"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." – Victor Hugo
There is a scene in Your Lie in April where two of the main characters are sitting next to a piano. One of them is sad about a recent occurrence while the other person is casually playing Clair de Lune as the other person speaks. This person playing never speaks to the other; instead, they opt to play this beautiful piece by Debussy while the other pours their heart out crying. It’s a monologue in and of itself, but truly, the person playing the piano is answering back
...
in the most beautiful way possible. And it was from this scene that I knew instantly, just how much in love I was with this anime.
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, or Your Lie in April, is one of the most beautiful anime I have ever seen in my life. It relies heavily on music to portray its themes, such as coming to terms with the past, post-traumatic stress disorder, family abuse, young love, and the unpredictable future that lays ahead for all of us. It is an experience that moved me in ways I could not have imagined possible.
At twenty two episodes in length, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso offers a well-rounded, beautiful story with one of the best anime endings I have seen in a long time. It delivers a story of character development, classical music, and… cheesy dialogue. But we’ll get to that later.
The story of Shigatsu follows main protagonist Arima Kousei, a once famous child prodigy at playing the piano who suddenly disappeared from the competitive piano world the day his mother died. Having had a rocky, abusive relationship with his mother, he blames her death on himself, and as such has become so severely traumatized that he became tone deaf and can’t listen to his own playing. Quitting the piano, his life became rather gray, but he was comfortable living his gray life with his two best friends. That is, until one day, he meets Kaori Miyazono, a very eccentric violinist, and everything in his life changes. Kaori teaches him that music isn’t simply about reading sheet music; it’s about expressing one’s true self. It’s from this fateful encounter that Shigatsu takes off, and Kousei gradually comes to learn why he is unable to hear the notes anymore and finds that, much to his surprise, the world around him is covered in beautiful pastel palettes… which bring me to the animation! Hooray for that awesome segway!
To say that A-1 Pictures did a great job animating this show is insulting. They did a STUPENDOUS job. A-1 Pictures does a very intriguing thing here, utilizing very livid and pasty colors for scenes which are happy and joyful. Their choices of colors are phenomenal and in one particular riverbank scene, the use of fireflies was beautiful to say the least. Now, when scenes are mellow or sad, such as when characters are grieving about something, everything takes a gray tone. You can feel the atmosphere of dread as well as joy being transmitted solely through color which I find to be incredibly riveting.
Another small thing on the topic of animation is the curious quirk to color the lips of the ENTIRE cast, instead of simply drawing the simplistic black line that most other animes possess. And last but not least… the competition scenes. These may drag out for quite some time, with an abundance of inner monologue which overlap the classical set pieces that accompany them may be a yawner for some people, but A-1 Pictures at least made them gorgeous to spectate. And also, that final performance in the last episode? Absolutely stellar.
On the subject of music and sound, Shigatsu does a wonderful job both with the soundtrack and the voice acting. With pieces from Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Debussy, you cannot deny that the music in Shigatsu is, at the very least, powerful. Add to those magnificent composers the original soundtrack and you have a music anime about pianos that actually contains piano music that is beautiful to listen to. The OST features some extremely riveting set pieces which are a joy to listen to, my personal favorite being “Again”, along with the two openings and endings, which are astounding. All four songs are well in tune with the show’s overall feel, especially the first ending, Kirameki by wacci, when it starts playing in the final episode despite the second ending, Orange by 7!!, being the one to play. Both songs are amazing and the small little detail of Kirameki playing in the final episode instead of Orange was a delightful surprise. Hikaru Nara by Goose house is the first opening, spanning from episodes one through to eleven, while Nanairo Symphony by Coalamode serves as the opening for the remainder of the show. Both are, again, phenomenal to listen to.
When speaking of characters, you might find that the main cast is rather superficial from the get go. You have Kousei, your typical middle school student that has a troubled past; Tsubaki, Arima’s best friend who sees him as a younger brother while SECRETLY not having feelings for him (wink); Watari, the popular one who is also a playboy and serves as the main comic relief of the series; and Kaori, your typical plot device who serves the purpose of getting our main protagonist out of his self-constructed, tone deaf world. With this description, it’s no surprise that many of you right now are thinking: “What an extremely average, stereotypical, shonen cast” and, truth be told, they may seem like it superficially.
