K - Reviews

WARNING SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

This anime really is so spectacular, I was draw into it straight away not even knowing anything about the anime before hand. Straight away its important to note how nearly every single one of the character's in the anime are so great and you love them, straight away the main character yashiro strikes me as interesting and no way an ordinary school boy but made my mind change on exactly what i thought of him many times, during the end of this season of the anime you see how much his character has developed. The red king really took me back, he was one of the greatest characters and I thought that they could possible kill him but even when that happens it felt almost right in what they done, yeah it was only one season of him but that's one of the things that made him great. It's very important to notice every single sound in this anime, they felt so detailed and very well done as right at the start of the anime you are drawn into a simple yet so detailed sound of the noise of the chain clanging. Swords being drawn and the amazing soundtracks there are. This in some way makes the anime what it is which is absolutely amazing. Right from the start you notice the animation, its so beautiful the way it's shown as the group are shown walking and the smoke rising up. It's a hard thing to describe but its sort of the style of the anime that makes it so dazzling almost as when fights are fought you notice every single movement during the fight. The story I thought was really interesting for one of the main reasons you don't get much information about yushiro and he dosent know much about himself which leads this curiosity in you head, its also great to mention how you always keep having second thoughts about the character and you know a character is interesting when you don't even know what to make of them untill the very end of the anime.

Short review of The K Project. I loved it, but the story could have used more detail. The plot was excellent, and I loved how it covered so much in so few episodes. It gave me plenty of things to think about, and I loved the little plot twists it has in it. I love the way the story formed, I loved the concept of the Kings and the Clans- I even found myself wondering what clan I'd want to be in. I just hate the fact that there were clans mentioned that weren't involved in the story. Overall it was a good anime, one of my favorites but then again, I haven't watched much.

[Short & Spolier-free]

Worth the watch. A little bit cliche, but as inexperienced as the author of the source material seems to be, he created a rather interesting story with some really interesting concepts.

The story can get a little confusing if you're not paying close attention and putting some pieces together, but I like such anime.

Any Anime fan should watch this.

Solid 7/10 with character development occuring in a very unorthodox way.

Shows with a gratuitous amount of detail within the development of the story and the development of multiple characters are usually standard fare within the anime medium. However, it’s all too common that the run time for most of those shows are usually cut to a single twelve-episode season. It’s not impossible to tell the full story at a satisfactory level with limited run time. However, most writers run out of time and take shortcuts, which leave most of the audience disappointed. Unfortunately, when there’s too much of a focus on exposition to move the plot more quickly, it’s less likely to resonate with the viewer. K is a show with only twelve episodes (so far anyway), too many characters to develop, and a story that should require a lot of exposition. Thankfully, the writers managed to handle all the hurdles very well, putting together a resonating and action-packed show that’s so much fun to watch.

Our protagonist, Yashiro Isana is a seemingly normal and free-spirited high school boy who usually spends his time being out of the roof of the school and sometimes leaving the school without permission. However, his “normal” life is turned upside down when a video of him murdering someone and calling himself “the colorless king” surfaces. Despite not having any recollection of the video, the Red Clan, Blue Clan, and Kuro (who’s mission is to hunt down the Colorless King and slay him if he turns out to be evil) are all after him. Yashiro, now having to find a way to prove his innocence and get to the bottom of the murder, is bound to learn much more about the Clans that are after him, why he was supposedly framed, and who he actually is.

It takes more than three episodes to really make sense of everything that’s happening and why. It get’s explained later on that there are factions in the city that Yashiro resides in; the most notable in this show are HOMRA (The Red Clan) and SCEPTER 4 (The Blue Clan). Each of these Clans have their own unique power, such as The Red Clan’s power manipulate fire. The reason why HOMRA, which operates with a street gang mentality, wants him dead is because the person that was killed was one of their members. SCEPTER 4, which operates more like a police force, are after Yashiro for justice and to protect the community from future harm. Both Clans have also been at odds with each other for generations, as there are always fights that break out between the two in broad daylight. Adding more insult to injury, a former member of the Red Clan caused more tension between the two by joining forces with the Blue Clan. There are at least three significant characters, including the kings of both Clans, that get an ample amount of development.

