the same.
Yui is the typical air-head ,overly cheerful character that is pretty much mandatory in any high school related anime nowadays.Not much to say about her.
You only need to take a brief look at the cover for this anime to guess what kind of characters they are, its that simple.Character development is non-existent ,nothing has changed about them during the events the show presented.
The rest of the side characters are completely one note and extremely forgettable ,such as a the girl who likes guy on guy "action",the boy who looks like a girl and is mistaken for one everytime,the cute little sister who constantly repeats "onii chan" over and over again .
Notable mentions goes to the useless ,short tempered teacher who punches students and constantly smokes around them ,because that's funny and in no way gets you instantly fired in real life right ?.....
Overall its a very mediocre and forgettable anime that didn't even try bringing anything new on to the table ,it just rehashed the usual anime tropes.The high school setting has been easily the lowest common denominator for a very long time now,and this series does nothing but to reaffirm how tedious and uninteresting it has become.
Mediocre animation that takes you back to early 2000's series ,not something made 2013,decent VA,almost no story or character progression,bland and one note character ,that's Yahari Ore no Seishun in a nutshell.
Oh and just to make matters worse ,of course there has to be a sequel to this.Because every shitty ,unoriginal,mediocre series warrants a sequel nowadays.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 1, 2014
Hype can sure be a weird thing,especially in anime.
For many series it works completely to their advantage broadening their audience outside of Japan and overall (positive) universal acclaim :Cowboy Bebop,Death Note,Fullmetal Alchemist...
These are the series that are just objectively good ,no matter of your own taste or preferences you just cant deny them of their merits either by the ideas/twists/original story that they brought to the anime genre.
Secondly there are series that receive mixed reception either because they weren't all that groundbreaking or generally good and also because maybe they didn't air at the right time in order to receive the full attention and recognition
...
they properly deserved.Many series fall into this category.
And lastly the series that for some reason or another get excessively praised just on the basis of the initial premise or first promising episodes and are instantly regarded as groundbreaking/original and all that jazz. Just so that when the series ends people finally notice notice how deeply flawed and filled with cliches/tropes the series has been and for better or for worse the backlash begins.Notable examples:Code Geass,Sword Art Online,Attack on Titan...
Samurai Flamenco fits perfectly in the last category.What started out as a realistic and modern perspective to the idea of heroes ,from the perspective of Japanese people as depicted in their TV and other anime series, ended up as a complete train-wreck.
While i know this word is used extensively there is no other way to describe Samurai Flamenco better,you stand there watching it and just cant take your eyes off it,its a glorious and yet twisted sight that needs to seen to believe it can happen.
To put it into perspective imagine a combination between KickAss ,Power Rangers and Se7en (without the actual killing).All competently different in tone/genre and all waiting their turn to appear making the viewer completely confused as to what he/she is watching.
That's Samurai Flamenco in a nutshell.
Character progression? Story? Proper pacing? Ha-Ha! ,these are things that Samurai Flamenco considers unnecessary to even bother with so it just makes its own rules one episode just so that it can be completely discarded the other.Plot points appear and disappear on a constant basis.
The only constant thing throughout the series is the main character ,well to be precise his one note motivation to be the hero,to fight against evil no matter what,even if he puts other people in danger (and he does this on multiple occasions).
I could go on and on about how stupid the characters are ,especially Mari whose sole characteristics are that she wants to kick bad guys in the balls and that she loves police uniforms.Oh and that she kisses her band member ,who is also a female, for no apparent reason except for obvious fan service.That's it ,i honestly wish i was joking.
Or how the villains are laughably bad in both design and (complete lack of) motivation to the point where you are wondering if: "is all of this on purpose?" Like is this supposed to be a parody or something ? Even though its played completely straight ,the overall tone of Samurai Flamenco is surprisingly serious ,even when it went full on Power Rangers with very few jokes spread throughout the series.Is this some sort of a parody of a parody?
Its hard to say if that's the case or not,because it all comes down to being extremely incoherent and very inconsistent.
On paper or at the very least as a small idea by the people behind this series,it might have sounded decent or even good and could have actually been good with the wright attitude, writing and such.
But in practice like i said earlier its just a complete mess with ideas borrowed from all over the place pilled together into a giant pile of rubbish.It likes to constantly trow curve balls at the viewer and have the nerve to expect a genuine praiseworthy reaction.
For example without giving to much away ,the final episodes (or i guess arc ) of the anime actually had me laughing out loud ,for all the wrong reasons of course,like "oh so now all of a sudden its going this way ,after all that has happened just 1 episode ago?" Yup and it expects the viewer to take it completely seriously as well, and even to go as far as wanting to create sympathy and emotion , but all it achieves is that if fails so hard on its own pretentious ass that it in a very weird way it almost makes up for putting the effort to sit trough this loathsome series.Almost.
Do i recommend it,no absolutely not.
Unless you really love the over the top nature and clumsy action scenes of Power Rangers or have a thing for bad series ,the same way many people like "so bad its good " movies like The Room,Troll 2,Birdemic, and enjoy to see how completely incompetent some people are while making their own "project" ,then just stay away from it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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