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Aug 8, 2018 8:48 AM
#1

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Nov 2011
131241
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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Thorn turned out to be Asuka? Mu getting purified by her corruption too.

Honestly, it felt like a pretty underwhelming finale and show altogether. Furthermore, I can't really say the Mobius World is thoughtful idea despite the premise that ties the series together. A shame this anime could of done better if it had a more detailed plot.

4/10. Game adaptations really feel like a hit or miss these days...
Aug 8, 2018 9:11 AM
#2
Japan's defender

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Aug 2017
12492
I'm going to copy and paste what I thought after the ending. I wrote this months ago.

It's not so bad. A bit rushed and plot holes but, at least, have some decent characterization. Basically, an average anti-escapism anime. +1 for enjoyment. 3/5 for the episode. 6/10 for the anime.
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Aug 9, 2018 4:29 PM
#3

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Mar 2012
698
i actually think that if the characterization was better this could have been an enjoyable anime. kept watching because i wanted to know where this mess would end up (and because i have a really hard time dropping stuff) but it didn't surprise me when we got at the end and it was underwhelming to say the least.

the design reminded me a lot of persona, but the execution was pretty meh. and am i the only one who thinks living forever in high school would be worse than some kinds of hell?
Aug 9, 2018 7:38 PM
#4

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May 2015
10936
Wow...Ritsu's speech at the end was SO spot on. We want to understand others, so we research about psychology and read stories. The ending was nice as well where we got to see everyone and who they were.

Caligula delves quite a bit into the psychological nature of humans. Being the psychology major that I am, I actually found it quite interesting. And the anime took a persona-esque route, which is no surprise since the original writer of the game also did Persona 2 as well. The insert music was great, and reading the lyrics actually fit well in the situation that it is being sung, so that's a plus. If the issue was loneliness, the song sings about loneliness, and if it's about apathy and hatred, then the song will reflect those feelings.

Although Caligula has some ups, it also has several downs. I did like the changing art within Mobius which gave the anime a different feel suited for the current mood. The character art however was very lackluster with minimal distinctions between characters until they revealed their powers where their designs were pretty decent. The characters themselves were more featured like "character of the week" where they get one episode focused on them, then they are set aside and are completely forgotten. Also, for being based on a JRPG, the action was very lackluster and minimal which is unfortunate. Given how great the Opening Animation was done, I expected a lot more. The greatest issue with Caligula however is the pacing. This is sadly another game adaptation that had to rush forward and skip events from one episode to another making the transition to the next episode feel unnatural. The poor pacing also weakened the overall development of the characters save Ritsu who got the best development at the end.

Despite the weak character development, lackluster action, and poor pacing, the big plus that Caligula won me over was the message that Caligula was trying to convey. Maybe it isn't Anime of the Year material, but the final episodes got me thinking about it, and sometimes that's all the anime needs to do to make me remember it. A rushed anime that probably could have done better with 24 episodes instead of 12, but its ending left quite an impression on me. A decent anime overall.
Aug 12, 2018 9:53 PM
#5

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Apr 2013
185
Well, it's easy to see where all the budget went.
Still I don't think it was overall that fantastic, despite it's potential.
Aug 25, 2018 9:36 PM
#6

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Jun 2013
524
Well it started out mysterious and interesting but went downhill from there. Overall it felt quite mediocre and rushed. 5/10
Aug 28, 2018 3:39 PM
#7

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Oct 2015
6916
I thought this anime was great for me, I don't think it deserved that 6.27. But anyways its up to the majority. I didn't feel the first 9episodes and would've gave it a 5, but from episode 10 things started to pick up and the story peeled through. I started to enjoy it as the characters showed themselves and began to tell their stories on why they escaped reality, also why they wanted to come back to it.

My surprise was that Marie was the traitor all along and Thorn was actually late Ichika's friend Natsume, who blamed Shogo for choosing him as a suicide partner. The other thing Who created Aria if Muse was created by Ritsu? And also where and how did Muse obtain such power to transport everyone to the Möbius world?? Anyways I didn't care, but only cared that it had a message, it was enjoyable and the songs hit me.

It might sucked to many but to me it was awesome, maybe its because people didn't pay attention or cared to. 8/10 and one of the best anime of that season.
lihle808Aug 28, 2018 3:45 PM
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove

Dec 10, 2019 9:06 PM
#8

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Jun 2014
1668
I kinda enjoyed the ending. But the first 10 episodes were just... so bad.

As for being an anime adaptation of a video game-- I feel like the anime didnt really do enough to enhance the experience to justify the anime's existence. Episodes 11 and 12 were good, mainly because they gave an explanation as to how Mobius and Mu were first created, and gave a backstory to the protagonist-- key plot features the game was missing. So that was enjoyable. But the first two episodes were just completely confusing for anyone who doesnt know about the game. I did like that they deviated a little bit from the game's introduction, but they didnt explain anything. Then episodes 3-5 progressed soo slowly and so much time was wasted doing nothing instead of using the time to develop the large cast of characters. The middle episodes were utterly incoherent and it always seemed like just random things happening. So yeah, I stand by that episodes 11 and 12 were the only worth while episodes in the anime's existence.

