A review that I
gave the title of:
" From the New Memories"
Anime Score:
Total Score: 82%
TOP 2013 entrance: 5º
All Time Top entrance: 17º
STUDIO – A1 Pictures: 76.55%
Directed by – Masashi
Ishihama
Studio – A1-Pictures
Year – 2013
Season 1 / 25
episodes
Warning this review could contain spoilers!
If the reader wasn't watched this anime,
this could reduce the enjoyment!
For instance Sasuke will kill Naruto in
season finale!
See the danger of a Spoiler? Now this was a
lie, only to show the power of a spoiler!
The reader was been warned!
Loose notes – high
expectation
I follow some
blogs and there is one in particular that each year performs a post about the
best anime of the year (in several categories), this blog is Random
Curiosity!
In past years my
choices generally coincided and it was thanks to their blog that I discovered
the Monogatari
Series. But this year they choose Shin SekaiYori (From the
New World) as best anime versus my own choose, Watamote (see my TOP 2013)
So, as usual, my
expectations were very high because this anime escaped me when I analyzed the
lists of anime for 2013.
The Soundtrack
Shin SekaiYori
surprised me a lot in the opening, because it has none! Abdicating the opening
they gave one-minute more for story (this in 25 episodes results in 25 minutes,
which mean an extra episode).
On the other hand,
they produced two endings. The first one much better than the second (I start
to think it's tradition I like more the first song of each anime :P)!
(Shin Sekai Yori – first ending)
An ending that I
enjoy, what is very rare! In 2013's animes only Danganronpa manage to do that (2 good endings in 20 anime seen).
This ending really
reflects the very dark elements that there are in Shin SekaiYori and it’s a
nice way “to cut” the climax of the episode.
Analysis
Before you decide
to watch Shin SekaiYori (case you haven’t seen it yet) you need to be prepared.
The score that I gave it is probably a little lower that it should be. Because
I watched 2 or 3 episodes very late after work and I wasn’t in a very good
mental shape!
To understand the
complex world of Shin SekaiYori you need to think and be prepared to his awful
time transitions!
This anime have a
concept which generally is not used. The concept I'm talking about is
character's evolution through time. If my memory is right, I only saw two anime
who use that concept: Dragon Ball (through several seasons) and Naruto (only a
two years leap).
In Shin SekaiYori
we are invited to follow the life of Saki Watananbe and her friends (Saturo,
Maria, Shun, Mamoru and Reiko) from her childhood to adulthood (12, 14 & 26
years old).
(Shin Sekai Yori – Saki’s evolution)
A-1 Pictures
present a very ingenious plot divided in three arcs corresponding to the different
stages of character’s evolutions, so:
It’s not
surprising that the arcs are basically:
· The World
Presentation (age 12)
· · Important rules
(age 14)
· · Total War, one of
the best arcs I ever saw! (age 26)
But not everything
is perfect in this anime, with a complex plot is odd for me to see a poor
animation (still way better than Aku no Hanna) even more by A1-Pictures (Working, Fairy Tail, Sword Art online, etc…),
from the powerful humans to the monster rats everything seems unfinished.
The problem of
poor drawing follows the entire anime from the monster rats and humans to some
mutant’s monsters that randomly appear in the anime.
(Shin Sekai Yori – Saturo (on left) – Squealer (center) – Saki (right))
Taking the expression one picture is worth a thousand words, bellow
there is an image of a scary monster from Shin SekaiYori world!
Shin Sekai Yori – another scary monster!
This anime proves
that is not need fan service to be successful, Shin Sekai Yori addresses several
controversial topics:
· Human Stupidity
· Human arrogance
· Homosexuality
(this was only one episode to show the contrast of the civilization with strict
rules for one thing and total freedom to others)
·
Humans ability to
bypass rules
· Human Stupidity (I
know that is repeated, but I agree, Humans are STUPID!)
(Shin Sekai Yori – The Love between Maria and Saki)
This anime had a serious
problem in the transitions, there are moments that the climax of the previous
episode disappears without any apparent logic. They explain (later) what
happened and why they do it like that, but it’s a very risky move, because
people stay in complete confusion (that could lead to a dropout).
Sincerely I stayed so confused
that several times I had to check if I was watching the correct episode or if I
was watching something out of order. The major problem in this is that it’s
only explained in the very end of the anime, as I write before this is a major
risk who can lead to people to give up of a good anime!
This is an anime that is worth
to see even the boring scenes (this is subjective, I enjoyed but I accept that
some people can consider them boring). The two first arcs are completely
overcompensate by the third arc!
But to fully enjoy the third
arc you need to know and understand three rules:
· Karmic Demons
(Shin Sekai Yori – Shun transformation in a Karmic Demon)
When you know what previous topics mean, you ready to an arc that can compete
with Death Note (In my opinion of course)
To avoid an unnecessary spoiler of the third arc I am not going to write
many thing but is mandatory that I refer some!
The third arc is an arc where all the human characteristics of fear,
arrogance, stupidity, superiority, despair are show in a perfect level, if the
animation was good this anime would be perfect.
This anime left me undecided about whom to support (my decisions are
generally different of common sense). Until now there was only one anime who
managed to do that (Death Note)!
In Shin Sekai Yori all hell broke loose in the final arc. A total war
between several factions, which result in an unlikely hero (for me, villain or
terrorist for others) and that hero is called “el comandante” Squealer!
(Shin Sekai Yori – Squealer the Liberator!)
And if I need to give a name to the final arc it will be:
“We Are Humans”
Warning: MAJOR SPOILING in the next PARAGRAPHS!
Why this title? Because of the Squealer's statement! (a statement later
corroborated by Saturo).
And why Squealer make that statement? Because Saturo found out (illegally)
that the Monster Rats's genes had a human chromosome. Basically, humans
with powers, to overcome their limitation of "death by shame",
mutated an entire race, originating the Monster Rats.
By controlling the Monster Rats, they can rule the "normal humans". and prevent rebellions which could result in their own deaths.
This also explains the disappearance (death) of powerless children! Because this way there is no one able to challenge their leadership (or so they think...)
Final Thoughts
This is an anime
that you love it or hate it! It had a great plot and some great moments,
moments that transcend the crappy animation presented!
This show makes us
think, it reflects much of true reality, but unfortunately A-1 Pictures studio
presented the anime, in my opinion, as an experiment project!
Future Seasons !?
There are content
to a second season, but sincerely I don’t believe that they will make it.
Questions like
“What is the future of this civilization?”, “why the death sentence to Mamoru?”
and “can Saki change the society?” will never be answered without a second
season.
And why only the
weak are target by the committee? The Ogre explanation is not a reason. It
appeared to me that it could be any person, independently of their level of
power, that could turn into a despicable Ogre. This question also is not going
to be answered!
And in a very rare
thought by me, I prefer instead of a second season a decent remake and a better
animation for this show, because it deserves and if they do it, this anime
probably will enter in top 5!
*Watched by me in 2014 – originally released in 2013
