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REVIEW: Brynhildr in the Darkness


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:03 am Reply with quote
This was a disappointment for me also from the Spring lineup. Imo, it should of been a 2 cour as the final few episodes were far too rushed. I wasn't fond of the new OP song either for the second half. They really messed up the final episode...when it came to pacing.

Well, there's still an OVA but I'm not expecting much out of it. Kazumi's role was pretty amusing to watch in this though.
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:15 am Reply with quote
I have many things to say about this show, however most of them would not make it past ANNs obscenity filter, so I'll just say that the last two episodes pissed me off so much, I was screaming at the screen. You don't cram 37 chapters into 2 episodes! You don't completely change scenes only to act like the scene happened correctly. Last two episodes ruined this. It was a 7,5/10, IMO, but the last two episodes dragged it down to 5/10 at MOST.
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animemaster1



Joined: 13 Sep 2008
Posts: 104
Location: Beverly Hills
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:50 am Reply with quote
I agree with this review in all but one aspects. I cannot agree with any degree of sanity that the second opener was better "in every respect" than the original opener. I would say it's the other way around. The instrumental opening theme was leaps and bounds greater than that trashy, obnoxious heavy metal "song." The original opener was gripping and set that dark mysterious tone. You never wanted to skip it, unlike the random metal song which was so jarring and obnoxious that I at least just wanted to smash my T.V.

Anyway, aside from the song, the biggest issues with the show could have been non-issues if only it were at least a 2 cour show, like the original poster mentioned. The way it was rushed left way too many things unexplained. Well, it was still an enjoyable series until those last several episodes. When a show ends in such an unfinished, rushed manner like this, a show that I would have otherwise recommended in a heartbeat, now becomes a show I don't even care to have a conversation about with anyone anymore.
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Utsuro no Hako



Joined: 18 May 2012
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:55 am Reply with quote
If you watch the series expecting a serious ultraviolent action-horror story, you will be disappointed.

If you realize it's a comedy, it's one of the best series of last season.
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Stretch2424



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 166
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:26 pm Reply with quote
I thought the original OP song/sequence was OK while I want to mute my TV while the second, heavy metal one is playing. For all it's problems, Brynhildr was my second or third favorite series of the Spring season, which tells you something about the season as a whole (my definite favorite was Knights of Sidonia).
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:35 pm Reply with quote
Very fair review, but Brynhildr is an example for me of a show where I am conscious of its flaws - but for whatever reason they do not interfere with my enjoyment of the show. I think that's because, as Theron suggests, I really found the core cast (and some of the supporters) quite appealing. This was always a very eagerly anticipated offering for me on Sunday mornings.
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:53 pm Reply with quote
This was one of my favorite shows of the season, and that's saying something since this was a fantastic season. (possibly one of the best I've ever seen) But one of the best things I can say about this series is that it got me to read the manga, which quickly became one of my favorite manga series from all the ones I've read.

I can agree that the last few episodes were rushed pretty badly. But they were able to cover the majority of the plot points, which is something I found pretty impressive. Even if it was "butchered". Nearly every problem people have with this series is due to the episode count.

Also some people like the second opening over the first? The first was one of the best of the season in my opinion.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:54 pm Reply with quote
I'd say this is a pretty accurate review and grade. I think most people liked the main cast and it was one of the few reasons I kept on watching. The male lead was also not your typical milquetoast, which was a plus. Comparing it to Elfen Lied is also fair, because this show feels like an attempt to return to that previous formula. I would also say that it wasn't the very end that things felt rushed more like the last 4-5 episodes. The whole show in general felt like they were trying to cram too much into too short of a time frame leaving things not developed enough and questions unanswered.

I also preferred the first OP to the second one. While the first one wasn't great I thought it was still catchy. Meanwhile I felt that the energy of the second one did not match the visuals at all and felt really incongruous. It was kind of fatiguing and not energizing.
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Admiral Pizzaman



Joined: 08 Apr 2014
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:57 pm Reply with quote
DmonHiro wrote:
I have many things to say about this show, however most of them would not make it past ANNs obscenity filter, so I'll just say that the last two episodes pissed me off so much, I was screaming at the screen. You don't cram 37 chapters into 2 episodes! You don't completely change scenes only to act like the scene happened correctly. Last two episodes ruined this. It was a 7,5/10, IMO, but the last two episodes dragged it down to 5/10 at MOST.


You must kidding me. 37 chapters adapted into 2 episodes?37? By any chances, did you read its manga? I don't read it btw.

