Anime: Kurokami The Animation

Let me give you a description of a show and tell me which one it reminds you of. It is about your average teenage boy making a life pact with a supernatural fighting girl, which is responsible to maintain order in the world, and where there are copies of yourself as replacements in case something goes wrong, and everything is explained with a very weirdly named terminology… BZZZ, and no, it isn’t Shakugan no Shana but its lesser cousin, Kurokami. Damn,m why do all supernatural stories with fiery tsunderes have the exact same stuff in them? Everything feels like a Shana clone! Unfortunately not all of them have a loli tsundere voiced by Rie Kugimiya so they never stand a chance in succeeding from the very second they get green light for adaptation. Further more, none of them will have 4 goddamn seasons of endless softporn and millions of otakus who are watching them for the sake of wasting their brain cells. And even past that, Kurokami is based on a mahwa, and there is no such thing as a good mahwa. Sure, there are very good in terms of fighting but their storylines plain suck. So there you go, I just explained to you why Kurokami never had a chance of being a good anime.

Reader: That is the worst negative bias I have seen in my whole life. Won’t this guy talk about facts instead of straw men, or just say something about the damn show?

Sure, I was about to do that. The above was just an introduction to what you are getting yourselves into. Something NOT good. So basically we get this story where your typical/boring/overused stereotype Keita meets this naive/kind hearted/dumb chick/super fighter Kuro and learns that the world is not what it seems to be. Every person has two others like him as safeguards and in case one dies, the other gets his luck and whatever superpowers that comes with. It is a weird concept but does have its captivating charm; imagine one day that you learn you are nothing but a replacement and that when someone dies is not tragic because his copy will inherit his luck/powers. Scary indeed.

Otaku: WOOO! A show about a fighting chick and an intriguing premise. I am scoring it with a 10 right now and head to buy her figurine!

Sit down no-lifer and let me finish! The premise and the fighting are the only good things in it because everything else is pretty much a mess. And sure, if all you care about is brainless action and shallow philosophy, I am sure you are going to like it a lot. Yet the moment you try to think about it, it won’t take more than 5 seconds to realize it is all nothing but gibberish. Fighting your fate with punches and kicks? Since when can raw power and violence solve such existentialism issues? And why is Kuro so willingly explaining all these top secret stuff to a random guy she just met? And why is such a dumb naive girl in charge of such an important mission to begin with? It all happens in the most silly way possible and makes everything feel shallow and passable.

Action fanboy: Who cares about realism? Anime don’t need to be realistic, they only need to be entertaining. If it has good action and nude chicks, I have no problem with it.

Good for you my superficial no-brainer; but I am not you. I like when things are excused to be as such and to pass as probable based on their importance. If a bimbo appears out of nowhere and starts mumbling about invisible pink unicorns, I will not take her seriously, nor will I care to participate in whatever she plans to do.

Reader: Will this guy ever tell us anything about the ACTUAL show?

I thought I was already doing that. Hm, anyways, I guess I will talk about technicalities like the production values. The show is animated by Studio Sunrise, which means it will have very cool robots… But in this case there are no robots, so it is not going to be cool. I mean, ok, animation and artwork are ok for this sort of anime but they are not amazing. They have a fair amount of details and colouring but they otherwise lack the finer touches that would make it look special or awesome. For example, all the backgrounds feel generic, it is just schools and buildings and streets I have seen a billion times already and no amount of details can save them from feeling generic. Every time I look at such sceneries I always end up comparing them to the 5cm per second movie, and Kurozuka’s level is plain ok. I could say something similar about the character figures, who also feel generic in appearance and are occasionally drawn with inconsistent facial structure. As for the sound part, it is very passable in overall as the characters usually don’t have much passion in their voices and the soundtrack is average songs you will forget very fast.

Action fanboy: Who cares about all that? Is the action good?

Yes it is my fellow no-brainer. There is a lot of choreography in it to make it look like a good martial arts series, plus it has several superpowers to offer variety in tactics and counters. And yes, it also has some basic fan service too, as Kuro is always fighting without pants and her clothes keep ripping. And there are other nude scenes thrown here and there.

