Day Break Illusion: il sole penetra le illusioni

AnnaSartin Dec 12, 2017

4

This show wasn't great and it wasn't horrible. It was forgettably average, which is a shame because a lot of the plot elements were interesting and deserved further exploration. - Things I liked - The four main character Each of the four girls had her own backstory and personal motivations. We had a chance to get to know each of them and understand what makes them tick. They got genuine character development, learning from their experiences and reevaluating their beliefs as they were presented with new information. None of them were above realizing their own flaws and weakness and they all worked to rise above them. Akari and her friends were also fun to watch interact with each other once they resolved their differences. I particularly enjoyed the episode of the group hanging out and having a good time together. The "tarot" aspect While the use of cards in anime is certainly not original, the use of tarot card in this show didn't feel old or stale. Little things, like Akari's ability to unconsciously make plants grow because of her affinity with the Sun card, were nice touches. Luna's confession about her lesbian crush Always nice to see characters who can admit their feelings for a person of the same gender without protesting or making a lame statement about the other person being the same gender. I'm so tired of hearing it that I feel like Luna's honesty about how she really feels deserves recognition. - Things I disliked - One-dimensional villains Cerebrum and the corrupt politician were simply not interesting. Being one-note characters, their actions were hardly surprising and there was nothing to them other than doing some random evil thing most of the time. By the time Cerebrum decides to "go big" toward the end of the series, I had long since stopped giving a crap about him. Unanswered questions Unfortunately, the series crammed too many plot elements into 12 episodes, leaving viewers with a lot of unanswered questions because there wasn't enough air time to wrap everything up. We learn, for example, that one character has a twin sister who went missing years ago. The show does absolutely nothing with this information, which feels to me like a waste. The girl is not found, nor is she even searched for during the show. We never even learn why exactly she went missing in the first place. Another example: a person in the show randomly comes back from the dead. If they are able to do this, is it possible to help others who have died under similar circumstances? Yet another thing I wanted to know was why Etia and Laplace have "restrictions" placed on their abilities. The unanswered questions go on and on, leading me to believe this would have been better as a two-cour show instead of just one. There was certainly plenty of material to work with. Inappropriate remarks and fanservice involving the pre-teen characters When a twelve year-old character is transformed into a demonic wolf-girl, her bare breasts and crotch are exposed. The only clothing on her body is a sort of corset on her stomach, and as a result, she spends a few episodes looking like a prostitute roleplaying for a client. I really didn't think this was appropriate given the age of the character. Someone also tells a different twelve year-old that he "wants to mate with her" which was a total cringe factor for me. She's twelve years old, freak. Go away. - Final Comments - Something I strongly I disagree with is the number of people calling this show "a Madoka Magica rip-off". The only things I think Daybreak actually has in common with the show is being in the same "dark magical girl" genre and a few minor story elements that are found in multiple anime franchises. It seems to me that Day Break Illusion and later members of its ilk (such as "Yuuna Yuuna Is A Hero" and "Magical Girl Raising Project") all suffer from constantly being compared to what is currently the most popular show of its genre, which drives people away from even giving it a chance. Does it mean I think these shows are amazing? No. Each had its own unique strengths and weaknesses. But anime that is merely average (or even plain mediocre) can resonate with the right viewers if they are willing to try them. This current cycle reminds me of a similar pattern around fifteen to twenty year ago, when every new magical girl series that came out was immediately compared to Sailor Moon - often called a rip-off by people who hadn't even watched the show! And those that did would find very generic elements to point to as a reason for this comparison, such as "They both have magical girls!" or "They both fight new monsters every week!" A weak argument at best, and while Sailor Moon was certainly a global phenomenon, it is certainly not the FIRST magical girl show ever created. Nor was Madoka Magica the first "dark" magical show ever created. In the end, if you like dark magical girl shows you may want to give Day Break Illusion a chance. If you don't enjoy this particular genre, however, then don't bother- this isn't the right show for you.

YuiYui Jul 22, 2014

6.3

Warning this review may contain spoilers- Another amazing review for you all to read...lucky you. This time it is for the dark magic girl anime Daybreak Illusion, this anime is a dark version of your typical Magic Girl show and was displayed quite well. It is based around a girl called Akari who's mother died (I think) and has been living with her aunt and uncle, also she works as a fortune teller, this leads to her story beginning. The story for a start was put together quite well but honestly it wasn't the best. The story was slightly rushed and ended quite badly. The story wasn't the best but it was quite enjoyable. There was drama and small action with added to the story. The animation was like your typical Magic Girl show, big eyes and slightly Moe. So yeah... The music...Well the opening....it's kind of obvious...I loved it as soon as I watched the series, I bought the song...Well it is LiSA. The ending was meh, it was pretty average and the voice actors were good for the characters that were involved. The characters were pretty simple both in design and personality, but most are pretty loveable in most ways. I really enjoyed this anime. The detail in the slightly horror scenes though...Well there was quite a bit of blood. In conclusion, I seriously need to write longer reviews...Well anyway this anime is get at if you like dark magic girl with a dramatic moments. I enjoyed it and you would also probably if you watch it.  ~AngelBeatsYui~

KingArthur13th Oct 1, 2013

5.5

Day Break Illusion is a series that could of joined Madoka Magica in building the dark magical girl sub-genre, instead it simply copied it with little originality. What little originality this series does contain comes from its Tarot Card Reading theme which doesn't effect the progression of the series as much as you might think. Day Break Illusion can be exciting at times and deliver emotional scenes here and there but overall, it's a disappointment. Not a failure but a disappointment. Everything is actually really predictable except for what happens to Luna or the information dump in episode eleven. Day Break Illusion's story is centered around young girls who are called upon to sacrifice themselves and save the world as magical girls. In the beginning that was actually well performed, with each girl finding their own way to overcome or ignore the fact that they're basically executioners but we needed an antagonist to really get the ball rolling. Too bad that we literally never figure out why the antagonist (Cerebrum) does what he does until the last two episodes. Cerebrum was such a poorly executed villain, I felt that this show might have actually been better if the producer left him out, let the Daemonia appear as the creatures that naturally exist and focus on the girls mental and emotional development during their times as magical girls. This is just one of the reasons why Madoka Magica managed to be such a hit. Day Break Illusion tries way to hard to be Madoka Magica and that becomes incredibly noticeable after the first episode onward. After 12 episodes, you will finally know what Cerebrum is after and you'll most likely bust out laughing or facepalm because it's just plain stupid. This series really seems to give nothing to you but questions and the few answers that are given are either silly or seriously late for you to even care. Despite how disappointing Day Break Illusion it's not all bad I guess. The battle scenes between the magical girls and Daemonia are actually enjoyable but the animation makes some parts of the fight unrecognizable.Day Break Illusion's cast is made up of your average group of magical girls; the optimist, the tomboy, the joker and the weakling. The girl's primarily survive through the power of friendship and it's just so cheesy, I felt like I should of been eating mac and cheese while watching this series. Day Break Illusion gets points for action and disturbing atmosphere but not much else.