RE: Anime Discussion Thread - Current topic: Your Favourite Anime?
I've finished the two series I'm watching that have completed this season, so I may as well dust this thread off and share my thoughts:
Tokyo Ghoul
Score: 83%
Pros: Intriguing world scenario and setup, colourful characters, amazing finale
Cons: Weak plot that leaves many questions unanswered
Review:
I'll admit, I wasn't really expecting to get much out of Tokyo Ghoul, but this show managed surprise me in a very good way. It quickly and easily sets you up into the overarching story of its world, a world much like our own that just happens to host a population of "ghouls", human-like creatures that survive off of human flesh. We're introduced to Ghouls and their society through Kaneki, a hapless human who manages to become part-ghoul after an accident and the following operation that splices ghoul body parts into his own. Through Kaneki, we learn that not all ghouls are the obsessively violent mass murderers that are depicted in human news, and the story settles down to letting you observe the world through Kaneki's eyes.
Most of the early stages of the show deal with this world setup, including introducing the human antagonists that are part of an anti-ghoul government force. There are small stories and bits of plot elements here and there, but the show handles them smoothly, treating this time as if these episodes were the opening of of a 50+ episode series, not a quick 11-episode show. The show probably could have served just as well continuing in this slice-of-life manner if it had the time, but at some point it realizes that it only has a few episodes left to end, and the plot picks up dramatically, introducing a new group of antagonists and turning up the heat in ways the earlier episodes could only have dreamed of. While I was skeptical of the sudden plot-based turn, it led to one amazing finale that was beautiful in its simplicity and really brings the forefront of Kaneki's main thoughts and feelings through the rest of the show: what it really means to be a human.
Unfortunately, that finale cost the show what little hope it had of resolving all of those newly-introduced characters and plot points. So much happens in those last few episodes, and almost all questions are still left unanswered at the end of the show. Characterizations that were poured into the early episodes of the show are left out to dry, the humans and ghouls still left in the middle of an unfinished story. In this respect, Tokyo Ghoul reminds me a lot of Attack on Titan: an awesome premise that answers a single questions then leaves all the other remaining plot threads untangled. In both cases, there is also a long-running manga behind the anime. The good news is that some sources are already reporting that a second series of Tokyo Ghoul is in the works and preparing to run in January, so running to read the manga won't be the only solution for fans.
Terror in Resonance
Score:71%
Pros: Unique concept, beautiful aesthetics, engaging first few episodes
Cons: Series progressively gets worse over time, lack of believability, ham-handed with its themes and critiques of society
Review:
When a series opens up with a couple teenage boys stealing from a nuclear plant and blowing up a skyscraper in Tokyo, you know you're in for a wild ride. The biggest problem with with Terror in Resonance is that the story almost gets too wild, leaving you to wince and shake your head at the characters' actions and motivations, or lack thereof. The story certainly sets itself up well, two very intelligent boys, Nine and Twelve, who are alone in the world except for each other that have a message to share with the world, and they do it by calling themselves Sphinx, exploding a building, and then calling attention to their actions over Youtube and encouraging detectives to solve riddles to stop further explosions. The boys' motivations are hinted at being related to some terrible event in their past, and you learn the story along with Shibazaki, the detective that seems to be best able to understand them.
Believability starts to falter as Shibazaki makes Holmes-like deductions to solve riddles (matters are not helped by the fact that he's apparently the only one in the entire Tokyo police department who has the slightest knowledge about Greek mythology), but doesn't actually shatter until the introduction of Five, an American agent that seems to know Nine and Twelve from childhood. Completely outrageous situations abound while Shibazaki follows a quest to learn about the Sphinx's past that pounds the themes of the show into viewers' heads with a sledgehammer. The message is very clear that the makers of Terror in Resonance are strongly opposed to current trends of Japanese nationalist politics, but it overplays its hand making America into an almost-comically violent bully that is leading Japan to paths of destruction. The message is a good one, but the ridiculousness does neither the show, nor its message, any favours. Instead, the themes of the show overpower its characters and their plot. Nine and Twelve's motives are briefly touched upon but ultimately lost. Five's side-story ends in a confused whimper. None of the characters really get any kind of characterization or closure, leaving them only as instruments, and the entire plot wraps up too quickly and simply.
On the bright side, the show is really pretty! And Yoko Kanno did an awesome job with the music, as always; the opening theme in particular really stands out and has earned a spot on my playlist.
Aside from that, anyone have any plans for the coming autumn season? I'll probably be picking up Parasyte, Terra Formars, and Unlimited Blade Works, and hopefully will catch up with Barakamon. I might just do a binge watch of that once it's complete.
But, yeah, that's the main reason I ended up starting the manga after finishing the show. The pacing of the manga is much better as well.