Alright well, let's get this over with quickly, okay? I've got better things to procrastinate on.
Ever wondered your neighbor might taste like if garnished with a side of brussel sprouts along side a side of backed potatoes?
Yes? Cool, well you might not get through all of it before the fuzz bust down your door, but it's better than twiddling your thumbs.
No? Really? This would have been so much easier if you had been honest y'know.
Anyhow the anime details the life of Ken Kaneki, just your average guy, who has the hots for a girl who goes to cafe he frequents. She turns out to be interested in him too. Just in a different sort of way. Long story short, she tries to eat him, he turns into a ghoul.
While it does fall into some familiar grounds when it comes to pacing, with 10 episodes out now, and only about two or three more on the way, you'll be pulled up from your cliffhanging a lot quicker than I was.
That being said the anime surprised me in ways I wasn't used to. Putting aside the cliffhangers and tendency to give arbitrary power-ups like the whole thing was meant to be an anime version of Mario Kart, the it displays a surprisingly griping storyline that has not failed to keep me on the edge of my seat.
A conflict that I thought would be filled with cartoonish mustache twirling villains against sweet-as-lambs misunderstood cannibals has turned into the sorta the same thing, but better. While the issue is sort of like the whole abortion thing, in that I know that it's supposed to be more centered in the grey, but is the sort of thing that we'll look back on and laugh at (Seriously, you don't see any pro-life anti-masturbation marches to protect the innocent sperm that lies wasted on someone's sheets), it again managed to surprise me.
Neither the ghoul hunting 'doves' nor the ghouls themselves are painted as wholesale evil nor stomach-turningly innocent. You can tell that there are actual people on the teams on both sides and that the actions of the few do not necessarily represent the mindset of the many.
It also helps that the ghouls themselves aren't just a bunch of helpless damsels in distress, but pose a significant threat to Doves and humanity in general.
Yet for every ray of light there's a patch of rain, least that holds true in Belfast. So we come to the other part that's not so great, the freaking fight scenes.
You might be surprised that I'd say such a thing, given that the studio behind it practically built its reputation on fight scenes. But while the weapon designs are interesting and suitably blend the horror element and badass nature of the ghouls, our main character is such a pushover that if the anime was set in Chicago, we'd have the first anime to star a human kite.
Seriously though, here he is fused with a quote on quote 'S' level ghoul, but, for some arbitrary reason, can be damn picky about when he actually wants to actually use his godly powers and when he wants screw around a bit more because the beautiful face-print he was busy painting would look better in a more vibrant shade of red.
That being said the animation quality of the fight scenes themselves are actually pretty good. They may not blow your mind (especially while SAO II and Captain Earth are still airing) but I've been pretty entertained so far.
Speaking of the main character, he's surprisingly not too bad. Aside from the fact that his pacifist nature would make Gandhi hurl a copy of 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' his head, his development is handled well.
For the most part he feels like the everyman that they're trying to portray, and as someone who really liked Mirai Nikki, I can appreciate that. In fairness to him he isn't as bad as Yuuki or Shinji, which is like claiming George Bush is competent relative to Caligula, but for what it's worth he generally stands up for what's right and puts others before his own safety.
The other characters are actually pretty phenomenal. Sure they aren't so complex as to need a Navajo code breaker to gain any understanding of them, but then they're side characters. So for side characters, I felt that they got enough development to flesh out their profiles to the point where their scenes were enjoyable to watch.
There are many ways to make interesting characters and one sure-fire way to do so is to give them one distinguishing trait and pump it up to 11. That's how we get characters like Gourmet whose voice actor combined with the animation and this image
makes him one of the most over-the-top characters until Nicholas Cage dubs a Trigger anime. What's great about a lot of the characters is that they start off interesting because of their singular overblown trait, and then slowly grow more complex as more subtle traits are introduced.
To give an example one ghoul who we think is just an asshole, suddenly turns into a nice guy and then back into an asshole. Later on we learn that he, like everybody, has someone he cares about that tethers him to his humanity. What's interesting is that it isn't some childhood friend or something, it's just someone who he met who managed to show him that, like ghouls, humans aren't as black and white as he has grown to believe.
But characters aside, let's get to the big one; the make-it-or-break-it; the plot.
Now as I've said before, I think the main conflict of the story is handled well and hasn't failed to keep me engaged, and even after a few paragraphs my opinion hasn't changed.
Coming into the show, I had one fear, and that was the pacing. This is studio Pierrot we're talking about. Who, as far as I know, are the only video game developers who work exclusively in the the anime industry, because it seems like they create anime with a 50:1 action to plot ratio.
Yet even while I wait for the the next twenty minute respite from hanging of cliffs, I will say that this is honestly one of the most well paced shounnen anime Pierrot has ever produced. After again referring to above joke about George Bush and Caligula, hear me out. The action scenes never drag on too long and no character ever feels as though they're just there to get bashed around a bit before becoming the most overpowered thing since the the Strike Freedom's personal rave party. The episodes give enough plot to let you know that it isn't Evil May Day, and yeah...
So do I like it? Yeah, I do. Interesting characters, a gripping plot, dual morality, pretty pretty animation combined with some pretty kick-ass fight sequences make for a pretty good all rounder. If I had any criticism it would be that it doesn't do anything outside of the morality that made my jaw drop so fast and hard that it would crack the Earth's crust. The characters are good, the animation is good, and plot is engaging. Nothing revolutionary, but I don't think it has to be. It's enjoyable, and for me that's enough.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. Likes, Favorites but most importantly commenting are all things that I'd appreciate very much.
