Beatless Final Stage

Note this review covers both the prequel series of Beatless and its sequel Beatless final stage as I see both as one series as the Final stage is essentially the last four episodes of the base series. While care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. Based upon a popular novel of the same name that was written by the veteran novelist Satoshi Hase Beatless is an action, sci-fi and romance anime that gives us the opportunity to enter a world where thanks to the creation of an advanced AI mysterious buthighly advanced beings known as HIE’s have appeared within the world that begin to integrate themselves into human society. As the HIE’s and humans get to grips with each other and both learn to exist along with each other differences of opinion, old prejudices and paranoia of HIE’s eventually starts to create tension between those humans that welcome HIE’s and believe that they will be an asset that would complement humanity and those that see them as a threat to the individuality of the human race and see them as beings that desire nothing more than to subvert them. In the midst of all this, a teenage boy has a fateful encounter with a mysterious HIE that saves his life from an early end and ends up becoming not just her owner but also take up custody of one of the keys that could affect how this world would change. While anime’s that make use of robots aren’t anything new considering the popularity of giant robots that are used for military purposes in the form of the mecha genre of anime the use of androids that are resemble humans and the look into the kind of effects that they could have on human society in terms of social effects is a concept that’s unique to Beatless. This unique premise and its usage of themes that are rare within animes was what ultimately drew me to Beatless and I was impressed enough by the first episode that I decided that watch it to the end a decision that I felt was the right choice. Taking place in the near future the world of Beatless is a world that while similar to the modern world is vastly different thanks to the creation of advanced AI and its widespread integration into human society not just in terms of calculations for government and private industries but also by the military for predictive analysis of combat scenarios. As part of this revolution futuristic vehicles and equipment that are considered fantasy in this era such as home automation, self-driving cars and advanced uniforms that regulate heat are now a reality. However, the most obvious form of this change was not the above mentioned three but rather the creation and deployment of advanced androids called HIE’s beings that while looking near human have none of the weaknesses that humans have and as a result have become an integral part of human society where they serve in roles ranging from home-based ones that clean and cook to ones that manage stores on the streets. However while certainly useful HIE’s rather than help take off the burden that humans are bothered with instead have the opposite effect of creating tension and the belief that they were replacing them. The overall story for Beatless follows the life of Arato Endo a teenage schoolboy who after taking a stroll out one night to run an errand is saved from certain death by a mysterious female HIE called Lacia who unexpectedly requests that Arato become her owner. After becoming her owner Arato and his new partner Lacia are soon thrust into a struggle to not just stop the machinations that are enacted by not just her fellow Lacia class HIE’s but also by the many human organizations that stand to gain by influencing public opinion against the HIE’s. However in the midst of all this Arato and Lacia discover that while the people are certainly divided over the issue of whether HIE’s should be trusted or not there are many people that simply act because of the distrust that they have towards HIE’s that cause them to take such rash actions and that if they are able to convince them that such distrust is baseless then perhaps a world where humans and HIE’s can learn to coexist with each other will become a reality. Though the struggle will be a tough one this is one struggle that Arato and Lacia must triumph in as while both are different species they both aspire to change the current world and create a world where mutual distrust between HIE’s and humans are gone and that both are able to live in a world where they can respect and support each other. Joining in this grand undertaking is a host of characters that would both assist him and oppose him which includes the calm and composed Lacia, the arrogant and manipulative Kouka and the elegant and understanding Shiori. In a struggle that would shake the very foundation of society to the core today's allies could be tomorrows enemies but in a struggle to change the world Arato and his allies would fight their hardest in order to realize their dream. Lacia Lacia voiced by veteran seiyuu singer Nao Touyama of Kanon and Classroom of the Elite fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of Arato’s allies within the series. A mysterious HIE that Arato encounters early within the series Lacia at the start of the series is shown to be someone that is calm, composed and logical while at the same time being polite, kind and utterly gorgeous in Arato’s eyes. Like most HIE’s Lacia is someone that’s not just intelligent and fast thinking but also someone that’s also perceptive and understanding of someone’s feelings a fact that I felt was surprising for her. As a result of her fast thinking nature Lacia is someone that can change her plans relatively quickly and able to provide Arato with new solutions based on new data a feat that become increasingly useful as the series went on and Arato and Lacia encountered the first