When was the last time we’ve gotten a truly serious heart-pumping, blood-rushing survival anime where the characters are facing a combination of the environment surrounding them as well as opposing humans? And when was the last time that the tension was so high that you sat stock still with bated breath, unable to move because you were that enthralled by what was unfolding before you? One more….. and when was the last time that an anime, having all of this, also included a massive conspiracy that was well thought-out, related entirely to the environment and setting, and had villains operating it that were actually fearsome
...
and not just plot devices?
Honestly, I don’t think there’s ever been an anime like this. But there is one now, and it’s roared into the final season of 2020 like a pack of lions chasing after their kill. And honestly, that’s how it feels watching this show, as if you’re trying to escape from multiple things coming at you at one time and you gotta think of a way out fast, within milliseconds, and you need to constantly keep doing this, or else you’re fucking dead.
That anime is ZUERST, obviously, an experience so totally unique to anime that the most comparable narrative and atmosphere to it, without giving too much away about the plot, is in fact the 2013 action-adventure, award-winning game “The Last of Us”. While there may or may not be structural similarities between the two in overarching narrative (again, I don’t want to spoil any of the plot for ZUERST because it’s just soooo thrilling), they both perfectly manifest the feelings of dread and fear of not being able to necessarily help others because it’s hard enough to help yourself in the first place when you’re on a constant loop of running for your life.
Narratively, ZUERST is a perfect representation of “show, don’t tell”. There’s no exposition in this: it throws the audience into a familiar, yet unfamiliar world without explaining anything, instead leaving it up to them to discover what’s going on through context clues and interpreting what characters may indirectly imply about their situation. Further, everything develops organically, as if it’s actually unfolding in real time in front of the audience without any real “plot armor” or forced writing. There are multiple mysteries tied together among the expansive cast of characters which are not directly revealed to the audience, but rather can be both inferred and also predicted based on information the audience receives over time. Basically, foreshadowing plays a key role in keeping the audience engaged because there is enough to make accurate predictions about what is going to happen if paying attention, yet subtle enough that it doesn’t spoil any major plot points and will be often missed by the average viewer with not enough patience to keep a watchful eye out for the subtleties. One last thing – if you aren’t focused while watching, you will very easily miss key details that will leave you somewhat confused later in the story. I say this only because it speaks volumes to the importance of each and every scene of this story: there is NOTHING here that is filler or could be excluded without negatively impacting the plot and the flow.
If this all sounds interesting enough already, a short analysis of the cast of characters will pique your intrigue even further. For starters, the main cast of characters are all clearly defined. The protagonist of the show is an interesting case and receives massive amounts of development throughout the show. How he progresses through scene after scene is very identifiable. Of course, the only way this would be super noticeable is if he changes massively as a character over time – which he does, and all for the better. But even though it’s like finding a horse in a haystack – very easy – his progression is way more defined than “very insecure at the beginning, strong and confident at the end”. The nuances of his progression, once again, can be seen over time. Some anime has one or two major scenes that change a character, causing it to feel somewhat forced. In ZUERST, this is not the case. Everything changes him, and this is apparent.
The protagonist himself, while being the meat of the story, isn’t always the focus of every scene; rather, there are plenty of scenes that don’t include him. The group the protagonist finds himself joining forces with is also full of very defined characters with clear goals and objectives. They all come from relatively different backgrounds, but their shared common interests are what keeps them together and united for their purpose. Each character gets ample amount of screen time and are not just plot devices but actually relevant enough to the story to justify giving them the time of day.
The antagonistic group also receives heavy focus. This is vastly different from 99% of other anime where every episode the main villain receives one scene where he’s maniacally laughing or sniveling and twisting his hands like a dumbass. Nay, the antagonistic force in ZUERST has just as much characterization and definition as the protagonist and his group. The head honcho, voiced by rising star Kenjirou Tsuda, is clearly a force to be reckoned with and not overpoweringly so. He’s got a clear motive for his actions, makes his own decisions even if they don’t align with his side, and his background is explored enough that one might be able to justify him turning into the “monster” that he has become. Meanwhile, his comrades have their own reasons for doing what they do, and all the actions that all of the characters take in ZUERST just make sense. There’s no dumb bullshittery or stupid decisions made; just characters doing what is in their own self interests.
I could speak of the environment as a character, because it kinda is, and you’ll see why if you watch the show. But to go into that now would be spoilers, and it would be much more fun to find out what I mean if you just go watch yourself!
