Boukyaku no Senritsu
The Melody of Oblivion
忘却の旋律
A great war occurred in the 20th century between humans and monsters. Since that time, the monsters rule the world in fear but keep relatively hidden from public view. A boy named Bokka ponders the past and wonders what became of the Meros Warriors who defended the world so bravely against the demons. He soon meets Kurofune and learns of the power of the Meros and the I-bar machines they ride in battle. Warriors are the only ones who can see and hear the Melody of Oblivion, a phantom girl hidden away waiting to be rescued and be the savior of mankind. During a battle between Kurofune and a demon, Bokka discovers something only his wildest dreams could possibly imagine...he too can hear that melody. Throughout his journeys, Bokka meets many monsters and their agents, friends, and companions as he discovers the true extent of his new powers. He must continue to battle evil in the hope of releasing Boukyaku no Senritsu and free a world that has forgotten its once beautiful melody. (Source: ANN)
Synopsis
A great war occurred in the 20th century between humans and monsters. Since that time, the monsters rule the world in fear but keep relatively hidden from public view. A boy named Bokka ponders the past and wonders what became of the Meros Warriors who defended the world so bravely against the demons. He soon meets Kurofune and learns of the power of the Meros and the I-bar machines they ride in battle. Warriors are the only ones who can see and hear the Melody of Oblivion, a phantom girl hidden away waiting to be rescued and be the savior of mankind. During a battle between Kurofune and a demon, Bokka discovers something only his wildest dreams could possibly imagine...he too can hear that melody. Throughout his journeys, Bokka meets many monsters and their agents, friends, and companions as he discovers the true extent of his new powers. He must continue to battle evil in the hope of releasing Boukyaku no Senritsu and free a world that has forgotten its once beautiful melody. (Source: ANN)
Recommendations
Reviews(9)
Sir_Inqed
July 25, 2008
In all honesty, Melody of Oblivion could have had potential to go in many good directions. However, due to poor character development, confusion with plot linearity, and a set of 4 ridiculous ending episodes to any series I have witnessed, that potential was unfortunately wasted. In our story, we find Bokka, a teenage boy living in a new century following a bloody, violent war between humanity and their enemies, the monsters. Warriors fighting for humanity, the Melos Warriors ultimately lost and became nothing but a legend. After the first episode, our protagonist finds out that he holds the same power as the legendary Melos Warriorand embarks on a journey along with a busty sidekick and trusty motorbike vehicle, the Ibar machine. During his journey he contends with the Monster Union, an organization of humans working alongside the monsters and the sole enemies of the series ( their catch phrase “Viva! Monster Union!” will more than likely cause bleeding of the ears ) and meets several other Melos Warriors as well as other supporting characters. Which brings me to my next point. Character development. Many characters were introduced, but they had very little background to them. Particularly the monsters, who in this series take the shape of humans, were introduced, but over the course of the series played absolutely very little role or none at all. They simply took up space. The Monster Union characters also made me laugh, because their designs were ridiculous and many times I found myself not taking them very seriously. Which in turn, made me think that this bloody, violent war we are led to believe happened, was nothing but a farce. I was also bothered by the linearity. You never know how long it’s been since the characters arrive in one location and the next. At some point in the series you are informed that it’s been a year since our protagonist left home, but you are left scratching your head thinking “Really? He’s been gone that long?” You have no sense of time, and that is rather annoying. I will say that the music was perhaps the only thing that I liked overall about the series. The opening and ending themes were rather good, not the best, but better than others I have seen. There’s the occasional violin instrumental track ( particularly when our heroes are having a heated battle against the monsters ) and catchy background track. Without spoiling the ending, the last four episodes are a complete train wreck. They made absolutely NO sense. Perhaps I didn't get what it was trying to achieve, but it greatly diverged from what was shown along the course of the series only to take a drastic, out of nowhere turn. There are many series that are also guilty of this, but Melody of Oblivion didn't quite justify the sudden jump. Melody of Oblivion could have been much better. It’s a decent series, but do not expect something grand. Had the characters been given more development or simply, more screen time for those that were introduced along the way, perhaps it could have been different. If there's anything to take away or enjoy, watch it to laugh at the ridiculous, but sometimes entertaining Monster Union members and their crazy antics.