of their adversaries. Despite her nature as HIE Lacia is not someone that’s too hung up on doing what’s been programmed into her and rather Lacia is someone that’s not just curious but also willing to learn about new experiences something that I felt was interesting and matched well with her development as she learned from Arato. At the same time unlike most HIE’s Lacia was someone that was considerate of others feelings and was one that understood the animosity that she creates on humans. At the same time, she also understands that despite appearing almost human she is not a truly human and is merely replicating the actions of one showing that Lacia despite being an HIE can also feel and understand the feelings that a human should have. While a kind and understanding person by nature Lacia was also shown to be a very capable combatant that while possessing high-level close combat and ranged abilities also showed an impressive talent for hacking and making use of electronic warfare something that I felt contrasted well with her kind and caring personality. As the series goes on however and more of Lacia’s personality is revealed Lacia’s personality gradually starts to change. While still remaining caring and kind towards Arato as the series progresses Lacia gradually tries to maintain a distance between the two despite Arato’s reluctance to do so as she believes that she is merely a tool whose only purpose in life is to allow her owner to expand the knowledge that they have on the world by interacting with her as the medium. While this view itself is a logical one it can be seen that it’s a view that both are not comfortable with despite the former’s insistence on its usage. As a direct result of this path that Lacia willingly took this created within Lacia two distinct personalities that correspond to the personalities that Lacia adapts for Arato’s sake. The first is the one that Arato is most familiar and arguably the one that he’s most comfortable with which is the perceptive, warm and kind Lacia that does her best to help Arato and his friends deal with any problems that they encounter in a civilized manner. The latter and arguably the more drastically different one is one that manifests when Arato begins his quest to create his ideal world. Unlike the standard personality that Lacia possesses this latter personality rather than being warm and kind is one that is not just icy but also logical and focused and is one that sees any threat to her and her owner as ones that must be identified and eliminated without mercy a complete contrast to her default personality which would have simply observed and come up with multiple solutions to deal with the said problem without resorting to violence. This side of Lacia is indicative of the fact that at this point she is very determined to make the dreams of her owner come true even if it meant that she has to do things that would hurt both of them emotionally. The character of Lacia I felt was an interesting character that was both well designed and developed with her gradual development of a mysterious but polite and kind HIE to someone that as a result of seeing the kind of dreams and beliefs that her owner had evolved to become an icy, logical and focused person that fought hard to achieve the dreams of her owners despite taking a path that would upset his owner being pretty well done. I felt that her seiyuu Nao Touyama really did an excellent job at portraying the character of Lacia. Arato Arato Endou voiced by new voice actor Takuto Yoshinaga is one of the main characters of the series and is the main protagonist of the series. A teenage schoolboy that had a rather close encounter with death at the beginning of the series while out running errands Arato at the beginning of the series was someone that was shown to be a kind, caring and positive person that had a strong set of morals. While admittedly a somewhat slow person in terms of intelligence Arato was someone that can be said to act with his heart and was someone that always rushed to help those that were in need whether they were human or HIE. In line with this nature Arato was also shown to be someone that was very caring and loyal to his friends and family and was someone that cared deeply about them and would try to do his utmost to protect them from harm even if the situation appears hopeless which shows not just his kindness but also his determination to protect those dear to him. A prominent trait of Arato is that unlike the great majority of the people that’s around him Arato was someone that didn’t bear HIE’s with any degree of distrust and instead treated them with the same amount of respect that he affords to humans which is a view that can be said to be a minority within the society that he lives in. Indeed, it can be seen that in line with his views Arato is someone that believes that the current world where humans treat HIE like objects and tools instead of treating them like lifeforms is wrong as it creates nothing more than a society that’s rife with mistrust and senseless violence. These views while a minority within the series contributed greatly to the fact that Lacia selected him as her ideal owner and made him both an ideal candidate and a determined one that was determined to change the world based on his strong ideas of coexistence between both HIE’s and humans. As the series goes on and Arato gets to see first hand the kind of mistrust that exists within society between humans and HIE’s Arato’s personality gradually starts to change. At the beginning of the series Arato despite his kind and caring nature was someone that was shown to be somewhat indecisive and reluctant with his actions and was someone that can be said to be rule-bound by nature. However, as the series goes on and as Arato see’s the kind of danger that his