The other major thing I want to focus on here is the art and animation. While the animation isn’t always top notch, what struck me immediately from the first episode was how fluid and consistent it is. There are no shortcuts taken involving quick cuts to avoid animating a sword being swung; instead, there’s lots of sword swinging, gun shooting, and running that for 85% of the time, looks smooth and very accurate. If I had to compare the animation of ZUERST to the typical seasonal show, I’d say it looks better than 90% of all seasonal anime. It’s definitely consistent.
The art, however, is more than just consistent. It is INCREDIBLE. With this type of anime where the tension of trying to survive and uncover hidden truths is the key to making it feel right, the atmosphere is crucial towards relaying that tension. The shots in this anime do the wonderful story absolute justice. They are just so detailed, are extremely visually appealing, and really are the driving force behind the cohesive, immersive experience. They pull you into the world and keep you there, alongside the characters, as if you are right next to them!
The most praiseworthy aspect of the art in ZUERST is by FAR AND AWAY the facial expressions of the characters. Never in my life have I ever seen a such diverse arsenal of facial expressions. Expressions are the key to making characters come alive, and never before have I felt such intense emotions from characters in an anime. When facial expressions cause your blood to run cold and chills to run up and down your entire body, you KNOW a show has succeeded at making you feel immersed and care about the characters.
There’s so much more I could go into about this show, even without diving into spoiler territory, but I’ve already gone on for long enough, so I’ll leave off with one last thing:
The soundtrack to this anime is glorious. That is all. If you love amazing soundtracks, watch this if only for that reason.
There are plenty of reasons to love ZUERST. I legitimately couldn’t find a single reason to dislike it, and I was immersed enough to not even notice any mishaps or issues with the plot whatsoever. The animation and art by a low-budget studio for some reason blow 90% of other seasonal shows out of the water, even if the animation did decline over the span of the show.
Director Naoto Hosoda has finally succeeded in creating a near masterpiece anime, and it is evident that his impact on the anime as a whole – the direction altogether being fantastic – was a huge reason. The scene composition, the framing, the shots, the seamless transitions: everything was just incredibly well-crafted.
It is without any regrets whatsoever that I can say clearly: ZUERST is the best anime of 2020.
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Dec 29, 2020
Magatsu Wahrheit: Zuerst
(Anime)
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When was the last time we’ve gotten a truly serious heart-pumping, blood-rushing survival anime where the characters are facing a combination of the environment surrounding them as well as opposing humans? And when was the last time that the tension was so high that you sat stock still with bated breath, unable to move because you were that enthralled by what was unfolding before you? One more….. and when was the last time that an anime, having all of this, also included a massive conspiracy that was well thought-out, related entirely to the environment and setting, and had villains operating it that were actually fearsome
...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 10, 2020
Sora no Aosa wo Shiru Hito yo
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Mari Okada / Tatsuyuki Nagai. A match made in heaven. One of my favorite pairings in all of anime. I don't know a single thing I've disliked made by the combination of the two of them, and Mari Okada specifically is one of my all-time favorite writers.
I had such high expectations for this movie...which perhaps was the mistake I made, because boy was it such a disappointment. I should have expected this from Cloverworks, who did Bunny Girl Senpai along with the movie which clearly wasn't movie quality, much like this. Ultimately, I feel as though "Her Blue Sky" would have worked much better as ... a 1-cour series and it honestly does seem like it was cut down to a movie due to budget constraints, although obviously that's just speculation. Story: 4/10 There is absolutely nothing original about this story. That doesn't mean it's bad, it just... well, like someone else said, exists. It wasn't really confusing to follow at all, but the main issue was that too many characters were included, too many things were going on, and the focus was spread out far too much for a less-than-2-hour movie. Half the time it felt like a slice-of-life story, a quarter of the time it felt like a supernatural mystery, and the other quarter felt like a romantic drama. Not all even in any specific order; interspersed throughout, which led to a distinct lack of atmosphere and connection to the characters. There were too many random shots of people playing music, scenery, and nothing plot-related that it felt like they were trying to find things to fill the time which is just super confusing to me because the story that they were trying to tell in the first place felt rushed as it was. The lack of cohesiveness in tone and atmosphere throughout the story really led to me feeling absolutely nothing during the climax of the movie, what was supposed to be the most emotional point - and then, the story just abruptly ended. I guess it was trying to tell the story of not giving up on your dreams and realizing that even after time, what your heart most desires can come true - but that was just one subplot for one or two of the characters. What was it trying to convey to us - what was the story for the protagonist? What did she get out of it? When you can't even figure out what the plot was about in relation to the main character of the damn story... I don't know what to say. It felt like we were following around a protagonist and yet nothing in the story was actually meant to be about her and she was just a device used to serve the story of the two other mains. I don't even know what I'm trying to say at this point, other than the story felt almost non-existent, that things were just happening just for the sake of happening. