I really want to avoid offending anybody when writing these reviews but sometimes it’s just so hard to not say what I’m thinking.
I feel cheated. There, I said it. This anime made me feel cheated.
Why, you ask?
I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you…
I feel cheated. There, I said it. This anime made me feel cheated.
Why, you ask?
I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you…
Story
The Story for Nabari No Ou starts out with a deadly ninja art called the Shinra Banshou. Actually, I think the word “deadly” doesn’t exactly do it justice. At any rate, this ninja art (or jutsu if you will) belongs to a young boy named Miharu, only Miharu is unaware of its existence. That is, until the Ash Wolf clan tries to kidnap him and the Banten clan saves him from them and asks him to join their club. They impress on him to train his mind and body in the art of Ninjutsu and become their leader.
Pretty cut and dry right? Wrong!
I won’t go into details but it appears that this anime loves to transcend preconceptions; which is a good thing. I love it when an anime is willing to be different, and the story in this anime is different. All jokes and faults aside, this story is good.
That’s not the problem…
Pretty cut and dry right? Wrong!
I won’t go into details but it appears that this anime loves to transcend preconceptions; which is a good thing. I love it when an anime is willing to be different, and the story in this anime is different. All jokes and faults aside, this story is good.
That’s not the problem…
Character
The characters are frustrating in their complexity and dubious in their bonds. What do I mean? The good guys look bad and the bad guys look good and the bad good guys drive you nuts but the good bad guys are even more frustrating. How does that sound? Confusing? You’re telling me. That is how I’d describe an emotional response to these characters. You spend nearly the entire show trying to figure out what to think of a character. This hinders one’s ability to bond with the characters, so it gets pretty hard to care what happens to them.
The characters are frustrating in their complexity and dubious in their bonds. What do I mean? The good guys look bad and the bad guys look good and the bad good guys drive you nuts but the good bad guys are even more frustrating. How does that sound? Confusing? You’re telling me. That is how I’d describe an emotional response to these characters. You spend nearly the entire show trying to figure out what to think of a character. This hinders one’s ability to bond with the characters, so it gets pretty hard to care what happens to them.
Art
It’s really a top notch animation. I mean Yoshinori Hirose pulled out all the stops in making this anime look good. Its action flows fast and well and the characters always look sharp.
But they’re boring. Not to frustrate anyone with my review but they are very boring characters to look at. They’re distinctive but they don’t strike you. Really the most distinctive character is Yoite who looks like a Japanese Bob Dylan and that’s not exactly a compliment.
But they’re boring. Not to frustrate anyone with my review but they are very boring characters to look at. They’re distinctive but they don’t strike you. Really the most distinctive character is Yoite who looks like a Japanese Bob Dylan and that’s not exactly a compliment.
Enjoyment
I didn’t care. I just really didn’t. Even with a story as complex as this one I just did not care what happened to them. It got to where I dreaded having to start another episode and deal with the drudgery. Frankly, I blame the director. There’s no reason why this anime couldn’t have been better, except that they never allowed time to build a relationship with the characters. I like to try and get lost in a story but they didn’t allow for that in this anime. There’s a wall there, like the show is as inaccessible as its characters. Therein lays the problem. It’s not the characters, the story, the art and lord knows it’s not the music. I just did not enjoy this anime.
Because the show is dismissive and despondent, I found it to nearly being an exercise in suicidal ideology. And it works because I wanted to die.
I didn’t care. I just really didn’t. Even with a story as complex as this one I just did not care what happened to them. It got to where I dreaded having to start another episode and deal with the drudgery. Frankly, I blame the director. There’s no reason why this anime couldn’t have been better, except that they never allowed time to build a relationship with the characters. I like to try and get lost in a story but they didn’t allow for that in this anime. There’s a wall there, like the show is as inaccessible as its characters. Therein lays the problem. It’s not the characters, the story, the art and lord knows it’s not the music. I just did not enjoy this anime.
Because the show is dismissive and despondent, I found it to nearly being an exercise in suicidal ideology. And it works because I wanted to die.
Music
The music is very good. I seldom hear an opening song that’s as suiting to the character’s personality and situations as this one. That and it actually sounds good. I had my wife listen to it (who is a harsh judge) and even she liked it. That’s a rarity. However, it’s not just the opening song. All the music in the show is top notch. Although it may be hard to do, if you watch this anime you should attempt to listen to the background music. It’s quite well scored.
The music is very good. I seldom hear an opening song that’s as suiting to the character’s personality and situations as this one. That and it actually sounds good. I had my wife listen to it (who is a harsh judge) and even she liked it. That’s a rarity. However, it’s not just the opening song. All the music in the show is top notch. Although it may be hard to do, if you watch this anime you should attempt to listen to the background music. It’s quite well scored.
In Conclusion
It’s so frustrating to watch an anime that gets all the details right, then fall flat on its face for the effort. I did not enjoy myself watching this and I cannot emphasize that enough. It’s an intangible thing to manage to make a show that’s well written, well drawn, and decently scored completely unsatisfactory. I just cannot conceive what happened.
You see my score and you are certainly entitled to your own opinion. So please, tell me if I’m wrong.
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