friends and family are exposed too as the mistrust between humans and HIE’s continue this sense of indecisiveness gradually starts to disappear and is replaced by a strong determination to protect them from harm while at the same time being brave enough to confront those responsible for causing them harm. This can be seen in the fact that Arato after this is willing to break the law if it meant that it can protect his friends which is best shown in his attempts to save Kengo. Initially, Arato despite agreeing to and subsequently becoming her owner was someone that was reluctant to accept Lacia as he believed that Lacia must have an owner of her own and that her contract with him was a mistake on her part. As a result, in the beginning, Arato tried to keep her at a distance. However, as the series progressed, and it became apparent that the contract agreement wasn’t a mistake this gradually changed Arato’s attitude towards Lacia and his attitude gradually softened as he began to warm up to her. This change of view was helped greatly by the fact that Lacia treated both him and his sister with both politeness and kindness that soon won their trust in her and contributed greatly in the fact that Arato by the midpoint of the series began to see her as not just an object but an integral part of his family and someone that was very important to him a view that surprised many within the series. Though Arato in the beginning understandably was reluctant to make use make Lacia’s abilities this view gradually vanishes as Arato realizes that by using her abilities and at the same time imposing his own conditions on her that Arato would be able to not just protect his friends and family from harm but also take the first step in realizing his dream something that Lacia also admires about him. As a result of the trust that was built between them Arato was shown to be someone that had a lot of trust in Lacia something that become crucial near the end of the series when it became apparent that Lacia not only had two distinct personalities but also of the fact that she kept her real identity a secret from him as well. While somewhat dismayed, confused and lost at first as a result of this revelation Arato as a result of both the bonds and the shared goals that both him and Lacia possess gradually came to realize that this rather than a sense of betrayal was instead Lacia’s way of protecting him as she wanted to spare him from the harsh decisions that she has to make in his journey to realize his dream. As a result, rather than being offended by Lacia’s betrayal Arato instead came to realize just how much Lacia wanted his dream to become reality and as a result forged an even stronger bond with Lacia as a result and becoming even more determined to work together with her to realize it. The character of Arato I felt was an interesting character that was both well designed and developed as the series went on with his evolution of someone that was indecisive, and rule-bound to someone that was willing to use all available means to not just change society and their perception of HIE’s but also protect his friends in his quest to achieve equality being especially well done. I felt that his voice actor Takuto Yoshinaga did an excellent job at portraying the character of Arato. Kouka Kouka voiced by new seiyuu Misako Tomioka is one of the main support characters of the series and is one of Arato and Lacia’s allies within the series. A Lacia type android and thus one of Lacia’s sisters Kouka at the start of the series was shown to be someone that was intelligent, arrogant, cunning and manipulative. Unlike her sister, Lacia Kouka was someone that was shown to be someone that looked down on humans and viewed them with something approaching contempt. Indeed, Kouka despite being an HIE had no qualms about not just making use of humans as her pawns but also use them in a way that they will suffer the bulk of the casualties in her plans without having to even get serious on the field herself. This act of motivating people and raising them to believe that their plans are flawless and then disregarding them by using them as pawns I felt was an attribute that fitted her perfectly. For an HIE that’s supposed to be only near human Kouka’s attitude and personality was one that definitely showed more human emotions that I thought will be possible. After her various schemes were dismantled and forced back Kouka was forced to become something akin to a rogue unit that operated on her own terms. Unlike her past self which was arrogant, overconfident and condescending to all she meets Kouka as a result of being forced to survive on her own in a world that was mistrustful of her was forced to adapt her personality. In this Kouka while remaining confident was also a positive and cheerful person that while remaining cautious still enjoyed wreaking havoc when given the chance. In a way, I felt that this personality of Kouka’s was one that more akin to Kouka’s true self than her old personality. The character of Kouka I felt was an interesting character and one that was both well designed and developed. In particular, I felt that the idea of an HIE puppet master that made use of her intelligence and manipulative nature to exploit the mutual distrust that humans have towards HIE’s and use them to wreak havoc to cover her true goals was something that I thought was done well and matched her personality. Her change that came about as a result of her defeat I felt was an interesting one as it showed that no matter how powerful you are you are not invincible. This change I felt was interesting because it showed an unexpectedly lonely and fragile side of Kouka and explored the possibility that her opposition to Lacia wasn’t only because of hatred but also because of envy as unlike her she had someone that cared