Amagi Brilliant Park

Amagi Brilliant Park has been making waves in the anime community this season, and it's easy to see why. An intriguingly goofy premise coupled with the fact that it's a Kyoto Animation production sets up rather high expectations. And I have to say, Amagi Brilliant Park exceeded my expectations in nearly every way. To say that Amaburi is absurd would be an understatement. Kanie Seiya, a high school student, is tasked with reviving a failing amusement park and has three months to reach its yearly quota of 500,000 guests or the park will shut down. Also, this park is inhabited by magical beings from a differentrealm who rely on the fun that visitors have for their livelihood. Add the fact that the two lead characters are named after Kanye West and 50 Cent--how can you resist? Amaburi does well with its plot, but that's not where its true strength lies. At its core, Amaburi is built on its characters. Absurd, zany, and above all, lovable, the ensemble of characters contained within the park will win you over instantly. I'm amazed at how much character development they managed to fit into 13 episodes (12 really--the last episode is just a filler). Amaburi really makes you feel the characters' emotions and their motivation to keep their park open. It's been a while since I've been this engaged by a show's characters alone. The hilarious trio of mascots, the dysfunctional dance group, Sento's insecurities despite her stoic appearance, and an arrogant, narcissistic, but ultimately big-hearted main character, as well as a plethora of other wild characters leave a lasting impact. Huge props to the art direction team on this one. Amaburi looks absolutely stunning. The various areas of the park are bright and colorful, the characters are dynamic, and Amaburi features some of the most hysterical facial expressions I've ever seen. A great job is done with character designs (whoever designed Sento, I cannot thank you enough--you have done humanity a great favor). Appearances aren't everything, but in this department Amaburi sure has it all. Honestly, I hardly have anything negative to say at all regarding this series. A great job of managing pacing gives it a full, complete feel despite its short length. By the story's conclusion, it's clear that Amagi Brilliant Park is more than just a goofy comedy. It's about more than just a high school kid running a magical theme park. It evokes feelings of community, friendship, and overcoming adversity that, while they may be corny, ring loud and true. Amagi Brilliant Park is far more heartwarming than its premise suggests. This is the feel-good show of the year.

LOOK AT THE SKY IT'S MAGIC HOUR. Actually, it's half an hour in one episode, but you'll get the joke soon. Amagi Brilliant Park is just spectacular. Some of the audience loved it, and I think it's a chance that Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) has actually redeemed themselves over the troubles they had over the past year. Watching the first episode got me hooked since it has an interesting setting to look forward. You surely have seen amusement parks in a lot of anime, but that's just depicting the characters' enjoyment. But, I'm sure you have yet to see behind the scenes of the park's operation. The story startswith Sento inviting Kanie to go with her to an unknown location which is Amagi Brilliant Park. Kanie wasn't pleased with the tour from Sento of the amusement park which is bad in shape and unsatisfactory. Later on, Sento introduced Latifa who then wants Kanie to become the next manager of the park and save it from being taken away. Also, this amusement park isn't just any ordinary park. Kanie learnt that it is occupied by 'fairies' from Maple Land, a magical place far from reality. Before you are worried about KyoAni's antics, don't worry. To spoil a bit about the story, it wasn't written in a way which later it is plagued with problematic tropes. Basically throughout the whole anime, you see how Kanie is able to handle the park as the manager. He gets to learn more about the park, its attractions and the workers along the way and from there, he finds ways to improve the well-being. The anime is mostly comedic, meaning lots of moments to laugh at from episode to episode. I would say that it wasn't repetitive, making those moments unique in a sense. There are some dramatic moments which honestly, I feel that they are a bit forced and out of place from the prominent hilarious comedy. But not to fret, they don't really mess up the story much, since then the characters involved got back to their feet. There are also undeveloped romance in some relationships, but it's sweet to see some hints coming about. What I absolutely love about the story is how the park manages to develop, thanks to Kanie's direction as a manager. The workers might be negative over his choices of attracting visitors to the park, and you may be astonished too, but he managed them. The story may also not show this result, but it also drop hints too. Overall, I think the story was almost original and doesn't not have a lot of faults. Of course, many more topics in the story can be expanded, but out of thirteen episodes, I think it's a job well done for the script-writers. There is also some fan-service included that doesn't exceed too much, but you know, it's quite astonishing for KyoAni to add some. Sure, Free! is another anime with a lot of fan-service, but ignoring that anime, it is still a nice shock. The anime has a huge cast which is quite diverse in terms of personality. How the story introduces the characters one by one is fine, since Kanie meets a few workers in the park from episode to episode. Some of the characters have a small story behind them. But what is really good about the cast is that they are never forgotten. Once they are introduced, they will eventually pop up in the next episodes. So if you have your favourite character inside, don't feel left out. Of