However, there's another side to hype where things get extremely passionate: the fans. These are the ones that post glowing tweets, who are there from the first preview until the final credits roll and can't get enough, who talk nonstop about it to their friends and family and order them to get involved. It's basically just a way for more money to be spent (or for things to be streamed), but it really isn't for the fan's gain. They're only really spreading the love for something they enjoyed, and if the word gets out, that's all that matters to them.
In terms of anime, I don't think I've really seen as much pre-show hype for a show like I did for Kiznaiver. There was promotional videos with animation, voice actors talking about their characters, character clips, and even a pre-air episode that served as an introduction to the world, the staff, and had the voice actors jumping rope. I was immediately swept up in the colorful and gorgeous art that advertised a story of teenagers being forcibly bonded through their wounds against a backdrop of a futuristic city. I couldn't deny that it captivated me and practically drove my desire to watch this show. Add to that a promising cast, dynamic colors, and the prolific likes of Mari Okada (a writer most famous for her work on shows like Anohana and Black Butler), animation studio Trigger (Kill la Kill), and Yuki Hayashi (score for DRAMAtical Murder and Death Parade), and I was automatically signed up.
In the end, was Kiznaiver worth the hype? Or did it falter and disappoint?
In my eyes, Kiznaiver did everything I wanted it to and even exceeded my expectations by the end of its run. A simple description of the show would be breathtakingly beautiful and heartrendingly honest, but leaving it at that feels like a crime when the real thing to do is dig deeper. There's many factors that go into that simple description: an interesting concept that serves as a background to characters that are honest and not afraid to be nasty at points, gorgeous art that makes our protagonists and setting come alive, a great score that captures a range of different emotions, and, most of all, compelling acting that makes everything believable as heck. To sum it all up, Kiznaiver is a crazy series that explores the pain of youth both literally and figuratively while touching on the value of friendship that can come when you least expect it. It's kind of like the song "Youth" by Foxes has been made into anime form, and it's just as messy and glorious as you would imagine it. Personally, this series has become one of my new favorites, even if it isn't on the level of complete perfection like last year's favorite Death Parade. However, I'm ready to embrace Kiznaiver's flaws because I'm pretty sure that's the whole point.
Let's start off by explaining just what the heck this series is about in the first place. A high school second-year (in America that's a junior, as high school is three years in Japan) named Katsuhira Agata lives in the futuristic Sugomori City, a town built on reclaimed territory. He's the subject of bullying from two punks who are only after his money, but he seems fine with that. In fact, he can't feel any pain whatsoever and has very little emotional capacity. His childhood friend, Chidori Takashiro, can't help but feel worried about him, but Noriko Sonozaki, a classmate of Katsuhira's, thinks there's a reason for all of this. Similarly emotionally disconnected, Noriko talks about how she sees the Seven Deadly Sins have resurfaced in Japan and how no one wants to connect to Katsuhira because they don't see anything like themselves in him. With that, she pushes him down a staircase to the point of near-death and revives him by throwing him, Chidori, the outspoken and brash Hajime Tenga (who actually helped get the bullies off Katsuhira's case in the first place), the playboy and charmer with more than two sides Tsuguhito Yuta, the harsh and brittle Honoka Maki, and the flighty and eccentric Nico Niyama (with a seventh member to come, unbeknownst to our six until Episode 3) into the Kiznaiver experiment. They each have a system implanted into one of their arms (complete with a scar) that transmits the pain of one to the rest, and, according to Noriko, this is all for the sake of world peace. Over the summer, our seven teens will have to face the brunt of each other's injuries, grow closer together through missions, and maybe uncover some developing emotions along the way. They may even become friends without feeling each others' pain, but only time will tell as the Kiznaiver experiment slowly intensifies and the group is pushed to their absolute breaking point.
