No.6: Masterpiece of a dystopian anime

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on August 10, 2012 at 7:24 AM

So I doubt anyone's still confused, but the anime in its whole can be found here: http://anime-access.com/anime/N/No._6_%28TV%29 .

Review!!

Story: First to note would be its depth. Despite the shortness, it touches upon a bunch of themes; and it's not only the typical "importance of friendship" thing, but this anime also e.g. provides a look into life, society, and what happens if you question or don't question it. That's only a glimpse, but this review would get twice as long if I were to list all its themes (barely exaggerating!).

Besides that, the plot line is well thought-out, starting off with a lot of suspense (like any mystery), providing a few plot twists and surprises throughout as "puzzle pieces" are gathered that in the end solve the whole mystery, and ending without plot holes or too many questions left open. For a series of eleven eps, "No. 6" is fast-paced, but not rushed, and draws the watcher in well with a mixture of suspense and relatable emotion. The background is a very serious setup though - not depressing, but nothing to expect comedy of. This series is full of words of distrust and sarcasm (granted, the latter which I love it for ^^°). It's mostly dystopia see sci-fi with postapocalyptic feel to it, mystery, suspense, friendship, some action although it doesn't rely heavily on fights, and a sense of slice of life.

Characters: Well thought-out, quite unique, and realistic with great dynamics and development given the shortness of the whole series. Despite the fact that most of the characters are full of distrust for each other as everyone merely struggles for their own survival, sympathising with them is easy, and some characters do open up throughout the story. Don't let the protagonist drive you away; he seems like a typical wimp at first, but believe me, he does change... pretty quickly so.

Dialogue: Fluid and realistic, although it gives off a certain BL impression in some scenes. If you're tolerant towards that or think you can get over it, though, the dialogue is generally easy to appreciate. The seiyuus do a brilliant job, capturing the charas' personalities and emotions very well.

Animation: Absolute top-notch, with beautiful character and scenery design (well... as far as "beautiful" is appropriate for that kind of environment). Sharp and detailed artwork with vivid colours; fluid action scenes; and the artist isn't afraid to show blood and destruction, which I personally highly appreciate. Excellently done and quite touching music as well.

Entertainment: Not much comedy, but the mystery/suspense factor is sure to leave the viewer on edge. I might have to issue a 'warning': there is a touch of boys' love. This is definitely no romance anime, seeing as it's rather subtle and can easily be interpreted as deep friendship, but if you can't stand content of that matter at all, you might not be comfortable with the atmosphere or dialogue in some scenes. Still, anyone who likes a well-plotted and complex dystopia/post-apocalyptic mystery-friendship anime, as long as you don't mind a tiny touch of boys' love, look no further.

Full review (which basically says the same though) here - http://anime-access.com/anime/N/No._6_%28TV%29/reviews/id/18395#review
Full anime here - http://anime-access.com/anime/N/No._6_%28TV%29 .

Thank you for reading. ^_^