Ever wondered your neighbor might taste like if garnished with a side of brussel sprouts along side a side of backed potatoes?
Yes? Cool, well you might not get through all of it before the fuzz bust down your door, but it's better than twiddling your thumbs.
No? Really? This would have been so much easier if you had been honest y'know.
Anyhow the anime details the life of Ken Kaneki, just your average guy, who has the hots for a girl who goes to cafe he frequents. She turns out to be interested in him too. Just in a different sort of way. Long story short, she tries to eat him, he turns into a ghoul.
 |
| She's voiced by Kana Hanazawa?! |
While it does fall into some familiar grounds when it comes to pacing, with 10 episodes out now, and only about two or three more on the way, you'll be pulled up from your cliffhanging a lot quicker than I was.
That being said the anime surprised me in ways I wasn't used to. Putting aside the cliffhangers and tendency to give arbitrary power-ups like the whole thing was meant to be an anime version of Mario Kart, the it displays a surprisingly griping storyline that has not failed to keep me on the edge of my seat.
A conflict that I thought would be filled with cartoonish mustache twirling villains against sweet-as-lambs misunderstood cannibals has turned into the sorta the same thing, but better. While the issue is sort of like the whole abortion thing, in that I know that it's supposed to be more centered in the grey, but is the sort of thing that we'll look back on and laugh at (Seriously, you don't see any pro-life anti-masturbation marches to protect the innocent sperm that lies wasted on someone's sheets), it again managed to surprise me.
Neither the ghoul hunting 'doves' nor the ghouls themselves are painted as wholesale evil nor stomach-turningly innocent. You can tell that there are actual people on the teams on both sides and that the actions of the few do not necessarily represent the mindset of the many.
It also helps that the ghouls themselves aren't just a bunch of helpless damsels in distress, but pose a significant threat to Doves and humanity in general.
Yet for every ray of light there's a patch of rain, least that holds true in Belfast. So we come to the other part that's not so great, the freaking fight scenes.
You might be surprised that I'd say such a thing, given that the studio behind it practically built its reputation on fight scenes. But while the weapon designs are interesting and suitably blend the horror element and badass nature of the ghouls, our main character is such a pushover that if the anime was set in Chicago, we'd have the first anime to star a human kite.
Seriously though, here he is fused with a quote on quote 'S' level ghoul, but, for some arbitrary reason, can be damn picky about when he actually wants to actually use his godly powers and when he wants screw around a bit more because the beautiful face-print he was busy painting would look better in a more vibrant shade of red.
That being said the animation quality of the fight scenes themselves are actually pretty good. They may not blow your mind (especially while SAO II and Captain Earth are still airing) but I've been pretty entertained so far.
Speaking of the main character, he's surprisingly not too bad. Aside from the fact that his pacifist nature would make Gandhi hurl a copy of 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' his head, his development is handled well.
For the most part he feels like the everyman that they're trying to portray, and as someone who really liked Mirai Nikki, I can appreciate that. In fairness to him he isn't as bad as Yuuki or Shinji, which is like claiming George Bush is competent relative to Caligula, but for what it's worth he generally stands up for what's right and puts others before his own safety.
The other characters are actually pretty phenomenal. Sure they aren't so complex as to need a Navajo code breaker to gain any understanding of them, but then they're side characters. So for side characters, I felt that they got enough development to flesh out their profiles to the point where their scenes were enjoyable to watch.
There are many ways to make interesting characters and one sure-fire way to do so is to give them one distinguishing trait and pump it up to 11. That's how we get characters like Gourmet whose voice actor combined with the animation and this image
makes him one of the most over-the-top characters until Nicholas Cage dubs a Trigger anime. What's great about a lot of the characters is that they start off interesting because of their singular overblown trait, and then slowly grow more complex as more subtle traits are introduced.To give an example one ghoul who we think is just an asshole, suddenly turns into a nice guy and then back into an asshole. Later on we learn that he, like everybody, has someone he cares about that tethers him to his humanity. What's interesting is that it isn't some childhood friend or something, it's just someone who he met who managed to show him that, like ghouls, humans aren't as black and white as he has grown to believe.
But characters aside, let's get to the big one; the make-it-or-break-it; the plot.
Now as I've said before, I think the main conflict of the story is handled well and hasn't failed to keep me engaged, and even after a few paragraphs my opinion hasn't changed.
Coming into the show, I had one fear, and that was the pacing. This is studio Pierrot we're talking about. Who, as far as I know, are the only video game developers who work exclusively in the the anime industry, because it seems like they create anime with a 50:1 action to plot ratio.
Yet even while I wait for the the next twenty minute respite from hanging of cliffs, I will say that this is honestly one of the most well paced shounnen anime Pierrot has ever produced. After again referring to above joke about George Bush and Caligula, hear me out. The action scenes never drag on too long and no character ever feels as though they're just there to get bashed around a bit before becoming the most overpowered thing since the the Strike Freedom's personal rave party. The episodes give enough plot to let you know that it isn't Evil May Day, and yeah...
So do I like it? Yeah, I do. Interesting characters, a gripping plot, dual morality, pretty pretty animation combined with some pretty kick-ass fight sequences make for a pretty good all rounder. If I had any criticism it would be that it doesn't do anything outside of the morality that made my jaw drop so fast and hard that it would crack the Earth's crust. The characters are good, the animation is good, and plot is engaging. Nothing revolutionary, but I don't think it has to be. It's enjoyable, and for me that's enough.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. Likes, Favorites but most importantly commenting are all things that I'd appreciate very much.