The story isn't really the most important part about Kiznaiver. While the Kiznaiver experiment itself develops by the end of the show, I really stuck around for the characters and seeing them become their own small family. It was fun seeing them go on missions that ranged from seemingly straightforward to absolutely balls-to-the-wall crazy. Although these were messed with and created awkward manufactured situations, it was the emotions within them that made them so much more compelling. There was everything from anger to nervousness to worry to grief and even the very human emotion of selfishness, and these were all incredibly believable and undeniably real and potent, no matter what someone was feeling.
However, even with their objectives, the Kiznaivers found a way to understand each other and even accept themselves for who they were, even if their road was filled with bumps and detours. There were even times when they connected despite not even having any missions to complete, and those were incredibly tender and beautiful moments to watch. They struggled and cried, laughed and actually smiled, and broke apart and came back together again. It was all emotionally exhausting and would probably be even more so if you binge-watched the show, but it makes it all the more satisfying at the end to see things work out.
There's not really much to talk about with the story without diving into spoilers, but there's a lot that I'd like to say about the characters. This diverse batch of colorful kids are the thing that makes this show work so well. Their interactions, thought processes, and emotions are powerful, and pretty soon you start to feel as if they've almost become your friends in a sense. They're not completely nice all of the time (sometimes this doesn't work, including a couple of comments about guys who work hard to feel happy vs. guys who've had it at birth), but whenever these moments do pop up, they add a complexity to everyone rather than a one-dimensional good.
Katsuhira Agata is our main protagonist, an emotional husk of a person that is as apathetic as they come. As a result, he's issued with the "Imbecile" sin that represents Sloth.
Chidori constantly worries about his well-being, but due to his disconnect from pain, he doesn't feel the same and simply goes along with the flow. However, he's haunted by a young blue-haired girl in his dreams (who is going to be incredibly obvious in my next little character snapshot) who keeps on telling him to "get back his pain." As a part of the Kiznaiver experiment, Katsuhira slowly starts to understand more about the people around him and even sympathizes with them now that he can feel their pain, his big heart showing in spades by the end of the show. Even with his slowness to respond and his sometimes blunt honesty, Katsuhira slowly regains the emotions he was originally cut off from and starts caring for the people he's bonded with.
At the start of Kiznaiver. Katsuhira didn't really interest me. He came across as dense and couldn't open himself up the way he would have if only he was capable of grabbing something bubbling underneath the surface of his conscious. However, he grows phenomenally as he spends more time with his acquaintances and really wants them to all come together and just be friends. He may be disconnected from his own pain, but he still knows when others are hurting both physically and emotionally. That makes him really likable, and I soon found myself rooting for him as the series continued.
Noriko Sonozaki is a different story. She's a beautiful girl who seems to rarely show up to school, a girl who is even more emotionally disconnected than Katsuhira himself. She serves as the figurehead of the Kiznaiver project, assigning our group of seven missions they have to complete in order to grow closer together. Her state of constant blankness allows her words to come across cryptically, but what's very clear is that she has immense faith in the Kizna System and will not allow any slacking. She seems to have a connection with Katsuhira that makes Chidori immensely jealous, but she annoys the others (Hajime especially) with the constant missions she makes them go through and seems to orchestrate. However, Noriko herself could be a puppet on the strings of the Kizna Committee, but her determination proves this otherwise, so what secrets is she hiding? How does she seem to know Katsuhira, and where does her drive come from if she can't show it?
As a whole, Noriko is the most complicated character out of the show. I like her and understand where she's coming from, and her refined grace and confidence seem to belong to a girl wiser than her years. She even has a childlike side to her if her phone charms and pajamas are any indication. However, the writing wants to show many sides of her that never quite click together as much as I would like. Would the same distant girl attached to the Kiznaiver experiment still care about Katsuhira and his feelings? Wouldn't she have her own agenda and plan unrelated to those? Her ideas were actually more connected to Katsuhira than I first thought, but the writing sometimes paints her in a villainous shade I don't think she deserves. She may not be the most likable character most of the time, but out of this bunch, she isn't the one with the blackest heart (Mr. Yamada is guilty of this, but we won't be talking about him here because he doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things). Her motives come from a very real place, but the way she handled them wasn't always in the best way. I don't believe it makes her a bad person, though.