for her in the form of Arato. As I result I felt that this side of her was the true face of Kouka that she had been hiding behind her stubborn demeanor. I felt that her seiyuu Misako Tomioka really did an excellent job at portraying the character of Kouka. Shiori Kaidai Shiori voiced by Satake Uki is one of the main support characters of the series and is one of Arato’s allies within the series. The younger sister of Arato’s friend Ryou Shiori from the onset is shown to be someone that’s elegant, calm and understanding and is someone that while from a famous family is someone that’s quiet, polite and well mannered. While a quiet person Shiori was by no means someone that was bad at interacting with others and in fact she maintains a number of good friendships with a number of people including Arato, his sister Yuka and many others. While a quiet person Shiori was also shown to be someone that was both logical and intelligent which when combined with her innate cautious nature would have made her a valuable member of her family’s business had she been given the opportunity to be part of it. Unlike her brother, Shiori was shown to be someone that was more open-minded that her brother and was willing to negotiate with others calmly and fairly and willing to make compromises as needed as shown in her first interactions with Arato and Lacia. However, this is offset by her fast thinking nature and her overconfidence that comes from the pride that she feels from being a member of a famed family. Traits that were easily exploited by people who seek to use her for their gains which ended almost fatally for her. As the series goes on and more of Shiori’s personality is revealed it can be seen that contrary to the calm and elegant self that she portrays to others Shiori is someone that’s mentally fragile. While seemingly confident and positive on the outside it can be seen that Shiori is someone that has a lot of insecurity within her heart. On one hand, she desires to be able to be of some use to her brother that she respects highly but at the same time she is conflicted over whether she will be of any use to anyone. This contributes to her belief that in the end she is only someone that’s being used by her family’s company as a tool for their power games and will be discarded when her usefulness is gone a belief that stays with her until her meeting with Methode and the events that transpired there. It is until after the dramatic events at the airport that Shiori’s personality began to undergo what was arguably the most significant change in her personality to date. In the aftermath of the incident as a result of seeing the kind of actions that HIE’s were capable of performing Shiori becomes not just distrustful of HIE’s but also angry at them due to Methode’s manipulation of her. At the same time due to Ryuo’s partnering with Methode, this also caused the cherished bond that Shiori had with her brother to fracture. However, despite this, it can be seen that this incident tragic as it was also served as a valuable life lesson for her and was something that Shiori took to heart. No longer possessing the arrogance and overconfidence that defined her first phase personality Shiori in the aftermath was shown to have become more humble and understanding of other’s feelings and circumstances and grown to realize just how important bonds between friends and family can be. This causes her to realize that despite being family her brother and her family didn’t really treat them as one and instead treated them as tools that are to be used in the endless struggles that took place within the company. As a result, she came to believe that families should be able to talk to each other freely and make their decisions freely without being pressured into making choices that could have large consequences showing not just her own frustration at her family but also of the role that she was born into. The character of Shiori I felt was an interesting character that was both well designed and developed with her evolution from an elegant, polite but also overconfident ojou sama to one that was both humble and understanding of others feelings being especially well done. Her realization that family should be a place where each member is able to express their own views and not be pressured to make decisions that they would later regret I felt was interesting as it showed that not only did she realized that her own family was anything but that but also of the fact that she must learn to forge her path if she wants to be able to forge a life that’s unique to her if she wanted to bring the façade that’s her family down. I felt that her seiyuu Satake Uki did an excellent job at portraying the character of Shiori. AMV Animation wise I felt that the character designs for the main and support cast were done really well and reflected well on the personalities that they possessed. In particular I felt that the designs of the Lacia class androids that served as not just allies but also enemies within the series was done really well with each member of that class having appearances that matched not just their intended roles but also their personalities well with notable cases being the icy but gorgeous Lacia, the childlike but mischievous Snowdrop and the bold and confident Methode. The various locations that the cast visit as part of the series I felt was done pretty well and reflected well on the fact that the story is taking place in the near future but at the same time a future where humanity is not yet comfortable with leaving it to AI and HIE’s yet. This is shown within the series in the form of the contrasts where while you may have self-driving cars and smart uniforms, not all tasks are left to AI and HIE’s. In terms of combat animations, I felt that the various combat scenes that were shown