Tuesday 18 August 2015

Simple Anime Review - Date A Live



Date A Live
12 episodes and 1 OVA

In a few words, this anime is basically a dating sim (harem dating sim) brought to life. If you enjoy light novels or games that has the feel of a dating sim, you may want to check this anime out. Also, if you enjoy harem-themed anime, then this anime is worth checking out.

Setting

The setting of the anime can be described as a near-futuristic fantasy, where the infrastructure of the city is pretty mechanized and equipped with advanced robotics technology. Also, some of the characters used "mech-ie" weaponry in their battles.

The anime started with the introduction of 'space-quakes', which were caused by the appearance of mystical female beings called Spirits. A 'space-quake' is described as a destructive phenomenon that ravages its environment. Different from earthquakes which happen by unstable tectonic movements, 'space-quakes' occur above the ground. Just imagine a black-hole spawning in the middle of the city and it gets larger as its magnitude increases.
Spirits are mystical female beings who randomly appeared in the world. At this point, the appearance of Spirits and their origin remain unexplained.

Throughout history, the appearance of Spirits has been causing 'space-quakes' that destroyed civilizations. The only known solution is to eliminate the Spirits who caused the destruction.

The anime starts with Itsuka Shido, the main male protagonist, who was living a normal life with his sister, Itsuka Kotori, until a 'space-quake' occurred in his city and he met a Spirit in the event.
Throughout the anime, Shido's life was changed as he was tasked to interact with the Spirits and getting them to open up and fall in love with him, so their powers can be sealed.
Thus, this becomes an adventure of building a harem of Spirit girls (and human girls) and getting every girl love-struck.



Review

In my opinion, the storyline can go from awkward to absolutely ridiculous. As the episodes start, the storyline holds very little weight. However, the story improves, becoming much relevant and realistic towards the middle of the series.

Although the story-line turns me off, the animation, voice and characters were the aspects that kept me watching.
The animation was superb. Throughout the series, I appreciated the precision of the characters' facial and body animations. The battles were beautiful to watch.
The voice-acting was great! I applaud the producers for hiring highly-talented voice actors for the characters of the series.
Also, the characters were amazing. In my opinion, much thought and effort has been invested into character design. My personal favorites were Tokisaki Kurumi and Itsuka Kotori. I am sure that these two hold the spot for the most favorite in many fans as well. Their personality and character design chimed extraordinarily.

Another aspect of this anime that kept me watching was the fan-service. Fan-service scenes were sexy and playful. Besides, it is very well done and not carried overboard. A very good tease for the male audience, if you ask me.

Hope I did not spoil much of the anime. Feel free to check out Date A Live and I will see you next time.



Special thanks

Images were sourced from tammypain and ninraven of deviantart.com, and mahoutofu from mahoutofu.wordpress.com.


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