Utawarerumono

For about 4/5 of the series, I really enjoyed myself. I’m not usually into science fiction/supernatural anime series, so I wasn’t looking forward to anything when I started watching Utawarerumono. However, I was proven wrong. Utawarerumono was just so exciting and fun to watch and I really liked it – 4/5 of the 26 episodes. For the last 1/5, I didn’t like it too much. I don’t wanna give out any spoilers, so I’ll just say that the last arc was too weird and it didn’t register. All the characters were really likable and I felt sorry for them whenever another war or battle emerges. It’sa good thing they laugh and make me laugh now and then. My favorite was Oboro – I loved watching him fight alongside Dori and Gura, the adorable twins. I love Touka too. I’m still wishing that he’s secretly a guy so my crush on Touka would be justified, but that will never happen. Aruruu was just so adorable and I like her WAY more than her older sister Eruruu. I just find Eruruu a bit weak and bland. I really didn’t like the idea of Hakuoro and Eruru as a couple. It’s just too weird since Aruruu thinks of him as her dad. The villains were also as irritating as the main characters are likable. They really convinced me to hate them. Animation was above average. Everything was well drawn and surprisingly, I’m OK with the earthy color palette. The CG is something I have to think about. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. It reminds me of early PlayStation1 video game graphics, similar to Suikoden 2’s graphics. The fight scenes were impressive (and exciting) – I love how the characters move swiftly and smoothly when fighting. I’m not familiar with most of the voice actors, but they were all very impressive. I have to admit that I was iffy with Hakuoro’s voice at first, since I thought it was too manly and old for him, but in the end it turned out well. Everyone was able to bring out their respective character’s personalities and that is what’s important. As a stand alone, I probably won’t like the music that much. It’s because the music was really tailored for the series. If I’m gonna enjoy the music, I have to watch Utawarerumono along with it. On that note, I really love the opening theme. Whenever I watch Utawarerumono I just have to sing along with it. The BGM was good too. Most of it sounded tribal, for lack of a better word, which also went well with the theme and feel of the series. I also noticed that the music, although it sounds tribal and almost authentic, it would have sounded better if it was less synthesized. It almost made my favorites list if it weren’t for the last 4-5 episodes that were too weird for me. Overall I did like it, in fact I like it a lot and it’s one of those series that left a strong impression on me.

What comes to mind when a visual novel gets an anime adaptation? Usually I think average guy, a bunch of overly cute unattainable girls and some kind of story arc surrounding each girl. However Utawarerumono disregards this overused high school romantic formula, with girls that require conquering like a RPG boss and goes for a more fascinating approach. Utawarerumono is an Action Adventure set in a world of Fantasy. Just think Lord of the Ring, but minus the Ring and Hobbits. Following the disturbing opening scene, we our introduced to our protagonist, a mysterious masked man with no recollection of who he is and whyhe has an immovable mask on his face. Now this amnesia plot device is one of the most over used but taking into account that this is based of a visual novel, it’s certainly a good way for the player to start off with a clean slate. Now as for the story, a good amount of time is spent bringing this fantasy world to life, in what looks to be a very mild mannered series. But soon after being lulled into a false sense of security, the story develops into that of a war between nations. So instead of harem filled romance you can expect bloody battle after battle, in an ever developing storyline. Sure it would have been better if more thought was put into how to kick start this warfare plot but as a whole, the series did prove to be very exciting to watch. If only it remained that way throughout however in the last batch of episodes you’ll witness one of the most thoughtless plot developments ever, which did a good enough job in ruining whatever impression I had of the series. The male protagonist did suffer from this drastic change but before that he was a really interesting and mysterious character. It’s a great thing seeing him develop from a nameless nobody to a charismatic figure and the other characters that gravitate towards him certainly have their own appeal or role in the story. Not to forget the female characters, who are what make it this an obvious adaptation from a visual novel but that isn’t really a bad thing. The only negative aspect is the few really stupid and annoying characters (the Emperors) that stifle the quality of this anime. The quality of the animation is really good as there’s a fair amount of detail put into the characters and environments with some good water, fire & smoke effects. Yet a lot of corners were cut, like when it came to animating the fight scenes. At times it just looked cheap, with a lot of recycled scenes and who could forget the poorly implemented CGI character models in the armies. At least the music is truly special as it manages to go well with the anime, especially during the battles or when it is building up to something epic and I am particularly fond of the ending theme (R.I.P Eri Kawai). Overall Utawarerumono turned out to be a great Fantasy, Action, Adventure that pulled off a tale about one man and his journey onto greatness. There is quite a lot going for this show to get anyone into it, like the way the characters interact with one another and how the battles & politics were handled. Personally I was disappointed by the number of flaws that plagued the show, from the corners cut in animation, to the terribly erratic pacing and the few stupid decisions the characters made. But none of that really compares to how appalling the last couple episodes were handled. If you can overlook these then you’ll enjoy it. ^_^

