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KnockOut: Anime Enemies

KnockOut: Anime Enemies

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Anime Enemies

With a lacklustre Anime summer season, which, has now thankfully drawn to a close, Céire and Ciaran pit their personal favourites from the year so far against each other. Stepping into the ‘Knock Out’ arena are spring season titles, Owari no Seraph and Ore Monogatari.

Cast your vote below and have your say!

Owari no Seraph

Already the main choice over on Otaku Digest from the spring season, Owari no Seraph or Seraph of the End is a perfectly blended anime bringing in all you need for an enjoyable evening sitting in watching anime.

Based in a world where a vicious man-made virus has ripped its way across the Earth wiping out the human race as we know it leaving only few survivors, all those survivors being children. The aftermath brings an even more sinister effect on Earth with vampires emerging from the darkness claiming Earth as their own and capturing the surviving children, enslaving them as their own walking talking meals on wheels. Theylarge manage to convince the children that they are there for their own protection but doubt sets into the hearts of an orphan boy Yūichirō Hyakuya and his companion Mikaela. They make plans to escape with their orphan family, this leads to the worst possible disaster for the group winding up with most of the family dead at the hands of a vampire leaving Yūichirō Hyakuya as a lone survivor on the outside. Now on the outside of the vampire compound he is happened upon by the Moon Demon Company a group which he ends up joining and is a unit that dedicates their lives to eradicating the vampire epidemic. Joining them Yūichirō vows to take revenge on the vampires to avenge his orphan family.

This anime cannot be under-sold in any way since it has every aspect a fan needs to get sucked into the series, drama, suspense, action, an excellent narrative, well-developed characters and outstanding animation. The aspect of this anime that really drove it was the interlacing story and character development, it is originally put forward as our protagonist Yu seeking revenge for his orphan family but there is so much more going on behind the scenes. The characters are developed so well along with the narrative that never does one over shadow the other. Yu is the angst revenge driven soul but throughout the series you see his softer side while also see his own inner turmoil and overriding guilt for what happened to his friends. Also the running gag of every living woman having a thing for him is hilarious, why? Because he simply has no idea.

Anyone who has seen the series knows the big reveal and spoiler from the opening theme but that aspect to the narrative is what sells it because you really do not know who you are rooting for. You root for both men but are you rooting for the humans or the vampires? Both aspects of the narrative are told from either side with neither side knowing the going on from the other. There is so much drama and mystery behind both sides that you are left wondering, wait? Who do I root for here? Both have redeeming and not so redeeming ideals. This is what makes a great anime.

Ore Monogatari!!

The real anime of the 2015 spring season is a shojo romance slice of life. This anime is a little show by the name of Ore Monogatari!! or My Love Story, and while it may seem like a small story to some, its one with a huge heart.

The story of Ore Monogatari!! follows Gouda Takeo, a freshman in high school. He’s a bigger guy then most shojo anime romances, but just because he’s not normal doesn’t mean he can’t find love, but alas he has never been popular with girls, unlike his friend Sunawaka. Takeo is an extremely sweet and lovable dude, who simply wants the best for Suna, which has stopped him from ever having a girlfriend. This all changed one day on the way to school, as he saves a girl,Yamato, from a groper on the train. Through a series of events of confusion and shyness, the two finally hook up. The rest of the series follows the two on an extremely adorable and endearing love story.

While not everyone is a fan of shojo romance, I would say that this one is quite possibly the most refreshing take on the genre I have seen for some time. Takeo is nothing like a usual shojo male protagonist, as he is a simple gentle giant, only ever wanting the best for his girlfriend Yamato. Watching his extremely charming and hilarious attempts at love is always entertaining, and as you continue watching you can’t help wanting them to succeed and have a happy life together. All characters present have outlined reasons and motivations to their actions, unlike various characters in Owari no Serpah, especially the villains, who really only seem to be fighting because “evil” reasons, without any depth. Sure the motivations of the characters in Ore Monogatari!! are simple, but it’s a simple story, not an over hyped Attack on Titan rip off.

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Unlike Owari no Serpah, Ore Monogatri actually has an original art style, oh and a consistent quality of animation(I am looking at you episode 5 classroom fighting that drops to about 2 frames a second). While My Love Story may take place in a less interesting world, the layer of detail and charm put into every character design and visual cue is beyond impressive, especially any time Takeo reacts to anything, it’s always priceless. Instead of an opening that spoils most of the shows plot, Ore Monogatri’s OP features some simple yet cute visual gags on Takeo and Yamato’s relationship(one of which portraying Takeo as King Kong) all the while set to a catchy little song by Trustrick. Ore Monogatri was one of the first shojo romances I have watched in a long time that I actually connected to on a personal level, due to its adorable yet realistic main characters. While Shojo romance has gotten quite a bad name over the years with the amount of dreck it spews out(Say I Love you), every once in a while a show comes along that is so charming and sweet that it just makes you want to be a better person. Ore Monogatri is not only a believable love story, it’s also a sweet and memorable one.

This poll has been closed.

Vote Now - Owari no Seraph or Ore Monogatari?

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