in the series were both well thought out and designed with each battle being both unpredictable but also savage in intensity which reflected on the fact that each battle is not just a confrontation of force but also one where the conflicting ideologies of the masters of the HIE’s are also colliding. Apart from the many one on one battles that are prevalent within the series, I thought that the series also handled the larger scale battles relatively well which is best shown in the HIE city arc when Arato and co were forced to deal with infected HIE’s on a large scale. That was an arc that was both brutal but at the same time interesting. In terms of music, the series made use of two openings and ending themes respectively which was Error and Truth that was sung by veteran singer Garnidelia and the veteran seiyuu girl group Trysail and PRIMALove and Shapeless which were sung by Claris and Tokyo Performance Doll respectively. Each of these was strong songs with the two Ops’ especially doing an excellent job of creating a sense of anticipation for the episodes. The series OST I felt was a solid one that did a great job of providing some strong music to the various scenes within the anime with the combat ones being my favorite. In terms of voice acting, I felt that the main voice cast did an excellent job of portraying their respective characters whether these were main or supporting characters. In particular, I feel that Nao Touyama, Takuto Yoshinaga, Misako Tomioka, and Uki Satake all did an excellent job of portraying their assigned characters which were Lacia, Arato, Kouka and Shiori respectively. Additionally, while I didn’t cover their characters within the review I also felt that Sora Amamiya and Kaito Ishikawa also did an excellent job of portraying the characters of Methode and Ryou respectively. Overall conclusion In overall Beatless I felt was a strong anime that had among its strong points an interesting premise, story, well designed and developed characters, strong voice acting and an interesting take on how to handle some of today's world’s most complex themes. The premise of Beatless which was the creation and widespread adaptation of AI and the creation of mysterious androids called HIE’s that assist humanity as they advance in tech level I felt was interesting and arguably one of the most interesting parts of the series. One of the key reasons for this was due to its use of complex themes that plague the world of today like mistrust towards technology, discrimination, hate crimes, free will, rights and learning to trust and the ability to choose your own path all of which are choices that are seldom seen within the world of anime. Whether reflected within the series or within the real world to which we exist in it will not be an understatement if I were to say that change is something that’s both welcomed by many and at the same time unwelcome by many as while one side may get many benefits from the change the same cannot be said of the other side. Seeing this take place on a larger scale within the series in form of its effects on society I felt provided a solid foundation for the overall story of the series. The overall story for the series I felt was an interesting one that made great use of the various themes that formed its foundation and using this as a means of showing the various challenges that Arato and Lacia must overcome in order to create and realize the dream that they both aspire to create. While the act of a boy encountering a mysterious girl that saves him is a troupe that we often see within anime in this case I felt that this was used pretty well as it allowed us to see the gradual forming of a relationship between Arato and Lacia who despite being that of an owner and an HIE slowly overcomes the line that divides them as they both overcome the inherent differences that exist between the two races and bond with each other both emotionally and ideologically. Seeing the two’s gradually deepening relationship develop from that of an owner and his HIE to that of a partner and trusted ally and seeing them try to overturn the twisted nature of the society that they live in by not just interacting and treating each other as equals but also actively working to realize their shared dream while defying the world was something that I really enjoyed seeing. However, despite the strong story and interesting premise, there were a number of missteps along the way that I felt kept it from getting a higher score and a better opinion among viewers. The most notable of this is the sheer number of recap episodes that existed within the series. For a full season anime like Beatless having 1 or 2 recap episodes is pretty standard and is something that I can accept due to the complexity of animes that have full seasons. However, I feel that having 4 recap episodes some of them taking place pretty soon after the previous one is a bit much and helped contribute to the loss of immersion within the series. Additionally, I felt that some of the characters within the series were really underused and didn’t have clear roles within the series with the best examples being Saturnus despite who being a Lacia class android didn’t get to do much within the series other than act as a maid. As a final score, I would say that Beatless deserves a final score of 7/10. While the premise, story, characters and voice acting were good I felt that this was let down by its unnecessary amount of recap episodes and the number of characters that were underdeveloped within the series. At the same time while i appreciated the fact that the studio persisted in concluding the series with the unprecedented step of splitting the last four episodes from the base series and showing that separately i felt that this could have been avoided if there weren't that many recap episodes.