Great animation, good premise and well fleshed-out characters. the first episode really hooks the viewers in and from there on its a rollercoaster ride. This anime does a good job exploring different personalities realistically and not falling into the pitfalls of any stereotyping. It also delves into taboo topics in a very matter-of-fact way and doesn't dramatize the topics itself, just the emotions of the 14-year-old main characters (which, if we're being honest, is a very dramatic age for them anyway so it fits real well). If I were to criticize anything, it would be that the overarching plot wasn't very conclusive and left me with a lot of questions (some of it answered in the special). I was left wondering 'wait, that's it??' at the end.
Regardless, it's a really captivating watch and I recommend it to people who are in to fantastical psychological thrillers. If you're happy believing children are meant to be and should be pure and innocent, this is not for you.
100% Worth the watch. I recommend skipping episode 8 and stop after episode 9. 8 is just a recap, and the turn from episodes 10, 11, 12, and the special will only disappoint you as it undermines the heart the show stands on.
This comment is including my thoughts on the special. Overall a great series, but the ending does leave an odd taste in the mouth. I really wish that there could be more because it has potential to explore a lot of serious topics. It almost worked well as an anthology type series with the main cast being the connecting thread.
I think wonder egg priority lost its momentum in the end because it tried to explain too much of the dream world without getting enough time to explore it properly. There were so many things that could be left to viewer suspension of belief, but when Frill and her crew was introduced, the motivations of Aca and Ura-Acca became so confusing.
Questions:
-Why did the pets have to die?
-How many girls who committed suicide were actually being influenced by Frill? (some may say that Frill becoming the cause of the suicides takes away from the girls' deaths, but I think she can still represent the metaphor for the temptation of death with further development)
-Since Kotobuki is aware she is alive from a parallel world? How aware are the other girls who were saved? If they came from a parallel world themselves, then what happened to them in the other original timeline?
However, up until the ending I was very engrossed in the show. My favorite scene was in episode 10 when Momoe had the talk with Kaoru on the bench:
"Next time I'm reborn I'll be the one to protect you"
"Don't get the wrong idea. Not all girls want to be protected."
It sounds so cliche when I type it out, but it felt a lot more impactful in the moment after the battle. The ensuing flirtation and kiss scene was also so cute! I would be so invested in seeing Kaoru make a reappearance through the parallel worlds. It was really refreshing because it served to remind me that this anime is so in touch with modern values. The amount of gender stereotype deconstruction they had was fabulous! You could say a lot of the other episodes were just as brave for how they addressed other topics.
Other great things:
-Episode 7 where Rika fights Shino's trauma and is protected by Mannen
-Episode 4 where Miwa was able to help Momoe fight off her trauma and said "I'd rather die than be with you". That punchline was SO good. The paralleling in this episode with Ohto and Rika's fight was also well done. I think it was a good way to show that the victims of the death are brave and have the ability to fight their own traumas. They're not just there to make the main characters look good.
-The artistic style of the show. There's a lot of artistic magical girl references such as the sparkly fighting style, the weapons being everyday objects that transform, the Pomander upgrades, etc., but because they don't have full on transformations it gives the show a more slice of life feel. There's a lot of moments where you get to see them enjoy their friendship and prioritize their "girl talk" together. And then you get the magical girl deconstruction part when you see the blood and violence causing real risks for them which gives the show is darker edge.
-Episode 12 was such a great twist to have Ohto meet with her parallel self
Other Comments:
-For someone who seemed to be so withdrawn, Ohto became so social after she met Neiru that you would think she was a regular girl.
The cracks in reality is interesting
-The concept of parallel worlds is interesting and how their reality changes after they bring someone back to life.
-I'm a little confuse
-What was the connection between Neiru's assistant and Aca and Ura-acca?
This was a great anime with a very unique concept, but like many others' opinions, the ending kind of ruined this. If they stuck the landing with the ending, this could have been a solid 8/10 or 9/10 show, but with such a lackluster ending I can't give this anything higher than a 7/10. People should definitely watch this series, but whether you watch the final special episode doesn't really matter actually.
After the first episode the writing nosedives into mediocrity. The characters are so boring, they made episode 8 a recap of the four characters and their personality types, so you would actually think they had personalities. In the end everything the girls did in the story was pointless. It was all a big subplot misdirection from the writers to lead the audience to an even worse written story.
Shout by Supriyo GhoshBlockedParent2021-06-30T15:29:28Z
If we exclude that special episode then this was an awesome series. That special episode felt more like a teaser for Season 2 rather than a conclusion to the series. The series itself is a bit difficult to understand at first but once you get into it you'll definitely enjoy it a lot.
Although remember that there isn't any proper conclusion to the story.