Hello people of "The Wired", my name is Quan, I hope your day has been well, and all of these questions are ones asked by the topic of today's First Impression: Kiznaiver, studio Trigger's little experiment that is airing this Spring 2016 anime season. But while those might be the questions that this anime asks, I've got others, like, "is this anime sh*t?". Well, with a grand total of one episode of Kizaniver aired and an unconfirmed total length for the whole show, that's exactly the question I intend to answer in the few paragraphs. So then, no more delay. Let's get started.
First Impression
Katsuhira Agata, a normal high-school student living in the island metropolis of Sugomoto City, has had an odd experience with pain throughout his entire life, as in, he can't feel it at all. Though his psychical body may be dealt damage by psychical trauma, for some reason, he can't feel any of the pain that would usually accompany such trauma. As he apathetically trudges through his high-school life, vague memories plaguing his head about a girl telling him that he will be able to "regain his pain" someday begin to slowly come back to him.
Unable to relate to others and completely emotionally remote, it seems like Agata will never be able to make true friends with anybody, until his classmate Noriko Sonosaki approaches him, with an offer that may be able to give him that very connection with other people he has desired his whole life. Noriko tells Agata that he has been selected to be a "Kiznaiver", a group of seven individuals that are part of an audacious experiment that seems like the whole purpose to which Sugomoto City was built. The Kiznaivers are seven students of Sugomoto City from completely different backgrounds and with completely different personalities, that are linked by pain. Whenever a Kizanaiver feels pain, that pain is equally distributed throughout the group. The ultimate theory behind this experiment is that people hurt one another because they can't feel one another's pain, and that if these seven completely different high school students are able to become friends by being linked by pain, than the Kiznaiver Experiment may eventually be able to bring a final goal of nothing less than world peace.
 |
| "Everyone wants to carve their scars into someone else." |
So, let's step back for a moment. Obviously, this premise is the main grab of this anime; it's unique, interesting, and absolutely ripe for thematic potential. The very idea of being connected by pain could bring some interesting conversations to the table, especially since Noriko openly admits that the Kizaniver system is still incomplete. After all, people cause more than psychical pain to one another, and our seven completely different main characters are likely going to learn that as they try desperately to relate to one another through the series, perhaps cursing the connections they are being forced to make, or maybe secretly cherishing it.
At the time of this impression, only the first episode of Kiznaiver is available for watching, which doesn't really give me a sense of which direction this series is going to take, since this first episode was mostly establishing the overall premise and characters. However, that's a problem, because the direction which this series takes from here is going to drastically effect how well the anime takes its own premise and delivers it to the absolute potential. I don't think a simple action show like what Trigger are usually responsible for is going to work, and neither does Kiznaiver look like it'll be an action show, at least not in any big degree. The whole sense of listlessness and vividness that filled the episode sort of made me think that this is going to be a slowly boiling pot, which I'm all for. A premise like this deserves to be explored, and hopefully the show will use its characters to represent the multiple viewpoints of the overarching idea, developing them as they try to discover the true reason behind why this strange circumstance has happened to them. While we've got a thematic center, the overarcing story, assuming there is one, hasn't come into view yet, and depending on what that will be is going to make or break this show. All I can hope from over here is that the direction the story takes will be half as interesting as the premiere episode.
Okay, this first episode obviously wasn't perfect; there were a couple of issues that I hope won't hurt this show down the line. Agata has one of those annoying childhood friend archetypes following him around wherever he goes because she inexplicably has a crush on him, which given his personality and according to the anime's own philosophy should drive away everyone he meets. Actually, the characters in general didn't give me a good vibe. Besides from our lead Agata, who I honestly belief could grow into an extremely interesting character, given that despite his inability to feel his own pain or others, he seems to want to understand those things, nobody left a big impression on me. True, most of the characters hardly had any screen-time at all since this premiere was doing a lot in terms of setting up thematic intrigue, but their outside personalities, which range from the already mentioned childhood friend, to the hot-headed jock, to the token loli, seem very bland but that's exactly where the show wants us to be, isn't it?
One of my favorite moments in Kiznaiver's first episode was when Noriko, who seems to be in charge of this whole experiment, gathers all of the Kiznaivers in one place for the first time, and in turn, points to them and basically tells them what cliche they represent. She, and the show did that, to make a point. These characters, and by the extension the audience, see one another as simple cardboard cutouts because they can't relate to their pain. But not now. Not anymore.
 |
| The boy who just wants to understand. |
I really, really hope this anime turns out good, because if it follows the direction I want it to, I could see it being one of my favorites of the year, which would by extension give me a legitimate reason to like Studio Trigger. Part of this initial optimism from me is just by the fact of how much conversation this anime brings up. I'm already wrapping this impression up, and I haven't even had a chance to talk about how bloody amazing the animation is in terms of stylistic choice and color, or how the OP is so good that I've been no joke listening to it non-stop while writing this impression. Anime that can make me talk for awhile while still not giving me enough time to touch on everything I want to usually make it into my favorites, so I hope Kiznaiver won't take the safe way out, that it won't devolve into simple action or slice-of-life with a supernatural twist, because it has a chance to be so much more.
Only time will tell if this show ends up half as good or intelligent I hope it will be. It may run in the complete wrong direction. It may give up these thematic elements, sidelining them in favor of more traditional "animeisms", as seen already through the uninspired characters, and moments of offbeat humor that really ruin the somewhat observantly detached aura that wraps around proceedings. Who knows? Kizaniver, by the end, may have nothing to offer anyone. It's possible. But judging from this first episode, it's also much more unlikely. Anime that have something interesting to talk about always end up better than those who don't. Kiznaiver definitely has a conversation it wants to start. An interesting one too, a conversation that quite honestly gets down to the nitty-gritty of human connectional philosophy in a way that you usually don't get out of this medium. That's worth something, and from what I can tell thus far, Kizaniver is going to be worth something too. Goodbye for now guys.
Navigate Elsewhere
Find Me At:
 |
| https://hummingbird.me/users/Quan |
 |
| https://twitter.com/QuanReviews |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment