[minimal spoilers]
Beastars might be one of the biggest surprises of this anime season: When I first saw a key visual for Beastars, it seemed like a fancy and casual anime about anthropomorphized animals and somewhat reminded me of the furry fandom visually.
But once you start delving into the world of Beastars, you will likely find that the characters and elements of that world are actually not too different from our real human world. For instance, real aspects like discrimination, social pressure, and the dynamics of a human society in general are a vital part in Beastars, where different species (are trying to) coexist in peace.
One
...
driving aspect exclusive to Beastars is a divide between carnivores and herbivores, which seems to be modelled according to real biological aspects. The resulting predator prey dynamic introduces an ever-existing feel of alertness and danger and gives rise to some interesting relationships.
A core relationship is given by main characters Legosi (male wolf) and Haru (female rabbit). The anime pretty much starts with their first fateful encounter and explores questions on their own personal lives and their everyday interactions, subject to the predator prey dynamic. Similarly, we will see many more characters being introduced somewhere along the lines of herbivores and carnivores, extrovert and introvert, among other traits.
What really fascinates me is that all of the dozens of characters are animals with some blend of human traits, plus traits exclusive to their own species. For example, canids (such as wolves) enjoy a really good sense of smell while birds are technically able to fly.
But as the animals are subject to biological phenomena such as instinct, some conflicts will naturally arise - carnivores experiencing a desire for meat, herbivores bearing some biases against such carnivores, carnivores feeling discriminated against, and so on.
And the moment a character's personality and current "is" clashes with expectations of society, instinct, and some ideal version of oneself, one needs to find a way to unify those. And there are many ways to do that:
You can perhaps go the way of Legosi and try to explore new sides of yourself, or you can walk the way of Louis (male deer) and strive to live up to some expectations, maybe become a so-called Beastar and form a strong public figure.
No matter what character we consider, all characters seem to somehow fit into the society given in Beastars and usually have ideals and motivations once the story focuses on these characters. In my opinion, it is how the author Paru Itagaki has shaped each character and thought about what their interactions would result in that gives rise to some splendid writing and worthwhile questions that would arise.
So in a nutshell, the story and characters of Beastars do feel incredibly real and reminiscent to the real world and are given another layer of complexity by introducing animalistic characteristics and the predator prey dynamic.
[Visuals]
As for the art, the choice of 3D CGI was a really bold direction to take and a very surprisingly fruitful one for me to see. Of course, 3D animation might not be everyone's cup of tea and needs some time to get accustomed to. But the animator Orange Studio has really outdone itself by taking nearly full advantage of the possibilities of CGI:
We get to see incredibly much dynamic motion within the characters' 3D models (such as ear and tail movement) and can enjoy some amazing camera shots, which come in handy especially during more action-laden scenes. One downside of CGI seems to be a lower frame rate at times and some less smooth blend of 3D characters into the background.
Well, producing a 3D anime hasn't kept Studio Orange from creating some creative ornaments blending in symbolic 2D elements such as a meme-like image during funnier scenes. We were even given some outstanding scenes animated in watercolor and the like.
[Audio]
Coupled together with some very amazing music, produced by Satoru Kousaki among others, Beastars really features some outstanding and memorable moments where all elements of animation work hand in hand. The music itself is often some nice ambient one, but also works with a couple of motifs and variations thereof. These musical elements are often associated with certain characters and moments, helping to reinforce certain scenes and even implying certain things in some particular scenes. One scene is where what we see is different from what "we hear", suggesting an underlying conflict. Altogether, I find the music top-notch and ideal in supporting the anime.
Speaking of music, the anime OP is a rather unconventional jazz song ("Wild Side" by ALI) featuring stop-motion of real physical artifacts. The ED actually features three songs which show some visual variation, but they do play entirely different songs with different moods (all performed by YURiKA).
