Scar on the Praeter

Scar on the Praeter -- As of the writing of this review, a rating of a mere 5.77/10 by a mere 2,720 users. I thought: I watch anything anyway. Why not give this a chance and see if its really as bad as what these two something thousand accounts thought? Previously, I had seen other works by GoHands. K, W'z, Handshakers. The artstyle of this show is very heavily reminiscent of K with its use of bright colorful filters, detailed and stunning backgrounds. Yet, this show looks and feels like a step down graphically from K. Whereas K's backgrounds were detailed, they still looked distinctly 2D and thusmixed in with the character animation very well. By comparison, Praeter's backgrounds are clearly rendered in 3D and often contains such a high amount of detail that it creates a contrast with the characters who are all clearly 2D. The backgrounds also have a problem of being far too stiff. Examples of this problem can be seen when Minato sits down on the bed. Normally, when one sits down, it should at least affect the top most layer of fabric, yet the bed in the background that the character sits down on does not move at all. Other visual issues include a New York City style street sign that was small and about shoulder height and the use by one of the cops of a blue mailbox as a trashcan. Both issues are significant visual distractions and glaring to those who have been to (or even simply seen) New York for any significant amount of time. Audio wise, most of the show is fine for OST and sound effects. However, one noticeable problem is the attempt to fit as many voice actors into singing the opening song as possible. The style of the opening song is as well, consistent with the visuals, reminiscent of K in style. The problem is primarily too many voices in the song. Luckily, as a critic who primarily focuses on story and characterization, this is the part where the show does somewhat well. From the motivations of the main characters to the inner insecurities they have as bearers of a power that is more or less destined to get them killed in battle, each part of this is shown well. Even some of the minor characters get some amount of time in these 12 episodes to show where they got their motivations from. The only criticism for the characters is that Yamato is somewhat of an all-loving/all-forgiving MC once the aspects of his PTSD is brushed aside. However, I feel whether this is a good or bad thing is a subjective matter as in this case, it is somewhat of a good contrast with the rest of the cast. Also, perhaps a matter of screentime, Yamato also lacked a distinctive reaction to a certain spoiler reveal. The story too is takes some time to flesh out the situation the special zone is in, introduce each faction and the tell a tale driven by the ambitions, desires and concerns of the mains and support cast. Unfortunately, even the story too is too reminiscent of the K series and their color gangs (and related conflicts). This is to the point where you can clearly feel the studio was trying very hard to cash in on the success of a previous work. It would probably not hurt for this show to aim for its own unique feel rather than evoke that of a previous work. Art: 7 - Sound: 5 - Characterization: 7 - Story: 7

I don't really use MAL. but here we go. There's nothing interesting about this anime. The only thing that caught my attention positively was the 3D backgrounds and the first episode (which was really cool, I admit) but after that it just went downhill. The characters are boring, the story isn't addicting. I felt nothing while watching it. Also, I don't even remember seeing any character development, they were very empty. It reminded me of those otome games that make an anime just for marketing purposes (for example Brothers Conflict or Hakuouki). I do not recommend this. Story: 3 Art: 7 (To this day i can't tell the difference betweenthe police officer and Eiji) Sound: 6 Character: 3 Enjoyment: 4 Overall: 5

So first off, I am still pretty new to the world of anime but I really enjoyed this series. I think that it was pretty well done. I did have to watch it twice but that has to do with the fact that I had never watched a subbed anime before so I missed some stuff the first time through. Now I will say the art style took me a few to get use to but overall I really enjoyed it. As for the story, I thought it was a really cool concept but again it was one of my first animes, so that beingsaid I haven't seen anything like it before. I also really loved the characters and even though there wasn't much character development, towards the end of the season you start to see some. I think that they were really just trying to set this world up and introduce people to the world and its problems. I don't know how some people didn't feel even the slightest bit of emotion towards the character but I wanted more after every episode. I honestly think this anime has a lot of potential and they just need to be given a chance to show more. I think a second season would be better.

It isn't bad for a casual watch but it isn't the best work by the studio, either. They aren't doing anything new with the setting, power system, or characters. The combination of 3D backgrounds and 2D characters did utilize dynamic camera angles, but the pacing and moment in the fights didn't impress me as much as the ones in K did. I like the idea of tattoos giving the characters powers but the power system here could have used some work. We're given what they are called and roughly what their powers are, but not their strengths and weaknesses (for the most part) so thebattles don't have much tension.