Feel my pain!
(This review contains
spoilers!)
Show of hands: How many people have seen
the anime Mekakucity Actors? If you’ve never heard of it, it’s basically a hodgepodge
mess, taking all the best parts of several other anime and trying to make them work
together. It featured the dark, gothic art style of Madoka Magica, the cast and
character backstories of Angel Beats, and a story that vaguely resembled
Charlotte, except it was even more nonsensical than that disaster, all mixed into one really bizarre package that had
about two good episodes overall. What Mekakucity Actors did have going for it
was an exceptional use of colours to set a scene.
Since watching Space Patrol Luluco, I’ve
been making my way through Studio Trigger’s entire lineup, catching up on what
I’ve missed. I’ve already finished (and loved) Kill la Kill, and Kiznaiver was
next on the list. My first impressions, seeing how the show used colour
similarly to Mekakucity, I was hoping that Kiznaiver was going to be a better
version of that show.
When all’s said and done, it’s definitely
a better show, although it’s plagued with so many character and plot issues
that it’s hard to recommend.
The story is about a group of teens
who are linked through something called the Kiznaiver system. Basically, this
is a system that forces them to share their pain. If one gets hurt,
they all get hurt. They learn they have to endure this for the entire summer,
and decide to try and become friends during all of this.
My first problem with the show is
this: none of the main characters are
likeable. After 12 episodes, I can only remember 4 of their names off the
top of my head, out of 8 major characters. They’re all one note personalities
(tough guy, adorable goofball, ladies’ man, the list goes on), and the only
ones we seem to get any background on are the worst of the bunch. Right off the
bat, I picked out my least favourite character, a closed-off girl who seems to
have nothing but contempt for everyone. Guess what? The next 3 episodes are all
about her! And this is at the expense of the other characters, some of which never get the spotlight all to
themselves!
It’s a shame, too, because Kiznaiver
tries really hard to get you
interested and attached to these people. I’ve heard stories of people
straight-up crying at some episodes. I never quite felt that way, but it’s
clear there was a lot of effort put into this storyline.
Speaking of the story, it’s actually a really
interesting premise! I love the idea of a group of people who would normally
never speak to each other forced to spend time together because of something
they can’t control. And for the first half of the show, it really works! Their
friendship is slowly but surely built up, and while it’s never the most
believable relationship I’ve ever seen, I really felt that I wanted to see
where it would go next.
But then, it’s revealed that alongside
sharing physical wounds, the characters share emotions such as sadness. At this
point, the entire show falls to pieces. After this, all of the main characters
fall into a depressed slump, and they all just sort of mope around for the rest
of the series. Any likeability they had to begin with vanishes in the instant.
Then, to make up with the lack of character development, the writing goes
completely off the rails.
New elements are introduced such as an
underground organization, a monsoon, long-lost friends are brought into the mix
with little to no payoff, and it all culminates in one of the most cringeworthy
finales of all time, featuring the characters yelling preachy speeches at each
other that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Care Bears movie, all while they’re
atop an exploding drawbridge. How we went from such a clever premise to this is
beyond me.
The other problem Kiznaiver has is
that, at the end, the characters are more or less the same way they were back
in episode 1. There’s no real growth, or change, they all just relax back into
their familiar tropes. Think of any protagonist from a really good anime. They
all leave their shows having learnt something or changed in some way. In
Kiznaiver, the show ends with things more or less returning to the norm, making
it feel like you just wasted a lot of your time.
However, I wouldn’t exactly consider
Kiznaiver to be a complete waste of time. There’s worse anime out there,
without a doubt. Being animated by Studio Trigger, the show looks absolutely
gorgeous, and the colour is exceptional as well. If it seems interesting to
you, give it a shot. Just don’t expect the next Kill la Kill.
FINAL SCORE
4/10
Mediocre
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