Otaku: WOOO! Masterpiece! I will go look for her beaten up and in agony version.

Whatever no-lifer; I was more interested in if any of that make sense as a whole. And guess what, they don’t. It is just the usual shounen stuff we see all the time, where injuries mean absolutely nothing if the hero has enough resolve or if the script said so. It’s the same thing all the time, they just storm in and punch rapidly at the baddies until they are beaten. The premise of the story ends up being nothing but a poor excuse after awhile since all it matters is punching your way through any obstacle. It gets too fake to like it after awhile and the directing is not helping much because most of the action has unfit BGM or the duration of the attacks is usually too short or too long to like them properly. As for the rest of the story, most of the plot is either fillers or boring events. It does have a solid conclusion but by then I didn’t care in the least about the basic idea. It was barely looked into.

Reader: Just tell us a few things about the characters and be over with it; I am about to stop reading here.

Ok impatient reader, I will. The characters are standard stuff you can find in many shounen. As usual, only the main ones end up being interesting and developed, with everybody else being nothing but ephemeral opponents and cannon fodder. The thing is, their chemistry is nothing we haven’t seen before and it sure feels less captivating if you compare it with other famous boy-girl pacts in anime. The ones I can think of right now are Fate/Zero, Shakugan no Shana, and Birdy the Mighty. Heck, even lesser works like Zero no Tsukaima and 3X3 Eyes feel more enriched than this one.

Action fanboy: I don’t care if it looks like other shows, or if the story makes no sense. I am watching this for the same reason I am watching Bleach.

Otaku: And I just want to increase my waifus and this is a perfect opportunity.

Whatever you idiots; I told you it is not a good show and you are free to go waste your money/brain cells/time on it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you afterwards.

Reader: What an asshole… *downvotes*

Note: This review is based on AoT HDTV fansubs. Good quality, good translation. Recommended.



Originally written as manga by Dall-Young Lim and Sung-woo Park and directed by Kobayashi Tsuneo (Twelve Kingdoms, Midori no Hibi) Kurokami[/b] is a super-power fighting anime set in a warped alternative present. There exists a Doppeliner System, which, well, makes three copies of otherwise one individual and shares a set value of luck between them unequally; if the copies meet, the one with less luck has his luck absorbed by the one with more... and dies. The plot of the show is centered on adventures of a young Mototsumitama Kuro (a descendant from the tribe which supervises the system) and a boy who unwillingly makes a partnership contract with her, Keita. Their growing bond will eventually lead them to learn the secrets behind the atrocious system and confront the very brother of Kuro, who is planning to destroy the world.

It has been a while since I've seen a show as inconsistent in quality as Kurokami. It's made of only good and bad things with virtually nothing in between. It appears to have it all: interesting setting, attractive characters, cool action scenes, dramatic moments, no fillers, a complete ending; everything you'd want from a show selling on martial arts. At the same time it has a completely messed up pace with some essential details completely omitted, fights less than one minute long and characters doing things without so much as an explanation. Frankly, I find shows like Kurokami the most painful to review. Observing brilliant potential of the original material all I can do is facepalm myself every few minutes due to the most clunkiest of adaptations. I haven't read the manga, but I get the feeling it's pretty good, anime, however, is not.

Animation: 8/10

The first thing I noticed in Kurokami was that animation done by Sunrise (Tales of the Abyss, Gundam 00) is far above the standards of the usual martial arts flick. Backgrounds are very well detailed and alive, offering some really picturesque nature sights. Color palette is not exactly vivid, but the brown tone works very well at making the action on screen realistic. Character designs, first off, blend with backgrounds extremely well, there is not second you'd think the two are actually separate entities. Innovation, on the other hand, is slightly lacking, particularly on more or less generic male designs. Some more detail on character faces might have made them look better, as some people come off as too "geometric". Kuro is about the only one from the cast with a truly memorable design, offering good style both in facial design and apparel.

