People noted Kiznaiver (キズナイーバー) as one of the best in its season, SPRING 2016. Being steadily up to the pinnacle on Anime Trending, it was hit my curiosity. I began to watch it when everyone already on the 8th ep. You have to watch this series by Studio Trigger if you are aroused by deep meaning and value implanted in its storyline. And..umm for additional information, this anime series story is original in which the originality of the idea is really felt there.
【Download the theme songs here ♪♩♫♬】
The characters in Kiznaiver bring tons of emotions to the surface. Up to a scale where it can touch your heart well. At first, it is just about the physical pain that connected one another. When a character gets punched or falls, it affects other six characters in Kizna system as well. How does it work? Well, it’s simply because every characters part of body, in the wrist area, planted by chip. This chip will bond their pain. I don’t mean to spoil the fact, you can find the explanation right on the beginning of this show. Kizna system improves to higher level where it isn’t not physical pain anymore that affects them, but also heartache. One can instantly feels someone’s anger, sadness, disappointment, jealousy (Wut? Jealousy? Oh yes yes! It does have lovey-dovey in it), when it really hurts a host.
The characters development reaches its peak later on. At this point, emotional state is bonded. However, it happens in the middle of the whole show which is, for me, rather slow. Halfway of the show is surely slow. It’s like common friendship theme and spiced up with science fiction by the Kizna system. Still, the improvement at the point when everybody can feels others suffering is overwhelming. They act out uniquely and expand with friendship they’re in. Complicated drama it is. (This is when you will find the truth behind the Kizna system and the reason why there is a character showing no emotion, and another feel just slight of pain even if got hit hard.)
As guaranteed in the 00 episode *if you watched this*, the visualization is nothing like common series in somehow slice-of-life and drama genres. I know some of drama series which has freaking good animation such as Nagi no Asukara with its exquisite details of blue ocean and clear sky, and Kiznaiver now is one of those well-built graphics for drama anime series. Real life like layouts feel more substantive as the story goes dramatic.
They picked up appropriate seiyuus as well for this project. When everything turns out to be so blue, both visualization and seiyuus support the idea that it really rips you heart off. The OP theme song nothing much memorable for me, sung by BOOM BOOM SATELLITES “LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME”. The ED theme song has good animations as it’s played. Sangatsu no Phantasia is on duty for the ED, "Hajimari no Sokudo (はじまりの速度)".
What I like is I didn’t expect the story of this anime series. For most of the happening, it is so good. I give it 8.5.
Pros:
- No matter how you look at it. The explanation of the storyline seems like the show is about toying people’s emotions. Making other as guinea pig. But, it’s not as bad as it is, and Kiznaiver didn’t make me feel like this show is a trash for making fun out of people’s feelings.
- Well-built graphics.
- Categorized as drama genre anime, but it is so rare to have drama will have a storyline like this. I never imagined what might came next when watched this. I mean, it was good.
- It is not clear about the concept of Seven Deadly Sins that put in into the show. They didn’t exactly tell about it, as well as The Forgetful Priss that mentioned. Well, I can grab it a bit however it will be more relieved if the show did explain something as clarification. Missing information.
- Slow pace for the halfway of the show. Thankfully, I didn’t drop it.
Kizna System: A system where you share "pain" with others. If one feels pain, that pain will be split up evenly with others connected through the System. In order to find some hint that will lead this battle-ridden world toward peace. Facing challenges with your comrades that have been bound to you by your wounds. I purposely not telling you the characters. Well, if I tell you and it will be much spoiler here because I will talk about the characters which, this characters relationships, are our main only topic in this series. So, it’s better to keep their relationships hidden. I will only tell their names and some traits (also mentioned in the very first ep). Sonozaki Noriko: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. Related to Kizna system. "A mysterious girl who doesn't show emotions." She appears to have a deep connection with the Kizna system program for long. Agata Katsuhira: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. For some reason, he has a strange body that doesn't feel any pain. "Body That Doesn't Feel "Pain"" {Imbecile} Takashiro Chidori: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. likeable person that tells everything about her feeling. {Goody Two-shoes} Tenga Hajime: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. He is passionate and cares about friends. Sept 18th, Virgo. O bloodtype. Hobbies are fishing for crawfish and raking guys who are twisted over the coals. Scared of dogs. {The Musclehead Thug} Yuta Tsuguhito: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. A super-confident man he is. {The Cunning Normal} Maki Honoka: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. Maki has a terrible personality and always distant herself from others. {High and Mighty} Niyama Nico: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. Damn eccentric. Her outer look makes her look like a grow-up child. Sometimes noisy yet encouraging. {Eccentric Headcase} Hisomu Yoshiharu: Sugomori High School Class 2-A. A masochist. He is a good boy and surprisingly caring. {Immoral} |
#7th_ep "Because I did kill her. I killed the girl I knew. Getting to know Ruru, meeting the first person who was ever precious to me... If we'd gotten any closer... If I had responded to Ruru's feelings... It would have hurt even more when I lost her." Maki answers Yuta's question. "Why did you tell a lie like that?", Yuta responds, "So were you in that kind of relationship?".
"If I had fallen in love with her, the pain in my heart would have been deeper... It would have been unbearable."
#9th_ep “I’m going to go! I’m going to go get properly hurt!” Nico. | #7th_ep Ruru's message to Maki in the last chapter of their manga's chapter, |
#12nd_ep “If you don’t know what state your wounds are in, or where you’re hurting... If you don’t know that for yourself, there’s no point in trying to share it with others, is there?” Takashiro.
#12nd_ep “I’m trying to make you fat. Then I won’t have to worry about pests flocking to you.” Honoka-chan to Yuuta-kun for giving him crepe with a lot of cream she didn’t like yet bought it.
増原 紀花