Jun 17, 2015
This is a spoiler free(?) after thought. Apologies if my review offends any lovers of this show. That being said, I was kind of disappointed with the show.
For me, this show is analagous to SAO (hear me out first...) in that I came in with certain expectations of what the show was about (SAO: action, world exploration, Tasagore: mystery/horror) and the first episode confirmed my expectations. But as the show progressed it became very apparent that this was really an anime centered around romance with harem vibes. I guess this divergence from my expectations was a huge reason why I could't enjoy the show.
...
~~As a romance anime...~~
Mindsets should first be adjusted as this show is really a romance anime with a supernatural setting. But as a romance anime it just didn't resonate with me. Maybe I was turned off by the many unnecessary fan service so I couldn't view the characters relationship seriously? Maybe because the characters just sort of fell in love with each other with no strong reasons? Was it because of weak characterization? But I feel its mostly because there wasn't anything fresh/refreshing brought to the table.
Lastly, I really object to how the show ended. **SPOILER skip to next section!!** Necromancy cheapens the feels.
~~As a horror/mystery anime...~~
The focus of the show being romance aside, there wasn't much of a payoff to the mystery's resolution.
1. It was casually revealed early in the story, so the tension is lost. It feels like collecting your exam script after you have already been informed of your grades.
2. It was cliche.
The anime didn't give me the sense of cold creeping dread or horror, and mind you, I'm the sort of person who's too scared to watch any horror movies plus I was watching this anime alone in my room on a dark and stormy (slightly...) day.
Lastly, while sexuality and horror does blend well together, the anime's particular brand of blatant, targeted at pubescent boys, "you like this?" fan service is very jarring in a horror setting. Personally, I feel it destroys the gravity of the atmosphere.
~~Characters~~
There was really nothing special or memorable about the characters.
Yuuko could be interesting, but her personality for the early half of the anime was defined by fan service and jealousy. Though showing a more layered personality in the later episodes, Yuuko is not a character that could stand alone as her own, her being and purpose revolves inescapably as a love interest for our main lead Niiya. This is likewise for Niiya
The 2 side characters were underdeveloped and their sole purpose was to be fodder to develop the main leads' relationship.
~~Art and Sound~~
For me this was the standard expected of anime nowadays, good stuff but nothing mind blowing.
~~I'm SORRY!~~
This is a rather one sided review, but there are more than enough better worded reviews espousing the goodness of the anime.
Based on probability alone, I expect that you would end up enjoying the anime, but for me, it just wasn't what I wanted to see.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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