The best part of the animation, however, is the motion fluidity which, though inconsistent at times as the show might have had budget troubles near the end, offers some really nice choreography during battle scenes. Unlike the usual 'still frames, big explosions' treatment, Kurokami actually exhibits its characters running, blocking, dodging, counterattacking and so on during the fights, successfully making this show stand above many pretentious action anime. It's really sad the fights are so short though, while most shounen don't shy from stretching their boring fights to a couple of episodes, Kurokami rushes to end its brawls in the matter of minutes, or even at times, seconds. Funny thing, however, despite looking fluid during the action scenes, Kurokami sometimes comes off as awkward during something as simple as walking animation. They really gave their all on action scenes I guess, heh.

Sound: 7/10

Music composed by Ishikawa Tomohisa, while not particularly OST buying material, offers some really innovative techno-like vocal pieces which work very well on those modern day martial arts scenes. It's not like there are many pieces which stand out much, but you will certainly notice, and likely remember some of them. This show also spurts two different OPs and I must say I liked the less metallic light rock theme Sympathizer by Kuribayashi Minami more which is the first one. While the heavier tRance by Ganrodeo is by no means a bad song, I found the male singer slightly mismatched by the plot which completely centers on the female Kuro. There are two EDs too, but, well, they are neither particularly good, nor particularly bad, okay to listen if you watch one episode at a time, but certainly skip-able if you watch few in a row.

Voice-acting is slightly inconsistent though. While the main cast offers no particularly notable performances, there is Nakata Jouji, Tamura Yukari and Yukana on the side-lines to support the sound stage. I must say I have mixed feeling towards Shitaya Noriko's performance as Kuro, she certainly sounds fresh, but I couldn't shake the feeling she is more fit to voice gloomy introverted characters.

Story: 5/10

It really pains me to rate a story which offers complete ending and imaginative setting this low, but the realization of it is downright horrible. Frankly, after the first two episodes I was ready to declare Kurokami the best martial arts anime in years and *bam*, the rushed pace of the speed I have yet to witness elsewhere kicks in. Plot, certainly worthy of 52 episodes, if not more, is wrapped in 23 here. Characters come and go without any explanation, villains get killed off by some guys you are not familiar before main cast even arrives, the show jumps months into the future before you can even notice; but the main problem is that the connecting points between the scenes are completely missing. Each episode packs a gazillion of twists, yet they happen so fast without any proper connection to each other, you get confused and ultimately alienated to anything what's going on. In one frame characters enter forest, in another they are already fighting and after ten seconds it's night already, it's as if you were watching a summary of something.

However, even with the horrible pace which makes the plot hard to believe, the original material is still crafted well. There is drama behind the death-match of brother and sister, some characters actually die, ending is wrapped up in a bittersweet manner and, well, some fights are nice, however short they are. It's not like Kurokami offers anything new other anime have never tried, but the original idea and plot appear to be quite solid. Heh, this show could have been so much better if that horrible pacing wouldn't have been so alienating.

Oh yeah, if there is but a single thing that certainly sets Kurokami apart from other shows in the genre is that it is really cruel to its female heroine. I mean, I haven't seen a cute girl get hit in the face by a baseball bat since Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and Kuro here also gets smashed to car windows, cut by crystals and trampled by overgrown opponents.

Characters: 6/10

The problems with characters are attributable to the atrocious pace as well. They are interesting, they are nice, they are attractive, and they develop before you know it. It's funny how the last episode of the show actually packs lots of "recap" scenes which were, probably, cut from the previous episodes, yet show the vital reasons behind some character development. Why did they cut these out in the first place is certainly beyond me. Anyway, while the main character is a generic kind-hearted guy, common in the genre, other characters have more potential than the show ever let's them to use. Gentle and energetic Kuro, for example, is a fresh air in, now, tsundere dominated anime realm. It's too bad she doesn't have a single long-winded dialogue, but her attitude and flashbacks flesh her character out quite well. The glimpses of growing affection, however, are near impossible to notice when the show jumps from one fight to another in a matter of seconds. Her brother might be an interesting character too, if you are up for using your imagination to fill all the holes missing from his backstory.

