Btooom! Anime Review

So I've been doing a ton of slice of life reviews so I thought I'd mix it up a bit here it is anime called Btooom! Which is Certainly not Slice of life. As always the point of this review is to increase the popularity of the show, and hopefully excite another season out of the Manga so here goes. Oh and sorry for not updating for a while! Been really busy, but with break coming up hopefully I can do a lot more.

Btooom!

 After anything really damn popular, there is a emergence of demented knock-off cash grabs. This is the exact reason why I'm avoiding things like Log Horizon or anything that has the word MMO, or Video Game in it. So I came into Btooom! With the mindset of: This is going to be a half an hour that I am really going to want back. Here's the kicker, I was right. By the time I had finished the first episode, I had decided to drop the anime. Nothing in it surprised me, or changed my mind about the premise. It was so boring! Three months later, and I watched the second episode and I realized i might have been a little off. Okay a lot off. So here's the thesis, Btooom! is a very good survival game anime that combines great character development, lush environment, crisp animation, and tactical action scenes. Not only is it not a rip-off of SAO but it is one of the most unique anime out this year.

Such Unique!

First off if you're into these kind of survival games, like Mirrai Nikki, Eden of the East, or shameless Battle Royale rip-offs, you will like this anime. The game largely revolves around the concept of having an PVP game along the lines of Assassin's Creed or other tactical PvPs except in real life. Now don't get me wrong, the concept is nothing new, however with the anime still has a fresh feel to it given how little survival anime are out nowadays. Oh, and don't try to call AOT a survival anime because it's not. There are some cool tactics, and some nice visuals, but what really hooked me was the characters and their backstories, but let's go with the basics first.


Animation--The animation of this anime is superbly executed. The explosions are pretty, the character models nice, and the environment really selling the idea that these people are isolated in a tropical paradise. Yes there is fan-service, but there isn't so much of it so that it gets in the way of what's happening. The animations is shown at its best when it is showing off the spectacular action scenes, where great camera work, combined with smart tactics make up some of the more tense scenes in the anime. The actions revolve around the concept of using bombs as weapons. A wide variety of bombs make for interesting combat encounters and tactics. The brutality in this anime is smart, explosions are realistic as long as said explosions are not applied the main character. Seriously the guy can survive any number of explosions, though a fair amount are explained. The fact of the matter is that there is no tension when it comes to the main character. This is a problem with a lot of survival stories, but this one in particular occurs too often. See the main character Sakamoto, is usually the one doing the fighting, and since it's impossible for him to die, there is a lot less tension. In any case, aside from this, the action scenes are really enjoyable.

Those explosions

Survival--Well this is a survival anime, so how does it hold up? Well it's good. I mean I'm someone who's starved for Survival games, so this kind of anime is always enjoyable to me. As i said previously, the survival itself is somewhat limited due the the inclusion of a main character. Like a lot of survival games, it tries to convey that humans will do whatever it takes to survive. Characters have motivation and the will to survive, and to do this they will kill each other, back-stab old friends, and Deceive. It seems that a theme of this anime is that to survive, you must give up your humanity in order to do so. You must violate things considered holy in a society like the one we live in. Anything you were back there doesn't matter, all that matters is that you stay alive. At the same time I didn't feel as though there was any real scramble for resources.  Personally I think that the anime would have benefited with an all-around likeable cast, because as it stands, the only ones who are likeable are the main character, Himiko, and Tiara. Think Fate/Zero. So as a survival, it's good, but there are better.

Sound--Really damn good, some suburb voice acting and interesting OST enhance the anime. Don't know what else to say here... Oh! the opening is done by Nano? Or something and is pretty damn amazing, so don't skip it.

Characters--The star of the show. The characters in this anime are really quite good. You have the stoic protagonist who is somehow a neet and proves that all those hours you plugged into the latest call of duty will finally pay off. However there is reason for him being like this that is briefly, but powerfully explained. You see the reason that everyone went the Island in the first place was because someone wanted them there. It is explained that someone wanted them to disappear for one reason or another. It creates an interesting environment, because it meant that everyone has sinned, and that no-ones innocent. Their crimes range from being a straight up rapist/ serial killer, to being abusive to one's mother after a divorce. This again adds to the whole tension between characters. As the series progresses, the relationships between characters becomes strained, leading to a finale, that while expected, was pretty damn emotional The show doesn't avoid the gritty stuff here, so If you're looking for something where all the characters say nyan as if it's a f***ing period, you came to the wrong place. Btooom! doesn't ignore things like rape, or serial killing or any kind of dark gritty theme. For that the characters feel much more mature than say, I don't know Shinji. One thing I will say is that the main character adapts to the game really damn quickly. While this makes sense plot-wise, I still think its a tad unrealistic. 

So my final thoughts. Dammit I love this anime. First impressions aside, this anime proves exactly how good survival anime can be, while still introducing some character elements that make you care who wins and loses. The only real complaint that I have is that there are a bunch of immortals, but its such a minor complaint on the whole. This anime is strongly recommended by me. it can be found on Crunchyroll. Thanks for reading, and it would be much appreciated if you could like this or follow me or whatever.