- Last OnlineFeb 6, 2018 9:35 PM
- JoinedOct 21, 2017
No friend yet.
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Jan 10, 2018
This one of those series where no matter how crucial accuracy is, the animators still decide to butcher an enjoyable story completely by altering a major part of the plot just in order to save profit and wrap up quickly, at the expense of viewer satisfaction, especially when overly edgy tropes and storylines are not one's forte.
The story appears rather mediocre at first, but it has a flavor to it that makes it pretty enjoyable, especially since the series is only mild in length instead of being stretched to the brim of its ass. Other viewers have summarized it and the information is all
...
up on the page, but just to sum it up, here you go; a village boy wants to join the empire to save his village from poverty. Up until this point, everything else is a spoiler due to the gritty storyline. But the one spoiler that needs to be addressed is the ridiculously altered final arc where three certain characters are killed off just for emotion's sake, and the crucial bits of the story have now been devolved into only a "final war" against the corrupt empire. It seemed like a selfish move, downgrading the series just in order to retain profit and wrapping up on the 24th episode... this really damns the score for the story.
The art and animation, however, is very pleasing. Even if the manga's art style wasn't retained completely, White Fox's character designers managed to draw the cast in a manner that still appeals to the audience. The characters do have wacky Shonen hair colors, but the designs are but a cross between somewhat realistic and utterly fictional. Some scenes are so well choreographed that the only two words that'll be at the tip of your tongue and top of your head will be "White Fox". Night Raid's introduction is still by far one of my most memorable scenes in my anime viewing history, and occasionally we have those badass "frozen frames" where the characters look like they're drawn through oil paintings instead of ink on paper. The gore levels are extreme which is surprising, noting how heavily censored some anime series of the same genre are. However, there are occasional budget cuts, especially during less relevant scenes, but it's not severe enough to disturb the viewer.
Sound in terms of effects is pretty pleasing, fitting the visuals that are being represented in a scene instead of being out of sync and completely budget level. But the music is truly the most outstanding aspect of Akame ga Kill. I still remember Le Chant de Roma, one of the most intense and played themes in the series, starting as a depressing falsetto then ascending to a whole crescendo of intense emotion and power. There's also some really hard-rocking scores as well as some heavy medieval drums, each of which fit to every scene that unfolds. This is one of the things I can applaud Akame ga Kill for.
Now the characters... this is the part where I feel conflicted because of certain reasons. The characters, especially those belonging to Night Raid, are some of the most lovable people in anime. All of these characters have varying designs, personalities, abilities and ambitions. We have the socially anxious but lethally dangerous Akame, the lovable pervert Lubbock or the hilarious tsundere Mine. But it's too bad. Because by the time you've selected your official favorite character, they'll most likely be buried. They don't happen to develop through the series because their deaths are inevitable and some have already had slight backstories provided. But the problem arises when the plot kills off characters that aren't meant to be killed off. It's absolutely painstaking having to sit through and compare the anime to the manga and tell yourself "that character wasn't really meant to die...". For this, the Character score drops from 8 to 6.
My overall enjoyment of this series was bumpy. I get that it's meant to play with our emotions but the quantity of these lovable characters and the fact they're even lovable is frustrating, and the fact that the anime has so heavily altered the manga's final arcs is something that'll bug a viewer when you notice that it was only for profit and that the series wasn't able to exceed 24 episodes. But watching the fight scenes, the relationships between the vast and differing characters of Night Raid, the concept of the anime and the stunning visuals and auditory techniques, this anime was more of a pleasure than a pain to watch.
Overall, an 8/10. If only the story could've been corrected, the score would have been up there.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Jan 10, 2018
In anime, the greatest way to improve your series is making change. This anime kept the things that needed to be kept intact, while changing the overall mood and theme - drastically. That's where my love for this show began.
Let's recap. The original Railgun was a very light-hearted, fluffy, innocent show with a smiley scene around every corner. Even during battle sequences. Railgun S... is not like that. It's not a bad thing, however. It's good to mature a series with the audience. This series is far bloodier, more emotional and introduces a new band of characters while simultaneously retaining the original ones. The
...
story becomes far more suspenseful with the introduction of Accelerator and ITEM, whose intentions escalate the plot and intensify the darkness factor.
This is one of those anime that J.C Staff have rocked pretty damn well, utilizing flashy and intense animation and effects during battles, even when they're just hand-to-hand combat. The characters are drawn in a way that's common, but still appealing and not too generic. The colorful, glowing scenery of Academy City literally pulls in the viewer into the location presented. The fight choreography is interesting when it comes along, and I found Touma vs Accelerator to be a fight of its' time.
Honestly, when it comes to sound effects, there isn't much to say. They're not garbage or anything, but they are what they are, and they happen to fit the visuals presented. The music is also rather enjoyable, with lots of suspenseful tracks and fitting themes but in all honesty, it's not this anime's forte, and doesn't really hold a candle to some other scores I've heard.
Characters in this are amazing. We have the ever-beloved Tsundere, Misaka Mikoto, her loving companion Kuroko. The awkward Harem king Touma... and then we have the new antagonists which are just as great. Accelerator the sadistic Esper with insane abilities, the deranged leader of ITEM, Shizuri Mugino and her companions. I can go on for days but in the world of RailDex, no two personalities are similar or the same. The development doesn't occur soon, but it does happen later which is a contributing factor to the characters.