A large part of the game's story is based around the characters' traumas, events that happened in their real life that caused them to be invited to Mobius. They way the anime crammed all the Go-Home club members' character stories into one episode was distasteful. And then they barely even hinted at the Musicians' traumas and just skipped their backstories. There were also disappointingly few battles. The characters dont even awaken their Catharsis Effect weapons until the middle of the series. And even after that, a lot of the time, conflict between Go Home club and Musicians would just be arguing about ideals back and forth.

The biggest thing Im majorly disappointed about is the fact that Biwasaka, Ayana, Kuchinashi, and Stork were excluded from the anime. In the game, these 4 character stories all intertwine, and its the most interesting part of the story. They could have left out Naruko, Minezawa, and Ike-P (who have the least interesting stories).

Anyway. 4/10. This could have been a lot better if they had the budget for 4-6 more episodes to properly develop all the characters, and portray the main story in a somewhat coherent way.
Apr 5, 2023 4:32 PM
#9

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Aug 2017
438
Well it was obvious they're gonna rush the ending,
This anime had potential to be really great but due to many plot-holes and irregular pace it ended as a good-ish anime,
I hoped for the characters to meet in reality, also they didn't explain the origin of astral syndrome,
I'll give it a 7 because the animation was really good and the plot was interesting, at least the ending is kinda of a conclusion and not a cliffhanger.
2025 candy collection : x2
Sep 14, 2025 8:34 PM
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Mar 2016
489
Finally done. This show looked like it was going to be cool, edgy, and fun at first. In the end it was fake-deep boring nonsense.

This show resists progress like it's the devil. After the first episode, it's 3 or 4 more before the characters meet up because they all arbitrarily split up again, refusing the club request. It's a few more yet before people aside from Shogo get powers. It's not until the last few episodes that you learn the backstories for most characters or even what kind of people they are supposed to be (they are incredibly wooden and undeveloped). After each enemy encounter everyone goes back to waiting and doing nothing. They aren't even planning. They're just walking around the world without a care in the world, even though they know who and where most of the people are. The purple monsters are basically nonexistent after episode 2. They're in the aquarium battle, but they literally just stand in the audience and patiently watch the girls fight.

The psychology and philosophy stuff is all super basic, and yet everyone acts so confused. "What do you mean their are different facets to a personality? What do you mean people react differently to the same things?" When we finally get the grand trauma dumping reveals, they're all super underwhelming. Shogo formed a suicide pact and didn't go through with it. The one girl is anorexic because her mom's fat (her assumed reason for being abused by her fake anorexic mom was stereotypical but better). Brunette #3 is a single mom that never showed her kid affection. Brunette #4 ate lunch in the bathroom by herself. Twintails was an internet troll because she got trolled in real life. Hidden shota is upset because he's not growing tall enough to be a firefighter. The one traitor guy who I still can't tell if there's supposed to be 2 of him is just bored. Bishounen has an overbearing mom, so he cut his PERFECT face (as if he couldn't find solace through attention from girls). And our main character is a loner that rejected everyone else's invitation to be his friends.

Tweaking these concepts just a little and going deeper, we could have at least had your typical fanfic shlock. Instead we get a bunch of people who never did anything about their problems whatsoever. I can empathize if they've tried and failed, but as it is they never even tried. Even Shogo could have told Ichika not to die. Maybe become her boyfriend. Honestly the other villains are more interesting because they CAN'T get what they want. Fatso will never be a cute loli. Shadow Knife will never get revenge on his bullies. Wicked will never get revenge on her family. IkeP will never be a chick magnet. Natsume will never get her friend back. Even the dominatrix will never be young and rich again. There's a long history to all of those that at least implies they might have once tried to change their circumstances.

The battles have absolutely no stakes. We barely see some of the characters forms and weapons. Mu's powers make no sense. How did she bring people into the world? Why can she not do certain things? Why didn't the brainwashing work on everyone? Why do NPCs look like static? How does her song transform people, and why? They're not really taking her orders. What was the point of having a second AI fairy, and why/how did she get her powers stolen? Who developed her, and why is her goal different from Mu's?

90% of the dialogue is meaningless fluff. I mean we get TWO episodes devoted to eating hotpot, one of them after Mu wakes up. The bad guys aren't even in the tower, and the good guys all LEAVE the tower and go home, DESPITE going there to leave Mobius in the first place.

There were so many hints at shipping, particularly MC with everyone. Despite this there is no romance whatsoever, until he says he loves the AI waifu he created. Why can't Shogo and Natsume be a thing? Why weren't he and Ichika a thing? Why is middle-school boy not beside himself trying to impress the highschool girls?

None of the knowledge or skills these people had seemingly made it out to the real world, but they're ready to try for the first time or apologize for the first time.

2/10. Half of the characters look the same. Only good thing was the music. Also, why'd they pronounce it like the Pokémon? It's Moo like the animal sound.
DarkdaxterSep 14, 2025 8:46 PM
Sep 23, 2025 5:54 AM
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Dec 2021
1739
Great anime, enjoyed it a lot.

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