As for the voice acting, the cast did an incredible job in delivering the scenes. Rather than having stereotypical voices (e.g., a very high-pitched you might see with a number of female characters), all voices seem to be both down-to-earth and realistic, and fitting to the characters they belong to. Rarely could I hear a wolf panting similar to a dog when he is nervous, and otherwise speak almost as naturally as it gets and even produce sounds such as swallowing saliva and such. The voice acting felt really authentic.
[Summary]
As a whole, Beastars offers us an incredibly well-written story which revolves around the lives animals which inhabit its world. The interplay of dynamics reminiscent of a human society coupled together with animalistic ones adds some incredibly deep dynamics which the author really explores in detail and which give rise to some fascinating results.
So if you don't mind having animal characters and are not afraid to face some deeper and darker aspects of human and animal societies, then Beastars might be a good choice. And if you have concerns about CGI and visual quality, I believe there is no need to because the animators did a really outstanding job where CGI opens up new visual possibilities. Supported by amazing music and great direction, Beastars might actually turn out to be an incredibly effective blend in spite of (or because of) being rather unconventional in many ways.
Dec 25, 2019 Recommended
[minimal spoilers]
Beastars might be one of the biggest surprises of this anime season: When I first saw a key visual for Beastars, it seemed like a fancy and casual anime about anthropomorphized animals and somewhat reminded me of the furry fandom visually. But once you start delving into the world of Beastars, you will likely find that the characters and elements of that world are actually not too different from our real human world. For instance, real aspects like discrimination, social pressure, and the dynamics of a human society in general are a vital part in Beastars, where different species (are trying to) coexist in peace. One ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 26, 2019
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari
(Anime)
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"The Rising of the Shield Hero" might be the kind of anime to cause you a headache once you start analyzing it too much. It starts out fantastically, but when you think twice, wastes a lot of potential along the way because of progressively worsening writing and the way it is making use of too many mainstream anime elements, somewhat undermining the mood it has already se tup. In the end, this anime might be a great watch for entertainment, some action, and feels at times, but it fails to tell a convincing story mainly because of rather dull and seemingly (forced) illogical characters. That
...
being said, there are many scenes which I could personally enjoy to their fullest because they were very engaging and thoughtfully written - but they unfortunately only make up a fraction of the entire anime.
Premise "The Rising of the Shield Hero" tells the story of Naofumi Iwatani, a Japanese college student who has been summoned into the Kingdom of Melromarc to save it from the disastrous "Waves of Catastrophe". As the Shield Hero, Naofumi does not only have to face the fact that his hero class is considered the weakest among all of the Four Cardinal Heroes, because his shield can "only protect and not attack". Naofumi also has to deal with some serious (false) crime allegations which would not necessarily make his life go along more easily in a foreign world. We do start out with a strong premise. A rather enthusiastic, seemingly open-minded Naofumi fallls victim to his curiosity at a library and mysteriously gets teleported away as he skips through a book containing the story of the "Shield Hero" yet to be written. Once there, we are introduced to the people of the Kingdom of Melromarc and the other three Heroes (Sword, Bow, Spear) who been summoned along with Naofumi, albeit from different versions of modern Japan. The Heroes learn that it is their task to save the Kingdom from the Waves (of Catastrophe) which - full of monsters - threaten to kill and destroy everything. Only after they have fended off all Waves will they be able to return to their original worlds. So far it seems like a logical setup ... except that at no single point of the anime have the Heroes shown to care even once about how their families, friends, and people from their original worlds might deal with their sudden disappearance. It doesn't even seem that they have forgotten, as Naofumi strongly expresses his desire to return home several times during the course of the anime. Naofumi's want to return might be very relatable as the anime introduces a set of themes that will span pretty much the rest of its 25 episodes: false allegations, betrayal, justice, revenge. That being said, the anime is able to illustrate well how an initially cheerful protagonist turns into an anti-hero