Most of these characters from the outside seem stereotypical, and quite frankly, one of them is (*cough* Watari *cough*). But the rest of the main cast also has some surprising and compelling character development. Throughout the twenty two episodes, the main focus is Arima and you will see him grow out of his self-pity and unhappiness. Alongside him, Tsubaki also has a very interesting and realistic sub plot, as she comes to realize her place in the world. On the other hand, the show’s most beloved character, Kaori Miyazono, serves mainly as a plot device for the first half of anime. It isn’t until episode thirteen where her character development kicks in and in the final episode where she delivers a spectacular amount of development in one jaw dropping scene.
Remember how I mentioned cheesy dialogue before? Yeah, let’s go back to that for a moment.
Most of the character development in this series isn’t accomplished without its sheer amount of melodrama. While most of the dialogue serves for the characters to come to terms with themselves, there will always be a vast amount of melodrama attached. This is one of the lows of the show, as most of it will inevitably cause you to roll your eyes, despite how much you may love the show. Seriously, it’s a bit overbearing… but it does serve a purpose.
Most mature audiences will say this dialogue is overbearing and cheesy, and while that may be true, we have to remember what it was like to be that age. Finding first love, going through tough times, thinking you were on your own, that no one cared about you. If you say you never experienced any of these things, you are lying to yourself. We all went through something similar and found our own ways to cope with it.
Now, before we go on to the final verdict, I want to say a few things, specifically about the final episode and Kaori Miyazono.
Kaori demonstrates in the final scene some extremely beautiful character development which I believe most of us can relate to. Not necessarily the exact same circumstances, but the feeling of being an introvert and wanting to break out of that self-constructed shell is what I am referring to. The inability to tell the ones we love just how much we love them. The idea of being afraid of doing something but taking the plunge nonetheless, despite it not coming out as we expected is something we do most of the time. Kaori embodies what we generally want to be, and she expresses all of that through music. I found myself actually tearing up as the final scene was playing and not just of what was being shown, but because of how closely I could relate. I just wonder how different my life might be if I had taken the plunge all those years ago and whispered a lie as beautiful as Kaori’s to that one person.
What a beautiful lie she whispered in April, indeed.
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso gets a 9 out of 10. The overbearing melodrama is a bit too much for me at times, and the constant “piano is life, piano is love” lines made me chuckle. Aside from that, I must applaud everyone involved with the creation of this beautiful set piece as this is the FIRST anime I have seen since I started college back in September. Yeah, college has got me VERY behind on my anime affairs.
For alternate anime recommendations I must point you towards Beck, another music anime with great engrish songs along with a fantastic storyline to boot, and Clannad, along with its sequel After Story, the latter being a very unusual romance anime quite like Shigatsu, but enjoyable nonetheless. And last but not least, Your Lie in April is eligible for free streaming over on Cruchyroll (if you happen to have access to that site), all in HD format which, hopefully, will help stop us from pirating shows in the future.
Special thanks to Erika, Wendy and Mel for proofreading. Erika, I will burn you for what you have done to me, so be prepared for when you hear a knock on your front door (except right now, that’s probably the mailman).
And that’s it from me ladies and gents. Please, if you liked this review, do not forget to indicate it was helpful. If you want to discuss this anime with me then please, feel free to do so I am very open to discussing this show and anything else really, with any one of you. So don’t be shy because I don’t bite (unless you are my food, then yes, I bite)
This is Team Dai-Squirtle... Jesus man!
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Jun 10, 2015
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
(Anime)
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"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." – Victor Hugo
There is a scene in Your Lie in April where two of the main characters are sitting next to a piano. One of them is sad about a recent occurrence while the other person is casually playing Clair de Lune as the other person speaks. This person playing never speaks to the other; instead, they opt to play this beautiful piece by Debussy while the other pours their heart out crying. It’s a monologue in and of itself, but truly, the person playing the piano is answering back ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 31, 2015
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
(Anime)
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“I suppose if we couldn't laugh at the things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.” – Hobbes, from Calvin and Hobbes.
