God Eater

God Eater is like spoiled milk. It doesn't get any better with age. Now that this show is over, we can all breathe a sigh of relief when we clean that proverbial spot out of the refrigerator (our anime lists) that the fermenting cow squeezins are in the trash, and gone far far away from us. At this point in time, I think most people have blissfully forgotten about God Eater, so I'm going to dig this rotting corpse up out of its shallow grave and run it over with a dumptruck again. You tell me what's worse: a ripoff of an classic, or aripoff of an extremely successful ripoff of an old classic? I'll tell you what's worst still: a terrible ripoff of a ripoff of an old classic that shamelessly TRIES to be something new, but sticks to the conventions of its hack fraud origins, to its own failure. That's what we call God Eater. Seriously, this show is so bad that they halted it halfway through its run due to internal issues and poor reception- the rest aired more than 6 months later to a quiet death. I doubt anyone watched it then, either. Maybe besides me. Artwork and Animation: 7 I think most people (myself included) started this show because of interest in the company that produced it: ufotable. They're pretty well synonymous with "maximal animation budget", but Fate this is not. I do have to hand it to them for being different though. The art style looks like oil on canvas, then on top of very stylized and crisp backgrounds. Kind of like David Production's Jojo, but less comic book-like. A lot of people were expecting a Fate UBW level/ultrarealism looking, and were disappointed, but I was impressed with their choice to do something different. However... this is the only strength of the show. Sound and Voice Acting: 1 These cast members should be straight ashamed of themselves. Talk about phoning it in... this is a Central Park Media level BAD performance. Ultra generic angsty teen yelling and the absolute most bored sounding adults permeate this trash. In fact, it would have been better as a silent series, because then I wouldn't feel like my ear drums were being put into a wood chipper. Either that, or just play the Benny Hill Theme throughout the entire show, to accentuate how stupid it is. Story: -10 Anyone with two brain cells to rub together can tell you that God Eater is copying Attack On Titan. If I tell you "humanity lives inside a city with very tall walls, and are constantly under attack by monsters. They're defended by a group of people who aren't equipped to fight this massive threat. They suffer loss after loss, a lot of people die, and it seems hopeless, until a hero with new powers emerges and is able to fight back." What do you immediately think of? Moving on. Now that the show is actually complete- here's what happens: Nothing. It's nothing a but a mindless action vomit featuring overpowered, but conveniently weak at inopportune moments characters falling into the same traps every single episode. The "story" just serves as an excuse to put tits and teen angst on display with comically superpowered characters.This is undiluted, brainless schlock and nothing more. Characters: 1 Standard issue whiny, angst ridden, shonen protag and oversexualized Female companion who suffers mental breakdowns for half the show and turns into a sniveling pile of useless crap, and should have just died, but alas, twas not to be. The supporting cast is a ragtag group of apathetic losers. One super cool dude who smokes in every scene, because he has to show you how little he cares by smoking all the time, as everyone knows smoker characters are apathetic edgemasters. One is a "dark mysterious edgy past" character, and the other is total yawner of a woman, not even interesting enough for me to make a description of how boring she is. Enjoyment and Overall: 3 Since I gave the story a -10, the actual score is 0.6. Scoring it as low as possible with a 1 gives me a rating of 3. This show was actively offensive on many levels. The one scene I can clearly recall from the show, as I've scrubbed the rest of them from my memory, went like this: Protag and useless blubbering female go running around in circles trying to evade the monsters after they lose their weapons, since the chick decided to break down in the middle of a fight and refuse to keep living (should have left her to get eaten, tbh.). They are shown in a montage literally running up and down hills and around buildings, with this ultra dramatic music in the background. It was the most cringeworthy thing I have seen in a long time, and the only reason why anything about this show was memorable, just for how bad this was. I would encourage everyone who knows what I'm talking about to go back and mute the episode at that point, then play the Benny Hill theme on top of it and tell me it doesn't match up perfectly. For those who'd argue about my claim of Attack on Titan coming first: It's debatable which actually came first, God Eater Burst, the video game on which this anime was based, or Attack on Titan, as both came out at around the same time. AOT premiered in September of 2009, and God Eater Burst appeared in February of 2010. Naturally, games have development periods of generally at least a year, but novels and series have to have time to be written as well. But, we're going to call this anime a rip, because AOT came out 3 years ago, and this is 2016, Bob Saget! As always, come rage at me, or leave nice comments. I don't care.