who doesn't hold back when it comes to claiming what he deserves. He who has lost everything. Naofumi would even refer to slaves as nothing more as mere means to an end. I should point out that this happens all within less than an hour. And hence have we set the stage for the Shield Hero to Rise. So far so good. At a similarly fast pace as the setup, we get introduced to more of the cast and join Naofumi and company on his journey to become stronger to fight the Waves and ultimately return to his home country, until we reach an emotional climax at around episode 4. This anime has by then suceeded to clearly flesh out the burden that the Shield Hero in general, and especially Naofumi (and company) has to carry. It seems that the anime has managed to tell an overall believable story and given us the opportunity to attach to its protagonists during its first four episodes. If the anime had ended here, I might be able to deem "The Rising of the Shield Hero" a great tragedy which appeals to our human sense of justice; a tale which might feel painfully real at times. (Un)fortunately at this point, the anime still has 21 episodes to go. And with the introduction of more mainstream anime elements, including out-of-the-blue fanservice at seemingly inappropriate/awkward places, all-too-lax storytelling with seemingly arbitrarily interspersed relevant and irrelevant scenes, and nearly all of the cast becoming stereotypical at some point, I feel like the anime has stopped honing its writing and started basking at the more laid-back side of entertainment anime. Your typical Isekai anime with some ridiculously flawless and heroic protagonists. While I don't want to linger too much on other media adaptations or the source material of the Shield Hero, I do find it a bit disappointing that some interesting character traits, including some darker sides of the protagonists, have made way for more "conventional" writing in the anime. Another problem with the anime is its heavy use of repetition, i.e., to rely much on reusing elements which might have worked well the first time they have been used. For an illustration, imagine you are about to lose someone dear to your heart. The anime seems to rely on using flashback scenes of happy moments with you and that someone to emphasize the loss about to take place. It might work well the first time. But if this tool is used a second or even third time with nearly identical setting and function, it might lose its dramatic effect. Especially if some necessary buildup has been replaced with "cute scenes" of a protagonist surrounded by its harem. Yes, this is how the initial Shield Hero anime with no visible tendencies of building such a harem has progressed. I believe it's nice to have a reliable party for the main character to turn to, especially as a refreshener considering what Naofumi has gone through. But if nearly all of his party is made up of lolis and such, I would highly doubt that the story tells a realistic rather than a fanservice-geared story. Another point where this anime fails to progress is in making enthralling fighting scenes consistently throughout. In an anime where a ridiculously large proportion of the fights is not against the actual wave, but other "things". I don't know whether it's just me getting distracted by all the animations of the possibly hundreds of different skills shown in total. Or maybe it is these moments where the animation quality goes down, the background gets rendered in much less detail as compared to other similar setups, or when strongly noticeable second or third class CGI is being employed. Before I go over to a summary of great points of this show, you should be aware of that not every person in The Rising of the Shield Hero's world seems smart. It's highly acknowledgeable when protagonists within the anime do also take note of that. But when it goes to an extent where characters are acting mere stupid, readiy believing in a "brain-washing weapon", or not changing their behaviour or at least their mindset after clear evidence - well. Also, people appear to be evil for no much reason (motive) other than having a "hard-to-deal-with personality". One can come to the guess that the superiority of some characters is being elevated by making other characters seem inferior. This might explain why it might be hard to really relate to some of the characters made inferior, while it might be hard to find many meriting characteristic traits of those who have been elevated. Trying to bestow more down-to-earth characteristics to the ones to be elevated - as in giving Naofumi or his partner(s) some sub-optimal but funny quirks or characteristics - might make the overall set of characters seem less far-fetched. I will leave it with at that with suggestions for improvement and turn to some nice things you can expect from this anime. Besides the occasional downgrading in animation, the art and style of this anime seems to be consistently appealing throughout. The world is filled with vibrant yet realistic colours. When the