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good, and it failed at creating an atmosphere where I cared about what was happening or felt drawn-in. Again, I really feel as if it would have worked better focusing entirely on only the main characters, cutting out the side characters, and making it entirely character-driven with no other real events occurring. The way the plot was, in order for it to feel realistically developed, the story definitely needed way more time than what was granted for the movie. Basically, the plot had potential and failed mainly because there wasn't enough time to adequately tell the story they were trying to tell. Art/Animation: 4/10 There are definitely some beautiful still shots here. Extremely realistic, and full of life, a sharp contrast to the plot. Sadly, like the premise of the movie, the art is fool's gold. I'm almost positive that at least half the shots in this movie, if not more, were photographs passed through filters made to seem like they were drawn or painted when really they were just pictures taken. There's just too much detail, too much distinct lettering and small items in the background shots for them to have been all drawn. But it looks visually stunning! Because it looks realistic!...because it's actually real images that aren't drawn. Because nothing in the backgrounds were actually moving, i.e. the backgrounds were all just stills, it leads to even more credence in my theory. In Shinkai's films, all of the backgrounds are alive. Here, the backgrounds are just static. The only things really animated at all in this are the characters, which are drawn very inconsistently throughout the movie with such a clear discrepancy in detail between them and the backgrounds, that they feel jarring and clash with the backgrounds. Even if all the backgrounds *were* hand-drawn or painted, the design of the characters style clashes stylistically with them. There are shots with characters' faces not even attempted to be drawn-in because they're at somewhat of a distance away - yet inexcusable for a movie to not have faces drawn in because it was 100% possible for them to have accurately been drawn-in. There are shots with characters off-model with little-to-no detail in their clothing. Why would the studio go the extra mile for beautifully-hand-drawn, ultra-realistic backgrounds yet drop the ball hard on character art? I don't know. I don't think they would have, but I'm not going to through out baseless accusations that a lot of the backgrounds were photographs; only state my personal suspicions that they were. Sound: 6/10 Sound design was fine. The instrumentation was cool - meaning the actual instruments that were played by the characters in the movie. The soundtrack did not stand out in the least - not a single track was memorable for me. The voice acting was probably the strongest part of the sound. It's hard to go wrong on sound and at least the music choice was fitting. Character: 3/10 The protagonist felt like a plot device for a story being told about the side main characters. The movie clearly wasn't about her yet it tried to make the emotional climax about her and it failed miserably because I felt nothing for her because the story wasn't focused on her. She felt very one-dimensional, I personally saw zero development in her character throughout the entire film, and she didn't gain anything from the events that took place in the film. Further, some of her actions felt groundless - mainly including her personal feelings towards one of the other characters - which I am attributing to the lack of time to properly show development. It felt like her particular feelings towards the character went from 0-100 in no time at all without any real interaction between the two. How she specifically acted towards that character - after 3-4 scenes with that character, practically no time at all - felt unbelievable and unrealistic. Regarding the other characters, the other two mains - I don't really get how their feelings for one another occurred either, especially considering how the one character was behaving and his attitude for most of the first half of the movie. Furthermore, I just don't get how over a span of 13 years apart, things could have realistically developed again. Lots of things change over 13 years, what ended up happening just felt forced yet again because there wasn't enough time for adequate development. As for the side characters, they're important enough to have screentime and lines, yet not important enough for anything they say to really have any impact on the story. Like, they were there, yet they played no role in the story other than being there. They had lines and moments, yet none of what they did impacted the development of the story or even how the main characters acted. I didn't see the purpose of a lot of characters and the narrative could have been much tighter had the movie focused solely on the main characters. Enjoyment: 5/10 I wasn't bored enough to drop the movie, it had my entire attention throughout, yet I felt absolutely nothing for it or any of the other characters. I enjoy things the most that pull me into the world through worldbuilding and development, both of which "Her Blue Sky" did not succeed at properly doing. I think I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more had it been an entire series. There was simply too much going on and not enough focus to have me connected to the story even though I was never actually bored. For this reason I give "Her Blue Sky" a 4.5/10, the definition of mediocrity for me. Good premise, just not fit for a movie.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 1, 2019 Mixed Feelings
I'm an admittedly biased reviewer of this story considering I've read the original YU-NO visual novel from 1996. However, I don't believe this disqualifies me from giving an accurate review of the anime.