I personally enjoyed this anime. The dark shift from its' previous incarnation really stunned me but I adapted to it and it gave the series a whole new theme, allowing more development and progress to occur amidst the chaos. The good old characters never cease to be lovable and it's visually amazing to watch.
Overall, it's a 9/10 for this series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Dec 2, 2017
Listen. I'm going to write this review with a clean and honest opinion. One that isn't here to simply bash the series and demonstrate how "sophisticated" my taste in anime is. I'm not going to disdain a show that was at one time my favorite. This review will be brutally honest, but not here to shit on this anime.
Lets begin. The story. This is the most notorious aspect of Bleach. I, like most people, understand how that one went down. Yes, I'm also convinced that the Agents of Shinigami and Soul Society Arc were the greatest. But I still stuck with it even after those
...
arcs. No, I didn't watch the filler. (Honestly, the filler did also damn the story and pacing but since the anime is so long since over now, it's easy to find a reference list that can help you avoid filler episodes). Back to the point. I kept reading and watching the canon arcs regardless of what flaws there were. Why? Because I wanted to debunk all the hate. Honestly, it was still enjoyable. Even without much progression, it seriously had some truly amazing aspects that I appreciated. Even with similar formula's, each arc had at least a few distinguishing features. So let's move on to them, shall we?
One of the most stunning aspects of Bleach were its' art style. In terms of characters, that is. I loved the character designs for Bleach. The casual, mature and gritty art style always separated Bleach from the norm of generic Shonen. From start to finish, the characters always looked fantastic and attractive, with fantastic proportions for a majority of the cast. As for scenery and background, that's where Bleach lacks in quality. The later volumes of the manga began lacking backgrounds and became less detailed than early chapters of Bleach. Far less detailed. Comparing early Bleach backgrounds to modern is like comparing a Wheres Wally? book to a sheet of A4 paper. In terms of animation, Bleach has always been the long running Shonen that steals the spotlight in terms of animation quality. This especially applies to later (and non-filler) Bleach where every fight was satisfactorily fluid and badass. Sadly, excess censorship prevents certain scenes from fully expressing what the manga intended to. But knowing Studio Pierrot, an animation company with ups and downs all over its name, this'll obviously be a feat. Filler is a different story... hehe... avoid it.
There really isn't much to say for sound in terms of effects. They're not ridiculously overused but they're not breathtakingly realistic either. As for music. Whoa, boy, where to begin? Bleach's OST is among some of the most astonishing soundtrack for a Shonen. Shiro Sagisu is a renowned anime music composer, and his score ranged from all sorts of rock, to authentic Japanese instruments to fantastic and epic choir themes. What the editors need to work on is making sure the music fits the scene that is unfolding - that was something unsatisfying about Bleach, too.
Now for the characters. Bleach had such perplexing characters in its' early stages. There weren't too many but not too much either. But as time went on, more characters were shoved on board and it became too difficult for the author to develop characters, old and new alike. So this is the part where I kind of diss Bleach a little. The series spreads itself too thin with characters. They have spectacular designs and amazing personalities, combined with a variety of unique abilities... but with too many of those characters in a very long running show, obviously it'd be nearly impossible to properly develop them all. But I still think some Arrancar and Sternritter are badass as shit. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Bazz-B, etc.
I truly enjoyed Bleach. It was a legendary series that seems to have unfortunately fallen victim to an incomplete story, with declining sales and increasing hate. It wasn't always a smoking pile of ash, and if people would have given it a chance, it obviously would be up there to this day. I understand the many godawful flaws it dons, but hating on it and acting all sophisticated, calling it out and shaming it is no way to perceive an anime with a still existing fanbase that also wish it met the expectations we all wanted but never got. In the end, nothing is perfect. Bleach isn't the greatest Shonen with its' lack of plot and development. But it has redeeming aspects that people ignore. I just wish we could pay more attention to them so that this anime isn't one of those that end up getting tormented and spat on.
With all this in mind, I'll give it a fair, but not perfect, 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Oct 21, 2017
Once again, the story goes on. Basically the same "Vanguard" formula. A new threat arrives, dark plot twist (which in this case, the main character goes missing/is taken into a void). The pacing is painfully slow, and I'm waiting fortnight upon fortnight to see the next big episode only for the characters to repeat the same dialogue, followed by a montage of (an attempt at) suspenseful scenes. There isn't much other context provided but I feel like the series is headed in the same route as the original Vanguard, just without the protagonist.
Cardfight Vanguard in general retains the regular Shonen style with wacky hairstyles and
...
colors. The characters have more tall, straight figures. A majority of them. I found this slightly appealing to be fair. But for the most part, it is rather generic and overused.
The sound isn't that top-notch, being done by a low-profit studio. They reuse effects from other series to say the least and I feel like some SFX don't really match the performed actions by characters and Vanguard alike.
One damning aspect of Vanguard is its' inability to express perplexing characters. It fails to develop them, and they're kept the same, damn person for the many seasons of Vanguard there are. It's always settled through a Cardfight. The most development I've seen in the characters was in GIRS crisis and Stride Gate. This time around... not so much. Let's hope that with Aichi returning, we'll see something... unique...
While the series hasn't even begun, I can easily perceive the many ways this anime is about to go with the opening episodes. Unless the writers decide to intensify the story, miraculously, I don't see this series going any differently from about most other Vanguard series.
(Except for Stride Gate. Stride Gate was decent)
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