animation doesn't turn too static or when it doesn't go too "wild", the animation is at least fair and at more often very good. The first opening features an amazing dance/rap part while the second one is packed with action. Both endings do capture a more romantic side with water-colour-like art and relaxing music which climaxes during the chorus. In fact, I think the second ending captures well a post-apocalyptic mood that the Waves might bring about to the place of action. The music mostly goes hand in hand with the animation and hence often is not noticeable. When it becomes noticeable, though, it seems to give some feeling of serenity and otherworldliness - the anime should be careful not to overdo it here in terms of repetition, as well. Although Shield Hero might have overdone it with nearly mindless antagonists (as for now), we seem to have some development within some of the more thought-through characters. While the development might not be portrayed often enough as such, a few of the most important characters have clearly undergone some significant character development. This emphasizes how their interactions with other people and the environment might have changed them for the long run. So in the end, I would highly recommend watching the first four episodes of the Shield Hero anime because they seem to be conceivable as one arc. These episodes will contain the entire array of happy, sad, angry, emotional, and such feelings. I personally was strongly impacted by this part emotionally. After that, things tend to go down much more relaxed. You will have a nearly consistent party of people who are training hard to become stronger and fend off the Waves. They will occasionally face problems from their past and encounter more formidable foes from the present. There is still a lot going on story-wise, but I find it not to be as enthralling anymore for the given reasons. To get back to my statement at the very beginning, if you like the general setting of this anime and don't mind its partially huge plot holes, then go for it. It has many great scenes and an overall okay plot still. But once you start rethinking some logics behind the entire plot and getting meticulous, you might find some disappointment. Score: 7.4/10 - mainly because I found this anime has wasted too much potential and has been spoiled by several pitfalls. That being said, there are episodes which I would rate 9/10 or 10/10, one of which is a beach episode. [Please note that this review only represents my opinion with some particular personal needs. I do respect all other opinions out there and do appreciate The Rising of the Shield Hero as it is.]
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 24, 2018
Shiyan Pin Jiating
(Anime)
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(12/12 eps)
[MINOR SPOILERS ON SOME ASPECTS WITHOUT CONTEXT]
A premise with great potential yet a rather mediocre realization - this is how you could summarize Shiyan Pin Jiating, a.k.a. Jikken-hin Kazoku, Creatures' Family Days, Frankenstein Family. And while awkward pacing, somewhat bland characters, and some inconsistencies could spoil your experience, the top-notch art and fabulous background music do kind of make up for the shortcomings. What you will eventually get is a quite enjoyable, high-budget anime based on a Taiwanese manga, dubbed in both Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. Story [6/10] The story starts off with five siblings living on their own after their parents suddenly "disappear" one night. The ... twist is that four of the siblings have been modified in experiments conducted by their scientist parents, whereas Tanis - the only one left unmodified - tries to keep the family of five together. Entering into this young family's daily life, you fairly quickly get to see the complications of being non-humans, still trying to live a normal human life. And this is what Shiyan Pin Jiating is about much of the time. In the meantime, a seemingly deeper story unfolds rather awkwardly where you will get a load of background, some action, bit of romance, a few touching moments, and a rather abrupt resolution of matters. It appears that the creators of this anime tried to fit as much story into the shorter 12 episodes (~15 mins each) as possible - which consequently led to a rather arbitrary line of events which just doesn't seem completely right. For one part, you will be left off with a handful of unfinished subplots. For the other part, you will see climaxes here and there. Yet these climaxes seem to pop up out of nowhere, and may be forgotten in the next instant. We can conclude that the story has a great and interesting premise; but how the storytelling might be too fast-paced and could use some more elaboration and refinement. Art [9/10] Produced in collaboration with Chinese internet giant Tencent, you get amazing high-quality artwork which even looks incredibly detailed at 1080p resolution. The character design is somewhat simplistic, yet mostly appropriate. What really stands out is the