Chidori Takashiro is Katsuhira's childhood friend (even having a nickname for him, Kacchon) and the girl who looks out for him the most, although I feel like there was more to their past connection than what we got. Anyway, she's awarded with the "Annoyingly Self-Righteous" label (or "Goody-Two-Shoes" depending on the translation), always checking up on her friend like a second mother since his actual family's always away and making him food to eat (and for the others sometimes) because he has a hard time taking care of himself. She also has very obvious romantic feelings for Katsuhira (the past him was apparently incredibly funny and cheerful) and would definitely not admit them upfront given her hot-blooded nature. But Katsuhira doesn't seem to return them because of Noriko's appearance, which makes her not only jealous but hurt. Is she willing to accept that her best friend since they were kids is moving on, or will she forever hope of the potential of what could be?
My brother absolutely hated Chidori as we watched Kiznaiver, but I couldn't help but empathize with her and ended up liking her a fair bit. Holding onto a crush for a long time takes strength but also a legitimate connection, but letting it go even though you still love the person dearly would be so hard. It would be even more painful to realize that the crush could love somebody else despite the fact you've been imagining the two of you together while church bells ring in the background since childhood. It may be annoying that they can't simply find someone else, but that's because it's even more frustrating for the person who holds the affection. They can't easily break away from the person they love and just move on with their lives; they would rather hear the painful words of rejection from the source or just have some tangible proof for their eyes to see. It's painfully human and selfish because no matter how hard Chidori tries, she still longs for that relationship that seems more and more hopeless as the summer continues.
Hajime Tenga is our "Muscleheaded Thug" (Wrath) and local school delinquent. Despite his rowdy and obnoxious behavior, he actually cares a fair bit about the people he likes and knows the difference between right and wrong. After saving Katsuhira from the usual round of torment, he crashes at his place since they're connected to each other anyway and vows to protect him, even though he thinks the Kiznaiver experiment is messed up. He can sometimes get a little perverted too, either making viewers chuckle a bit or cringe depending on what the thing is (Mari Okada's writing sometimes takes thing a little far with jokes involving material hinting at sexual assault), but for the most part he's pretty cool. Just don't make him mad and don't threaten the people closest to him, because he will clobber you.
Hajime is definitely one of the more entertaining characters out of this show. He can be dense and headstrong, but he's ultimately lovable and hilarious to watch because he genuinely has a good heart. However, that doesn't mean he isn't susceptible to the growing pains like the others are, and even though he's a delinquent, that doesn't mean he's as tough as nails. I loved that inner fragility to him that became more and more clear as he opened up both forcefully and naturally, and his interactions with Katsuhira were funny, especially considering their emotions wouldn't normally be considered compatible.
Nico Niyama is the resident "Eccentric Headcase," her bright accessories and belief in fairies setting her apart from the rest of her classmates. Although this seems incredibly weird, Nico's behavior comes from a very human fear that due to her background she won't be accepted normally, which explains her fairy passion. However, her eccentric and energetic personality is 100% her, and she's very passionate about the Kiznaivers being connected because she's finally making friends. She almost always has a smile on her face and can be incredibly honest and perceptive of others, and she cherishes the time everyone spends together even if they bicker and tease. It means they're all growing closer together, and that's a good thing in her eyes.
