(First time writing a review. I'll try to keep it as short as I can and without waffle. You may not agree with all of it but this is my personal view of Ajin Season 1).
[Art-Rated 9]: The art style helps to set this anime apart from others. Although at first it may seem "ugly" you get used to it after about the second episode. Rather than using bright, bold colours (like a lot of animes use) they've used slightly duller and more realistic colours. I think this helps to draw the viewer in and help it to seem more life-like, as well as setting
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the tone to the story line. Despite the art style not being my personal taste I rated it so high because of the individuality, they could have easily gone more a more eye appealing approach however I don't think this would have been fitting. It's meant to be "ugly" as it fits the "ugly" story (not saying the story is bad, I mean that as in a lot of deaths). What mainly makes the art style so unusual, at first, is the amount of shadows given to the faces which have given it more of a 3D effect rather than the normal 2D that we often see. To sum the art style up it’s your normal, detailed looking anime with a hint of modern day, life-like game art.
[Sound- Rated 8]: From just watching Ajin once I noticed that they gave attention to detail in terms of sound. Where the sound effects could easily be ignored they have added both noticeable and subtle effects. There are times when I felt as if the sound effects for things were a bit too loud and made them seem out of place. By adding just the right about of subtle effects they help to bring the story to life, for instance there’s small sound details like footsteps, doors opening, the burning of a cigarette and the movement of items such as glasses. Personally I quite liked the ending and opening theme songs. The first is quite upbeat and energetic whereas the ending is slower and has a sad tone even when the backing music becomes more upbeat. The overall all sound to the last song is quite beautiful and seems fitting to credit’s animation. The opening song and animation has your stereotypical crime mystery/action style giving you a sense of excitement.
[Character- Rated 7. Story- Rated 9]: You don’t feel much sympathy for the main character or any characters at all, in fact the character I did feel for (for being selfless) you didn’t see after a few episodes. As I haven’t been following the manga (which I assume is further ahead) I’m not sure whether many of the characters you see in the beginning even return later in the story which gives a missing/off feel to the anime. The lack of sympathy felt is due to the lack of character background, we’re shown a bit but not enough to build any attachments. Another reason is that we’re made aware of the selfishness and lack of caring all the main characters have. Despite this being a negative thing for character development I see this as being a positive for the story as it creates a moral without being too outright, allowing you to notice it yourself. There is a strong theme of “if it doesn’t affect me why should I bother?” which is something most people can unconsciously relate to when we see something happening to others, whether that’s a stranger in your street or multiple people in another country. I may have missed it but as far as I saw there was no reason for the Ajin to be attacked nor were the society given one, leaving you to question how moral everyone is/was. The society wasn’t bothered as long as they were given a reward of money for their help. This again picked at the idea of people being greedy, selfish and ignorant, allowing you to reflect on yourself. Money, personal survival and aiming to gain something out of your actions were quite strong themes throughout. I had originally rated the story 7 or 8 but I think the use of these messages (whether they were intentional or not) brought it up.
[Enjoyment- Rated 8. Overall- Rated 9]: There were three clear sides/teams of the story with times where I felt siding with one team over another; however I always biasedly favoured the side of the main character for varied reasons. Each time one side looked like they were gaining an advantage they were ‘brought down a step’ creating suspense and with little idea what will happen in the next episode or even next season. This helped draw the audience in, ignoring the un-favoured art style as mentioned before. The amount of action in each episode thickened as the story progressed and made it clear that the story would either have an abrupt end or would have a second season. Luckily the ending of episode 13 made it clear that it was the latter option, otherwise it would have made a disappointing ending to an otherwise good story. The reason I gave it an overall 9 was for the story, art style and the background messages that can be seen. The uniqueness of art style and somewhat risk they took with it gave the story its own feel/aesthetic. I think those who can “persevere” with the style and get past the initial dislike will not be too disappointed with this anime.
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Jul 10, 2016
(First time writing a review. I'll try to keep it as short as I can and without waffle. You may not agree with all of it but this is my personal view of Ajin Season 1).
[Art-Rated 9]: The art style helps to set this anime apart from others. Although at first it may seem "ugly" you get used to it after about the second episode. Rather than using bright, bold colours (like a lot of animes use) they've used slightly duller and more realistic colours. I think this helps to draw the viewer in and help it to seem more life-like, as well as setting ... |
