I think you all know my opinion of Akiyuki Shimbo by now. If not…go watch my video.
As you already saw, there’s an opinion of the anime I’m about to review called Mekaku City Actors. I guess today’s review will be more of a dissection rather than me complaining about its many faults, since I’ve done that multiple times already. I don’t want to say anything that I’ve already said before, so sit back, relax, and read on as I review probably my least favorite anime of the year, Mekaku City Actors.
The Setup/Story:
I know that I normally don’t group these two sections together, but this is a special case. The problem with describing the setup of this anime is the fact that this anime kind of doesn’t have one. It kind of just starts, and then it ends without much of an accomplishment in the middle. That is my main problem with this series. It never establishes anything that you want to see the characters do. It doesn’t help that the creators decided to make the story non-linear, making the plot even more confusing than Valvrave The Liberator could ever dream of. Normally, I love stories that tell themselves in a non-linear fashion, like Baccano! and most recently Kara no Kyokai (though I’ve only seen the first movie so far), but there’s nothing holding any of the events together. Whenever the show would jump to focus on a character that previously seemed irrelevant, I felt frustrated by the confusion. The show also took itself far too seriously, making you think that everything going on was important for some important goal that was never made clear to the audience. Well, if you don’t tell or show us what the characters are supposed to do or why these events are important, then why the heck should we care? That’s all I was asking the anime throughout the entirety of its run; why should I care? Why is this relevant to whatever story you’re telling? Is there any point to these actions? Well, I’ve got nothing, people; I don’t know how to answer them, because the show does a poor job of doing so.
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| The story is non-linear and very confusing |
The Characters:
One thing that fares better than the story are the characters. To be fair, the majority of the characters are likable and have pretty cool personalities; the only problem is the fact that barely any of them are memorable in the long run. The only characters whose names I can remember are Mary (because she was voiced by Kana Hanazowa), Kido (because she’s so freaking awesome), and Ene (because she was awfully irritating, at least in the beginning of the series). This, again, is because of the lack of a linear story; there’s no clear character development. These characters are just shown to you, and nobody grows or changes throughout the series. The only character that stood out was Kido, who was the most interesting and complex character in the entire show. I wish she was the main character…that would’ve made for a much better show.
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| The characters (Kido is on the far left) |
The Animation/Sound:
I have one singular word to describe the animation of this series: Obnoxious. The actual animation is pretty choppy, with jagged character outlines and slow movements. The character designs are above average, so at least the characters are nice to look at, and the coloring was also nice. My main issue with the design are the obnoxious visual metaphors that appeared along every scene, trying to emphasize the character’s emotions and/or the story. Akiyuki Shimbo seems to be taking the idea of “show, don’t tell” up a step further by following the “SHOWING IS GOD!” ideology. Well, when the script doesn’t tell you anything about the characters and story that it should, it just adds insult to injury by showing all of these images that are supposed to matter, but just don’t. They flat out don’t. Oh, and let’s not forget that opening scene that was entirely CGI, and just looked flat-out ugly. Um…why you do this?! As for the music, thank you, original artists of this project. Mekaku City Actors was based off of a series of music videos, and BOY was the music good! I mean it, the music of this series is its only saving grace! I love the usage of guitars, drums, and its rock music feeling. The opening is really good too, and one ending song in particular is just phenomenal. Go watch those, like, now.
Ending of Episode 8:
Opening:
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| WHY YOU DO THIS?! |
Final Judgment:
It’s a mess of a show. No sugar-coating here; it’s just a mess. Find the music videos and listen to those, just avoid the show. Sure, there were some enjoyable aspects; sure, the characters were fun at times; sure, the music’s great; but nothing else about it was good. I give Mekaku City Actors a 1.5 out of 5 stars, and a recommendation to skip it. But, like always, it is up to you to decide you own opinions.
ScoreCard:
ScoreCard:
Further Recommendations:
Nisekoi
I know, these shows don't really have much in common, but this is still an enjoyable show from the same studio and same director. Sure, it's generic and clichéd, but it's the fun kind of generic and clichéd.
Baccano!
A non-linear story told better, this is one of my favorite anime of all time and you should probably watch it.
The next review will be on a bestselling book. Here's the hint: Should I stay or should I go now? See you then!
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