course, the story do focus on some of the characters. While Kanie manages the park, Sento assists him in some ways. There is some development between the two, but not very much to the point it gets romantic. Indeed, both of them have their own faults which can cause hilarity or not, given the situation they face. They are definitely different on each other in attitude-wise, but they understand each other. However, Latifah doesn't feel like as a main character but more of a plot device to make the story more dramatic. Not much interaction is seen from her, even many of the characters that don't have a larger role get more air time than her. Also, there's the three mascots, Moffle, Macaron and Tiramie, and the four Elementario fairies, Muse, Sylphy, Kobori and Salama. While the mascots serve more as a comedy piece of the story, the Elementario fairies get more development and story. It isn't really consistent but there's one episode that show more about themselves and it's great. Overall, the development is okay but not too great. More can be shown not only to Kanie and Sento alone, but also to Latifah and the rest. But given the thirteen-episode limit, it couldn't be helped anyway. Knowing KyoAni's anime already, I shouldn't be disappointed by its pleasing art style for this anime. The sceneries were definitely eye-grabbing, along with the details in them, the vibrant colours chosen and the lively atmosphere portrayed by the background characters. There are a lot of visual effects shown which are great, such as magical sparkles or the rustling of leaves. You've already seen it quite a lot if you watched a lot of KyoAni anime, so it shouldn't really be a surprise, yet it is so awesome. The character designs were not really original, given that the face styles are similar to other characters from KyoAni's anime. But they are detailed and nice-looking. Some of the non-human designs are definitely cool for some, wacky for the rest. The facial expressions are well-done, and I definitely love the cartoon-ish ones to express hilarity. The opening song, sang by AKINO with her band, has won the hearts of many with the catchy beats and groovy tunes. It's easily one of the best songs heard in this season, since it attracted a lot of attention. See that starting quote? That's the first quote in the lyrics. It's too famous indeed. I actually looped the song many times. It has a nice feel that relates to the context of the story, giving the hype for the story and the lively feel in it. The ending song is different-sounding. Sang by the voice actresses of the Elementario fairies, it is supposed to have a more calm approach. You may feel that it doesn't really match the context, but you'll get used to it. If I put it aside, it's not a bad song and it's nice. The background music is not really noticeable, but I quite like the style of it. The OST album has been released, and a quick run-through has got me interested. The voice acting is great too. Some voice actors are well-known, the rest are either new or does not have many roles. Overall, I really loved the anime so much. Ignoring what has been giving the negative impressions of the anime, it's pretty much one of the best anime I've watched this season. A seemingly-interesting story and a diverse cast will not disappoint you definitely. To summarise this anime, it has great comedy from the characters and a good development of the park, thanks to a narcissist manager and an emotionless assistant. Of course, the thirteen episode feels more like an OVA than an actual episode. It still continues from the previous episode indeed, but honestly they can just stop airing at the twelfth episode.

Once every season, Kyoto Animation shows up and grabs the immediate attention of the entire otaku populous after announcing whatever they've been up to the past few months. Being one of the biggest and most successful animation companies in Japan, people tend to automatically just chalk down whatever they license and eagerly await it, expecting something great. But does KyoAni succeed with their latest addition, Amagi Brilliant Park? Can they truly amount to more than just their wonderfully crafted artwork? Amagi Brilliant Park (Or Amaburi for short) follows Kanie Seiya, a narcissistic and self-centered (Wait. Kanie...Kanye...I see what you did there, KyoAni) high school student andformer child-star, as he is recruited as the new manager for a failing theme park. However, this theme park is currently owned and operated by a group of people that come from the magical world of "Maple Land". The women are beautiful and the males all look like mascots for college football teams, which is personally my ideal picture of a magic kingdom. Even though the story seems a little odd, it does quickly become alluring when you find out the princess of Maple Land and former manager of the park has a sickness that prevents her from aging and resets her memory once every year. And so Kanye West Seiya must bring in a total of 500,000 visitors in a six month period in order for the Maple Landers to keep the park. If he does not succeed, Princess Frailty will lose her magic powers contained within the park and ultimately die a tragic death. Amagi Brilliant Park has its ups and downs (LIKE A ROLLER COASTER. HA) but it isn't by any means bad. I found myself looking forward to it every week, just as I normally do with Kyoto Animation's stuff. But this time I didn't have to fully invest myself in the story like I had to do with sthows like Hyouka, which worked on solving mysteries and building up relationships. So, lets delve deeper as I once again break this show apart, piece by piece, to better illustrate how I feel about it. Music: 7/10 Just like every other normal person in the world, I love clapping. The opening song to Amagi Brilliant Park utilizes clapping. Twice. That's cool, I like that. And since Kyoto Animation created the opening, the clapping looks sweet. But I digress. The