As a stressed out college student, I constantly find myself looking back at my high school years and remembering the fun old times. My all boys school meant that we could rein in free chaos without the worry of having to act proper around girls, so my class and I did all sorts of pranks and whatnot. From playing football in the hallway, to accidentally taking down a security camera, to taking down the school flag and wearing it ... as a cape, lighting up fireworks in class, all those things. Truth be told, high school was boring, but my classmates made it so much fun during our free time. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is about. A comedy anime like no other, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (or Daily Life of High School Boys if you prefer) had me laughing just as much (and probably more) as any comedic work out there. I found myself wiping tears from my eyes constantly and enjoying every single second of it. At twelve episodes in length, Danshi Koukousei promises that you will enjoy every single moment. First off, Danshi Koukousei has no overarching story. There is no typical high school plot in here as you would imagine from most generic slice of life animes. In fact, the show is presented in what most people would refer to as a ‘skit’ format. An episode of the anime will generally contain in average eight skits, each of them representing wildly different aspects of the free time that high school boys face on a day to day basis and what they do to liven up their boring lives. Of course, most of these are exaggerated at some points, but there isn’t anything wrong with that. In fact, it adds more to the realism of the show and how high school boys tend to exaggerate normal situations in their mind. Add that to the fact this anime is a HUGE parody of anime as a whole, taking in various anime tropes and destroying them before your very eyes. Oh you were expecting this to happen? Well haha, FUCK YOU PREDICTABILITY! On the subject of characters, there is no better way to describe the main cast as extremely human. Each character has his own little quirk that makes him instantly relatable to someone. I found myself constantly laughing and thinking along the lines of: “Oh my God that is so my friend from senior year!” The main cast is comprised of the trio of destiny: Tadakuni (whose last name is never revealed and in fact parodied by the show itself), Hidenori, and Yoshitake. Tadakuni is your straight man, the guy who is dragged into the crazy and manic antics that his two best friends get themselves in to. Hidenori is the bespectacled one, the playboy of the group and generally the inner monologue heavy guy who analyzes situations over and over again in a very comedic fashion. And finally, we have Yoshitake, the blonde dyed member of the group who is usually the idiot and goes along with whatever the situation around him dictates. Aside from those three, the anime introduces many many characters throughout the course of its run, giving us a well varied and excellently written cast. However, due to the sheer amount of characters, it’s kind of hard to remember the names of all of them. But, this is beautifully averted when the anime itself tells you that, while it knows its introducing many characters late into the show, it’s not important to remember all their names. It is also important to acknowledge the main female characters from this extensive male cast. At the end of every episode, there is an extra skit titled “High School Girls Are Funky!” which features three girls (Yanagi, Habara and Ikushima) who are basically the female counterparts of the main trio. While their skits are not as funny as the male ones, they are still the parts of the series where backstory is heavy handed and offers some insight into the past of some of the characters which, at least in my book, is a step in the right direction. On the topic of animation, the studio responsible for animating this is Sunrise Inc., famous for shows such as The Visions of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Tiger and Bunny, among others. In itself, the animation is very simplistic and it actually works in favor of the show’s theme. Add that to the fact that most of the characters sport some weirdly exaggerated faces to go along with some of the jokes makes said jokes all the better. A curious thing to note about the animation is the decision to shadow the eyes of the majority of the small female cast. This, I found out much later, was surprisingly parodied by the show as well in one of the later skits. The voice cast does a beautiful job with the characters as well. Most of the voices are blown out of proportion for some of the jokes, which makes the delivery of them all the better. You might find some of the voices rather familiar, particularly with Hidenori’s seiyuu Tomokazu Sugita, famous for lending his voice to Gintama, another comedy anime. Miyu Irino is present here as the voice of Tadakuni, showcasing his amazing talent, and Kenichi Suzumaru is here as well, giving his voice to the bumbling idiot that is Yoshitake. Add to those three Daisuke Namikawa as the voice of everyone’s favorite delinquent Motoharu, and you have one of the best voiced casts in recent anime history (at least that’s how I see it). Aside