

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
この醜くも美しい世界
High school student Takeru Takemoto works part time as a (motor)bike courier. During one of his deliveries, he saw a mysterious light passing him and fell into a forest. What he had found was a beautiful girl coming out from a glowing cocoon, calling herself "Hikari." While Takeru was quite embarrassed because of Hikari's nudity, a strange monster suddenly showed up and immediately attacked the two. Both Takeru and Hikari demonstrated the power of their other selves before Takeru had a clue of what's going on. (Source: ANN)
High school student Takeru Takemoto works part time as a (motor)bike courier. During one of his deliveries, he saw a mysterious light passing him and fell into a forest. What he had found was a beautiful girl coming out from a glowing cocoon, calling herself "Hikari." While Takeru was quite embarrassed because of Hikari's nudity, a strange monster suddenly showed up and immediately attacked the two. Both Takeru and Hikari demonstrated the power of their other selves before Takeru had a clue of what's going on. (Source: ANN)
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iamjoe
October 25, 2008
They sure got it right by putting 'ugly' in the title. This marvellous piece of crap is a terrible anime about aliens, boys who love them, and boobage. The story was bad, but who cares? Boobage! The art was poor and looked like it was recycled from the early 90s. But does it matter?? Boobage! Who can remember the sound? There were better things, I think. Boobage! The characters were flat, cliches, and underdeveloped. The boys seemed to be horrible clashes of several bad male characters, and the female characters had no personality and were nothing more than fanservicers. However, there were several pairs of things thegirls had that were developed. Boobage! This was a very bad anime. It was short, but it felt like an eternity that wouldn't end. There was very little that made it salvageable. Maybe the interesting title was the best thing about it. Boobage! Unfabulous. And that goes for the boobage, too.
NotARandomName
April 9, 2008
Supporting
This anime is definitely a gem, but like any gem in the rough, it's not without its flaws. A lot of them, unfortunately. Story The story is quite interesting, and fairly original. The quality of its presentation varies throughout the series, however - foreshadowing, for example, is plentiful and very well intertwined into the story, so that little details that you might notice but not think much of turn out to be intricate plot points later on. On the other hand, there're the cheesy "OMG! The sky is falling!" bits usually associated with fantasy series surfacing all around the second half of the series which definitelyhurts the suspense of disbelief. Another flaw is the climax being stretched into the last 3 episodes which could've easily fit in a single one. Art Not bad, but nothing to write home about. It's detailed and fairly pretty, but the sudden switches from ultra-contrasting (butterfly clouds, Hikari's hair and dreams) to ultra-pale colours (most secondary characters, slice of life sections) that happen every few minutes are annoying. The deformed butterfly logo is a definite plus though - very memorable. Sound The opening/ending songs are quite generic, but the last episode's ED is nice if only for the fact that it's meaningful in the context, which is a rare occurrence in anime. Background audio is hardly noticeable, but it completes the atmosphere well enough so that's good. Characters I'm a bit torn on this point. On one hand, the four main characters are very likeable and by the end I definitely cared about their fate. On the other, however, apart from Akari, all of the characters bring on a sense of deja vu; a reckless protagonist with a funky hairstyle, a troubled past and superpowers - check; a jealous childhood friend - check; a calm and popular big brother - check; a busty foreign drunkard who is actually wise and "cool" - check as well, and those 4 is just the icing. Enjoyment / Overall I've enjoyed the series, personally, but it felt like I had to go through all the silly action segments, plain stupid fan service, boring showcases of jealousy and unfunny jokes to get to the few excellent romantic scenes here and there. On the whole it was worth it, but it could've been much better if they didn't try to put in a little of every genre and concentrated on getting just one or two right.