Ever wanted to go to an anime fantasy world and see what it’s like? Maybe that thought should be put on-hold for a show like God Eater. In this series, it’s a world that most people probably wouldn’t want to visit. Why? Because it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where mysterious monsters known as the Aragami exists and they aren’t exactly there to make friends with humans. Based on a video game, God Eater strikes to me as a peculiar series that really needed to hook the audience. The type of hook should be something that would keep the audience at the edge oftheir seat. But what does it really accomplish? A rather messy start that doesn’t exactly leave strong impressions. In essence, God Eater (based on the game, God Eater Burst) is more about the action and less about constructive storytelling on most parts. Consisting of 13 episodes, the series seemingly has promise in the beginning. Despite not being very original in its premise, it still has a way to be unique. In the beginning, we have Utsugi Lenka, a man who is part of the Fenrir, a group dedicated to fighting the Aragami. Among his group, there are also others with reasons to fight beyond just survival. Furthermore, the show makes it clear that in order to fight against Aragami, they would need special weapons. As such, God Arcs are created that are made from the cells of the Aragami. They are weapons, each unique in design and powers, to fight against them. Basically, this sets the story in motion with the war between humans and Aragami. Now, God Eater’s characters are somewhat diverse. We got guys like Lindow who has leadership skills, Alisha with her repulsive yet secluded nature, the brains of the team like Sakuya, or powerhouse fighter Souma Schickal. Whatever the case, the main characters are all banded together with a common purpose – to destroy the Aragami. What some people may not realize is why they are fighting until the story unravels more about more about their past. And to be quite honest, it’s not really that special to look at. Or rather, it’s tragic with cases like Lenka and Alisha. So much so, the show often highlights their emotions on the battlefield when confronted with Aragami. Does this type of storytelling really work? In some ways yes, but other ways feels less welcoming. It also gives a very Attack on Titanish feel if you make a parallel comparison. But God Eater isn’t Attack on Titan. It’s more about surviving because the Aragami has already destroyed much of the world. I have not played the original game before but the story to me feels flat. Yes, it does have some nice buildup but the pacing itself feels strange. The Aragami are also too one dimensional as antagonists with lack of characterization. The main characters and their relationships are hardly worth noteworthy either. Lenka is the type of guy that seems to do what he wants even if it puts himself or others at risk. The first few episodes establishes this when he nearly gets himself killed. Throughout the show, Lenka forges some relationships with others but most of them seems to go nowhere. His relationship with Alisha seems rocky while on a professional level, Sakuya and Lindow seems to see him more like a rookie. His relationship with others does improve a bit later though. In the meantime, the series also makes it clear that there’s no room for lighthearted episodes. It’s filled with utter despair and as such, expect more of emotional drama more than anything else. Romance isn’t something that will ever bloom either considering circumstances in their world. Instead, it feels like the main cast are more like an awkward family that slowly and slowly feels a connection with one another. Despite the generic storytelling, God Eater does a decent job to make sure crucial plot holes are filled. These include the essence of the Aragami, the experimental plans from behind the scenes, or character pasts that shapes who they are in the present. Furthermore, the show has some pretty neat action combined with a stellar soundtrack. It makes the show feel credible when we see how they fight the Aragami in this apocalyptic world, a place that seems to be almost extinct of life. The world fiction in God Eater may also not feel very intriguing but it stays true to the premise, being that it’s desolate and easily gives the feel of a moody story. The technical art style of God Eater is very ufotable-like with their style. Most of the character designs and Aragami are crafted with CGI animation. In addition, the action is fused with a lot of violence to illustrate the dark horrors of their world. However, I do have to say that it’s easy to get used to. Furthermore, the God Arcs has a distinctive look that makes them look diverse. In essence, artwork for God Eater has an intense feel to it. Soundtrack is even more intense once you get attached to the style of this God Eater adaptation. Theme song performances has a variety of style that blends between moody, charismatic, and intensified by the action. Furthermore, I think the character voice mannerism deserves some praise especially with how they adapt with such a tragic world. In retrospect, characters shows the desire of their fighting spirit through their voice mannerism in the face of danger. Or at times, there’s also fear that is expressed by the talent of the voices. God Eater is really a hit or miss show. It starts off with the tragic feeling of a dark story, transits into the fight for survival, and then littered with emotions. The show capitalizes on creating a tragic feel by background storytelling and some characterization. But for all it’s worth, the show itself feels more like a game rather than anime. The action, while stellar, is mere popcorn entertainment. Furthermore, the series constructs its story with weird pacing. So in retrospect, take the show as a grain of salt for what it is. Because in the end, God Eater isn’t that special.