from that, the music is also very well executed. Audio Highs, known for their previous work in Bakuman and Gintama, are responsible for the masterfully well-crafted music that is present in this show. The anime sports one opening and one ending, with the opening being “Shiny tale” by Mix Speakers, Inc. while the ending theme is “O-hi-sama” by Amesaki Annainin. Both are very good, with the first one really pumping you up for a high school anime while the ending is… well, stupid. It simply fits with the whole theme of the show in its own, unique, way. Now that I’ve covered everything there is, it’s time to go down to the final verdict. This show means a lot to me. Not just because it made me laugh, but because some of the skits that the show has are actually situations that occurred to me during my daily life while in high school. The days I spent laughing with my friends, worrying about a friend’s little sister (well, actually it was his cousin) and whatnot really brought me memories that had long passed. It made me look back in life and smile at how beautiful everything was with my old friends and how much I miss them. It’s an anime I hold very near and dear to my heart simply because of the feelings it evoked in me while watching it and, truth be told, for being the funniest anime I have seen in my entire life. Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou gets a very well deserved 9/10. It would be a 10, but the short length left me wanting for more. But, just like everything else, even the short length is parodied by the show. Aside from that, a couple of jokes fell flat on their faces, but this didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the show. Much thanks to Mel, for proofreading this (I love you my little internet daughter), Erika, for providing her helpful insight, and my good friend Wendy, who should write some reviews of her own because she is a FREAKING GENIUS. There will be more to come, so expect more from me in the following months. AND AS ALWAYS, ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. This is Team Dai-Squirtle, to the stars and back!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 29, 2014 Mixed Feelings
“Really Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time” ― Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book)
High school can be tough. It is, no one denies that fact. As the years go on and one gets closer to senior year, the number of assignments and homework starts to pile up. Some may dismiss all of this and just live wildly. Others might not (like me) and do in fact do their homework like a good boy or girl (Santa gave me presents last year because of that). ... High school is not a popularity contest, popularity was something that you thought was super important in middle school, but gradually lost importance as the years rolled by. You enter high school with your group of friends that you made in middle school and everything is nice and dandy, right? Well, maybe not for everybody. And certainly not for Tomoko Kuroki, our main protagonist. Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! (No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!), or WataMote for short, is your not so generic slice-of-life anime featuring our main female protagonist Tomoko Kuroki as she struggles with her high school life. But, as with most high school animes, she doesn't struggle with class since teachers in Japan are mythical creatures, but instead with her underwhelming popularity and her overwhelming desire to increase her nonexistent popularity. Sounds simple right? A socially awkward person since a young age, Tomoko seeks to rectify her lack of friends upon entering high school. She has spent countless hours playing otome games in order to learn the mystical and sublime art of talking to men. However, two months into high school and Tomoko is as lonely as ever. Without a clue as to what is failing due to her belief that high school makes her instantly popular, Tomoko, who by the way has a very positive image about the way she looks (meaning to say that she thinks she's a total hottie), takes a good long look at the mirror for the first time in who knows how many years, only to find the exact same opposite of what she thought of herself. This is where WataMote kicks off and generally what drives the series through twelve very painful to watch episodes as Tomoko tries her best at becoming popular. Why is it painful, you ask? Let me give you what I believe to be the most cringe worthy moment of the entire anime. After entering a crowded train, Tomoko feels something rubbing up against her. She starts feeling nervous and scared, believing it is a molester. The thing rubbing her then goes farther down, and Tomoko starts fearing for her life. As the train arrives to its next stop, Tomoko goes out running, only to be stuck by this thing rubbing against her and unable to move with dozens of people watching. We then hear a voice of a young girl apologizing that her naginata equipment got stuck on Tomoko. After experiencing a tremendous amount of public embarrassment, Tomoko breaks free and goes on with her life as usual. WataMote carries a comedy tag to it, but to say that this show is comedy would be kind of an insult. I actually felt sorry for her on