I went into this anime on the suggestion of a friend, and as I got into it I found myself really interested in the setting. Sternbuild seemed like a cool setting, I really liked the designs of the characters, and the idea of a reality show about superheroes was a very awesome idea...it's just a shame it really doesn't do much with that idea. Never really gets into the ethical or moral problems of turning heroism into a business. Kotetsu seems mildly irritated by it, but that's about it. (I'm not expecting you to recreate Watchmen, but come on.)
I liked the characters for the most part. Kotetsu is the nice guy you want to see succeed, but life very rarely gives him a break (Although sometimes you'd want him to just fess up and tell the others what's on his mind.) And the background heroes like Sky High are pretty cool, and most of them get an episode dedicated to them (Except Rock Bison. Poor, poor Rock Bison.)
Barnaby is insufferable for the first series, and then tolerable for the second. Which is a problem since most of the plot and drama revolves around his background. The show also introduces a group pf B-list heroes, who could have some interesting little plots...and then they get ignored entirely.
Then there's the matter of Lunatic, the anti-hero. He gets a lot of build up, a decently sympathetic backstory...and he never gets put to any use. Nobody ever deals with him, and the issue of his methods vs the methods of the other heroes is never brought up again outside of one episode. Another waste. I have an unresearched notion that the series was intended to be much longer, but about halfway into developing the second series they were told they weren't going to get a third, so they just had to tie everything up as best they could in the final half of the series. Which leaves a lot of stuff up in the air.
That all said, it's a fairly entertaining show that has some good characters, good dilemmas, and some very good twists to the plot that gripped me and had me invested. I really wish they had done more with their more interesting ideas. But hell, I can't be mad at a show for not being what I want it to be.
And hell, I liked it more than most anime's I've seen this year. (SAO, Guilty Crown I'm looking in your direction.)
Squanders a Lot of Good Ideas
I went into this anime on the suggestion of a friend, and as I got into it I found myself really interested in the setting. Sternbuild seemed like a cool setting, I really liked the designs of the characters, and the idea of a reality show about superheroes was a very awesome idea...it's just a shame it really doesn't do much with that idea. Never really gets into the ethical or moral problems of turning heroism into a business. Kotetsu seems mildly irritated by it, but that's about it. (I'm not expecting you to recreate Watchmen, but come on.)
I liked the characters for the most part. Kotetsu is the nice guy you want to see succeed, but life very rarely gives him a break (Although sometimes you'd want him to just fess up and tell the others what's on his mind.) And the background heroes like Sky High are pretty cool, and most of them get an episode dedicated to them (Except Rock Bison. Poor, poor Rock Bison.)
Barnaby is insufferable for the first series, and then tolerable for the second. Which is a problem since most of the plot and drama revolves around his background. The show also introduces a group pf B-list heroes, who could have some interesting little plots...and then they get ignored entirely.
Then there's the matter of Lunatic, the anti-hero. He gets a lot of build up, a decently sympathetic backstory...and he never gets put to any use. Nobody ever deals with him, and the issue of his methods vs the methods of the other heroes is never brought up again outside of one episode. Another waste. I have an unresearched notion that the series was intended to be much longer, but about halfway into developing the second series they were told they weren't going to get a third, so they just had to tie everything up as best they could in the final half of the series. Which leaves a lot of stuff up in the air.
That all said, it's a fairly entertaining show that has some good characters, good dilemmas, and some very good twists to the plot that gripped me and had me invested. I really wish they had done more with their more interesting ideas. But hell, I can't be mad at a show for not being what I want it to be.
And hell, I liked it more than most anime's I've seen this year. (SAO, Guilty Crown I'm looking in your direction.)