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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Watch | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:832#1552] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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(Watch-/ Avoid+) Here's a series that seemed unsure of itself with what audience it wished to aim for. Melody of Oblivion has storytelling cliches typical of a shounen anime with a "good vs evil" narrative between those with the Melos Warriors and the Monster Union, yet the series dabbles a little too much into dark themes and fan service for a younger audience to be able to connect with it. There's a noticeable mood dissonance with how the story depicts itself as well where it tries playing itself off as a serious title with its storytelling, yet the theatrics of the Monster Union's antics and the mentioned fan service usually make these moments hard to take seriously at points. Not helping matters is that the characters don't have much to show in personality and motives due to the anime's "good vs evil" story mold, as the series is mostly focused on story arcs where Bocca and other Melos Warriors contend with the "Monster Union member of the arc". In addition for a mid-2000s action anime, the animation for this is rather underwhelming with plenty of noticeable animation shortcuts in spite of the decent character and scenery designs. For a title from Gainax, Melody of Oblivion is rather forgettable fare due to its generic storyline and not having a clue what audience it's trying to aim for. Last updated Wednesday, July 11 2018. Created Wednesday, July 11 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Watch | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
 Dreamer
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[series:832#2279] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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This series had real potential but somehow didn't quite make it in the end. However, it had enough in it to keep you watching through the episodes. Art, Animation & Character Designs Artwork was on average. Details were good however, at other times it would seem minimalistic (mainly the backgrounds). Animation on the other hand seemed choppy at times and below par. Character designs were average as well and nothing out of the ordinary. Another thing, a lot of the scenes were surreal.... strange and sometimes silly artwork. Some of the monster designs were just totally lacking in originality but frankly were quite cheezy and childish... given the premise of the plot. Music The soundtrack had some horrible, almost disturbing pieces with hard piano strokes and eerie violen cords during battle scenes and similar. Other times, there would be some nice strings and other instruments. The ED was a nice mellow melody that was actually quite good. Caught my interests at least. Series and Episode Story This series started off slow but gradually built up. But even then, it wasn't really that dramatic or action pact as one might expect given the the type of character our protagonist was... along with his title, "Melos Warrior". For the most part, this whole series was a moderately slow paced anime. When there were battle scenes or dramatic moments, they weren't that grand or dramatic, rather a bit flat and really, monotonous. At times, this series can be confusing. There were a lot of surreal scenes and episodes, some of which just didn't make any sense.... at least to me. I want to say these scenes were ment as symbolisms but it was hard to guess. Nearing the end, it really got surreal and chaotic.... not to mention quite ecchi. Couple gripes: The whole "viva monster union" shout got really old quickly. The second gripe was the drawn out "powering up" of the arrows. By the end of the series, I was left a bit disappointed. The ending wasn't that great, although, there were a few surprises. Also, I still don't get the whole "Melody of Oblivion" thing. Overall, it was mildy entertaining but left me with bunch of questions. It had potential but somewhere along the way, it seemed the writers lost interest themselves. Last updated Saturday, February 13 2010. Created Saturday, February 13 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rent | 8 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
 Silence
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[series:832#2939] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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This is actually the first anime i have watched that is not for little kids (gundam aside) and this is what really got me into watching anime and taking them seriously. First, the downs. Boka's appearance is screwed up. way screwed up. At first I caught episode 3 on tv after being interested in this show's name. The opening music got me really excited (it remains one of my favs even now). after the entire 30 mins i could not decide whether he is a guy or a girl. (maybe i was not used to anime then, but huh?!) His looks are asexual, his voice is asexual, his clothes are asexual. That downgraded art by a lot. Plus that episode was super confusing with dolls walking into a hotel, statues, mist and whatnot and i totally gave up the series then. Later on i watched epi 20. Having decided that Boka is male, i could actually watch this anime, and that episode got me hooked. I then turned back to watch the complete series before the next episode was aired a week later. As said, this series was full of metaphors and symbolisms that just seems to be forced onto the audience. the mythology, the dolls, the dam, the mice. They are down right confusing and i believe that Gainax was trying too hard. Maybe they are trying to create another eva as