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Apr 6, 2015
For me this anime’s strongest points were its artistic sense, story, and likeable main characters. The drawbacks were a few inconsistencies (because the episodes were made so far apart), the plot could have been tighter, and the animation wasn’t all that pretty sometimes. However, in my opinion the imagination, captivating story, and unique style far outweighed the negative aspects.
IN SHORT: If you like a nice old fashioned adventure- epic, with fantasy, a mystical art style, and a mostly character centered plot, then you will probably enjoy Arslan Senki. The designs and art are unique, and the story is interesting and captivating.Give this one a
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shot! It won’t take you long, it’s only a six episode OVA.
AESTHETICS
Positive: The animation is not that great, and animation and budget are limited, but the art direction is brilliant! There were many beautiful shots and artistic sceneries. One of the little touches that stood out to me was the way in which fire was animated throughout the ova. The fire is off the chain in this one!
Negative (small): Sometimes the action didn’t make much sense, and a few fights seemed unrealistic (within the context of Arslan Senki’s universe).
STORY, PLOT,CHARACTERS
Positive: I loved the story! The scope was broad and the sense it gives off is that of an epic journey. You see the main character grow into a more mature man and capable ruler. It’s all about the underdog and how his quest to gain power and regain his position. Yes, the show is about war and politics, but it spends most of its time on Arslan’s development and telling the stories of its characters.
Okay: I liked the variety of characters who were all interesting in their own way. Excluding Arslan and a few others the characters weren’t the most nuanced or multi-dimensional characters ever, but they were still a step above flat, one dimensional, archetypal characters. So all in all, they were pretty good, not the best, but still good.
Negative: The start was a bit boring, but the story continuously becomes more engrossing as it progresses. I would say this is something you need to sit down, relax, and give yourself plenty of time to watch. As someone who gets bored of shows very quickly (look at my “dropped” list), I’d say the slow start isn’t unbearable and still has enough interesting moments on its own. Overall, the story and the plot have a more laid back feel to them. (Which isn’t necessarily a problem, it’s just the OVA’s style)
SUMMARY: If you like a nice old fashioned adventure- epic, with fantasy, a mystical art style, and a mostly character centered plot, then you will probably enjoy Arslan Senki. The designs and art are unique, and the story is interesting and captivating. Give this one a shot! It won’t take you long, it’s only a six episode OVA.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 2, 2015
This anime was partially enjoyable, but my enjoyment was mostly overshadowed by what I see as failed potential. One Outs starts out with a world of potential with the interesting and enigmatic main character, genius pitcher Tokuchi Toua. The supporting characters are interesting as well and immediately given impressive backstory and development. The atmosphere seemed to be setting up for a great baseball journey and even the narrator promised that great unforeseen events would happen later on. However, after the first few introductory episodes the series levels out and becomes uninteresting focusing on one long match after another. Many people say this series is like
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Death Note with baseball. It is NOT like Death Note with baseball. There is a distinct lack of arch rivalry, but an abundance of Toua’s god mode. The series disappointed me because 1)Toua’s character never grows, changes, or gets a backstory, and 2) The matches got boring once I realized that they all followed one pattern:
Opponents: “Shenanigans! Let’s use dirty tricks, genius, mind games, cheating, and/or raw talent to try and make Toua lose!”
Toua : “Haha, nice try but I’m god” Toua then proceeds to own everyone.
This in and of itself is already an insult to the viewer, but it was made worse by making the matches long and trying to delude us into believing that Toua was actually taking risks and gambling, even though he was pretty much perfect. I’m ok with Gary Stu’s as long as the show is interesting and suspenseful, but unfortunately for me this show was boring. My breakdown will go into a little more detail about the qualities I liked and disliked in this series. There were some aspects I liked, but ultimately this was a frustrating watching experience.
Story
The series started off with great potential and a very interesting main character, but eventually plateaued. The plot doesn’t go very far and many episodes were spent on a single game. Over-emphasis on tricks, sneaky strategies and mind screwing.
Characters
Tokuchi Toua was always god-mode mind reading, always right, and always confident. We never get much depth into his charcter, thoughts or background. I like overpowered characters, but only if they come with a background, and at least the illusion of having struggles and growth. These things make it easier for the viewer to root for the character. Toua doesn’t seem to grow or learn anything. He’s just teaching and showing everybody else. He has an other-wordly quality to him that I really like. But in an anime like this where everything else and everyone else is realistic, it only contributed to the disconnect I felt with the show and with Toua. Toua’s teammates were mostly stupid and incapable and had to rely on Toua. Opponents had a monster-of-the-week feel to them.
One the show’s main villains, the team’s owner, was another major weakness. Tokuchi spent much of his time and effort just trying to defeat him. Why did the owner have to be the main foil? It was annoying, and a great hindrance to the plot and the story’s development. It was as if he (Tokuchi) was stuck in a permanent holding pattern fighting against the boss.
Art and Sound
The animation was pretty good, and the music was just okay. Not bad, but forgettable. Overall, the voice acting was good, but I think that Toua’s VA was miscast.
The Bottom Line: While the show was by no means terrible and had some enjoyable moments it ultimately let me down, and I feel like watching this wasn’t worth my time. I’d discourage others from viewing this as well. There are many other psychological and sports shows out there that are better than this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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