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This show has always been about the rise of a rebellion lead by the masked lier "Zero". Or has it? Throughout the end of the show it becomes clear, at least to me, that the show all along has been feeding us with dozens of characters different perspectives and world views. These different perspectives are the drive and reason for conflict - but also what drives the plot forward - the progress.

In the last episode of the series these dozens of different perspectives becomes voices the characters use to debate with each other. "Through repeated success and failure, we advance" one characters points out. ... "That's evolution" another responds. "You mean progress" a third one jumps in. The anime finale is a constant debate between different perspectives, but the debate seems meaningless when you understand how the characters are talking "over eachother", not having empathy for others perspective and not understanding how much they truly have in common - how much the characters actually agree on.

"Human history is one of opposition" C.C. says. Battles with your enemies. Battles with yourself. Battles with your closest friends and family. Battles with innocent bystanders you have never met before. The different perspectives and world views are destroying eachother in a pointless "war" where there really is no progress. The "war" between the perspectives is by all involved parts explained as a necessity and a "sacrifice for the greater good". But the "war" leads nowhere. Why can't others have the same perspective? "If only you understood it like I did - the correct way" seems to be half the conversations between the characters towards the end of the series.

To create a peaceful "future" all these perspectives and world views needs to be brought together into a common understanding - in this case a common hatred for a single being - a dictator - an evil. The evil is slain, and the importance of a common understanding as a ground for collaboration, unity and peace is emphasized.

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All that remains - Orange.

ALL HAIL ORANGE! ALL HAIL ORANGE! ALL HAIL ORANGE!

“Controlling information at will… gives you control of humans.” – Land Lock

In today’s information society with globalization, digitization and robotic systems, where these systems are constantly increasing their tasks, information access and at the same time their power – what kind of effects will this have on society? Can “systems” or “robots” become so powerful and technology go so far that having control over these systems means to have full authorization over human’s life, to the point that even killing people and erasing them completely from society without anyone noticing is possible? Through 37 short chapters Land Lock tries to address some of these, and ... similar, issues – but the problem are just that – there are only 37 short chapters, and it may seem that the story is very rushed towards the end, leaving big plot holes, unanswered questions and little to no room for character development and backstories.

Story: 6
The story is neither very unique nor really unoriginal, but it’s a pretty standard survival story about a high school student who gets death penalty for a crime he didn’t commit, but who’s plane to a prison crash-lands in a frozen wasteland instead. With his grandfather being a hunter, he utilizes the survival skills his grandfather taught him to do his best to find out the circumstances of his situation – and survive.

Characters: 5
Despite the fact that some characters are slightly interesting and unique, most of the characters are either generic, boring and uninteresting or completely insane and twisted. Most characters are inconsistent to how they firstly are described, and it is difficult to relate to any of the characters because they are very unrealistic. At the same time, it seems that many of the characters are just in the story because “more characters are needed”, which makes it so that many of the characters do not add anything to the story at all.

Art: 7
The art is consistent and coherent and overall looks pretty good. It’s a bit dark-themed which fits the mood for the manga pretty well.

Enjoyment: 7
Even though the story is pretty cliché (being a plane-crash survival story) and there are clearly a lot of big faults with the characters and the plot, I personally had a great time reading this manga, the mystery element combined with drama and action keeps you hooked and makes you want to read more to connect the dots and find out exactly what is happening.

Overall: 7
Although the manga clearly is rushed, the pacing is a bit off and the manga doesn’t give close to enough room for the characters to be described and developed, I still believe Land Lock is successful in conveying its message – in today’s information society it is, more so than ever, important to be cautious and critical of full trust in and dependence on technology, the internet and the systemization of society.

I’d definitely recommend this manga to anyone who likes mystery or survival-oriented mangas, because this is kind of a mix between those two. Still I’d actually recommend this to everyone in general because of its’ unique and interesting viewpoint on digitization and systemization of society, which to be honest is the major reason I’m giving it a this high rating.

Story (7): The story is neither extremely unique nor really unoriginal, but it is pretty standard story for a sport anime.

Character (10):
There are various unique, interesting and lovable characters in this anime, and we get a deep-dive in the personality and development of the most important characters, making it really easy to relate to and feel with the characters, as well as making them more likeable and real.

Sound (9):
OP: Pretty fitting for the show. The opening is chill and all good but nothing outstanding.
ED: The ending is pretty neat, the beat is really relaxing.
OST: (the god) Yuuki Hayashi composed the soundtrack, ... so obviously it's gonna be amazing. With such inspiring, hype and beautiful OST every scene becomes better, making all replicas sounds significantly better. This is why I think a good soundtrack is really important, especially in sports animes like this which is more character-based than action-based.

Art (8): The art and animation is fairly good.
*Fun-fact: The Chief Animation Director is the same as that of Haikyuu and Ballroom e Youkoso, which is why the art style is so similar in these three animes.

Enjoyment (8): Although the story is pretty simplistic, the characters and sound easily outweigh this, making watching the anime a really enjoyable time.

Overall (8): I'd definitely recommend this anime to anyone who likes to watch sport animes, but also to everyone in general because the combination of unique and interesting characters and a solid soundtrack make watching the anime a delight.

Story: 8
Finally a good anime about gaming which is not "Transported to a gaming world. If you die in the game you die in real life" based because there are way to many of these. It is a pretty original story about a professional gamer which were forced to retire and now wants to make a comeback. This OVA features a tournament between rookies and pros, and there are a few cool fights.

Art: 6
The art is okey. Nothing outstanding, nothing really bad either. The art in season 1 was a bit better than the art in this one, but it doesn't really affect the OVAs ... too much.

Sound: 7
The OP is ok, the ED is pretty good and the OST is ok. Nice sound effects.

Character: 8
Likeable characters, except one very talkative character which I find pretty annoying. The MC is pretty bad ass and some might find it pretty funny how MC's boss is getting starstrucked all the time.

Enjoyment: 8
I really like this series, it is a pretty original anime which doesn't only focus on the game, but also the players.

Overall: 8
I think you'll definitely like this if you're into gaming or sports animes, because this is kind of a mix between those two. Even if you don't, I still recommend it because it is pretty original and you won't find something just like this out there.