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Jun 4, 2020
i'd like to like this anime more, because i can feel the potential of the basic premise and possible development paths, but it just isn't up to snuff. the artwork, while not remarkable, is generally capable. admittedly, some of the character renditions are pretty strange, with bizarrely mis-shapen proportions, but the drawings are basically skillful enough. sound and music, too, are also acceptable, if somewhat generic.
the major problem with this anime is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. is it a mockingly-carefree adventure with dark undertones, as it started out to be ? is it yet another school anime, as it
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has so far predominately ended up being ? is it something else entirely, as it has intimated that it's sort of trying to be, but can't quite get there ?
there are plot holes large enough to drive a lorry through, and 'anime logic' predominates. while there are a number of plot -twists- as well, they distract from the story rather than add to it. rather than being clever enhancements to the plot, they come off more as disjointed excuses to prolong air time, as though the studio had run out of ideas and developed story progressions based on the outcome of a roll of the dice and a bottle of sake.
similarly, the relationships between the characters are also confused -- and confusing. the writers generally don't seem to have a clear idea of who the characters are and what they want them to be ; characters' attitudes and behaviours turn on a dime, and the audience have no clear and strong idea why, even after a few reveals have attempted to sort things out a bit.
the pacing is strange. episodes where we need more time and information to understand the situations and the characters in them go by at the speed of light. others are filled with inconsequential nonsense. a typical example : devoting an entire episode to characters getting drunk in their underwear, with no advancement of the story, no meaningful dialog, and no action -- of any sort.
all in all, although the premise of the story has potential, that potential seems to be well beyond the capabilities of its creators, and its execution comes off like someone trying to perform brain surgery with a baseball bat.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 30, 2017
in watching sakurada reset, i found myself reminded of works by james joyce, franz kafka, and arthur conan doyle. like joyce's works, information in sakurada reset is presented on several different levels simultaneously and does require a bit of effort to unravel, which [depending on your point of view] could either be refreshing, or simply make your head hurt.
i also found several points in common with other anime, such as steins;gate, occultic;nine, the kubikiri cycle, and others of the genre. sakurada reset is, at its most basic, a mystery. if you like puzzles and thinking about things, and won't complain if there's no fanservice, ecchi,
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or action scenes, then this anime may appeal to you. since the progress of the anime is driven almost exclusively by dialog, you may get bored if you prefer anime that are action-driven, but you'll most likely enjoy it if you get into character interaction.
like the other anime i mention above, sakurada reset involves a level of intellectual abstraction that leads to a certain mood. the characters' dialog, plot development, even the visual composition tend away from the concrete and toward the symbolic and metaphorical, following methods similar to those commonly used in existential and surrealist literature. indeed, many times in sakurada reset, i was reminded of kafka's 'der prozeß' -- not from the way the plot developed, but rather due to the interactions of the characters ; often, they simply accept at face value what is happening to them [or the answers others give their questions] -- never really fighting it, or even questioning deeply at all, but rather blindly going along, surrendering their own power to vague, ambiguous, anonymous forces hidden from us behind amorphous names like 'the bureau'. even people who work for the bureau are doing this, so we are left wondering ... 'who' is ultimately responsible ?
there is also a sort of 'absurdism' in sakurada reset that reminds me of kafka's 'die verwandlung'. the salesman in 'die verwandlung' simply accepts his strange mutation without looking deeper. simiarly, in sakurada reset, once again, many of the characters just sort of accept some very strange circumstances or people's behaviours without looking deeper, as though it were somehow 'obvious'. furthermore, often the characters in sakurada reset speak completely openly and plainly, without any hint of self-protective evasion or pretense -- even when doing so would quite obviously place them in danger -- which adds to the absurdist feel. all of this serves to create a mood which is sometimes very strange, but also charming, in its own way.
also like the other anime i mention, the main story acts as a vehicle for a philosophical viewpoint [which i won't spoil here... ;) ]. it's unfortunate that there typically isn't a 'philosophical' category in the genre listings, these would all most likely have that tag.
although there is a superficial similarity to other anime where the characters have extraordinary powers [such as 'charlotte', for example], that's really about as far as that goes. instead, i get a distinct surrealist vibe woven intricately into a long story with many apparent contradictions that aren't resolved until much later.
speaking from a technical standpoint, there's nothing earth-shattering here ; both the art and sound are respectable, and about what you should expect.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 8, 2017
in brief : if you liked 'gakusen toshi asterisk' and 'le fruit de la grisaille', you'll probably like this one ; there are flavours of both here.
i started out the series rolling my eyes with a sigh, thinking, 'well, the gang's all here : the meganekko, the kuudere, the cutie with a brocon, the kendo girl, the flustered loli with annoying falsetto, etc. however, i was quickly drawn in to the story and found myself rooting for them despite their stereotypes.
unlike many harem and quasi-harem shounen anime, the mc here isn't a wimp. in fact he's smart, full of aplomb, and totally badass !
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for most of the series, it was fun watching him [and, incidentally, the others too] deal with the unfolding surprises [of which there were many] and kick the crap out of his opponents. on the other hand, in my opinion he might be TOO badass ; i stopped worrying about the characters as the series developed because i knew, whatever happened, 'eh, the mc will sort it out like he always does', so dramatic tension actually lessened as the series continued.
to be clear, this series isn't really harem, even though it does have tendencies in that direction. there were many interesting side characters, both male and female, and they were developed enough to pique my interest. even so, i wanted more. i felt they could have been given real depth if only the writers had dedicated a little more time to them.
there are also quite a few of the usual cliché situations, but finally, they didn't detract all that much. the action sequences were exciting and fun, the effects were really well drawn, and the plot [yes, there's an actual plot!] was interesting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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