Reviews for Date a Live (5.39)
Zaku88
Furukawa Hideki
Ishino Satoshi
Morishima Noriko
Motonaga Keitarou
Sawada Jouji
Watanabe Motoko
Towards the end of each season, I sit at a desk and meticulously pick out shows from the upcoming season that I believe have potential. Date a Live caught my attention as the premise showed ...
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21.07.2013 23:05 - direct link
(rs9085)
Towards the end of each season, I sit at a desk and meticulously pick out shows from the upcoming season that I believe have potential. Date a Live caught my attention as the premise showed similarities to semi-serious relationship-based shows such as Shana. Unfortunately, this turned out to be yet another (date X or Y will happen)^n, thus extending my streak of bad calls. The show is heavily action based in a similar manner to Majikoi and Maken-ki, while sharing the stupid, hilariously unrealistic vibe found in Ben-tou. If these titles pique your interest, then by all means pick up this show. Otherwise, try out the first five minutes of the first episode as that will give you a fair sampler of what's to come.
Animation:
There's not much to complain about in this department. The series is on par with the competition with good coloring and nice shading. The background could be a bit more detailed at times but looks good overall. Character designs are decent and facial expressions are believable enough. If there's anything to complain about, it's Kurumi's awkward positions and Engrish when using her attacks.
This show is a fan-service based harem, and it lets you know right off the bat with ample shots up Kotori's skirt. Expect barely clad females, accidental fondling, and similar shenanigans throughout the show. The protagonist's special ability is his kiss, so expect a few pecks as well. This show is also heavy on the action. Expect a lot of fights, special effects, an Excalibur clone, and some blood. Don't expect exceptional choreography though the effects are pretty good overall. I'm really not sure how the Japanese government manages to cover up (or even afford) all the battle scars.
Sound:
The serious tonality of the beginning of the OP is outright hilarious considering the actual tonality in the show. Otherwise, it's a meh melody with nice pad instruments in the background. The show has multiple EDs, which are all different in mood and all fairly good. Expect decent to good BGM, I personally like some of the heroine's themes.
The VA cast is probably one of the reasons why I picked up this show, with Marina Inoue as Touka. Surprisingly, we also get Takehito Koyasu, though seeing him in such a demeaning role is a bit of a shame.
Story:
The introduction on the main page sums up the beginning of the show quite well. Our protagonist finds himself in the middle of a battlefield with an instant girlfriend (girl-spirit-friend) and has to fend off some Strike Witches clones including a classmate, who happens to have a crush on him. The world is continuously being sieged by spirits, who have no common sense or really any knowledge of the world that they are destroying at will. Shidou finds out from Kotori that in order to save the planet, he has to get better at dating and literally date the spirits, who conveniently are all female, into submission (in a very NON-H way). However, the overall vibe of the show is ruined when you find out that there are many, many spirits to "tame", very similar to the model used in The World God Only Knows.
As you can infer from the above, the story proceeds in an arc based fashion, with a spirit being introduced per arc. The story builds to a ridiculous climax with a spirit's life on the line. It then finishes unresolved with a big banner for the viewer to wait for the upcoming second season.
In addition to countless unanswered questions, the show's plot seems to swerve about unrealistic plot points. Ultimately though, what really kills it is the pacing of the show. Spirits are barely introduced before Shidou miraculously "converts" them. The entire show feels rushed, leaving out a lot of character development and explication. It was neither humorous enough nor believable enough to really engage me.
Character:
There is literally no intelligence (and sometimes not even continuity) in any of the characters here, and it shows with the somewhat random plot progression. One second, Touka will feel jealousy over Shidou working on other girls. The next second, she's apparently fine with it and lends a hand. Likewise, the incredibly well-funded secret support organization around converting the Spirits is led by a fourteen-year-old and supervised by a masochistic lolicon. You'd think they would trust such an important role to more reliable figures...