But seriously.....37!!? I'm sorry but I feel like I'm gonna lose a temper.
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se37



Joined: 08 Dec 2007
Posts: 229
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:19 pm Reply with quote
Brynhildr started as my top following this season (until I found No Game No Life) but the ending was super rushed to the point that I had a very hard time watching the final two episodes. I agree with the majority on the board that I liked the first opening miles ahead of the second since it just felt like a creepy tone to the show and the second opening KILLED that mood it was setting. I put the opening on mute after that.

The pacing was also bad since the transition from an action scene to comedy scene was very unnatural. It felt like they wanted to cram so much into one episode that they ran out of time and added it into the next episode. What should have happened was one episode be fighting, then a Breather that shows more character development and building up into the next fight. Of course, you only have 13 episodes to work with but other series do it much better with the pacing so you can't really excuse the short episode season.
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TheAncientOne



Joined: 06 Oct 2010
Posts: 1868
Location: USA (mid-south)
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:48 pm Reply with quote
From the article:
Quote:
Logic falters in many places, and some important things – like why only girls are subjects of these experiments with implanting alien embryos,...

Perhaps I'm missing something (I have yet to view the series), but at first glance it appears to be self-explanatory.

Are the embryos implanted somewhere other than the traditional place?
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Barbobot



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 460
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:53 pm Reply with quote
TheAncientOne wrote:
From the article:
Quote:
Logic falters in many places, and some important things – like why only girls are subjects of these experiments with implanting alien embryos,...

Perhaps I'm missing something (I have yet to view the series), but at first glance it appears to be self-explanatory.

Are the embryos implanted somewhere other than the traditional place?


They are implanted on the back of the neck. Doesn't have anything to do with the female reproductive system
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:08 pm Reply with quote
At what point does an anime have to pile up so many implausibilities that it ceases to function as a story?

Big things and little things.

Little thing. Would well-above-average Ryuto find it so impossible even think of asking Neko: "do you happen to have three moles under your left arm?" Noooo. Instead he has to wait until Neko becomes spontaneously nude (happens all the time to you, right?) for the second time (or was it the third?) because he was too polite to look the first time(s). And this bit of information is fundamental to the most significant emotional event of his whole life not just some idle item of curiosity.

Big thing. Super powers, life and death situation, genius male lead. A girl who can hack into any computer. Another who can teleport past any barrier. What do they do? They hang out waiting for the pills to run out. Yes I admit that real people could actually react that way but it doesn't fit this story.

There are other story problems but no point into getting into it. It's been a few weeks since this was over and I have found it does not improve over time.
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tangytangerine



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 439
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:50 pm Reply with quote
Admiral Pizzaman wrote:
DmonHiro wrote:
I have many things to say about this show, however most of them would not make it past ANNs obscenity filter, so I'll just say that the last two episodes pissed me off so much, I was screaming at the screen. You don't cram 37 chapters into 2 episodes! You don't completely change scenes only to act like the scene happened correctly. Last two episodes ruined this. It was a 7,5/10, IMO, but the last two episodes dragged it down to 5/10 at MOST.


You must kidding me. 37 chapters adapted into 2 episodes?37? By any chances, did you read its manga? I don't read it btw.

But seriously.....37!!? I'm sorry but I feel like I'm gonna lose a temper.


Yeah, they actually crammed that many chapters into those final 2 episodes. If a lot of things didn't make sense, it's because they cut so much out of story. Other smaller things were cut out during final episode too like spoiler[Ryouta killing Valkyrie's ejected alien organism by stepping on it and Kuroha becoming hostile to Ryouta after the memory loss.]
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se37



Joined: 08 Dec 2007
Posts: 229
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 3:00 pm Reply with quote
HaruhiToy wrote:
Would well-above-average Ryuto find it so impossible even think of asking Neko: "do you happen to have three moles under your left arm?" Noooo. Instead he has to wait until Neko becomes spontaneously nude (happens all the time to you, right?) for the second time (or was it the third?) because he was too polite to look the first time(s). And this bit of information is fundamental to the most significant emotional event of his whole life not just some idle item of curiosity.


The first episode showed that he did check out her left arm when he first met her and she didn't have the three moles there. In fact, if I remember he even asked her and she said no and that she never met him before. spoiler[ After that he stop thinking they were the same person. It was only until way later in the series, when it was confirmed about her memory lost, that he starts thinking they are the same person that he started to think the moles might have moved. So yeah, due to rush and Ryota falling under the "teen boy too embarrassed to think of breasts" trope later on, at least in the early part of the show it was explained why he didn't look into it until later. ]
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