YU-NO is unique in that as the 'grandfather of the modern visual novel', its story is much of a prototype of some of the most popular time-travel/sci-fi stories today. It has influenced numerous highly regarded works such as Steins;Gate, Island, and even Clannad. This review, however, is about how I personally feel about the story of YU-NO being told in this anime adaption and why. Story (6/10) This story starts out as a slow burner, ... which does pay off later when the development somewhat is on point. The positive parts of the story are the many shots of foreshadowing - dropping hints on things that could become very important pieces of the puzzle as we progress further into the story. Through the first arc, we see hints and glimpses towards what the protagonist is getting himself into and what he'll be trying to achieve. We are given parts and fragments throughout the beginning few arcs that seemingly are unrelated but ultimately tie together later on. The first arc I feel was a great way of introducing the characters, the setting, and a general idea of the mysteries. Through discovering the suffering and pain Takuya's stemother Ayumi has been through, Takuya is able to not only help her resist the urge to succumb from the pain, but grow closer to her and by doing so, stumble upon information regarding GeoTechnics, their research, his father's life, what his father's goal may have been, and above all, how and why his father has given him a device that he can use to travel in the past to different worldlines. The story itself isn't one for the faint-hearted. It's dark, brutally realistic, and deals with mature concepts and themes in a respectful manner that most other anime tend to completely avoid. The foreshadowing pays dividends, as many of the things that have seemed confusing in previous episodes now make sense in context with information that is later revealed. If I had to describe the story with one word, it would be "complex". The two "halves" of the story are very isolated from one another, yet at the end combine back together into one to make a complete package. Unfortunately the script-writing really falls flat with the atmosphere and tone. Scenes that were truly haunting and bone chilling, filling you with a sense of dread in the visual novel, have lost much of their impact and it really shows because many of the big plot reveals are "so what, why should we care?" moments, and it sucks because the story is so much better than how it was adapted. Furthermore, some of the changes to the plot resulted in some very glaring plot-holes that didn't exist in the original story, and were never actually addressed leaving you wondering what the script-writers were thinking. What frustrated me the most is how senselessly some of the scenes were adapted. It's almost as if they completely changed the tone, trying to add comedy when really they overdid it and it came off as stupid and tone-deaf. The comedy when done well was fine, they just inserted it too much into some of the more serious scenes, which wasn't a problem in the visual novel because it was more "dry humor" than "idiotic humor". Ultimately, for YU-NO to be properly adapted, it would have required most likely a) a different studio and b) more episodes in order to truly flesh out the plot and give impact to the many thrilling scenes that were in the visual novel. In the end, the changing of the plot to fit anime format wasn't done terribly, and this is one of the better adapted visual novel stories I've seen. It simply falls flat in areas that, if had been done with much thought and expertise, could have really elevated the plot to the level that it was in the visual novel. The script-writing dropped the ball, honestly. It's a shame because a 10/10 story and plot was reduced to at best a 6/10. Characters (7/10) If there's one pretty positive part of YU-NO, in my opinion it would be the diverse character cast. Unlike most anime with a high school protagonist and a cast of all high schoolers, YU-NO actually surrounds the protagonist with more adult characters than high school-aged characters. Because the characters surrounding Takuya are professionals with real-world life experience, this gives more credibility to scenarios where Takuya finds himself in danger or encounters obstacles a high schooler usually wouldn't. Takuya himself is quite possibly the furthest thing from a self-insert protagonist that you could encounter in anime. His personality is defined: nonchalant, almost in a way that makes him seem like a huge jerk, as he's constantly making wisecracks to the dismay of others. It might seem as though he doesn't care about the people in his life with his flippant remarks and the way he's constantly having people do things for him (mainly Yuuki), but his carefree attitude in a way is almost an advantage for him because when he gets serious, people almost immediately notice it and take him seriously. Also, by acting like a complete buffoon, he's also able to play off some more inquisitive questions as a joke without others suspecting that he's trying to search for answers. All of the other characters are well-built and each have their own motives for their actions. The one drawback, however, is that the characters are