Calling some of these characters boilerplate would be a euphemism. I'll be completely honest, it's been but a week since I've finished this show and I've already forgotten most of the supporting characters; their presence is just that weak, and their contributions likewise minimal. The very first fundamental criteria to a successful harem is a cast that demonstrates value to the viewer, which this show absolutely lacks. What a shame that yet another interesting concept failed to pan out.
Value:
Some may find this show somewhat entertaining, either from an action or a character-development point of view. Frankly, I've seen much better elsewhere in both categories. Don't be deceived by the lure of an interesting premise, this is just yet another fan-service based filler harem.
Animation:
There's not much to complain about in this department. The series is on par with the competition with good coloring and nice shading. The background could be a bit more detailed at times but looks good overall. Character designs are decent and facial expressions are believable enough. If there's anything to complain about, it's Kurumi's awkward positions and Engrish when using her attacks.
This show is a fan-service based harem, and it lets you know right off the bat with ample shots up Kotori's skirt. Expect barely clad females, accidental fondling, and similar shenanigans throughout the show. The protagonist's special ability is his kiss, so expect a few pecks as well. This show is also heavy on the action. Expect a lot of fights, special effects, an Excalibur clone, and some blood. Don't expect exceptional choreography though the effects are pretty good overall. I'm really not sure how the Japanese government manages to cover up (or even afford) all the battle scars.
Sound:
The serious tonality of the beginning of the OP is outright hilarious considering the actual tonality in the show. Otherwise, it's a meh melody with nice pad instruments in the background. The show has multiple EDs, which are all different in mood and all fairly good. Expect decent to good BGM, I personally like some of the heroine's themes.
The VA cast is probably one of the reasons why I picked up this show, with Marina Inoue as Touka. Surprisingly, we also get Takehito Koyasu, though seeing him in such a demeaning role is a bit of a shame.
Story:
The introduction on the main page sums up the beginning of the show quite well. Our protagonist finds himself in the middle of a battlefield with an instant girlfriend (girl-spirit-friend) and has to fend off some Strike Witches clones including a classmate, who happens to have a crush on him. The world is continuously being sieged by spirits, who have no common sense or really any knowledge of the world that they are destroying at will. Shidou finds out from Kotori that in order to save the planet, he has to get better at dating and literally date the spirits, who conveniently are all female, into submission (in a very NON-H way). However, the overall vibe of the show is ruined when you find out that there are many, many spirits to "tame", very similar to the model used in The World God Only Knows.
As you can infer from the above, the story proceeds in an arc based fashion, with a spirit being introduced per arc. The story builds to a ridiculous climax with a spirit's life on the line. It then finishes unresolved with a big banner for the viewer to wait for the upcoming second season.
In addition to countless unanswered questions, the show's plot seems to swerve about unrealistic plot points. Ultimately though, what really kills it is the pacing of the show. Spirits are barely introduced before Shidou miraculously "converts" them. The entire show feels rushed, leaving out a lot of character development and explication. It was neither humorous enough nor believable enough to really engage me.
Character:
There is literally no intelligence (and sometimes not even continuity) in any of the characters here, and it shows with the somewhat random plot progression. One second, Touka will feel jealousy over Shidou working on other girls. The next second, she's apparently fine with it and lends a hand. Likewise, the incredibly well-funded secret support organization around converting the Spirits is led by a fourteen-year-old and supervised by a masochistic lolicon. You'd think they would trust such an important role to more reliable figures...
Calling some of these characters boilerplate would be a euphemism. I'll be completely honest, it's been but a week since I've finished this show and I've already forgotten most of the supporting characters; their presence is just that weak, and their contributions likewise minimal. The very first fundamental criteria to a successful harem is a cast that demonstrates value to the viewer, which this show absolutely lacks. What a shame that yet another interesting concept failed to pan out.
Value:
Some may find this show somewhat entertaining, either from an action or a character-development point of view. Frankly, I've seen much better elsewhere in both categories. Don't be deceived by the lure of an interesting premise, this is just yet another fan-service based filler harem.