Nico is undoubtedly one of my favorite characters from Kiznaiver for two reasons. #1: she's absolutely entertaining. She's crazy and cute and always amusing, her words coming from an always hopeful and optimistic place even in the worst of moments. Her desire to just have fun with everyone and bring them closer together was incredibly inspiring, and I loved how perseverant she was. It led to some great moments both humorous and touching. The second reason is something that's a lot more powerful: you would never expect a character like Nico to be the one providing this stuff. Sure, we have our fair share of genki characters in anime who are always willing to support those who need it the most, but Nico is a very different case. She's very unassuming on the outside, her happy-go-lucky attitude and naivety making her appear dumb and childish. However, she's always the first to act in dire situations and always wants to do the right thing even if she ends up hurt. She can pick up on things the others might have missed and will always try to be bright despite the tears in her eyes. She was a really special person that was part of this cast, and she was elevated by an awesome performance I'll talk about later.
Tsuguhito Yuta is "The Cunning Normal," a notorious flirt who always has girls at his beck and call and who regards the other Kiznaivers as an entirely different species from him initially. However, he doesn't feel that way about Honoka, who he develops an attraction to and immediately begins calling her by her first name and the honorific -chan (which, in Japanese culture, if you do this without permission, you are rude). Add to that a hostility towards men even though he appears as as a saint to the opposite sex and the fact that he's an honors student and primed up to go out in the world and you have a complete sleazeball. However, Tsuguhito's past reveals someone who has come a long way since his childhood, and while he does have that attachment to Honoka due to her physical beauty, he begins to become attached to the person behind the looks. Will this opening of the heart show that he's actually a decent guy?
Tsuguhito's a character I loved to hate because he seemed so slimy, but the signs in Episode 2 had me growing to him. There's a lot more to him than sly smiles and cold remarks, and when a secret of his is revealed, it's shocking in the best way possible. How could someone who looks so perfect started out not that way? It shows just how diligent he is to fit it with the rest of his classmates, and although I know he likes being skinny, craving the attention could lead to his downfall in the end as well. Because of where he is now, he becomes the butt of jokes where he's compared on hotness levels with Yoshiharu (a character we'll be talking about in a bit), and it's painful to watch when they show up only for a small bit. Nobody should be torn down for working hard to be attractive, and just having someone get a free pass because they've always looked gorgeous is really petty. Other than that, I grew to Tsuguhito, and him trying to woo Honoka by actually caring instead of complementing her breasts was appreciated.
Honoka Maki is "The High and Mighty" and easily the most bitter character out of our core group. She's snide and nasty and her comments can cut deep. However, her aloofness from the others is really her putting up walls for something that happened in her past, but cracking those are going to take some effort. In the meantime, she'll play along with the experiment, but will she ever grow close to the others? Or will her past prevent her from making the friends she desperately needs?
I absolutely loved Honoka's snark throughout the series. It was nice to have someone completely cynical contrast against the positive nature of someone like Nico, and she had a couple of very on-the-nose lines that I actually agreed with (that burn to Tsuguhito was rude, but I still thought it was pretty funny because he got what he deserved for trying to woo her). Out of the seven Kiznaivers and our core eight, she's probably the most developed out of all of them aside from Katsuhira and Noriko, and her arc was an absolute treat to watch. I loved getting to understand more about her past and where she was coming from, and seeing that there was more to her than just what some would consider a female dog made me very happy. Her slow acceptance of the others and her own isolation only created more depth, and it made her one of the most interesting characters here.
Last up is Yoshiharu Hisomu, our elusive seventh Kiznaiver who makes his first appearance in Episode 3. Known as the Immoral for all the bad stuff he loves to do, he hasn't set foot in school since the year started and is apparently quite popular at Nico's family's hospital (there's a hint at background for you) for going in with all kinds of scrapes and bruises. He unfortunately gets the short end of the stick throughout Kiznaiver (which I was guessing from the minute I saw him), but he's always there to make a delightful noise whenever he gets hurt or feels someone else get hurt and is actually not that harmful except when he can get very blunt (and by blunt, I mean blunt, so get ready to put up your armor).