background design - you will be able to catch a gorgeous, colourful glimpse of a suburban Asian (probably Chinese) scenery with great attention to the details. And if you happen to love food, you will also cherish the mouth-watering food shots which seem to promote Chinese style food throughout. You'll also get to see some great sunsets with fabulous lighting effects! Sound [10/10] Another strong point of this production is the great background music: Being mostly simplistic and acoustic, you will hear tunes reminiscent of calm nature. Harps, piano, flutes, and other tender-sounding instrumentation do create a relaxing ambient with some incredible crudeness. And the timing of that music is near perfect in that it seamlessly supports the visuals. Character [5/10] What's a bit disappointing is how many of the characters turned out: Dull, inconsistent, and moody, although the idea behind them is quite interesting: Main characters (siblings): Tanis, 11 yrs (youngest son): He is the only one who got spared from the experiments of their parents. While he definitely cares about his other siblings - he cares a lot - Tanis still has random outbursts of his "inner genius" where he can turn into the most arrogant, egoistic person ever. When this does happen is not obvious. Snow, 17 yrs (oldest son): Being gentle in nature, Snow is a were-dog and is often found in his dog form, a snow-white dog. He seems to care a lot about Tanis, but what his individual personality is like only shines through too rarely. Suishi, 14 yrs (youngest daughter): Having the ability to read people's minds, Suishi is a tacit person. Although she might not be very likable due to her character, Suishi could be the most well-rounded character among all others. She does seem to look after other people when necessary. Ashley, 16 yrs (yellow-haired daughter): Being part spider, Ashley is a tomboyish tsundere girl, often bickering with others. She wouldn't be the kind of person to accept criticism or compliments, but still seems to appreciate the latter. Unfortunately, her overall character seems to be unbalanced since you wouldn't always get why she behaves the way she does. Ashisu, 16 yrs (dark-haired daughter): Ashisu is more of a calm type, maybe too calm it seems unrealistic. She is a plant-hybrid and may therefore have been given a kind of naturalistic, overly soft character. Aishisu seems to develop more character later on though. Some non-siblings (to give you an impression of the characters): Person A: That person appears one day, and she has a kind-hearted character. She might be important, yet the anime fails to explain a bit more on that. Person B: A hateful person playing a minor role - quite a good contrast to the MCs Person C: A bit dull, but overall okay Person D: Didn't quite get her personality Parents: Not the most loving ones - at least we don't get so much to know about them as to be able to tell Voice Acting [6/10] Remarks: I started out with Japanese audio, but changed to Chinese due to circumstances The voice acting overall is quite okay, although I prefer the Chinese dub for some reasons: There was one moment, in particular, where the Japanese audio was practically mute for about 20 seconds, whereas the Chinese dub had some narration. Another thing I found better in the Chinese dub is how the voices fit their characters - which might be because the anime itself had some more Chinese aspects than Japanese. Another thing that slightly disrupts the flow of the anime is that there seem to be gaps in between people speaking. Whether this is to hint at the possibility that real conversations also have some thinking pauses is unclear; but it is definitely not something you might see in Japanese anime in general. Overall Enjoyment [7/10] If you are a passive, casual watcher, then this anime is definitely something for you: - It is a slice of life type with some drama and comedy - It has very beautiful artwork and relaxing music - It has a rather strong focus on the cultural aspect (especially visually) - It tries to deal with a rather intricate topic: being different - There are some moments which you can get quite absorbed into (probably even shed tears) - The story doesn't require you to focus on every detail - Episodes do not rely too much on previous events - Episodes are only about 15 minutes long Here is a few things to keep in mind: - Don't expect too much; this anime does have plot holes and some inconsistencies - It is not the standard Japanese anime, even if you opt for the Japanese dub - There are some peculiarities/awkwardness (either of cultural or unintentional nature) which you should be ready to accept Notes: - Japanese and Chinese OPs are the same song with lyrics in their respective language - Japanese and Chinese EDs are fundamentally different
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 16, 2017 Recommended Spoiler
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE 1ST SEASON, PLEASE DO WATCH KONOSUBA'S 1ST SEASON BEFORE READING THIS, UNLESS YOU WANNA GET HEAVY SPOILERS!