anime sounds just like you'd expect a show about a theme park to sound. The music is lively and cheerful, and at the same time it delivers hope. And with Amaburi's story, that is absolutely vital. Background music isn't repetitious at all and plays an essential part in making each scene seem full. But because the music wasn't outstanding and didn't play a part in changing the way people viewed the show, it wasn't perfect and definitely could have been improved upon. Characters: 9/10 As far as characters go, Amaburi has a solid line-up. Kanie is quite different from the dense male leads you'll often find in anime today, and the rest of the cast is pretty solid as well. Sento Isuzu (Whose name I just found out comes from 50 Cent) does a great job in supporting Kanie's character throughout the duration of the show. And all of the mascot-men are there with extremely strong personalities to provide sufficient comic relief for the theme park. The thing is, even though the characters were very original and unique all across the board, the majority of them were ONLY there to serve as that comic relief I mentioned. It's great to be funny, but if that's your only personality trait in real life, you're probably going to have a hard time and you aren't a perfect character. I would have liked to see some more development in anyone apart from the leads, but it just didn't happen. Art: 10/10 This was probably a given as soon as Kyoto Animation's name was put under the title, but Amagi Brilliant Park delivers some of the best artwork this year. Character designs were outrageous and easily memorable, and the theme park as a whole, even when it was decaying, was a sight for sore eyes. It's refreshing to see KyoAni constantly improving and not just taking advantage of their position in the industry and settling down in a "safe spot". They are constantly pushing themselves to create something better, and it has been succeeding. As a reference point, please direct your attention to the Ferris wheel above. Isn't that the best damn Ferris wheel you've ever seen in an anime? You're damn right it is. Amaburi has zero issues when it comes to appearance, and that is vital in keeping the audience's interest locked in. Story: 6/10 What's disappointing about the story line of this show is that they throw in a lot of information that seems like it's important, but is never mentioned again. The viewers never find out what exactly happened to cause Kanie's fallout of the entertainment industry. Sento's affections never get let out and ultimately become meaningless when you look at the bigger picture. And then Kanie goes off on this rant about how he is terrified of heights and wants to hide it from everyone but it plays no part in determining how you look at the story. And then there was the whole thing with how Kanie somehow ran into the princess when he was a child and now felt like he was destined to save her life. It just started to seem forced, like the writers wanted there to be a story when in all actuality the show was just there to be fun. The idea was good, but countless attempts to make it deeper than it should have been really ruined its legitimacy. Amagi Brilliant Park is a solid show, but it could have been much better. You'll find that the driving force in bringing you back to the next episode falls completely on the characters and artwork. It's definitely enjoyable, but one of the weaker shows KyoAni has brought forth in recent years, which may be a direct result of them setting the bar too high for themselves. Watch this if you are either an avid fan of the studio or just looking to have a few laughs and wind down. There are better options out there, but Amaburi will suffice if you don't want to look for them.

What exactly is Amagi Brilliant Park? On the basic surface, it isn’t exactly brilliant with its host of generic characters. However, taking a closer glance at the show might make you think differently once you’re on board with its ideas. Don’t get me wrong though. Amagi Brilliant Park isn’t exactly a show for everyone but it does launches itself into a realm of its own that has a unique ability to keep the audience at their seats. Adapted by the light novel of the same name, this anime series covers the first book with a bit of expansion. There are also several interesting noteworthy attributes totake into consideration about this adaptation. First, the series is written by Shoji Gatoh who is well known for his work, Full Metal Panic. Then, there’s the studio in charge known as Kyoto Animation. While the studio needs little introduction, one should take notice a history of its works and realize this show is one of the first they’ve done relating to such a gimmick. Rather than taking place in some school setting, the series take place in a place of modern fantasy known as the Amagi Brilliant Park. A fresh concept. This show can seem a bit strange at times. The first episode blasts off without wasting any time by introducing the two main protagonists – Seiya Kanie and Isuzu Sento. The oddball circumstance involves Sento going on a ‘date’ with Kanie but only then does he realize that their fun time turns into something else. As such, the show initially introduces the basic mechanics of Amagi Brilliant Park. It establishes the premise and lets the audience know what it’s about, a task done quite well with the mechanics. But when it comes to characters, the show swings in a bit of an odd direction. For instance, it’s easy to tell that Kanie and Sento are quite different. Kanie has a narcissist attitude with a full of confidence and pride. While on the other hand, Sento is much more stoic who shows little emotions despite her sensitive personality. When you put these two characters together as the main duo, there’s a problem with compatibility. Nonetheless, the show does seize opportunities to bring the best out of them. It does this often by appealing at the ideas of the show. To do