Otaku Digest: Flowers Murder Virtual Reality
Another week is over which means another instalment of Otaku Digest. We have been speeding through this summer anime season and there have been no heavy hitters as we call them. I found a few that piqued my interest but this season has been beyond underwhelming with quite a few ‘meh’ releases.
Maybe this is the week it all turns around, so let us kick off with this week’s anime! We have Rokka no Yuusha, Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace and Overlord. The usual disclaimer here: These are my own opinions on the anime. First impressions are everything here but if you have stuck with an anime I haven’t, please let me know in the comments!
Rokka no Yuusha
First up this week is an anime whose release was actually quite hyped compared to others which both 
intrigues me and instantly turns me off at the same time. This anime is Rokka no Yuusha or Rokka Braces of the Six Flowers, adapted from a manga of the same name. First airing on July 5, it is an adventure, fantasy and action anime set in a world where a Majin has awoken and come from the inner depths of darkness. Six heroes are chosen by the goddess of fate who bestows upon them the power to go against the Majin and save the world. We meet Adlet, who claims to be the strongest on Earth and is chosen by the goddess to be one of the six Rokka no Yuusha to which he travels to the appointed meeting place, but where there was only meant to be six chosen, seven have gathered at the spot. The heroes begin to suspect that the enemy may be among them within the seven and Adlet is the first suspected. Can they discover the truth and save the world?
First off, it has a fantastic opening sequence. You have to appreciate an anime that has a catchy opening theme and sequence that displays each of the characters we are about to be introduced to. I am the first to admit defeat where defeat needs to be admitted! Usually if an anime if hyped before release, much like this title was, I tend to turn off from it but this anime deserves the hype it had. It is a genuinely good anime. There isn’t a whole host of narrative in the first episode, so to speak, but you can feel the narrative building slowly here and there. The first episode is really to give exposition to Adlet who is over-confident and arrogant but yet not an annoying character as most can be. You can tell he has fought to be who he is and there is far more to him than what he puts forward. This episode was an amazing introduction episode for an anime. Although it gave very little information, it makes you want to know more about the world and the characters it has created.
Will I Continue To Watch: Yes, between characters and narrative it is an exceptional first episode.
Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace
Moving swiftly onto a lesser known anime, Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace is up next. A mystery anime which began airing July 2, this show is based on the works of Edogawa Ranpo, a Japanese mystery fiction author. This anime takes place in a middle school, but this is no ordinary school, as it happens to place host to quite a few murder cases and investigations. The mystery behind these murders attracts the notice and attention of detective genius Akechi, who decides to come to the school to investigate. We meet student at the school, Kobayashi, a boy who is often mistaken for a girl, who takes interest in Akechi and volunteers to be his assistant as he investigates the murders, of which he is a suspect. Will they solve these mystery murders or fall victim to the true killer?
The first thing that really struck me about this anime is the fact it is beautifully animated. It allows the viewer to focus on exactly what’s needed and it has one of the best animated opening themes I have seen; it nearly verges on psychedelic at times while a rock anthem is playing in the background. The actual narrative itself was good. It was slow to get to the point it was making but it was good nonetheless. They do spend a lot of time on each of the characters who are, at their essence, interesting but it did make for a slow episode. It is worth sticking with; it is bleak but there is so much mystery in the end that you can tell it will be an excellent series.
Will I Continue To Watch: Yes, there is nothing better than a mystery and this anime takes it to a new level.
Overlord
There was a reason I kept this anime for last this week. It has been recommended to me from
both hard-core anime fans and casual anime fans, meaning it has appealed to both. I enjoy when I hear things from other anime viewers, even though it can impair someone else’s judgement of a series, but not here on Otaku Digest. Overlord is based on a novel of the same name and is a game-style, fantasy, adventure and action anime which originally aired on July 7. Set in the year 2138, a time when virtual reality is the norm and it is thriving. When one day a very popular online game ‘Yggdrasil’ is shut down, our protagonist Momonga makes the decision to not log out of the game. In the online world he inhabits, Momonga is the image of a skeleton and proclaimed the most powerful wizard, or Overlord. Within the world things begin to change and morph with non-playable characters starting to feel emotions. Without a place in society, friends or parents Momonga makes it his mission to take over the new worlds that the game has changed into.
Quite a bit of the episode is Momonga reminiscing about the epic gaming experience he and his gaming comrade have had within the virtual world they have dominated, but once the servers go down and he discovers he is now inhabiting the once virtual world alone, things begin to get interesting. Where the last anime fell down for trying to introduce a lot through the episode, this one did it right with the protagonist introducing everything as he tries to come to terms with it himself. Something scary that pops to mind about this anime is the entire prospect of virtual reality; Momonga just waited for a server to go down on his favourite game, and now he is stuck there with what seems to be no way out, which brings a whole new prospective to being buried alive.
Will I Continue To Watch: Yes, this anime came recommended and now I am recommending it. It has all a good anime needs to be and may be the heavy hitter of the summer season!
What have you been watching this week? Agree with this week’s opinions? Let us know in the comments!
