Gin no Guardian

My first review... Beginning of the show started out strong (first couple episodes) and showed some promise. The shorter episodes left a bitter taste. I didn't even know anime episodes could be this short. Story line jumped all over the place and was full of holes not to mention continuously adding new characters out of no where. I'd like to know how if the new game just started and Suigin was the first to get the console/game how he could be the most amateur/newb out there with no knowledge of this game compared to everyone around him...like wtf. Not to mention he started outOP and competent and now is just a floppy wet lame towel. With so many flaws and holes in this anime at least it has some good potential, perhaps the creator can acknowledge the failures and improve upon them. Honestly there is no where to go but up.

STORY: 6/10 CHARACTER: 5/10 ART: 9/10 SOUND: 9/10 ENJOYMENT: 8/10 OVERALL: 7/10 ‘Gin no Guardian’ is an anime that resorts to ‘Not overexerting itself’, meaning they go ahead with everything they are comfortable with while leaving out the rest for later! The story is a little confusing in the beginning since the show makes a point of jumping around with their narrative. You start at a strange place with the MC, who’s in this ‘Cool and OP’ stage, as he’s wiping out enemies left and right after which the story jumps right back to its opening where the said MC is just another typical student! These ‘Jumps’ aren’t used a lot,but they are pretty jarring! The biggest complain everyone had is the freaking run time of the show, for they are about 13 minutes long including both the OP and ED! Yeah, I am not kidding! This leads to the anime trying to cramp so much due to its short run time, thus resulting to a very rushed and incomplete experience! By not taking time with their content or their characters, it’s hard to care or emotionally attach to something. Sadly, even the plot isn’t particularly unique, so it becomes that much difficult for the anime to make any kind of impact! You have your archetypal ‘Game’ genre situation where the MC is somehow stuck inside a game and must survive by playing as a guardian in order to save the world and the girl of his dreams. Suigin (MC) is your plain looking, basic student who’s enrolled into an expensive school and makes ends meet by doing multiple jobs. Nothing about him really stands out whether it’s his expressions or his hairstyle, though his red scarf becomes very interesting once it’s seen in action despite the fact it is very distracting at first! The other main character, Rei, is even more generic and cliched than Suigin because she just happens to be side-lined to the one note role of Girlfriend 101! Literally nothing stood out about her! Her display of emotions, personality and expressions were all standard which is sad since she’s the other main romantic lead. I mean you are told great things about her, like how’s she so and so but we never actually see it to believe any of it! And how can you when they have less than 13 mins to demonstrate everything! And I guess the cat is cute so it has that thing going for it. The art style is very bland and boring with nothing striking, whether it’s the background settings or the character designs. But the animation is a whole new story! I liked the depiction of his scarf even though it doesn’t suit with Suigin’s overall getup. But I liked how it changes colour based on Suigin’s emotions. And if this show succeeds anywhere, it’s the way the action scenes are illustrated! The latter part of those fights is pretty good but the opening battle with that army is simply Spectacular! Despite its use of 3D in the opening, I was blown away by it! You never got that lagging effect, rather the 2D was perfectly incorporated with the 3D which resulted into one smooth Badass fight as Suigin goes dashing into the Army of Skeleton! The OST is another achievement worth mentioning, especially the ED, which was simply Amazing! It’s not just another great music set piece, Nope! It also perfectly sings the overall main arc of the anime’s story! Yes, you heard it right because it harmonizes about the dream and struggle of romance for the characters of this show! The short yet epic battle at the beginning get your hopes up into believing this will be an exciting anime, unfortunately it never manages to surprise you like that again! The common complain are the short length of episodes which really sucks but what I found frustrating was the direction of the story! It seems to move in one track at first but then suddenly changes course towards the end. Initially the story’s about Suigin and Rei finding each other in real life and a start for romance but then the last few episodes introduce a whole lot of new plotlines and characters which I found annoying. I understand they need to set up for the next season and further expand on the story but with such short episodes, I kinda wanted more closure. The other thing I would like to mention is the unfair kind of reaction this anime is receiving because it seems like people had insane expectations which the anime couldn’t deliver! Totally fair since the 1st episode almost blows you away with how good it is. But in my defence, it also becomes quickly apparent the rest of the anime won’t be following the same route, so people should really tone down your optimisms as well, after all the episodes are only 13 mins long! Since this is made by a Chinese company, I am willing to ignore its faults for now, but they better make big changes for the next season because now they have our feedback of what we liked and what we didn’t like! In the end, I liked the simplistic approach towards ‘Gin no Guardian’ and despite its flaws, I am willing to encourage others to give it a try!

STORY: First, it takes place in another world where it contains an explosion and fleet of monsters are battling against Riku Suigin. There is also a flashback on how Suigin & Rei met one year ago. In the anime, you can also see Suigin working in multiple part-time jobs in order to be enrolled in his school. There is also another side to him where he is playing an online PC game called Dungeon Century during his free time. Things become more interesting once the gaming company announced the game will shut down. It became Suigin's mission to save Rei from her abductors. Riku Rei:One of the popular girls in school, smart student, her family are part of the God Grave Tech Company and created Dungeon Century & Grave Buster, gamer, kind and has pink hair. Riku Suigin: Gamer, works in multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet, has a cat named Wanchoi. OVERALL: This anime is from the same creators that brought you BLOODIVORES. (Japanese anime with Chinese Influences). First episode doesn't explain a lot. The plot can be quite confusing at times too. Personally, I think the first 5 episodes are fillers. It does have its sweet, romantic moments, and action scenes. The episodes are 13 minutes long for this series.

|| NO SPOILERS|| For the producers: Just adding everything you need for a good anime, doesn't mean YOU CAN SKIP THE ANIME. It had all the potential, art, sound, story,... to be a good anime. Why did you leave so many loose ends? Where did the anime go? It's like your just showcasing ideas for a possible anime. Story: It's a total rip of from Sword Art Online, like totally... The more I think about it the more it resembles it. Also it's way to short and nothing is really explained. There are also real time skips and you really have to watch it in one go becauseit jumps from one scene to another. Art & Sound : It's really good so that's great. Length: Why.. Why! Why 13 min episodes? Who told you that's a good idea D: Character: The main character is okay, I mean he's a little to much of a 'typical hero' but besides that he's ok. Other characters are way to basic, they only seem to have one emotion, or at least that's all we see from them. Overall it's sort of fun to watch, I finished it so... But it's missing a lot so wouldn't recommend it.

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