Well, Konosuba, the 2nd, did a lot of things right in terms of many things: While this definitely isn't one of the more serious shows out there, it never failed to entertain me... because of the great comedic value of this stuff! Although the circumstances of this anime might have been somewhat weird and improbable, this anime has nevertheless turned out to be very original and really powerful in handling certain topics which one wouldn't expect to see in this kind of anime... [SPOILERS BELOW] To ... think how it started: The "shut-in NEET" Kazuma leaves the house for once to purchase a new game which got released that day... dies after trying to save a girl from a tractor... from a shock, and suffers from the pain of being humiliated... seeing scenes of being laughed at even by his family! A great deal of funny adventures with him, Aqua, Megumin and Darkness ensues... and it ends right there where this party saves their town from being destroyed by a giant enemy... yet things turn out to get uncomfortable... And this would be where the 2nd season carries on pretty much exactly... Actually, this (re)entry seemed to be a bit abrupt, as there were actually about 9 months between the end of the 1st season and the continuation thereof. But after a while, the anime really gets you back into that ... ahem ... adventure mode again, while toying around with the characters' personality a bit. While the art style of this anime seems to have changed quite a lot (and it changed to a simpler style in some way), this kind of style happens to fit the comedic nature of this anime really well! There are even scenes which have the potential to become memes 'cause they are so reminiscent of those. [Art: 9/10] Even the characters themselves have the potential to be specific examples of the "trait" they represent: -Satou Kazuma, the guy who just wants to have an enjoyable life -Aqua, who wants to be acknowledged for being a goddess -Megumin, who seeks for adventures while contributing her part of explosion magic -Darkness, the young lady who often shows her masochist nature How astoundingly well this plays out can be observed in Season 1. But what surprises even more is that this does also apply to the 2nd Season, even though one might fear that the story gets too repetitious. Also, there's even a lot of progress within the characters, despite the rather unusual composition of this group: While circumstances change, different and unseen sides seem to unfold themselves, and we will also learn a bit of the adventurers' backgrounds! What seems to be a bit over-the-top in some settings could also be considered a hyperbole, although that covers up the real meaning of those scenes... Wait, might that already be the real deal? Who knows... In a nutshell, the characters are definitely faithful to their characteristic traits, even though circumstances change... but whether that is truly them would be a question which the viewers should ask to themselves. [Characters: 9/10] What's also a bit questionable is to what extent the main objective of this story plays a role in this anime... Yeah, the quest to defeat the Demon King... was it? Anyway, the saying which would apply perfectly to this anime would be: "It's not the goal that matters, but the path one goes through in order to achieve that goal." Clearly, one wouldn't always think of the main objective of an adventure all the time, but this KonoSuba just puts it to a whole new level: "Do we want to reach our goal, or just idle around?" Indeed, it seems that the characters would be idling around at many times, which is meant as deviating from their main goal... Normally, that could be referred to as a filler, but whether those fillers are what characterize this anime could be a question very well worth asking. And then there are those "accidents" which always tend to be so ridiculous and random at times that it suggests that they weren't just accidents at all? Simply put, a main story is clearly evident, but the conceptual nature of this anime just creates the feeling that one would only go in circles... but there might actually be a lot of progress in the story, too! [Story: 8.75/10] Now let's really get to the main point that this anime excels at: Entertainment! The first episode of the 1st installment of this anime already crushed the hope of seeing a usual "NEET" finding his way in a normal world. But the way the creators of this anime put this irony afterwards was just splendid: Instead of mourning over his death, Kazuma's family just makes fun of how he died... and such teasers have always supplemented the anime. And this is definitely true for the 2nd Season, too! Then there are those scenes where pretty much everyone, or even everything, plays some kind of pranks on one another, and pokes fun at their victim... The ones that cringe are the audience, after all! I mean, seeing someone cry is one thing, but the way KonoSuba's putting that is another... Then there are the scenes where certain people try to be useful... but their personalities/circumstances prevent them from succeeding: -Just imagine a person trying to be helpful, but then falling for the temptation of being humiliated. -The other person being seemingly helpful, until you realize: nah! -Another person being really helpful, but only if she IS