mainly used as plot devices to advance the story - Takuya learns valuable pieces of information about the world and mysteries surrounding him through interacting with each character during their individual arcs, and the arcs focus on the story more than developing the characters, which causes some of them to fall flat. And because the story moves so fast, there's barely enough time to develop much attachment at all to the wide cast, leaving you to wonder why you should even care about them at all, and making them feel disposable. The sadder character moments in the visual novel actually had impact because the characters were more fleshed-out and the plot wasn't advancing at break-neck speed. Here, however, again, the sadder moments just felt gruesome and unnecessary and had little to no impact. Sound (4/10) Ohhhh boy, here we go. The first few episodes were very dry and barren of music, negatively impacting my experience of the story. Even when the sountrack expanded later throughout the show, it was repetitive and lacking. I expected way more from Evan Call, the composer of the Violet Evergarden OST. The OST from the visual novel is one of my most favorite OSTs ever. They used exactly THREE TRACKS from it, and instead opted for an anime-original soundtrack for the rest. That really upset me. Even without comparing the anime OST to the VN OST, the anime OST clearly is not good enough. Music is a valuable tool for emotional impact, and the OST in my opinion didn't cut it at all whatsoever. The voice acting is absolutely fantastic. Specifically Kaori Nazuka, as Ayumi Arima, has portrayed incredible emotion and is acting with a lot of passiont. Nothing bad to say about the rest of the cast. Maaya Uchida is great as always and Rie Kugimiya, the tsundere queen, has returned - albeit not with many appearances, but she's back nonetheless! In the second half of the series with characters that I won't mention, the voice acting was truly incredible. Very passionately done all across the board. The sound effects...have had some wonky moments. I'll leave it at that. OP/EDs are all fantastic. Konomi Suzuki in particular has done an incredible job with the ED1 and OP2. The second ending is probably my favorite of the four themes! Art (5/10) The art itself is a 7/10. Love the detailed backgrounds and general drawings. The character model changes weren't that great because they're much more generic than they were before, removing the "gritty" feeling that they once had. The animation, however, is a 3/10. This adaptation is basically a slideshow, the animation is that non-existent. The story deserved so much better. Enjoyment (7/10) For a fan of the original visual novel, I can say that while this adaptation dropped the ball, it was at least an enjoyable watch. I would recommend it to people who like mysteries with a lot of plot twists, but not to anyone that wants an entirely coherent story. Although it is not a true 1:1 adaptation, changing and reordering quite a bit of scenes, the way they adapted the story - showcasing all the important information - only cut out some unnecessary scenes. This wasn't what I was hoping for out of this adaptation, but it was average! If you want the optimal experience, I do highly recommend reading either the original PC-98 port or the remake that's been released on Steam. The story will actually blow your mind.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 27, 2019 Recommended
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."
- Romans, 8:18 Have you ever wondered why you’re alive? It seems like such a silly question, one that a lot of people wouldn’t really ... take seriously, but then again, there are others that spend their entire lives actively searching for the answer. Now how about this one… have you ever experienced so much loneliness, pain, and suffering that you wished you *weren’t* alive and wondered what the point of living was if it was going to be like that? Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m sure many of us, at some point in our lives, have felt absolutely lost, without direction, wondering what our purpose is and where we should be going, not understanding who put us here or why. And I know I’ve at least thought before, maybe more than a few times, that maybe it would be better if I wasn’t alive, that I was a waste of space, that the world didn’t need me, that nobody would miss me if I was gone, that I was basically nonexistent while simultaneously having to exist. And have you ever dreamed of… have you ever wished with all your heart for something that could miraculously rid your life of all the conflict, pain, suffering, sadness… completely and entirely, forever and ever? Granbelm, an original production that’s very clearly a passion project, hit me exceptionally hard because it explores and really dissects these very feelings that we’ve all experienced. As a matter of fact, the entire anime might be a cleverly masked commentary on finding self-purpose in life through challenges and obstacles. I’d have to say that it succeeds in doing such because it is not inherently obvious that its goal is exactly that until near the very end of the story. The story of Granbelm is driven almost entirely by its characters, and what an excellent