Back to ecargmura's Profile ecargmura's Profile

As a whole, I feel like this anime is underrated. It gives a good message of people having roles in life and how it can influence those around them. Though, it does have its weak points.

I feel like this anime was mainly showing off the capabilities that 3D animation could do; the animation was clearly the show’s strongest suit. The animation quality amazing and it’s such a shame that people look down on this anime because of its animation. I feel like it’s really the best 3D anime so far.

The anime’s weakest aspect is the story. There were many instances where the story was confusing ... or not very consistent like with the sudden drop that everyone has psychic powers and the craziness that was episode 7. I know it’s hard to condense a long story into a seasonal show and there should’ve been a lot of consistency to explain everything, but I feel like George Iida didn’t really do that in this iteration of Night Head.

The characters were either enjoyable or not. I enjoyed watching the Kirihara brothers trying to find a place in the world only to realize that the world they live in isn’t theirs. Their connection with the Kuroki brothers made the mystery very engaging. Naoto and Naoya’s bond is very wholesome to look at. Takuya and Yuya were enjoyable to watch towards the end of the show, but they were very frustrating in the beginning, especially Takuya. Fortunately, the Kuroki brothers were redeemable by the end.

The mystery behind Shoko Futami was also very intriguing. I wanted to know what role she played in all of this every time she appeared and her end was a very satisfactory one as she finally did fulfill that role.

The side characters are divisive to me. On one hand, the side characters that aren’t a part of the SWE are fun to watch while the ones in the SWE were a bore. Characters like Miki, Masayuki, Yui and Kazama were all interesting to watch given their role in their story whether it be their connection with Shoko, their being an anomaly to society or how the depravity of the world twisted them. It really gives off the core themes of the story well.

The losers from the SWE, on the other hand, are such a bore to watch. Michio and Reika are not very developed and not very interesting. They just exist to be the Kuroki brothers’ allies. Michio’s rivalry with Takuya felt one-noted and his desire for power was very hypocritical with how he’s persecuting his own people. Reika was like the snarker to Michio’s antics, but the way she suddenly becomes chummy with Takuya and calls him “Taku-nii” like he’s her brother felt kind of weird. I know it’s out of friendly affection, but it really has no importance, as Reika and Takuya’s relationship isn’t really fleshed out.

Heck, the villains of the anime aren’t that compelling either. We’ve got Honda who was suspicious from the get-go, but turned out to be a disappointing villain. Kimie, who was ambiguous, ultimately held back on being a threat. Okuhara suddenly showed up as the prophet and decided to destroy the brothers felt out of place as the story never foreshadowed having a prophet. Kazama was the most interesting “villain” of the show and he dipped out after two episodes. Imagine being less interesting than a character that dies in two episodes.

Heck, I feel like the main villains of this story are Misaki and Mikuriya for they were the ones that made Naoto and Naoya take on a role they never asked for or wanted. The fact that they had to accept this fate really did seem as if Misaki was the true “villain” as he got his way in the end and overcame Okuhara.

The soundtrack and the voice acting were amazing, however. The chemistry between the voice actors is top-notch. I’d love to see Daisuke Ono and Nobunaga Shimazaki play brothers in another anime show, same with Takahiro Sakurai and Kensho Ono. The show had a lot of well-known voice actors play supporting roles, and I felt like they did a great job. Some of the characters had voice actors that are not as well-known in the industry like Shoko’s but I think they deserve praise. Everyone played their roles to the upmost potential and it felt like they were alive.

The anime is pretty and all and if one were to rewatch it, it’d be for the graphics and character designs and not the story. It’s not a bad thing to watch an anime for those aspects, however. The anime was creative, however, with it being one that didn’t stick to a norm.

