Mekakucity Actors was definitely among the most anticipated anime this spring season gone past. With an already well-established fan-base and animation done by none other than the famed studio SHAFT this series garnered a lot of attention from the anime community. However, I think the story's progressing was too fast and I found myself wrapping my head around trying to grasp what the anime was aiming to convey!
Story
When an anime is based on light novels and manga like this one, usually it's supposed to stick to the story. Sure, it can go ahead and add something new things or change some parts. But this anime did something very different, it decided to use the story and shatter it to different pieces as a puzzle, leaving it as mysterious and very difficult to understand. I'm not hating on it at all, It's just that I didn't like the way how Shaft ruined a huge use of the anime, and made a major flaw. Though, I enjoyed the story. Now for the actual story-line, It revolves around a group of teenagers, called collectively Mekakushi-Dan, or the Blindfolded Gang, which bears within their eyes some mysterious powers.
Characters
This anime had some of the most well-developed characters I've seen in an anime. Though there were a lot of characters involved in the anime, probably to many for a 12 episode series. The anime managed to deeply develop every single one of them through focusing the first few episodes to focus individually on each one of them. However, the villains motivations were weak and cliched, thus they weakened the story and some of the character's feelings did not resonate nearly as much as they would with the Kagerou Project songs, such as Haruka's feeling of loneliness. Overall, the characters were the most consistent aspect of the show and each of them had unique traits, which were all extravagantly developed.
Animation and Sound
Coming from Studio Shaft, the anime focused on the main characters in a simplified metro style artwork. Most of the world of Mekakucity Actors was simplified into single colors filling a shape, such as the background characters. But that didn't stop it from having complex artwork, such as the ink-drawn detailed animation that Ayano's mother's diary, and the video game world with some complex colors. The animation isn't very fluid but it follows the Shaft style. However, there were some problems like the dialogue exchanges were so uncomplicated that at times it felt boring to watch the uniform landscape. Overall, there is a wide variety of animation styles in a generally flat design of the scenarios, but at times, it could feel a little boring with the combination of its next aspect.
For the sound, the selection of the background music was almost perfect for the anime. One particular track was played often, which produced a sensation of the hotness of summer and a feeling of isolation and internal turmoil. Both the opening(s) and ending(s) were fantastic songs by Jin. The voice-acting was top-notch and all the characters had voice which I though perfectly fitted them.
Enjoyment
The first episodes of the anime got me pretty hooked and the short monster stories in the ending of each episode were incredibly charming. But soon the weekly airing turned out as something I wasn't really looking forward to. But In the end, I still enjoyed Mekakucity Actors. I know that the story definitely starts slow, and the ending was a bit unclear. Still, I give the series credit for trying to fit such a complex plot in just 12 episodes.
Overall, Mekakucity Actors had more than its fair share of problems. But despite that, I didn't found myself entirely hating this anime. It certainly achieved its goal of standing out from the rest this season, and that alone was enough to draw my attention and keep me coming back week after week. I wouldn't recommend it as a must-watch or a must-try. But, You'd probably want to watch it if you're a fan of Kagerou Project and it will almost surely give you a better impression since the overarching plot and themes will be already familiar.
3 STAR ANIME.
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