Nobody’s motivations feel contrived and everything is genuine, from Mikoto’s (The Red King) passion for wanting to avenge his fellow comrade to Seri’s (third in-command of SCEPTER 4) tight friendship with Izumo (second in-command of HOMRA). The only problem is that there seems to be more to explore and it’s possible that once the second season is produced, there will be more to elaborate. However, for one season, it was satisfactory enough.

Shiro’s story is harder to get into without spoiling major plot points that take up about half of the enjoyment factor. All that can be said is that the mystery of him being the “Colorless King” is a shadow that is cast upon him. All the more complicated is that Kuro, a no-nonsense samurai, is hell-bent on killing him as part of his mission. However, he decides to keep an eye on Shiro to give him a benefit of a doubt and give him the opportunity to prove his innocence.

Shiro is also followed along by a cat that can turn into a beautiful girl, named Neko. She has the power to manipulate people’s senses and [insert spoiler here]. For a reason explained later in the series, Neko has an undying love for Shiro and is always trying to protect Shiro because he is her owner (y’know…because she’s a cat…yeah). Neko may be the only character that will rub the audience the wrong way because, in the grand scheme of things, she is basically playing the part as Shiro’s submissive pet and she (who is also always naked) is supermodel pretty. The otaku’s will probably love her though.

If there’s one theme that will resonate with the viewer, more than anything, is selflessness. Again, that can’t even be elaborated enough because of spoilers. The plot builds up very nicely by the time the climax arrives. The ending pretty much set the show to new heights from a show that was fun to watch from an action-thriller standpoint to practically emulating the theme of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and everything that led up to it and afterwards. Yes, that may be a very bold statement to make but with an ending that was executed the way this was executed, there had to be theme in mind, stating that everyone should stop fighting and be more Christ-like. That’s not to say that this is for Christians, but it’s a universal lesson that everyone can and should get behind.

The animation, handled by Studio GoHands, is breathtaking. All fight scenes, in particular, are animated fluidly with a lot of stylistic emphasis on the powers that the different clans use. Rarely are corners cut, nor are the character movements stagnant. The art design for the characters seem very plain to an extent because there seems to be minimal variation on the faces. The hair and eye colors and designs are nice as well of the clothes. However, the art as a whole is pleasing to the eye with the color scheme and detail that allows the characters to blend into the lovingly rendered backgrounds. CG also mixes in so well that it’s not even that noticeable.

The music is also spot on with a bunch a hip hop tracks and heavy metal riffs used appropriately to get the audience pumped up for another fight that’s about to go down. The soundtrack has a diverse collection of hip-hop, rock, and house music to fit in with the technological setting of K, with every track used effectively without necessarily standing out. The English dub is also performed well across the board. Special praise goes out to Sam Riegal (Yashiro), Todd Haberkorn (Izumo), and Keith Silverstein (Mikoto: The Red King) for their standout performances. The script tends to stumble from time to time, especially when an actor is saying a long line or has to speak fast to match lip flaps. It’s probably not surprising when there’s so much dialogue in this show that has to be adapted. Thankfully, awkward line delivery is minimal.

K manages to fill in all the right holes in a short amount of time with perfect pacing, an engaging trill of a story, and an ending that captures the spirit of altruism. There was apparently a movie that was released back in July and there will be a second season coming sometime in 2015. All that is great to know because, despite already having a satisfying ending, K has so much more to offer and explore in the setting. This is an action thriller for the masses that should not be missed.

I really enjoy this anime, at first i did was kinda confused and it kinda bored me but at some point it gave me some Game of Thrones x Harry Potter vibes im not sure why maybe it is beacuse of the diferrent Kings and powers, but i must admit it is really well done and you would enjou it if you are a reader like me.