job character development does on progressing the plot. At the very start, we as the audience are immediately thrown into a scenario that is extremely chaotic. We initially learn very little about what is going on, mirroring the perspective of our protagonist, Mangetsu Kohinata who also knows absolutely nothing. It is only until we begin to learn about each of the characters’ pasts and their reasons for participating in the tournament known as “GRANBELM” do we begin to find out crucial pieces of the puzzle that piece together to give a more formulated picture of what is truly happening and why. This type of plot development, relying heavily on individual character experiences and background, can ruin a story when done incorrectly – when the characters fall flat and the pieces don’t come together nicely, the plot itself becomes a jumbled mess. Granbelm, however, absolutely excels at tying each of the character’s stories into a beautifully presented package of an overarching plot that will simultaneously blow your mind and slice your heart in half. All of the seven girls participating in Granbelm are ultimately are fighting to become the one true mage, the Princeps, because they have a purpose: something that they’d give everything in the world up for, something so important and precious to them that they’d do anything to succeed by all means necessary. Whether it’s wishing for a miracle, fighting to fulfill what they consider their own purpose, proving their own self-worth, or simply fighting to find their own purpose, what matters most – the only thing that makes a difference in their strength in battle - is how much unshakable conviction they are able to invest into their ambitions. It’s this moral conflict that is at the very center of the premise of Granbelm: how far would you go, how strong are your desires, that you would destroy the dreams of anyone else to obtain them? Is it selfish to destroy everything and everyone in your way for that in which you find your own purpose, your own reason to live? And is it morally right to obtain and use something to which no single person should ever have access, something that shouldn’t exist, a power that could warp the whole world just to grant one wish? In this way, the battles each month at full moon both symbolize and literally represent the characters’ feelings and desires clashing against one another. All skill, practice, and talent are thrown out the window to give way to raw passion and emotion. Each of the characters’ mechs – their Armonoxs – are said to be a reflection of their inner selves and their souls, which ties perfectly into this moral dilemma whereby physical, tangible value of each of their greatest wishes is thrown out the window for the intangible, unmeasurable strength of desire that they possess. To me, this symbolism is an absolutely incredible and thrilling way of representing the many emotions experienced in life through a physical art form that can be seen, felt, experienced, and shared by anyone. Granbelm is able to transcend the limitations of expressing feelings through words by visually representing them, which meshes perfectly with the themes and goals of the story. Each girl has their own internal conflicts and are facing some form of suffering. And although six of the seven girls each have a distinct and obvious reason to fight, Mangetsu is set apart because she has no visible reason to desire becoming the Princeps mage. This is where the theme of suffering and the theme of morality in self-purpose come to clash: is there any meaning to living through pain and suffering, and is it right to obtain and take the “easy way out” by destroying anyone and anything in our way? And does it matter what our intentions are for doing so? ____________________ Besides the overarching narrative, there are a few other things I wanted to highlight that made Granbelm the masterpiece I see it as. The art and animation, although wonky at times, were outstanding for the amount of people working on the show. Very few animators were involved in this, and yet the amount of detail within every scene and the consistent fluidity in the animation really stood out. The mech designs, while… questionable, are entirely drawn in 2D. As a matter of fact, the entire show is in 2D, it’s just mind-blowing how much passion and love was put into this project. Of course, much of the staff that worked on Granbelm also worked on Re:Zero, so it’s not a surprise to see the quality of this production, especially in the direction, writing, and composition. The writing itself is littered with foreshadowing that I guarantee you won’t notice or understand until your second watch. Lots of things at first don’t make sense because as the audience we are thrown directly into confusion, but seeing how everything has progressed, I’m thinking it was an intentional decision to start this way. The foreshadowing combined with the plot twists take the story from extremely good to masterful. And now for perhaps the most impressive part of the show: the sound direction. I’d first like to give credit to Kenichiro Suehiro for making me absolutely sob uncontrollably during episodes 12 and 13 with his heartwrenching OST. The music altogether is top-notch – very orchestral