actually helpful (no need to know what I'm talking about, you'll see) -Then there's Kazuma, who happens to show very "different" sides of him (whether this is meant literally is subject to personal interpretation) Combining all this, we'll get great scenes with awesome entertainment factor. And it's so logical in its own logic that one can really get the feel of KonoSuba's anime logic: You're watching a scene, relieved that something seems to work out the way you expect it to, or rather, hope for it to... but then, KonoSuba strikes again and crushes all of your previous expectations and redirects the whole progression of this anime into a whole new direction. What's even more astonishing is that one might get the feeling that one has finally understood "this wonderful world" by the name of Konosuba, until one realizes... well, no. This anime never fails to entertain in terms of cringe, unexpected twists and turns, and the ubiquitous irony that lurks behind every corner and only waits for an apt moment to strike! [Entertainment: 13/10] What might not be as evident as the entertainment, but also contributes a lot to this anime is the music: KonoSuba wouldn't be as noticeably funny without the music, as the music really supports the scenes in creating the mood: Be it the dramatic scenes which would immediately lose their tension as soon as a key event takes place, while simultaneously, the music changes, or just a soundtrack which reflects the current mood of the character... The music hasn't changed really much during the 2nd Season of this anime (the main theme is just the same), and even the openings and endings seem to be very similar to their counterparts... but they remain as fitting to the game-ish nature of this anime as before... [Music: 8.5/10] Another thing that is rather not that noticeable in the whole context, but also plays a big role, is the voice acting: It's only with the great exaggeration of the voice actors (VAs) and the great passion that the VAs put into their roles that this anime is so comical: What would the anime be like if Kazuma wouldn't freak out, what if Aqua didn't cry, what if Megumin wouldn't rant her signature lines, what if Darkness didn't moan for more humiliation? [Voice Acting: 10/10] Well, all the points being said, this anime really has an outstandingly entertaining value which captivates with its naked irony and teasingly cringey nature! I'd highly recommend to watch this anime if you have already watched KonoSuba's 1st season, as this is definitely not getting less entertaining and funny! It's a great diversion from daily life, as this anime really gets your full attention for being just... so ... Konosuba. If you haven't watched the 1st Season yet, and have somehow read this review nonetheless, then I'd still recommend watching Konosuba, even though there were spoilers in this review. The 1st Season is still great, and the 2nd Season also! Only if you are a kind of person who likes more serious stuff, or doesn't like the ironic, teasing kind of anime, then this anime would probably not be your cup of tea! But why not give it a try anyway? ;) [Overall: 9.6/10] Alright, I guess that's it for this anime review. Please keep in mind that this review merely reflects my opinion on this anime; if you disagree with me, then that could be attributed to the many factors that play a role in forming an opinion! Thanks for reading :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 11, 2017 Recommended
Note: Anime references in this anime are thought only to give a basic impression of "Inuyasha" and aid in describing the topics of this review; this review does NOT contain any spoilers of the coherent plot!
When one hears the name "Inuyasha", it might not be evident what this anime is about at first. But taking the co-title into account ("A Feudal Fairy Tale"), it somewhat implies what this anime is about: A story which follows the modern-time girl Kagome who inadvertently finds herself in Feudal Japan, about 500 years ago. "Special circumstances" have contributed to this plot in which Kagome embarks on a journey to ... retrieve the jewel fragments of the sacred Shikon Jewel which has once grown inside her body, but got scattered all around Feudal Japan. So what or who is "Inuyasha"? Inuyasha is a half-demon who accompanies Kagome on her quest to collect those shards which might actually be more significant than what the name sounds like! Now that this basic foundation is set, this plot would theoretically allow for a pretty numerous amount of ways the story could progress. But the author, Rumiko Takahashi, has conceived this tale to be a fantasy adventure, packed with comedy and even a romantic side... Talking about "sides", this anime does seem to feature a clear distinction of good and evil, but one could wonder to what extent this anime falls into the category of a classical protagonist-antagonist structure, and how well this whole structure applies to other categories, as for example, the relationships the characters do have with one another... But let me tell you something first: This anime features a decent amount of twists and turns of events and character development, which might actually turn out to be really astonishing and captivating at times... Although the predictability of some occurrences might