one of my all time favorites, this show is a crowd pleaser. disguised fanservice and comedy are inlcuded but do not mess with the plot. if your going to watch this watch in japanese with english subs(see sound for explanation) Story:10/10 the story is very unique. war is a prevailant theme but other themes are displayed throughout. themes like love, compassion, vengeance, courage, friendship. they all leave their mark on this show. masterfully delivery of the amnesia portion of the plot. flashbacks shedding light on the story and hakouro's past in small amounts at perfect moments. based off aeroge game the plot reflects the harem it was created after and adds romance to the story. however as war and combat are just as prevailant it is my decision not to characterise this as a shounen or a shoujo anime. it is both. the fact that it managed to pull off such a feat so masterfuilly has earned it a 10 in my book. Art:9/10 the art is one of the best qualities of this anime. all the characters are drawn consistantly well with no mistakes throughout the series. character emotions are very vivid as are the landscapes. the true beauty of this anime is the battle sequences though. in most anime the animators will show still images depicting large scale combat. this anime however went all out and animated entire battle scenes with hundreds of soldiers(with extremely few art flaws) without lagging. this in itself was a feat of epic proportions. now you may be wondering...why did it only get a 9? in all honesty i would have given it a 9.5 however that is not possible on this site. it deserves a 9 because while the animation is awesome a few animated sequences are repeated. not enough to ruin the show but enough to slightly obvious. nevertheless i wish i could shake the hands of the animators for such quality work(i know how hard it is to animate combat so full battles deserves serious credit). sound:10/10 the quality of sound is great in this anime. it has a great soundtrack which seriously sets the mood for the series. timing is perfect throughout(steel clashes when it should and lip snch is right on). the opening theme and ending theme are specially tailored for the show and as such are not cheesey j-pop singles. they fit the show and are catchy. often i find myself humming them at random times. i feel the need to get the OST(if i can find it). the voice acting is simply amazing. all of the voice actors fit their respective characters perfectly and bring out the personality and emotion very well. all in all the selection of the cast was great. the english dubbed version was a different story enirely. the dub sucked...badly. it was on par with the naruto dub(maybe worse) believe it! i couldnt even make it through the first episode. watch it in japanese(with subs) or not at all. the dub is that bad. character:10/10 the character set for this show is explained quite deeply throughout the show. each character has their own distinct personality(except dori and gura, they share) and background. as such when certain characters die(not telling who) the viewer is feeling every bit of the emotion and grief rolling off the screen by the characters. since the show is based of a eroge(harem themed) there is the stereotypical female cast(shy, tomboyish, innocent, sisterlike, etc.) as well as the shounen cast(warriors all, nuff said) while some characters are obviously designed to be the object of hatred from the viewers and others are your run of the mill expendable characters(*cough* soldiers), many are unforgettable characters whose personalities are things to be desired in other anime. enjoyement:10/10 i personaly enjoyed this anime a lot. so much so im going to buy the DVD when i get the chance. i like shoujo anime(yes im a romance junkie) and i enjoy shounen(battle and blood woohoo) and i must say this anime is my cup of tea. everything i like sitting before me like a buffet. i loved it. overall:10/10 it is as i said before, a crowd pleaser. if you like comedy, romance, drama, harem, war. give this one a shot.

There are two words that best describe my thoughts of Utawarerumono that not too many folks would like me to utter: otaku bait. I know this would seem kind of shallow-minded to anyone that may like this series. But considering mostly every prominent character in this series has some sort of animal ears and tail plus look ridiculously cute or physically attractive (along with this anime being an eroge strategy game adaptation), I rest my case with these two words being uttered. For the most part, Utawarerumono's characters and plot developments are pretty formulaic and straight-forward. The series runs into several arcs with Hakuoro and hisallies running into some hostile enemy threat trying to either halt his revolt or take over his kingdom, Hakuoro coming up with a clever plan to halt said threat, gaining new allies from offing said threat and then a breather episode with comedy highlights coming from the quirks of the characters or everyday scenes with Hakuoro, Eruru and Aruru. While the first arc was okay with Hakuoro leading the commoners to revolt against their corrupt glutton of a ruler, the later arcs do get monotonous with their developments with every country in sight seemingly wanting a piece of Hakuoro and his kingdom for shallow reasons. Character development with new characters in these arcs is limited to their appearances in said arcs and once they become one of Hakuoro's allies, their roles become mostly downplayed to being loyal soldiers to Hakuoro when they participate in a battle. Other than Hakuoro and a few major characters, you don't get to see too many developments with these ass-kicking characters after they become one of his comrades, which is kind of a shame as a couple of them had their interesting traits and backgrounds during their debut arcs, mainly Oboro and Touka. A number of the major villains confronted in these arcs are so over-the-top and ridiculous with their appearance, behavior and/or mannerisms that they are laughable, especially Hauenkua who reminds me enough of how nuts Escaflowne's Dilandau was. The other prominent focus of the series is on Hakuoro's mysterious past which the series drops hints of in the not-so-entertaining later arcs of the show. Amnesiac hero storylines normally have a good amount of potential in unveiling some interesting developments for said main hero and a show's plot. But while Hakuoro's character is an interesting and likeable one, what I come to learn of his origins and background comes across as quite a big contradiction to the type of world Utawarerumono had set up throughout its run. Visually, the series does sport good looking scenery and characters (despite the latter's clear "appeal") with vivid colors and a decent amount of detail applied to them. The show's animation is average at many points with occasional use of shortcuts and some bad use of CG animation in the rendering of armies during battle scenes. While I did get some enjoyment out of seeing Hakuoro and some other characters in their struggles throughout Utawarerumono, the show's cliched plot setup, weak focus on other prominent characters and ridiculous reveal on Hakuoro's origins greatly weakened the quality of the series in my eyes. This is a good example of why I'm cautious with approaching anime adaptations of eroge games as the quality of said title tends to vary and usually won't translate too well when made into an anime.