many occasions, like on episode three when her umbrella breaks and she gets stuck taking shelter with two boys. After making a run for the bathroom, she return to the shelter only to find the boys gone and decides to take a nap to wait out the rain. When she wakes up (still raining), she finds a new umbrella beside her and goes on home, silently wishing that , for once, a boy would do something nice for her, all the while not noticing that it was these same two boys who bought that umbrella for her. It's really disheartening and it pains me to watch at times because of scenes like this one. Getting back to the topic at hand, WataMote has in total twelve episodes. The story is episodic in nature with the over arching story being, as said above, Tomoko's resolve to become popular. It's a story about character development and you really want to see her get some friends, but at the end of the day you realize that the character development is almost nonexistent. WataMote just doesn't end, it basically tells you to deal with it or just go and read the manga. I know its twelve episodes long, but a little closure for our main character would have been much appreciated. As for characters, there's a few that caught my attention. First off is, of course, Tomoko. A fifteen year old recluse that borders into being a deranged person, craving for acceptance. With heavy bags under her eyes, she is supposed to symbolize many shut ins that exist nowadays. I've already said enough about her for you to have a clear picture of her, so let's just move on. Tomoki is Tomoko's younger brother. A talented soccer player, Tomoki is what Tomoko isn't: popular. He often questions Tomoko's sanity and weird behavior and is often annoyed by her personality. Tomoko usually goes to him for advice on how to talk to men seeing as he is the only male character in the series she can talk to normally. Yu Naruse is Tomoko's best friend from middle school. No wait, she's her only friend from middle school. She first appears in episode two having invited Tomoko to hang out, given that she went to a different high school than Tomoko. A recluse at heart, Yu actually managed to garner popularity by changing her appearance, ranging from dying her hair to breast implants. Tomoko is at first afraid that she isn't the same Yu from middle school, but soon finds out that she still enjoys everything that she did in middle school, such as watching anime, reading manga and playing video games. As such, she like Tomoki is what Tomoko isn't: popular. On the topic for animation nothing to say here really. Its good, but nothing that stands out. The studio that worked on WataMote is studio Silver Link, known for their work in Kokoro Connect. The director for WataMote is none other than Shin Oonuma, known for his role as director in shows such as ef: A Tale of Melodies/Memories and Kokoro Connect. Bottom line, it gets the job done, but its nothing spectacular. Similarly, the soundtrack for WataMote was nothing amazing. It just sounds like any other slice of life anime out there and none of the tracks stand out except for the opening. Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! by Konomi Suzuki and Kiba of Akiba is the opening that spans across all twelve episodes of the series. This opening is, in my most humble opinion, a true masterpiece. A song filled with heavy metal and angry vocals accompanied by dark grim images of Tomoko in chains symbolizes just how angry and lonely Tomoko is in correlation with the rest of the world. It really shows the main underlying theme of the show which is Tomoko wanting to break free of her social anxiety. Beautiful to watch, one of my favorite openings of all time just because of its connection with the show. The series sports various endings indeed. The main ending theme, Dō Kangaetemo Watashi wa Warukunai, is featured in all but four episodes. Episodes two and five use Musō Renka and Yoru no Tobari yo Sayōnara respectively, both performed by Velvet,Kodhy. Episode six uses Natsu Matsuri by Utsu-P & Toka Minatsuki, featuring vocals by Hatsune Miku (yay) while episode eleven utilizes Sokora no Chaku-Gurumi no Fūsen to Watashi by Velvet,Kodhy. This review has gone long enough so let's wrap it up. I initially started watching WataMote because, from an outsiders perspective, Tomoko looks a bit like a friend of mine. I wanted to watch the show and then show her how Tomoko and her looked alike. But after watching a few episodes, I knew Tomoko and my friend were nothing alike. I honestly cannot comprehend the purpose of this show. Is it a parody on recluse and otakus or just a very mean black comedy show? I don't know and I prefer to leave it that way because it adds a certain charm to it. Speaking of charm, this show contains some scenes that parody other famous animes like Death Note and Ghost in the Shell. See if you can find them all! With all that in mind, it is time for my final verdict. I don't know if I enjoyed WataMote or not. It certainly was disturbing, painful, and sad to watch. Animation is good, but nothing spectacular. The music is meh with the exception of the opening and the character development is, well... meh as well. Overall, I give Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! a final score of 6.2 out of 10. This is my second review here on MAL, so any feedback, as usual, would be very welcome. Have a great day, and you can be on the lookout for my next review.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 12, 2014