be somewhat existent. Whether one likes this kind of anime, with a seemingly clear set of parties, and partially predictable things might be a matter of taste... However, one mustn't ignore the fact that this anime features 167 episodes of about 24 minutes running time... Sure, there has to be some kind of standard and clarity in the story line, be it just to make "main story" and "side stories" distinguishable! And there's actually quite a lot going on in terms of additional plot: Would you like to know how to fix a bike in "Inuyasha style"? Generally speaking, one could subdivide the filler episodes into categories... categories like "character background", and "daily life". Whether it's good for the main story? Somewhat... but they're not significant for understanding every character, as the main story already has a great amount of character development within. Watching ALL episodes, however, might even give a deeper insight to the characters, and possibly help sympathize with the characters even more! Speaking of which, some of the characters might be debateable... not really in terms of their realization, but in terms of their actual behaviour: Either you approve of their actions 'cause you understand them, or you disapprove, just feeling dismay, or just slightly disliking their actions... In actuality, there might be a couple of characters whose actions could be interpreted in different ways, and a few moments where you just want to cover your eyes in anxious anticipation of what happens next... Well, each character has their own personality, and this is also further expressed by means of the soundtrack: Virtually every one of the recurring characters seems to have an own soundtrack, the most prominent probably being the eponymous Inuyasha... Musically, this anime definitely has an outstanding soundtrack, although the application of which might repititious at times, which might actually show that some soundtracks are really similar... But pretty much all of them are of a fantasy nature, very well orchestrated and fitting the anime's nature quite well! As for the opening and ending themes, this anime really features a bunch of opening and ending themes, just a set of OP and ED for every 20-25 episodes! While the liking for these songs might, again, be a matter of taste, it's indisputable that the singers did a pretty decent job on their themes... and the Japanese songs are still retained in the English dub. The dubbed version (English) is really quite something, as the voice actors (VAs) did a pretty good job on their characters! There might be a few discrepancies to the original Japanese dub, but as compared to a couple of other dubs I've seen, Richard Ian Cox (VA of Inuyasha) et al. did a really decent job on their chars, also hinting their nature! Actually, there might be huge differences between the characters' attitudes and "life styles", which forms the base for some rather comedic scenes. Another thing that contributes to the comedy of this series is the art: While most of the time, the actors within the anime seem to retain a normal appearance, some scenes are just gorgeous because of a stylistic device which is somewhat reminiscent of what we would like to call a hyperbole: Exaggeration may help clear up things, the funny way! As for the style in general, this anime doesn't have a really outstanding preference for detail, as it seems, but that might be attributed to the time this anime first aired in (yeah, the original run dates back to more than 10 years back in time)... but it's clearly sufficient to show the actions and scenes this story might require! Bonus: Cute illustrations will be there at times, just pay attention! Well, I personally like the art style, but whether you like it would (also) be a matter of taste. Weirdly, the characters' drawing style seems to change at times. But unless you are really insisting on a continuous, consistent art style, I guess it would be endurable. Overall, I'd really recommend watching this anime. But in order to really appreciate, one would clearly need to invest the 60(?) hours, plus a bit of time to reflect some scenes, which might be worth it, as some things might need a bit of time to reflect properly. If you're really looking for an anime which might accompany your daily life for about one month, and if you're ready to dive into the world of Inuyasha, even getting to know the characters so much that you could always name the traits of that person (trust me, there are so many episodes that you will get to know the characters if you watch every episode), and lastly, if you don't mind the classical fashion this anime is written in (recurring protagonists and antagonists), then you might want to give it a go. I'd say that the first bunch of episodes might be an indicator of whether you'll like the rest, as you will likely get to know what the story is about, but the end might seem ... at least 160 episodes far away! Anyway, please take this review as an attempt to analytically point out certain traits of this anime, and shape a first basic idea. It's no paradigm which is universally applicable to anyone, and opinions may differ! Anyway, I hope this was somewhat informative ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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