Tozzy

The quickest way to pique my curiosity is with the ‘mystery’ tag. It often has me dusting off the magnifying glass and getting set to put my perception to the test. Rokka no Yuusha stepped up to the plate this season and its plot summary had me interested: A show where six heroes try to fight off a great demon but seven show up for the job instead. One character gets picked on early as the infiltrator and it’s up to him to prove his innocence. Rokka no Yuusha didn’t end up testing my intelligence though. Instead, it decided to insult it. If there’s onebig tip you could give to anyone writing a classic ‘whodunnit’ tale then do this: Give everyone a solid reason to be confirmed suspicious. If you start to abandon characters then the strength in your writing falls by the wayside. This lack of equal screen time and development made it incredibly easy to rule certain characters out as the ‘extra’. The show feels like it is written to cater for an action show, not a mystery one. The focus is on set pieces and not a study into its characters. That’s the fatal flaw. In a show that clearly tells us early on that it’s going to be show about catching the villain in disguise, it abandons even trying to be an interesting and challenging mystery. With paper-thin characters, convenient solutions, characters that scream fanservice over depth and a bizarre ending, Rokka no Yuusha will not be a show that hangs around in the memory bank for the right reasons. I can understand those who enjoyed the anime because there’s some action, suspense and some passable characters to get you by. If you’re after an anime with some solid action, but nothing ground breaking, then this may satisfy you. I, however, felt betrayed by the show not living up to its potential and betraying the mystery path it started to construct in its opening half. A harsh sentiment? I maintain the show dug its own hole deeper with every single episode. The story is focused around Adlet Mayer, the self-proclaimed ‘strongest man in the world’. He is one of the six chosen heroes to defeat the demon god. When seven people arrive at the meeting location Adlet quickly becomes the prime suspect in the hunt for the ‘extra’ person. We watch as he tries to clear his name. Adlet himself isn’t a memorable protagonist but he does have his moments. The way he tries to rally others to his cause is at least believable for the most part. His relationship with one character in particular is easily the most interesting part of the story, a relationship challenged by the other party’s motives and their background. It’s such a pity that this sort of development couldn’t be spared for all six other members of the group and actually go some distance towards making the mystery more engaging. It’s true that a 12 episode limit plays its part in limiting that but that’s no excuse whatsoever for not at least making an effort to improve in that area. There are some hilariously silly conveniences towards the back end of the show as well that don’t do any favours towards correcting the aforementioned writing flaws around the cast. For every logical deduction made towards finding the culprit another ridiculous one strikes back. Often the show misleads you into thinking it’s making progress when it’s really just creating vapid excuses for the characters to come into conflict with one another. Given my sentiments at the start of this review, I’d be going into spoiler territory if I were to discuss the impact of the rest of the cast. What I can say is that it’s an eclectic bunch of characters who each bring a different ability and personality to the table. Some feel like they’re playing an active role in the story while others just feel like they’re there to make up the numbers. Some character dynamics exist but there aren’t enough connections established between the cast early on to keep me interested in the big reveal that lays ahead. As previously mentioned, you can feel that certain characters being named the seventh would be too underwhelming. Too much of the cast fit this bill. Animation is a rollercoaster in the quality department. The show looks average as a whole but the early episodes certainly look the part. In fact, the first episode probably set the bar too high, especially with one scene which looks excellent. The variety in environments from the early episodes get lost as the show goes on and that’s a real shame. The story lends itself to this fact but a lot could still have been done to breathe a bit more life into the areas where the bulk of the series takes place. A lot of the CG also is jarring when placed next to the traditional animation (what a surprise). Rokka no Yuusha treads this bizarre line between being an action and a mystery show and fails at succeeding in either genre. Tension in fights doesn’t exist because the show doesn’t give me a chance to empathise with or understand the majority of the cast. It makes the show very difficult to recommend. If you’re after a satisfying mystery, forget it. If you’re after some action, perhaps. Me? I put the magnifying glass away early on.