Even though Yoshiharu's role is very slim itself, I still found myself enjoying him a lot. I absolutely adore his design (it's the riskiest and most compelling out of everyone, plus he's handsome so bonus points) and his personality is nice for gags and a laugh. However, he has an almost brotherly like relationship with Katsuhira (despite threatening to throw him off a bridge and/or choke him in Episode 3 because, hey, people change, especially when someone is willing to die in order to show that being together isn't a bad thing), which was incredibly sweet and just plain heartwarming (the canned food party and the calming noises were the best). There was one eye-roll inducing connection based on his obsession with pain (it doesn't make him gay, Hajime, although Yoshiharu does seem perfectly comfortable staring at Katsuhira's chest), but I wish Yoshiharu had been more to the show than just that one person who plays comic relief and Sage.
However, Kiznaiver's cast is eclectic and pops with so much personality that it's incredibly fun to just kick back and relax and watch them (it also hurts when they hurt, so be advised). Despite their clashing personas and traits, they grew closer together and became an unlikely ragtag group of friends that genuinely cared for each other, which was incredibly heartwarming and presented in itself a powerful message. It doesn't matter who you are or what you like or if you seem different from anybody else. Somebody out there feels the exact same way, and even if you come from opposite sides of the spectrum, you can become friends if you open your minds up to it.
Moving on to animation, which was done by the studio Trigger, most known for "saving anime" with their landmark production of Kill la Kill in 2013. The animation in that has said to be amazing (I haven't seen it, sorry), but I think that's something to be said about Trigger's quality as a whole because Kiznaiver is an absolutely gorgeous production. First-time show director Hiroshi Kobayashi and his staff have an eye for hyper-realism found in productions such as SHAFT's Bakemonogatari, where frames are done as realistically as possible but with extra touches of drama to make them feel distant. Characters are always framed as intimately as possible, almost as if we're peeping into their lives, but artistic techniques are also used craftily to show this series is what it is: fiction. Shadow and light are used to their full potential and are even contrasted against each other, colors are over-saturated and muted depending on the scene, and space stretches out before everyone vastly, highlighting isolation if they're in an empty space or to see how close they are in correlation with each other. It also helps that our characters remain distinct and always have their own space to show off their unique characteristics, whether it be over-the-top facial expressions when they yell or twirling around when they get excited. Everything fits together beautifully and flows well.
Now onto the score, which was composed by Yuki Hayashi. I have raved about Hayashi's scores before, and this show is no exception because my god is the music beautiful. Unlike in DRAMAtical Murder, which was primarily electronic, Kiznaiver blends both electronic and orchestral elements to create something really memorable. There are some pieces that are fun to dance to, spellbinding ones that put you in a trance, touching ones that make you want to cry, and intense ones that have you gasping for air. All of them stand phenomenally well on their own, and that's why I'm going to link the score because Hayashi is a genius and needs more attention.
If a great score sets the stages for a scene, the voice actors have to make the emotion as believable as possible. Needless to say, the acting is great here. Everyone does a wonderful job capturing the little quirks that make their characters special while also making them as human as possible, and the happy moments and heartrending moments are all convincing and sometimes hard to watch. There are three voice actors in particular that I would like to touch on, as their performances are truly special.
Misaki Kuno has a small resume under her belt, although as of late it's been growing rapidly. I only heard her before Kiznaiver in The Seven Deadly Sins (the six episodes I watched) where she played an absolutely hilarious and salty pig named Hawk. What I loved so much about that performance was how authentic it sounded. If a pig could talk, Kuno's voice was literally what it would sound like. I was interested to see what she would do with someone that would require a lot less oinks and more of a humanistic approach, and to say it paid off would be an understatement. Nico is one of my favorite characters from this show because of Misaki Kuno's performance, which is so darn adorable and heartwarming that it made me smile. It's bubbly and childlike and infectious, but Kuno also does a phenomenal job of selling the heck out of Nico's emotion. Whether it's happiness or determination or heartbreak, everything is authentic and felt by the audience, and just thinking about those moments where she was at her saddest bring tears to my eyes. If it still affects me after I've seen the show, you know it was phenomenal. Misaki Kuno deserves a huge round of applause for this.