Psycho-Pass
(Anime)
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"There's a point, far out there when the structures fail you, and the rules aren't weapons anymore, they're... shackles letting the bad guy get ahead. One day... you may face such a moment of crisis. And in that moment, I hope you have a friend like I did, to plunge their hands into the filth so that you can keep yours clean!" - Jim Gordon, The Dark Knight Rises
From a very young age, I've always been fascinated with police procedural television series, the most notable ones being Law and Order and its spin-off Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Of the two, I only fully ... completed Law and Order, while dropping SVU at its 12th season, when Christopher Meloni left the show. This kind of symbolized my departure from television series into a fully devoted transition to the anime world. This was back in 2011. But even then, my love for Law and Order hadn't swindled. If I caught a rerun of its earlier season on TV, I'd sit down and watch it. I love the procedural police genre that much. So imagine my reaction when an anime was announced in 2012 that was a part of this subgenre. It immediately became my most hyped anime for 2012 and I couldn't wait for it to air. And what a joy it was to watch it when it did. Psycho-Pass takes place in a dystopian future set in the year 2113, where the Sibyl System actively monitors the citizens of Japan's mental state linked to their probability of committing a crime. This assessment is what is known as a Psycho Pass, showcased as a hue and a number. This number is measured by the Crime Coefficient (CC from now on), and when the probability of committing a crime becomes too high in a person, the System marks them and orders the Public Safety Bureau (PSB from now on) to pursue and apprehend. Now this is where it gets interesting. The task force is armed with a gun called the Dominator which, when aimed, measures the targets CC on the spot and gives out three possible judgments: innocent (gun locks itself), dangerous but not that dangerous (gun paralyzes), or dangerous and in need of elimination (gun kills). The PSB Criminal Investigation Division is divided into two sets of people: the Inspectors and the Enforcers. The Enforcers are themselves latent criminals, meaning that their CC has reached a point of no return and have accepted an offer by the System to become a part of the task force without going to prison. The Inspectors basically keep the Enforcers under control (like a master holding his dog by a leash) and have the authority to paralyze the Enforcers if they ever disobey orders or go buck wild. STORY The story begins with Akane Tsunemori, a new Inspector of Unit One as she joins the PBS. She has no idea how to do her job as an Inspector and is basically thrust into the world of crime. The story follows her and the rest of Unit One as they take on several cases throughout the series. The series is episodic in nature, but it does have an overarching story, which is quite noticeable since its basically linked at the end of every arc in the series. The series is 22 episodes long, written by the master of darkness and despair Gen Urobuchi. Now, you have been warned. If you haven't seen a series by Urobutcher before, let me say this from the get-go: do not get too attached to the characters. That is all. The story is excellent, to say the least. It delves deep into the theme of morality, what is right and what is wrong. And it's Akane that generally has the voice of reason questioning this fact, being the rookie and all. The show portrays just how dependent humans have become of technology, and this is best seen on episode one, where a woman is kidnapped, and when rescued, discovers that due to the horrifying experience, her Psycho Pass has deteriorated and her CC has risen. The Enforcer, being told by the Dominator that she is a threat to society, proceeds to kill her, but Akane paralyzes him (Kogami Shinya) in order to stop him from doing so, so she can then proceed to calm her down and lower her CC. It really likes to explore this concept, and it's brilliantly well executed. Each episode likes to keep you in rage inducing cliff hangers (rage at the time when it was airing because I wanted to see the next episode immediately after) and provides plenty of twists and turns. However, it is pretty simple to follow and the whole plot could be said in a single paragraph, but I won't do so for obvious reasons. Now there is a trade off, the first episode may shy away viewers for its gruesome and gory climax (and trust me, it did shy away a friend of mine to whom I recommended this show too). This doesn't mean that Psycho Pass is a gore fest, no no. Rather, Psycho Pass is a well crafted story, but it is strong and mature the entire ride. I would not recommend it to a younger audience nor those who are weak hearted or squeamish. ANIMATION Psycho Pass was developed by studio Production IG, famous for their relatively high budget shows, such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Higashi