this, almost every character that Kanie or Sento gets involved with plays a form of role in bringing in new customers. Because let’s face it, the goal of the series is to attract 250,000 visitors to the park and if not done in 3 months will lead to closure. The show makes it clear that if the park closes, then it would seize to exist at all (literally) in the human world. This is because of the staff of the park is made of beings from another realm known as the Maple World. And for the park to function, it needs to harvest magical energy from visitors who are having fun. Simply put: no visitors, no energy, no park. The show also makes it clear that Kanie has experience in the entertainment industry early on thanks to flashbacks and his own experiences. As such, expect Kanie to bring in ideas from what he has learned to ensure that Amagi Brilliant Park reaches its goal. As a show with many possibilities, most of it consists of the characters. There’s a wide diversity of them whether it’s a princess like Latifah Fleuranza, fairy mascots such as Moffle, the Elementario girls, or other members hired by the staff. The series gives them a variety of roles although their key purpose is to bring entertainment so that visitors come by. To say the least though, the show accomplishes its task of entertainment with the personalities of the characters. Almost all of them brings in some form of fun to the series even when timings feel off or the amount of generic concepts used. It also seems as if the show is self-aware at times because even some of the character names are originated from popular icons from the real life world. The key element to take into consideration is still entertainment as the show tries a different set of dynamics each episode. These involve the different attractions at the park such as Indiana Jones style adventures, Water Park (complete with pirates and the ship), trials and error with idol themes, or secret cave with a mythic dragon. There are still repetitive gimmicks used though such as Moffle’s fury (which is resulted from his endless rivalry with Kanie), Sento’s gun (that often strikes fear into almost anyone that comes near it including Kanie), or the variety of species used to bring in diversity. As such, a show such as this offers almost something for anyone when it comes to the characters. Unfortunately, characterization suffers and in fact almost non-existent. Except perhaps the princess, Sento, or Kanie, none of the other characters get background stories or development. It also seems like the show plays off of stereotypes and make certain characters (ex. Elementario girls) seem like a joke with little more than pure eye candy. Despite being written by the author of FMP, don’t expect much similarities to it. There’s no psychological scenarios or plots about the military. Instead, see this series like a showbiz. And to deliver that, the show needs to inspire comedy. While I think the series is on the right track, it occasionally tries far too hard to appeal in such a way at times. Comedy is repetitive and feels slipping away at times. There are some serious moments but some of the awkward timings feels off. However, a few of the characters are memorable for their personalities especially Kanie during key moments. One of his earlier speeches shows exactly the type of person he is despite putting on his poker face. While starving for ideas, the show does also finds ways to create opportunities to explore every aspect of its attractions through either internal or external conflict. These even include hiring new staff members, dealing with the past, and even events outside of the park. However, the endgame could be a mixed bag because like I mentioned before, this series is not for everyone. The finale of the episode also feels OVA-ish. When it comes to visuals, Amagi Brilliant Park’s technical quality nails it with its high production values thanks to Kyoto Animation. While landscapes aren’t lavishly on Makoto Shinkai levels, it does have creativity ideas behind it. However, the character designs feels childish. In particular, the mascots looks like furry animals while the Elementario girls almost gives off the feeling that they are teenagers on the way to a Halloween costume party. Did I also mention fan service? The first episode has a full glimpse of that while subsequent episodes does this with bikini outfits and pirate gear. Luckily enough, the show doesn’t make this as its main attraction but rather just as part of its gimmick. Soundtrack plays a few key roles. To say the least, the OP song is very catchy not just with the lyrics but by the energy it crafts with almost every character being featured; and in some moments clapping hands in unison. I also give some credit for Kanie’s voice for his ability to really demonstrate his character as a perfectionist. His speeches may sometimes feel laggy but they are to the point with brutal honesty and narcissism. Other characters such as Latifah brings in a gentle atmosphere with her voice while Moffle does the exact opposite of that. However, the OST is easily forgettable even during some emotional scenes of sentimentality. Oddly, Amagi Brilliant Park feels like an entertainment showbiz itself. The story offers a variety of ideas although it does falter whenever it tries a bit more than it should have. There is almost an ensemble like cast of characters that the audience may find attached to. Just be aware that these characters play roles like pieces to a puzzle rather than getting depth on their own. For all its technical wizardry, the show is still very much about a guy trying to do his best to save a park that definitely needs to be saved. Fans of other Kyoto Animation works may find this a bit different than what they are used to. It’s not just the different main setting but also because this show plays around with itself like a roller coaster on steroids.

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