Nobunaga Shimazaki has been in the business for a while now, his most well-known role being Haruka Nanase from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (which I still need to watch because DANG that show looks gorgeous and like pure manservice fluff). I've heard bits and pieces of him in shows like Mikagura School Suite and maybe a couple of clips from others, but this was my full-fledged introduction to him. I really liked his performance as Tsuguhito because there's a lot to work with. The slick ladies man that makes you swoon (or gag, depending on where you stand), the conniving jerk that you want to punch, and the honest and earnest man underneath that makes you do a double take. Shimazaki captures Tsuguhito's evolution well throughout the series, and if there's anything he knows how to do well, it's those moments of pure embarrassment where the others realize Tsuguhito's past. Those were fun to watch.
Yeah, I know the screenshot is weird, but we're gonna run with it. I heard Kotaro Nishiyama in jack squat before seeing him in Kiznaiver, and I absolutely adore hearing fresh voices whenever I watch anime. If there's something to start off with, it's this: I have never heard a voice like Nishiyama's before. It's a soft and willowy timbre that creates an effect of peacefulness and unease, and the tension of not knowing what Yoshiharu is capable of is shown really well. Nishiyama pulls off both the sexual aspects of Yoshiharu's character and the more human and friendly side, and I like that natural bite that comes across as harsh but justifiable and sassy but likable in his scenes. It's peaceful and has that right amount of lax energy that made me perk up, laugh, and always stay glued to the screen. I wouldn't be surprised if Kotaro Nishiyama has more in store as his career continues, because there's a lot of possibilities waiting to be seen.
Kiznaiver won't be for everyone. It can be grueling and mean and unfair, the story not being as present as you'd like, the characters needing that inch of development they won't get despite the need to fulfill their archetypes, and the romance drama could even be viewed as completely unnecessary in the eyes of the beholder. Not all anime shows are going to be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, Kiznaiver was just right. I got so much out of this beautiful and emotionally raw production, and most of that has to do with my love for the wonders of youth being explored. Characters being thrown into situations where they're controlled like puppets is interesting, sure, but the interactions between them show me so much more about the craziness of being young. The need to fit in amidst a crowd of people that seem incredible, trying to find a way to move on from a harsh past and into a brighter future, love kept hidden under flushed cheeks and mumbled excuses, people slipping out from under the cracks that make you take a second look, the pain and stress of being stuck in a position that makes you want to scream, and, most of all, just feeling like you're limitless and prepared for anything: Kiznaiver easily captures that all for me. I can understand it, and I think the show itself even understands and empathizes with the viewers: there's something that will never click among your group of friends, but we all have our own problems and flaws that make us whole. Without them, there wouldn't really be anything left to understand, would there? The need to connect with others and understand the traits that make them them is what Kiznaiver wants us to embrace now, and that's something truly special. In the words of Foxes: "Don't tell me our youth is running out. It's only just begun." We only have so much we can do while we're still young, so now's the time to take those chances.
Kiznaiver is now fully available to stream on Crunchyroll's website (please support everyone involved by watching legally unlike my currently-airing anime self that found loopholes; I'm just as guilty of this and trying to work on it) with a DVD/Blu-Ray release hopefully forthcoming from Aniplex USA (they made a quiet license announcement at Anime Expo and have launched the English website, so I can only assume they have home video rights). I would honestly love to see a dub, but if it doesn't get one, I'm okay with that. The possibility of one happening seems pretty high considering Trigger's status, but sales in Japan have apparently been poor, so we'll have to wait and see.
I also made a playlist of music that I think works well with the show. I'll probably add tracks periodically considering that I'm still doing notes for this (I'm behind, yay), but for now, I'm pretty happy with it. Check it out here!
Until next time!
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