and classical and reminds me a lot of a John Williams-type soundtrack that you’d see in something like Star Wars. Also like something from Star Wars, the sound effects in Granbelm are fantastic and add to the experience tenfold. The sound design and effects are distinctively “magically ethereal” and non-mechanical and fit the atmosphere of the show to a T. Most strikingly, the vocal performances throughout the entire series are through the roof. I’d like to specifically give a shout-out to Aoi Yuuki, who has given me chills countless numbers of times with her performance as Shuishou. Lastly, the characters themselves are impressively built and developed. None of the characters feel like cardboard cutouts and each clearly have their own unique purpose to the show. The most impressive part is how impressive the ‘villains’ are depicted – they have a distinct amount of depth to them whereby you can actually sympathize with them, understanding how they ended up the way they did. For a show with a cast as large as Granbelm and only 13 episodes to work with, every girl of our main seven was utilized to perfection and important in their own way. They all have their own desires, wishes, and hopes they are trying to obtain, and each of them is plagued by some type of pain. ________________ While the other girls are all suffering because of specific occurrences in their lives, Mangetsu’s suffering stems from the exact opposite - the LACK of occurrences, pretty much anything at all happening in her life. Her feelings of non-existence, and loneliness because she wants to be acknowledged by at least someone and has never been are what have led to her inner suffering and pain. Because she feels she has nothing, her goal is simply looking for a purpose for her own life, which she thinks she can find by participating in Granbelm, excelling, standing out, and winning. She has no desire in actually becoming the Princeps mage; rather, she desires to exist and be recognized and believes that simply by winning, she will obtain those things inherently. And also unlike her competition, she has no interest in the power that would come with winning. But although she doesn’t desire power, is it still okay for her participate and destroy those in her path for her own personal gain, to end her suffering? Through participating in Granbelm and interacting with the other girls and learning from her experiences, Mangetsu comes to realize that notoriety and recognition isn’t at all what she needed to obtain. Suffering from an existential crisis, she begins to understand that life is what she makes of it, not what other people make of her. Her progression from a person who is suffering and doesn’t care what she does as long as she gets noticed to someone who can appreciate and find purpose in life for what it is reflects the main purpose of the story: Suffering and pain are a crucial part of life. Life is filled with all sorts of challenges and obstacles that might seem impossible to overcome and make you want to give up, but it is precisely because of the fight to overcome our own struggles that we can find purpose in our lives. Furthermore, it is of high importance that we live life in an honest manner – without looking for shortcuts or the easy way out – and make the most of what we have. In the end, Mangetsu is able to fully grasp the opportunity to experience even the just the small things in life, appreciating the beauty in experiencing existence itself. All of life is a precious gift, and she is grateful for the ability to live, even grateful for experiencing suffering and pain. Her understanding of this and her selflessness in the very end ultimately is what liberates her from her chains and frees her soul, giving her true happiness. Like Mangetsu, the intimate and precious experiences of life itself - everything we think, feel, see, touch, and dream of, our wishes, our aspirations - are what give us hope of finding direction and the strength to keep living. It is precisely through finding and fulfilling our purpose in life, appreciating life for the gift it is, that we will truly and honestly be liberated from the shackles that bind us in life. Only then will we find peace and happiness and transcend all our suffering once and for all. The story of Granbelm is one of the best I have ever experienced, and I will never forget it. “Nothing in this world is that simple. But… The world is filled with so many feelings! Feelings like happiness, enjoyment, love… And of course, that’s not all. There’s frustration, sadness, hate… There’s regret, and desire… Hoping things will turn out the way you want, wishing for a miracle…. There are so many wishes that can’t be fulfilled. They’re forgotten, and then they gush forth again, eternally building this world. Humans live on… and that’s good enough. That’s how people can have hope, how they can live.” - Mangetsu Kohinata
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 27, 2019 Recommended
My life as a child growing up was a lonely one. I was socially awkward, didn’t have many friends, and preferred to stay inside reading/playing video games rather than going out. I pushed a lot of people away from me, even people that were trying to reach out to me, especially my parents.