Side cast is, unfortunately, completely underwhelming. They appear to have personalities and might come off as interesting sometimes, unfortunately, most guys are killed, discarded or simply ignored before you can grasp their personality. I mean, much less of a backstory, some characters just pop out of nowhere without any explanation whatsoever and disappear later in the same fashion.

Myers Briggs personality type indicator:

Kuro - ENFJ (C)
Excel - INTJ (D)
Reishin - INFJ (D)
Yakumo - ISFJ (E)
Ibuki Keita - ISFP (E)
Sano Akane - ESFJ (D)
Kuraki Daichi - INTJ (D)
Kogure Riona - ESTJ (E)

Show Spoiler

Value: 6/10

Kurokami is certainly not innovative enough to set itself from the rest of martial arts genre, but some nice action scenes and pleasant music invites for a second watch. The horribly rushed plot might be easier to stomach when you know where it's going and being familiar with characters will make it easier to fill the holes in their developments with your imagination. Well, I will keep it in my collection, if the plot is really worth the trouble to watch again, however, is a question left unanswered.

1. Conclusion[/u]: While Kurokami offers interesting setting, exciting martial arts and a plot which actually goes somewhere, it is marred down by its horrible pacing issues and half-baked character development. I, personally, haven't seen a good fighting anime in years, so if you are hungry for one, you might give Kurokami a shot with low expectations. Of course, you have watched Rurouni Kenshin, Hunter x Hunter and Scryed already, right?

[/ol]

Imagine that you want to make something good to watch, what is the easiest way to create good anime? Of course take key features from every good series around and cram all that into yours.
While watching Kurokami, it seems like you already have seen it. All that it looks like characters from other series got transfered into this one.
Seeing complete looser protagonist being killed in the fight ant revived by strange girl who talks about "power of existence" and villains who are trying to steal that power from humans, instantly suggests that we are watching alternate something recently made. But it does not end there, later we can recognize lots of other features from other series, in the end we even have chance to see one airhead "Sekirei" who somehow got job to document everything.

Animation is pretty good and intense numerous fights tale big portion of time, it seems like everything is justs excuse to show as much fights as possible. Fighting is the primary way to greet some new character and also to say bye.
As bad point I would note unnecessary "synchro" scenes and but they do not annoy much to decrease quality. Overall atmosphere is somehow dark since most fights take place at nighttime.

Dubbed version sounds well. I have nothing to rant about it. Extensive usage of songs in background of fights seems unique feature here. It seems somehow strange, when you hear someone singing during fight and we can spot some attempts to introduce infra sound effects to manipulate mood.

Story is not very original. Savy viewers can instantly spot similarities with other series. But there is surprising amount of twists. Story is just spinning around, goals and motives change almost in each episode. There is no way to guess how it will end. At least everything is quite well justified and explained what makes it pretty good anyway.

Characters: When you see character changing from victim or friend to villain and opposite again, it is hard to talk about development. Everything mostly depends on your knowledge, which information about character is revealed. It is not that characters actually change alignment, but nearly every character gets chance to play friend and villain roles including Kuro and Akane.

Value: I would say it is worth to watch these series, especially for those who light fights.

Enjoyment: While mostly everything is fine, and made well, ending is not very happy and leaves somehow bad mood. It seems like everything was pointless since no one actually reached their goals, even if survived somehow until natural death.

Additional notes:
Special 1 episode is short version of everything that happened in first half. Series end in 23th episode, while last one is another recap which repeats all story in straight way without any twists and also reveals some additional information.

Ratings:
Animation 10 - because it contains lots of fights and other intense stuff instead f usual chit chat
Sound 10 - I just cant find anything bad there
Character development 8 - as usual main characters raise their skills others just come and go.
Story 9 - I give 9 ,because unlike in other series, this one does not leave gaps has clear ending and it is very intense without any fillers what is rare today. I do not give 10 because ending is not very nice.
Value and enjoyment are very subjective but these series are worth watching just for fights almost nothing else happens. Enjoyment for me was little ruined by the ending of these series.