Wow, that's one harsh review. O_O
Kenran Butou Sai tv Review
Story & Characters
Now that I have finished the series. I am sorry to say that I am more bored afterwards than before I watched this show.
What struck me most about Kenran Butoh Sai: Mars the Day Break was the utter lack of the following: suspense, tension, dread, character dynamics, and excitement. There were no crises, no plot twists, no danger, there weren't even any real villains (all significant rivals became chummy by around the middle of the plot), and the antagonists put up such a poor fight during battles that they make Star Wars Storm-troopers look like elite spec-op members of Section-9 from Ghost in the Shell.
After a while, any time some character puts on a grave face and says something like, "Come back alive, don't die," (It happens 2-3 times) I was too exasperated to even sneer; the truth is, as one comes to realize after progressing into the show for a while, that despite the millions of tons of explosives and ammunition expended and exchanged, nobody will ever die in this show, not even the walk on side characters or some unfortunate soldier stand in. As previously mentioned, the Earth army's aim is so bad, they couldn't hit Storm-troopers if they tried, and we know that Storm troops will spontaneousy fall to enemy fire even in the absence of any shooting. Though protagonist-invincibility is not unique to this anime, the other shows at least remind us from time to time that our heroes do in fact encounter difficulties in life more harrowing than being shot at with torpedoes tipped with bubble-bath warheads.
Comparatively speaking, this show is like... One Piece without humor, Gundam without coolness, Superman with no Kryptonite. I believe the show would have far better off to have aimed for gag-humor instead of attempting character-development (in the main character's case, this was not even attempted) and trying to create grandeur and drama, an exercise in futility that only served to emphasize the show's shallowness on every level.
The only bright spot of the show is Kubernes, the primary rogue/villain, and he's just a standard-par-level cool-bad-guy, sort of like a bench player for an unranked Division I basketball team; good, but there's alot of guys like him. He's also the only dynamic personality in the series, where everybody else stays static. Yet, against the dearth of personality and utter drabness that he is surrounded by, Kubernes stands out like a rock-star, and for him I am thankful.
Character depth: D- (Will not receive a F for fail, because of Kubernes' efforts)
Plot: F (Will receive a F for fail, in spite of Kubernes' efforts)
Overall: C- (Below Average)
Rating:
Art
The art work is in fact not bad, nor is the animation quality, but the show boasts little else besides these, like a prettily wrapped empty box with no gift inside, viewers are bound to be disappointed. A particular problem area lies in the lack of dynamic facial expressions, which only aggravates the problem of flat personalities in the show. The mecha and the action presented are solidly drawn and animated, but not outstanding.
Art: B (Good clean style)
Animation: B- (Fair action, bad facial animation)
Rating:
Sound
Average across the board, viewers will not be drawn to the show for its audio features. THE OPs and EDs are forgettable even after factoring the generous margins of individual preference (none of my anime-enthused acquaintances find themselves listening to the OST or Singles Albums for the OP and ED more than once). Truthfully, when a show has characters and plot which are bland beyond saving, there is little that Audio and Visuals can do to save it... unless that show happens to be FF7 Advent Children, which, aside from the best animated CG the world has yet to see, also had a better story (FF7 AC's most widely critiqued weakness) than Kenran Butoh Sai.
Music: C (Medicore)
Voice Acting: C (Medicore)
Rating:
Presentation
The show's presentation and style is drabbly conventional and not noteworthy.
Rating:
Final Verdict
2.8333 (poor)
Reviewed by cal-reflector, Feb 15, 2006
Comments
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Lumenesca Feb 16, 2006
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cal-reflector Feb 16, 2006
Perhaps it'd be good to qualify where I'm coming from. In all honesty, I believe that if I saw this anime right when I began watching anime, around sophomore or junior year in high school, I would've favored it more. I am no professional critic, and my honest assessment of this show is this: Average visuals, below average story and characters. Kenran Butoh Sai is not alone in this; there are many, many, many animes out there that fall into the same cateogry which I did not even bother to finish up on.
There's more anime than you could have time to watch for; it pays off to be selective.
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back07 Jun 27, 2012
very worst presentation
X/ -
UberDog Mar 23, 2015
Good review, most sound. Good job.
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