In fact, my best friend in high school wasn’t even a person: it was a kitten that I adopted from the veterinarian’s office we’d take our older cats to. Daisy was a gorgeous kitten and loyal to a fault, but there was obviously something with her different from most cats. She was very ... slow, didn’t move around a lot, didn’t eat much, was very small, and altogether had a very sicky appearance despite being in “good health”. Daisy and I were an absolute perfect match for each other. Both of us highly valued our alone time and didn’t like being bothered by other people. However, I suspect as was in my case, she was also feeling very lonely. Our 3 other cats loved to play together, and she was mainly terrified by them, so she’d always end up hiding in my room. I also hid in my room, reading alone, holing myself in a corner and walling my heart off from the rest of the world. Daisy and I developed a close bond: she would curl up in my lap or on my desk as I would be reading or playing games, never begging me for attention, but just being there for me. Perhaps she could feel how alone I felt, how fragile and lost I was. She was the absolute perfect pet for a companion. Unfortunately, midway through high school, she started having seizures. Something was obviously very wrong, the vets couldn’t figure out what it was, and she stopped eating almost altogether after only a few months after her first seizure. It was then she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart: there was nothing they could do to save her, and a few weeks later, her poor huge little heart eventually gave out for good. Personally, I’d like to believe that she was just too pure, innocent, and loving for this world that her heart was proportionally sized, and her body wasn’t able to support all of her love. At the time though, I was absolutely devastated. Losing the thing that was closer to me than anything broke me. I was actually alone and I fell apart almost entirely. What resulted from this, however, wasn’t a similar sad ending for me. From the impact Daisy had on my life, I was able to gather the courage and strength to reach out for help and rejoin the world. Because of Daisy, time unfroze for me, and I began to grow within myself exponentially. Perhaps this is why My Roommate is a Cat resonates so strongly for me. I see myself in Subaru, who as a child had a very similar experience to mine, and finally grew into a confident, strong young man because of the impact a single kitten had on the path of his life. Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. is a story told in a unique way I have never before seen. I had always wondered what Daisy would say to me had she been able to speak, but I felt as though we had a bond that was stronger than what could be expressed in words. Through the perspective of Haru, hearing her thoughts and feelings on her relationship with Subaru, I can hypothetically affirm that the feeling I had might have been the case. At the very beginning, our protagonist Mikazuki Subaru is in a similar state to how I previously described myself, dealing with regrets and loss. Meeting Haru is the start of a journey of self-reflection and self-discovery as he begins to learn how to love himself for who he is and starts to see other people as aspects in his life. Although at first I was frustrated and annoyed with some of his actions, the way the story unfolded piecing together his past and how he ended up where he was began to warm me up to his character, enough so that I became personally invested in his development and found myself rooting for him to pick himself back up and face his fears of society and other people. The development in Subaru throughout the story is what is truly what makes My Roommate is a Cat worth watching. Meanwhile, our trusty sidekick, Haru, also has a past full of regrets and loss. I never thought I’d ever get to say this, but I honestly can sympathize with a cat after all was said and done. The way Haru devotes herself to protecting Subaru, seeing herself as the strong one and him as the subordinate, plays off the usual tropes whereby pets think of themselves as the real ‘owners’, but My Roommate is a Cat really crafts this in a beautiful fashion. Haru’s unwavering dedication to protecting Subaru isn’t described as just an air of superiority but rather an undying love for him because of the care he provides for her. Ultimately, Haru isn’t just a plot device used to promote Subaru’s growth and development; she, too, has her own development and free will. Although the art and animation weren’t anything special, Zero-G did an adequate job for the type of show Doukyonin wa Hiza is. For a show where character development is at the forefront, simple animation in this case was a positive because it didn’t overshadow or distract from the main purpose of the show. Meanwhile, the OST was likewise simple but delicately crafted to highlight the emotional moments and stress the theme of hope throughout the entire show. A soundtrack is perfect for me when it touches my heart, and that is what the music here was able to do. And don’t get me started on the OP and the ED… While the music in both does an excellent job of setting the atmosphere for the show, the direction for the OP is absolutely sublime and accurately symbolizes the entire show all within a minute and thirty seconds. There are so many metaphors in the OP that I could write an entire review just on the OP itself! The beginning of the OP depicts the transition of night to day symbolizing Subaru shrouded in darkness being lit up by the entrance of Haru to his life. It is followed by the shot of Subaru alone looking down, surrounded by piles upon piles of books, symbolizing the wall between him and society, until all the books come crashing down upon him with Haru, falling from the sky onto his lap. Again, I could go on and on about how fitting the direction of the OP is for the show, but I’m sure you could see that for yourself. This anime for me is one of the most personally impactful and cathartic shows I have ever seen. It deals with themes of loss, loneliness, failure, and recovering back onto your feet in ways so realistic I can place myself directly inside the story. Every episode has emotionally resonated with me, be it happy or sad moments, causing me to tear up on each one from the strength the character’s emotions are being conveyed. If you’re coming into this expecting ‘just another slice-of-life’, you’re sorely mistaken. All of the characters in My Roommate is a Cat undergo realistic development and change for the better, highlighting the hope this world possesses even in your darkest hours. Regardless of where you are in life, regardless of how alone you feel, how depressed you are, how much you think the world may be against you, My Roommate is a Cat shows that there are people out there that care about you dearly, and there will always be hope. There is and always will be a way up - so never give up! *edit - changed some things to make myself more anonymous
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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