forbin said. then the story went in cycles of meeting monster fans and beating monster fans. Looking back, i almost could not believe a 24 epi anime could do that. Well, at least we got a better look into the world they live in and how the people feel. According to them, Boka and tone and Koko are the "3 aces", best of the best of the melos warriors. We are just told that and there was absolutely no substantiation. The only other melos warrior we met looked pretty strong... well, an obvious flaw, but something we have to accept. Then, in episode 22 or 23, they were in space about to face a terrible fate, and only boka was sent to survive alone. I simply could not understand why the other stayed. They obviously could have came out, at least most of them. Is this some sort of symbolism? seems too much like a plot device for my liking. ok, now the ups. The music is simply splendid. I loved the ost, the opening and the ending theme. the ost is beautiful, maybe i am partial to violin pieces. This series is one of the rare ones in which i actually notice, remember and like the background pieces while not being too intrusive. This is as good as music comes. The action scenes are pretty cool, and grabbed my attention. (that does not always happen for mecha shows as they do not really appeal to me) Episode 24 (plus a few episode before that) was absolutely wonderful, and in my opinion, what salvaged this entire show. The climax is a classic, resonating in my heart as i watched it. it left a mark on me that i cannot erase. Wonderful music, wonderful narration, wonderful ending. I still wonder if boka was imagining things in the end, or was it real? anyway this series made me fall head over heels in love with anime, and purely enjoyment-wise, one of my favs. Of course objectively the scores are not so good as some of the others i have watched, but i am forever grateful for finding this series. Last updated Thursday, May 20 2010. Created Wednesday, July 09 2008. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buy |
 Forbin
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[series:832#1573] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ok this item from Gainax was great. Right up to episode 20 :) . Then due to Budgetary contraints and just plain laziness it was one big old psycho Job. It's worth a buy up to 20. Then the last disk should be rented. And see this in ENGLISH! The japanese subs were way to hard for me to follow as TONS of mythological info was on it and my brain just shut down. It's easier as English. At least it didn't become another  Kare Kano where everything went to hell. This story finishes but boy is it confusing and really ecchi. (No real nudity but the fanservice near the end is on extreme)Ok I have the English disk of 21-24. OMG This changes my mind! It was very surreal during 21-23 and it does fit in but boy is it very weird. I think Gainax was trying for another EVA here, and JC Staff went wacko with all the breast bounces. Still it's worth a buy and it gives a ton of insight into human nature. Last updated Sunday, June 11 2006. Created Monday, August 15 2005. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buy |
 Jan-Chan
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[series:832#967] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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While I am thoroughly enjoying this series, I think that I have given up trying to figure it out at a serious level as it mixes magic, mythology and technology tell a tale of a conflict between humans and an in-human foe. I think that this story might best be considered as an allegory. Allegory = the representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. The 'monsters' are all drawn from western mythology: the ↗Medusa, the Greek god ↗Pan and the Minoan ↗Bull. So if the monsters are inspired by mythical creatures, then the Monster Union are humans into robotic mecha units which they use to threaten their opponents. And Boka's various adventures typically take some two to four episodes to tell, giving a feeling as to the ↗Labors of Hercules. In one chapter, Boko and his thief girlfriend reach an impasse in that a dam has blocked their path. A servant of the Monsters is running a pyramid scheme in which the members of the Monsters Union (monster's human fan club) are lead to believe that they can increase their status with the monsters by making children suffer, and she is using an army of robotic mice collect the tears of their success from all over the world. The villagers of the valley below the dam have the job of counting the unending stream of mice that keep the damn filled to capacity. It is only when the dam is destroyed and the village is flooded, does the road that was hidden by the dam reappear and they are able to continue their travels. (And, yes .. I am over-simplifying the story, partially because it is too abstract and deep to accurately describe, but also as I do not want to spoil the plot.) If things were not odd enough, the last few episodes just sort of jump out there in a weird way - so be prepared for a lot of abstract symbolism. (Mooing cow-girls??) While some might consider this to be a bit of shounen adventure story, I happen to be an avid fan of mythology. The incorporation of these western mythological references pushes the story over the edge and into a fun BUY rating. See the Wikipedia entry for more information about some of the symbolism.
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official (TBS) Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.tbs.co.jp/boukyaku/ |
| Fan Site Image Gallery (all episodes) | http://anime.akichigo.org/melody/1.php |
| English Language Wiki Page | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody_of_Oblivion |
