Owari no Seraph Reviews

This review is NOT spoiler-free because I don't know how to review things without giving spoilers, be it books or movies or shows.




► Things I liked ◄


 1. Mika's internal conflict. Mika hates humans because they experimented on him and his family. He also hates vampires because they killed his family. Good. No sides taken. Everyone is ugly and cruel.

2. Yuu's character development, although this is expected because of how they overly projected his I-don't-care-about-anyone-I-just-wanna-kick-some-vampy's-ass attitude. Seeing Yuu changed from "I don't care about making friends" and "I don't need friends to kill vampires" to "I'm sorry I made all of you worry" and "I will not leave my comrades behind" was nice. (But still, expected, so this point could also be fit into the 'Things I Disliked' segment.)

3. Binding contract with demons. I actually liked this because it indicates that whoever gets to own a Cursed Gear will at least have the mental and emotional strength to face battles. Whoever gets easily swayed are simply not fit to be on the battlefield (in Anime World, at least). Also, Yuu's demon was pretty nice to him and she even gave him advices. I'm basically a sucker for emotional weapon-master bonds (e.g: Akame Ga Kill: Imperial Arms and Imperial Arms Users, Bleach: Zanpakutous and Shinigamis, Noragami: Shinkis and Gods)
   



► Things I Disliked ◄

(To be very frank with you, I didn't set high expectations for this anime. Luckily too, because this list is definitely longer than the previous one.) 

1.What the fuck did Mika think he was doing, making his five and six-year-old siblings who have no clue about what was going on follow him on his completely flawed escape plan (if you can even call that a plan in the first place). He said he had everything planned out (which he obviously didn't, seeing the lack of weapons and any sort of camouflage). From the minute he mentioned the escape plan and proceeding to actually blindly execute it 3 minutes later we all knew nothing was going to go well. Plus, what was Mika going to do if they do manage to escape? It was not implied in any way that he had contact with the outside world who could prepare them a place and help them out. Realistically speaking, how could Mika and Yuu, both 12 at that time, lead a group of younger kids and keep them alive for longer than a week?

2. The fights. In summary, not dramatic enough. I need more effects, better heart-pounding music, better visual angles. None of the fights could be taken seriously. Too many people fighting at once. I think most shounen fans prefer close-up one-on-one fights. Alright, maybe they are saving the best fight for the last episode of the final season, so I shouldn't be complaining. But for now, this is what I have to say.

3. The way they revealed plot twists. You know, the whole part about Yuu not being 100% human could have made an averagely good plot twist, but I can't believe they dropped obvious hints in episode 2. EPISODE TWO. WHICH IS LIKE THE BEGINNING. "One of the subjects of Hyakuya Laboratory has escaped." Are you fucking kidding me? You could have kept this info quietly and safely in your back pocket, built the suspense, then deliver it with an impact in like episode 10. But no, they made Guren blurt out all the secrets of the universe in the very beginning, so nothing which comes after that seems surprising anymore.

4. Lack of any form of physical nor mental training. All we saw them did was sit for three language papers and the next thing you know, Yuu, Yoichi and Glasses Boy were off to get their Cursed Gears. Fast forward 30 minutes later and they have a mission. Did we see them train to get stronger? Nope. They have enough stamina for battle despite not having trained.Yoichi can suddenly use a bow. I don't know if the producers think that fans would be bored watching characters train, but I certainly won't. I always look forward to seeing characters train. I'm sadistic and I enjoy watching the shit characters have to go through before they are awarded with strength. *shrugs* For me, skipping the training part means taking away a good part of an action anime.

5. The obvious love triangle forming between Yuu and Shinoa and Mitsuba. Stop. I don't need this right now. Please don't blush. It's only been 12 episodes. I don't see any chemistry yet. Please don't do this to me.             ....................We all know Mikayuu is canon.



    But seriously, jokes aside, not now.



► Things I Would Change About This Anime ◄

1. The Vampire Queen.


Look at her. She literally looks 12. She doesn't give out a dangerous vibe, and she doesn't terrify me at all. Is she supposed to be a villain? I can't tell. She seems like a kid who is doing this for fun because she enjoys terrorizing kids two years younger than her, who can get away with bullying because her father is a minister, who is actually a whiner and can't cause much potential harm, and who spends an hour a day picking out which ribbon to wear. If you were to make a character a Queen, the least you could do is to draw an adult female who looks like a Queen, who oozes charisma like one, seems menacing, and sends chills down your spine. Like Mosquito Girl here from One Punch Man.

                        
(She looks so good. Side mention of good art appreciation. How is anyone able to draw that well.)



2. The setting. Okay, post-viralpocalypse Japan. Cool, but it takes away the seriousness. I'd rather this be set in an alternate universe. I don't have a particular image in mind, but things could be better. Making the vampires and humans fight in a spot which looks like an abandoned construction site is a bad idea. Like what are you fighting for? Land reclaim? Look around you. If you win you are reclaiming a land full of debris and crawling with monsters. The idea of reclaiming a fictional kingdom surrounded by a Snow-White and-The-Seven-Dwarves-like forest, although cliche, is still far more appetizing than what they offered us.

3. The opening theme. Nope. Not liking it. At all. It is not upbeat and it doesn't prepare me for the anime nor does it build excitement. The OP sounds dead, as if it's foretelling you that there's really not much to look forward to.

 ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦
Overall rating: 4/10

And that concludes my reviews! If you've watched Owari no Seraph too, leave me a comment down here to let me know what you think about it. Oh, and one last thing, this slight detail has bothered me from the beginning of the season till the end.




  
Yeap, that weird and uncomfortable dance Krul does during the opening. What is she doing? Someone stop her.

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