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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:2459#1552] |
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(Watched 3 episodes, 2 years ago) The past few seasons of Noitamina titles seem to have a trend going on: have one title down-to-earth with its storyline offering good quality plotting and characterization within its 11 episode length (Hourou Musuko and Ano Hana) while the other title features a grand-scale plot which while slick in presentation, has too much within its series to properly convey a well laid-out plot that explores its world due to limited episode count (Fractale and C). The Summer 2011 season continues the trend with the grand-scale plot series coming in the form of No. 6. The series appears to be portraying a dystopian society where the desirable people within its populace are nurtured and intentionally left in the dark about the true reality of the world around them. Shion finds himself becoming aware of this reality as he interacts with the mysterious rogue known as Nezumi which costs the former his desirable status in the said mentioned society. The pacing to this series is already looking fairly rushed as time already skips ahead several years following the first episode and the pace in which Shion flees from the city he lived in gives you little breathing room to get any sense of the world within and outside the city Shion had lived in. Thus far, I get the feel this is turning out to be a cookie-cutter dystopian title in the same vain as Fractale yet with a darker and rougher edge to it. Like Fractale and C, the visuals thus far are of great quality with clean details and subdued color shades to convey the dark mood the series gives off. While action hasn't been so prominent thus far, the show does have its moments of fluid animation seen from Nezumi dealing with the Men in Black as he gets Shion out of the city. With how No. 6 has turned out thus far, I'm not too confident in saying I'll get any anticipation out of seeing what happens next with Shion and Nezumi in this anime if this series is geared only for an 11-episode run limiting the amount of time the series can put into exploring its elements. I'm dropping this series without a final review and hoping that Noitamina can cut it with this routine of offering one down-to-earth series that works well within its episode count and another that has too much to squeeze into 11 episodes. (All episodes watched, as of now) After having watched through this series in its entirety, I'll have to say it has its ups and downs. However, I wouldn't find the show's pacing to be of any issue as the series is fairly fast-paced, but still devotes enough focus on the characters and the issues surrounding No. 6. The major element of the series that is quite engaging throughout the title's run comes in the form of the developing bond between Shion and Nezumi. Both boys come from different walks of life and have their differing thoughts on living as Shion's interactions with Nezumi lead him into exile from society and putting his life at risk. Despite their contrasting views and personalities, the two come to genuinely care for one another throughout the span of the show despite the dangers and conflicting views they have on their situation. While Nezumi's origins are a mystery for much of the show's first half, his reasons for hating No. 6 are revealed during the second half. The mystery surrounding No. 6, on the other hand, is a mixed bag. The first half of the series provides solid buildup and intrigue surrounding what secrets the higher-ups of the city over mysterious events like disappearances and a plague of death affecting random residents of the city. However, what is ultimately revealed about the city's secrets in the second half are rather disappointing and shallow, following a black and white moral approach and having a particular theme, which I won't spoil due to its major impact on the overall story, that is rather hypocritical and shallow with how it is executed. Ultimately, Shion and Nezumi's developments are the major hook that kept No. 6 engaging for me throughout its run as it otherwise went into some rather disappointing developments with what is revealed about the city's secrets. It's a decent watch, but far from being one that sticks out greatly since it dips into cliched territory to a good extent beyond its focus on Nezumi and Shion. Last updated Monday, August 05 2013. Created Saturday, July 30 2011. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:2459#628] | ||||||
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(Two episodes watched): The one thing which most strikes me about No.6 is that at the end of the first episode we've met the principal characters, we've been introduced to a post-apocalyptic near utopian society, it has been implied that the society has some dark secrets--but basically the story has yet to take off. There has been lots of setting the stage, but the play itself has barely begun. No explanation of why the privledged boy Shion has warmed up to his mysterious visitor, 'Mouse' has come forward (you would think he would call the police), nor any evidence of wrongdoing, nor has Mouse made any serious accusations. I'll keep watching, but I am a little frustrated, and whether this show will be good or not remains to be seen. At the end of the second episode, there have been lots of fancy tricks--martial arts, a car chase, something gross--but still not much of a story. This series just seems two dimensional to me. Clearly the government people are the bad guys (they are just evil, don't ask why), and that makes Shion and Mouse good, right? Apparently Mouse's 'mysterious' aura is supposed to thrill us. The BG music seems mediocre, and it has to be pretty poor for even me to notice the problem. I can't help vaguely feeling that this show is patronizing me, and expects me to be 'wowed' by a thoroughly unexceptional product. No.6 seems kind of boring, in fact, since there has still been little explanation of what's going on. This just feels like the usual everything-you-took-for-granted-has-been-a-deception sci-fi plot. But the truth doesn't seem all that interesting, either. Last updated Tuesday, July 19 2011. Created Sunday, July 10 2011. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Japanese No. 6 Series Web Site | http://www.no-6.jp/ |