*SOME SPOILERS FOR GOD EATER* Whew. I'm glad I wasn't there during the massive delays... Ah, God Eater. An anime adaptation of a video game. I haven't played the game, but from what I've gathered, it didn't recover much criticism in terms of being an adaptation as much as being a story. Ufotable's attempt at a 3D mixed with 2D action anime, and an interesting beast (intentional joke) if I do say so myself. What originally started back in the Summer of 2015 kept getting delays that lasted until episode 9 in the Fall season, before announcing a delay so big, it only finished airing this season(Spring 2016). Well, was it worth the delay, or did it get devoured by the fangs of failure? Let's find out, shall we? STORY: 5/10 An unspecifically long time ago, three scientists discovered a type of cell that caused small phenomena. Soon, an outbreak would occur involving new beasts seemingly intent on wiping out mankind, nature, and effectively, all known life, before eliminating itself and Earth, causing everything to reset. A few years later, after some backstory, Lenka arrives at Fenrir as a God Eater. A person filled with genes that allow usage of living weapons designed to counter this new species knows as the Aragami. These God Eaters are trained to venture out into the outer territories of the wall (and outside maybe) in order to counter these invading threats that bring mankind to near extinction. If this sounds similar to Attack on Titan, then good. You've caught on. Also, I like how they try to interweave the present to the past that gets relevant to the situations at hand, even if there are some notable problems regarding the sanity of Fenrir despite them normally being portrayed as solace only the gifted are allowed to make it into. Also, I like how they portray how harsh the reality of only certain types of individuals being able for combat aka a decent mean of living and survival as intermission between fights can be. Unfortunately, towards the end, they try to amp up the weapons in ridiculous fashion and handwave why they should, only to fail at making a compelling finale, and when the true antagonists get revealed, they lack a decent motivation for their messed up plans. The story is nothing special, but with the final episode, the scenarios that should've killed the main protagonist but somehow didn't, how certain things involving the weapons were allowed to happen starting with episode 7, and how little finality the ending had by only resolving one minor issue and completely sequel baiting with nothing to get truly hyped about, the story doesn't hold up all that well, like at all. Plus, there were at least two moments where the main lead should've died or at least have been rendered useless for a long period of time, but somehow were toughed out simply due to him being a main lead. CHARACTERS: 6/10 Leanka is a decent protagonist with a level headed, kind yet somewhat reckless, and kill them all/protect everyone mentality. Unfortunately, the show DOES put him in situations where he either should have died, or shouldn't have had much repercussion. His backstory wasn't all that impressive aside from the last 4 minutes of it, and he never really develops. Nobody does. With such a short runtime, we can only flesh some of them out, like with Alisa and her traumatizing backstory and Soma with his sad and honestly unfortunate life, even if both of them start off unkind. The other God Eaters are handled alright, even without being fleshed out or developed much. The researchers were nicely done, up until we realize that one of them, namely Johannes, is the true antagonist of the series with no good reason. Even still, our God Eaters were overall pleasant, like with Alisa's past catching up to her in brutally realistic fashion, or Rindou being a charismatic and badass leader with a good eye for suspicion and a positive effect on Leanka's backstory at one point. Basically, they're all underdeveloped but all around, relatively decent. ART: 8/10 The artstyle Ufotable did was exemplary given the unique artstyle, even with some minor oddities here and there. The artstyle for the characters, backgrounds, God Arc weapons, and attacks are incredible, especially given the fact that they are different that Uoftable normally does with say, the Fate/ series. The weapons look pretty slick though. Most of the fights were well done too, even if the final fight and one of the moments in episode 3 got incomprehensible at points. Unfortunately, the Aragami end up holding it back from a high 9 or low 10. These monsters were entirely CG and they weren't integrated all that well. Some of the designs are downright terrible. Who thought that a mutated Jango Fett's Slave 1 was a good idea? It's a shame that they weren't as good as everything else in the show's art department, since that aside, this series looks exceptional. SOUND: 7/10* *SUBJECT TO CHANGE IF A DUB COMES OUT* The OP is rather cool and fitting for such a harsh world like God Eater. It's definitely a rockin' and catchy track too. The ED, I'd rather plain and weak. The track called Human After All by GHOST ORACLE DRIVE is a nice emotional piece, even if it is the only track in God Eater that's truly worth remembering. A lot of songs were done with auto tune vocalist, and don't really stand out or sound that good to be honest. Auto tune isn't one type of music I enjoy, with a few exceptions, like say, Paresyte OP. The rest of the OST was merely decent as well. ENJOYMENT: 7/10 This may not have been a truly great or spectacular series, but it was an enjoyable one nonetheless. The action was mostly solid, and the visuals of the characters and weapons were a big factor in that. The last 4 moments of episode 10 aka the end of Leanka's backstory mixed with a good montage of inspiration for his confirmation of his decision, were also satisfying. Overall, I found it to be a solidly fun time, and the first two episodes in particular made me have some good hope for the series, even if it didn't entirely fulfill them. OVERALL: 6/10 RAW SCORE: 64/100 Overall, God Eater was a decent action show with a nice artstyle, some ok leads, and some nice moments of somberness and fleshing out. However, the CG usage for the Aragami, and the final episode, as well as the other problems mentioned above, cut it far too short of being all that good. If you want some decent action with a sleek art style and don't require a whole lot else, then this is a great show for you. However, for those who want that extra mile, this may not be all that satisfying. With that said, I bid you adieu.

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