Eniie

This review won't contain any spoilers regarding the series other than stuff that have already been written in the synopsis which is, of course, spoiler-free to divulge into. I should also note that this review is solely written from my anime-only watcher perspective, as I did not read the original material. Story: Rokka no Yuusha unfortunately does not give the best first impression regarding it's actual story line and genre for people that are looking for a series to start. It gives off the impression of it being your average demon-fighting fantasy anime, and it's understandable to think of it as such at first glance. But that's notreally the case. Or well, it's not really the case for the part that was adapted in this anime. The series is actually a niche mystery fantasy focused series that focuses into the vast Mesoamerican fantasy world and to find the potential impostor among them. As the synopsis for this anime points out. At first, the anime may give the impression of being stale, or boring. But the suspense in it between the main characters is something that is not easily found in your average anime. The settings of the series may not be the most original out there, but it is without doubt executed phenomenally Art: The anime production is done by Studio Passione. As far as I am aware I consider this to be it's first major production. The anime has gorgeous colours and background visuals, especially at it's first episodes. Some of the background visuals could easily be considered to be put as wallpaper considering its exotic beauty. Unfortunately due to it's lack of success and it being the studio's first true production, the quality of the animation and art drops midway during the series where it's quite evident that the animation feels sketchy or/and has a lot of cutscenes. The facial expressions proportions are sometimes off too. I wouldn't call it completely bad, I find it acceptable and in the important scenes it thankfully delivers great quality. The biggest gripe about the visuals regarding the series is definitely the CGI. It is not very pleasing and they look awkward, thankfully the CGI usage is minimal halfway through the series except for select few moments. All in all the art shines at the beginning, then decreases to being acceptable. I don't think a series should be completely judged upon it's production issues in certain episodes. Please note that art in itself is a subjective matter, whether someone thinks X looks good, Y could see it as negative, so all of this is simply my opinion regarding the matter, it is not an objective fact. the only thing that can be considered as "fact" is that it have gotten inconsistent. Sound: I find the sound in the anime to be fitting to the theme that it presents. The first opening gives you the feeling of it being a fantasy show, not necessarily the best sound out there, but it conveys what the show is about at that time. While the second opening tries to fit into more of the dark atmosphere of the show at that point in the series. I don't have a solid opinion regarding the ending but I did definitely like the two other endings that are character-centric. It's a nice touch musically, especially that the characters themselves sing it. The soundtrack is eerie at times, I never once thought that it wasn't fit. The music is done exactly where it should be done. It compliments the atmosphere that the show is trying to display. It's rare to find such a nigh-perfect placement sound for certain scenes, but Rokka No Yuusha implements that effectively. Even if the sound is not outstanding if it's viewed on it's own, it's done in a fashion like it's an exclusive musical piece for the specific scene that is happening. And that is something that I personally respect from composers that pay respect to the art that they're working on. The voice-acting cast does well for the the type of personality they're working on and there is no monotone voices, and the sound-effects are definitely well fit. Character: This field is definitely where the series shines best at. Despite the fact that the show is only 12 episodes long. The cast has a very distinctive personalities and roles that are easily recognizable. They're also for the most part all incredibly likable to the audience. Their developments in such a short period is amazing, and it's very evident as to how the characters changed from their first appearance. This includes the main character. The main character is not your average lead hero. He tries to reach to the best conclusions in the most logical way, and he's humane. May be naive at times, but he looks past his naivete if the situation asks for it. The same falls for the rest of the cast. It is not surprising that this category is the show's best field. Because the plot revolves around the cast, and how they act depending on the situation that is presented to them. All of the cast have their own motives and desires and are explored thoroughly. The designs are rather attractive as well, but aesthetics are completely subjective as pointed out previously. Enjoyment: Rokka no Yuusha is an incredibly enjoyable anime. It's clever. It never feels repetitive. Every episode has it's own new content for the watcher to explore through and think about the mystery surrounding it. It's very great at displaying suspense between every episode end for the watcher to watch the next. It's definitely a series that is worth watching in one-go. If you like tension (edge of the seat feel) and character-centric fantasy show this is definitely the type of show that I'd recommend to watch. Unfortunately, this series suffers from the point that it will most likely remain incomplete (anime-wise) Thanks for reading my review and any feedback is appreciated on my profile, as this is my very first review.