silvermoonrose
February 27, 2010
This anime sounded promising, the concept of an ugly yet beautiful world where life is cleansed and reborn every so often fascinated me. After a promising start however with a great opening battle with great action, the anime seems to have shifted gears and quickly became a ecchi / school-life, slice of life comedy. Then it sprinkled some "sad, but true" stories of the past. Let's start off with the good. The art is fairly decent. For the most part, colors are nice, and natural features such as the trees and character outlines are quite nice. Hikari's outfit in particular is great. Sound isn't reallynoticeable for me until near the climax, in most cases it was absent at all, which sometimes is a nice change of things. The humor and ecchi was entertaining, I found myself cracking up from time to time. The side characters do a surprisingly good job blending in, almost better than the main roles! My biggest irk with this series was the fact that it starts to become interesting right from the start. Then suddenly, it sidetracks into something different. Only near the end are we reminded of the first episode, and "Oh, by the way, the world is in trouble!" The idea behind evolution and fate is an interesting one, but it's a bit difficult to comprehend and follow. You are left with a lot more questions than answers. The producers kind of through you into it and expect you to eat it all up and nod your head. Some characters are decently developed, while others are flat and stale. Sure it was only 13 episodes, but I've seen animes do better with fewer episodes. I personally am not fond of the guy loves girl concept occurring after only the first episode. There are two sides to the story. Akari's side and Hikari's side. I found Akari's more interesting than Hikari, maybe because Ryo's personality was interesting and mysterious. Takeru on the other hand is a piece of work... The story was rushed and it feels as though we're sidetracked for six entire episodes before things start to get interesting. By then, it's too late to save the show and the ending is predictable. It will please some certainly and like other have said, you could watch the first two episodes and then skip to near the end and not lose site of anything. If you can look past the story and just take it rather lightly and enjoy the humor and cute girls, then you might be alright, but even that gets stale eventually. If I wanted to watch several episodes of filler, I'd watch something else. This anime tries to be too much - an action, school life, ecchi, and romance/drama. My advice is to give it a shot, and if you find yourself not being drawn in, then walk away. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but it fell far short of what I had been expecting it to be.
blank1234567
December 26, 2007
Konomini is sadly that one anime that always seems to be overlooked by bigger, more popular titles. It’s such a shame, because this series is a little jewel. There is something in this anime for everyone. Story: The only reason the story gets a 9 instead of a 10 is because this anime was so short. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy short animes. However, the basic concept had so much depth this series could've easily had 120 episodes instead of 12 without repeating itself at all. One thing this series can be described as is dynamic: shojo, shonen, slice of life and certain elements of thesupernatural are seamlessly interwoven from episode to episode. This change of pace helps keep things fresh. Art: Probably my favourite aspect of the art is Hikari and Akari’s designs. It’s hard to find cuter girls anywhere. It doesn’t stop there, however. If you are able to peel your eyes away from the pretty, pretty characters, you’ll see that the scenery is also rich and detailed, and the brief, but very epic action scenes will knock your breath out. The opening is really nice and the animation is smooth. Sound: What is guaranteed to capture everyone’s attention from the start is the opening theme, Metamorphose. It’s sung by Yoko Takahashi, the same singer who did Cruel Angel’s Thesis in NGE, and is probably the best opening music I have ever heard. With that said, it overshadows the ending theme a little bit, but both are really nice. Granted, the English dub could’ve been a lot better. Takeru and Ryon especially don’t always sound natural, but it’s not bad. Character: I dare you not to fall in love with Hikari or Akari. I DARE you. You will fail. As the series nears the conclusion you’ll find yourself caring about the characters a lot – and even sympathizing with some of the more annoying ones. (Cough – Mari, cough.) Not to mention, there is also a great variety of characters with different designs or personalities, so you can definitely find one to fall in love with. Enjoyment: I think this is probably one of the most entertaining animes I have ever seen. It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s got action, fanservice, relationships, you name it. Given that each episode gives off an almost completely different vibe it’s really hard to be bored or not amused by this at any given time. Overall It’s safe to say that if you like anime, period, you’ll like Konomini as well. If you’re looking for a short series to watch or are a fan of Gainax you should this a try – you won’t be disappointed.
Darreal
November 23, 2007
Being a major fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I'm going to say this with some limitations in mind. I consider this series to be on par with NGE. Mind you I never thought I would ever make a statement quite like that, but that is why I try everything and anything when it comes to anime - more often than not it tends to catch me off guard when I least expect it. This series has an interesting concept, which unfolds itself after a decent bit of foreshadowing. The story itself has a somewhat predictable ending, in my opinion, but it finishes quite well. Art-wise, I think presentlythat most of the prolific stuff is coming out of Kyoto and Artland, with Melancholy/Luck Star and Mushishi, respectively. While it didn't blow me away it didn't take away from the series itself, which is the main reason I gave it the score I did. Music: Personally I think it has one of the best opening songs in quite a while, with the simple music carrying the words rather nicely. The insert music has a habit of blending in with the dialog, which is a plus in my book. At the end of the series I really cared about the characters - a lot. On top of that there was a lot more main characters involved, unlike NGE, but it did not get bogged down. Obviously I found it entertaining, but if I would really have to classify it it would be Evangelion's drama mixed with Furi Kuri's humor, then some relationships development tossed in for good measure. All the same it was balanced rather well. In general I would recommend this anime to pretty much anyone, especially someone just interested in the genre but not really well versed in it. Admittedly I was quite surprised to see that there were so few people that had actually listed it under their anime list, especially given that it is a GAINAX, and I think it is being overlooked by too many viewers.
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Members
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Episodes
12