Kiznaiver - Review!
Title(s) : Kiznaiver
Genres : Drama, Sci-fi
Synopsis : The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city's population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers. (Source : Anime News Network)
Plot/Story 7.5/10
As soon as I finished reading the synopsis for this anime before it came out, I was very excited to watch it. “Being connected through wounds”, just sounds really damn exciting, and my mind was just imagining thousands of ways this could play out. (Ok, maybe not thousands but you get the point) This theme, of being connected to your comrades, plays out very commonly in most shounen anime that I watch, and have come to love. Although, this anime takes a literal approach to it, they literally feel each other’s pain, which is quite refreshing to watch play out. This concept was what brought me to definitely give it a try. The first few episodes though, were pretty vague, and creepy. (because of those damn people in what looks like obese, and disfigured hamster suites) I was confused a lot of the time, I mean, I understood what was going on but I felt they should have given us more inside information on the Kizna system. Towards the end though, things took a complete 360 and everything fit together flawlessly, regardless of the sketchy start. (I’m glad I kept watching it!) After finishing it, I was very pleased with the ending, and overall how it turned out. It was a very unique and amazing story.
Characters/Character Development 8/10
MC, Kasuhira, was very interesting to see grow his capabilities as a person. He can’t feel pain, not physically or mentally, and has trouble understanding others. Although, throughout the anime we learn why he came to be this way, and also watch as he tries very hard to grow. Character development was strong for Kasuhira, and fairly enough for the others in the Kizna system as well.
Animation/Design 8/10
The design for this anime was simply beautiful: vivid colors and great background sceneries. The characters were beautifully drawn and animated. There's not too much action, but in the few times that there was, the animating was good enough.
Audio/Soundtrack 6/10
Honestly, I barely payed attention to the audio in this anime. Which means that it wasn’t gold, but it wasn’t bronze either. It flowed well enough with the anime scene to scene.
Overall 7.5/10
Overall, if you’re interested in the idea of being connected to others literally, I would definitely recommend giving this a try. It’s a fresh new perspective on what it means to be connected with your comrades. That definitely made me want to try this anime out. Although, if you’re impatient and usually leave an anime if it has a rocky start, then this might not be for you due to its sketchy start. It shouldn’t be a priority, but if you have the time of day then you should give this anime a shot.