This is probably one of the best original anime I’ve seen in such a long time. It’s definitely one of my top family anime and these three are on my list of top anime families. The concept did seem like a Spy x Family ripoff at first, but it has proven itself to be more than that. I’m glad to have picked this up to review. I did not regret it at all. In fact, it ignites my reviewing passion even more.
The concept of found family between three broken people with no blood relations towards each other will always be a sweet concept. This show ... proves that you don’t have to be a man and a woman to be parents, two men can be fine parents as well (I want to see an anime with two women raising a child now). The chemistry the three main characters have are so good and the writing is excellent. The writers did a very good job of not squeezing in too much and not being too ambiguous or vague in showing and telling. They did a good job balancing everything from the comedy to the angst.
The execution of this concept of this anime was a bit rocky first with Miri being annoying and the dads being terrible parents at first, but as show went on, the annoying aspects disappeared and the show did solidify into a wholesome and comedic action comedy. However, my only gripe is that Rei and Kazuki’s bond is mainly told and not shown. Like it was shown subtly throughout the first seven episodes before being explicit with the bonding in Episode 8 where the flashback of when they first met occurred. I wanted to know more about their bond
The voice acting was top-notch. Toyonaga and Uchiyama have such great chemistry in their past works and to see them reunited again in this anime was pure bliss. I can’t wait to see another anime with them as leads. Hina Kino as Miri was great. She sounded convincingly child-like that suited Miri’s playful nature as a four-year-old. I’m impressed with how she delivered her lines without sounding too off (meaning that sounding like a child at first and then making the child sound older due to being voiced by an adult). Morikawa as Kyutaro was also great too. He always has a nice voice and to see it be used here is great. All the other voice actors were great too, but I want to mention Ogino’s. His voice actor is Mitsuaki Madono. If you look him up, he mainly voices bumbling villains like Adachi from Persona 4 and Hasta from Tales of Innocence or characters like Chopin from Eternal Sonata. Using such a deep voice made him unfamiliar. I had to look up his VA to see who was voicing him and that’s when I learned that Ogino and Adachi have the same VA; it’s still mind boggling to this day.
The OST is banging. I love the jazz! All the usage of jazz made the anime feel like a spy flick and it showed. Though, my favorite portions were the scores used in somber scenes like Misaki’s song. Her introduction in Episode 3 was beautiful with the way she sang “Don’t say good-bye.”
This is definitely an anime I’d recommend to anyone wanting to watch a family anime. Don’t let first impressions cloud your judgement with this anime; it’s a lot better than It looks. Give it a chance! You won’t be disappointed!

Overall, this anime was fantastic. It did Jun Mochizuki’s style justice. The animation quality, the soundtrack and voice acting are all top notch. It makes me want to see what is in store for Season 2 and wonder if Studio Bones will do a Pandora Hearts adaptation. If they announce a new Pandora Hearts anime, whether it is a Season 2 or a remake anime, I will do a face reveal and record myself screaming at the news.

The characters are all so compelling. Vanitas may be a jerk, but ... he has a lot of depth than he appears. Noe is a cinnamon roll but he’s also stubborn—the total opposite of Vanitas. Their chemistry is lovely. The side characters are all interesting and important to the story, something I love about Mochizuki’s storytelling; she always makes a way for supporting characters to have significance in the story and I admire her writing skills for that. I want to write just like that some day.

The story’s formulaic, but it also makes you wonder what will be the outcome of all of this. How many Curse-bearers are there? Will they be able to complete their goal? How will Vanitas die? The way Mochizuki brings these curious questions to her readers makes them want to read more—I’m one of them.

The soundtrack is amazing. Yuki Kajiura never disappoints. I want to download her songs and listen to them forever. I also love the difference in music styles from Demon Slayer to The Case Study of Vanitas. With Demon Slayer, she uses Asian instruments to give off the oriental vibes the setting takes place in. In this anime, she uses more European sounds to give off the romance vibes that European cities are known for. I love that one song used in Episode 3 where guitar was used to give off a Spanish feel as Vanitas was seducing Jeanne.

The voice acting is amazing. Natsuki Hanae really pulled off Vanitas well. From a radio show, Hanae mentioned that Vanitas was a challenging role to audition for because of the way he talked. The way Hanae was able to portray Vanitas’s vocal tone proves how talented he is. Kaito Ishikawa’s Noe is really good too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ishikawa play such an earnest role since I’m mainly familiar with his stern characters like Kageyama, Nine and Kiawe. Seeing him give life to a cutie like Noe makes me realize that he’s talented as well; come to think of it, I think this is the first time I’ve heard Ishikawa use very polite language when playing a character (for me, that is). The supporting cast is amazing too. Jeanne’s voice actress, Inori Minase, is great. I love Kayano’s portrayal as Dominique. Luca’s voice actress is Shino Shimoji who plays Shionne in Tales of Arise; to see her able to play a young boy and a stern woman shows off her versatility and potential to be big in the industry.

This anime just made me love Mochizuki’s works even more and I totally recommend this to anyone! This even solidifies a place in my top 10 animes of all time, a list that never had major changes until now. This is a solid 10/10 anime for me given how much I loved it and feel the love the production team poured into it.