no Eden and Guilty Crown. There really isn't much to say here that hasn't already been said elsewhere other than that it does provide some really nice eye candy for the viewers. The fight scenes in particular are amazingly well animated with the characters moving in real time. The character designs were done by Amano Akira, famous for her long running shonen series Reborn. Those who have seen or read Reborn in the past (like me) will immediately notice just how similar some character designs are, but that's not a problem in my book. The only real problems I had with the animation were in episodes 17 and 18, where the quality kind of took it down a notch. It isn't all that noticeable, and Production IG have remade the episodes, so major props to that. However, there are some scenes throughout the series where the character faces aren't all that consistent, especially in the scenes where the characters are discussing a case and simply talking. SOUND Oh my God, yes. The soundtrack for Psycho Pass is arguably its greatest feature. Composed by Yugo Kanno, who also composed the soundtrack for Birdy The Mighty Decode, the music simply fits into the show and never feels out of place. When there's a chase scene, or a fight scene, or a simple chatting scene, the music is always there to fulfill its purpose, and it does so beautifully. The anime sports two opening and endings. The first opening Abnormalize, performed by Ling Tosite Sigure, is a fast paced opening which fits the theme of Psycho Pass perfectly. It is replaced at episode twelve by Out of Control, performed by Nothing's Carved in Stone, a song sung in engrish which also fits the show extremely well. The first ending for Psycho Pass is The Monster With No Name, performed by Egoist. I must say, this song is pure awesomeness and I seriously do not regret the countless hours I have spent listening to it on repeat. The second ending is called All Alone With You, also performed by Egoist. This song is more mellow and slow paced than the first one, and it encapsulates well with what happens in later episodes. Due to time constraints, the endings had to be played in the background during the final scenes of some episodes. There are also some episodes that use different verses of the ending songs, for example episode eleven. Personally, I really liked this small detail, as it gave it a more epic (yes, epic) sense of closure. CHARACTERS I had problems with the characters in this series. The ones the show focuses on are really well developed and we are able to see them change throughout the series, but then there are some that are just outright neglected by the series. The show follows Unit One and all of its members. Unit One is composed of two Inspectors, four Enforcers and an Analyst. The two Inspectors are Akane, the female lead, and Nobuchika Ginoza, the stern stuck up leader of Unit One. The Enforcers are as follows: Kogami Shinya, the male lead; Tomomi Masaoka, the father figure of the members of Unit One and the eldest; Shuusei Kagari, the jokester of the group who became a latent criminal at the age of five; and Yayoi Kunidzuka, the only female Enforcer and the drone specialist. The Analyst for Unit One is also a latent criminal that goes by the name of Shion Kanamori, in charge of supporting the team with medical aspects and so on and so forth. The shows main antagonist is called Makishima Shougo, arguably the most interesting character of the story. I won't say much about this guy because it'll be rearing heavily into spoilers, but I honestly haven't had this much fun watching an anime villain since the spine chillingly scary Johan Liebert from Monster and the incredibly charismatic Count from Gankutsuou. Like I said before, the show focuses heavily on some characters, not all of them. I am, of course, talking about Akane, Kogami, and Makishima. The rest of the supporting cast, while brilliant in their own rights, aren't given proper back stories and are there just for the sake of the others. I really liked all the characters in this series, especially the Enforcers, but they just aren't given the attention they so much deserve. ENJOYMENT As I said before, I am a HUGE fan of police procedural series. When Psycho Pass was announced, I immediately wanted to see it. And good God did it deliver. Generally, I don't like to wait week after week for an anime, I like to let them end and then marathon it. But Psycho Pass was so darned good that I had to keep watching. I enjoyed it way too much. That being said, this isn't a show for everyone. This is seinen people. It's mature and it's dark, but most importantly, it was written by the Urobutcher. Be prepared for this anime, cause it will take you for a tremendously high speed ride. And if this review motivates you into watching Psycho Pass, once you watch episode 16, come back to me and we can discuss Urobuchi's masterpiece over some tea and crumpets. My final verdict for this anime is a well deserved, 9.2 out of 10. I re-watched this series for the second time a few weeks ago and decided to make a review about it. Huge thanks to firealchemist for proofreading this, go check her out! Also, this was my first review ever, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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