Nabari no Ou - Reviews

Story:

I absolutely love the plot! It's not predictable, it's original, and intriguing! It pulled at my heart strings, and I cried over this. I don't know what else to say about it, other than excellent~!

Animation:

The animation was great in my opinion. The movements flowed very well, and art was original. Definitely good animation in comparison to others I've seen... o.O

Sound:

The voice acting was good. I admit, I have very poor judgment when it comes to Japanese voice acting, but I personally loved the voices of the characters~! ^^ As for the opening and ending theme: the opening theme is decent, but nothing memorable, accept when he says "I don't care" in English. o.o For some reason I could get that out of my head. xD The first ending theme, I liked a lot, the second one, gave me a headache for some reason...but I think that's just me. ^^;;

Characters:

I love the characters! They all had very distinct personalities, and for once none of them annoyed me...even a little! Miharu is very loveable, because although he is very careless at first, you see a much better, adorable, side to him as the series continues. ^^ Yoite was somewhat hard for me to understand, and I wish they would've revealed a bit more of his past, but all in all, I loved Yoite almost as much as Miharu...almost. xD I found Koichi very interesting, Tobari...okay, maybe he annoyed me a tad, but barely. >w< I just don't understand why he was so stubborn. I really liked Raimei, because she almost seemed full of herself in a way. And Fuuma is definitely worth mentioning, because he was definitely a very...interesting character. xD Very humorous in my opinion.

Overall:

A very very very good anime that I think almost anyone would love! Despite what some people may say, there is no yaoi. Yes, you can think of it as yaoi if you want to, but really, guys can be friends too. I've seen guys hug each other and announce they're in a "Bromance", and even so, they're not homosexual. So really, it isn't yaoi, unless you want it to be. ^^; If that makes sense...just saying, anyways...WATCH IT.

This is a really good anime. I don't usually like ninjas and sword fights and similar stuff, but in this case the anime isn't about ninjas and fighting just for the sake of it, they're elements of the plot that make up the backdrop for the characters to interact, develop and shine. This anime is all about the characters. 

The story is good. Maybe the premise is a tad conventional, as in that it's something that we've probably all already seen somewhere else. But then it is developed quite well. To be honest, I guess there are some inconsistencies here and there, though nothing serious that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the anime. If you read the anime synopsis you'll get a pretty good idea of the plot; basically there are opposite ninja factions trying to get control of the ultimate power that would allow them to change the world to their liking. And this ultimate technique that can grant any wish and endows its possessor with a wisdom greater than any simple human being can ever hope to achieve by his own means dwells within a boy called Miharu. So Miharu suddenly finds himself at the centre of a war between ninja clans of whom he had never heard of before that want to get hold of him to use a power he has been told is hidden within him which he wasn't even aware of having. 

Sound, animation and drawings are all good.

But it's the characters that will keep you watching the anime and that will stay with you after its end. I saw Nabari for the first time some years ago, and though I had forgotten all about the plot I did remember Yoite, especially the scene at the end where he's sitting knitting a scarf was just unforgettably etched in my mind. There is quite a large cast, and in my opinion nearly all of them are well presented and well developed. They each have distinctive features and personalities that make it impossible to mistake them, as well as understandable motives and plausible reactions. A lot of attention is given to Miharu and Yoite, you see how their relationship develops and changes until they start really caring for one another. Initially Yoite just wants to use Miharu to have his wish granted and Miharu goes along with it because Yoite is blackmailing him. But then they start realising how similar they are, how they hurt in the same way, how they are both alone, and distrustful of others and of life in general. But this attittude of not wanting to be involved because they do not want to get hurt and because at the same time they think they have nothing to give others back, slowly starts to change. I liked Miharu, but I really would have loved to hug Yoite tight and keep him close to lessen a little bit of the pain and loneliness. They're that kind of characters, the kind that you empathise with and find yourself loving, in spite of yourself. Another great character is Tobari sensei, a somewhat idealistic ninja who can't bring himself to kill because he values life so much, and someone whose plans always backfire on him - as Miharu pretentiously points out. I would have liked his good efforts and intentions to be acknowledged, especially by Miharu. Instead it seemed like he was destined to be the emblem of the fact that good intentions are not enough, that you must dirty your hands at some point otherwise you just end up hurting those you so desperately want to protect. Anyway, they're all great characters. Maybe the bad guys leave a bit to be desired. Don't get me wrong, I found myself strongly wishing them to be killed at a certain point and out of the way, although it was a classic example of end not justifying the means. But still, even if you do get to understand why they chose to pursue such a path, they kind of lack complexity and depth. 

So, overall, I'd suggest you give it a watch. It's touching and emotional and I think it's well worth watching. 

As of now, I could not watch this anime to the end. It became increasingly tragic and depressing to the point where it was too painful to me. Which is a shame because it's also compelling and you want to see how it turns out, but I just had to stop. As the story progresses there's an increasing portion of the plot spent in hospital wards while characters you love are slowly dying. I watch anime to try to escape and in order to feel happy, not in order to become more depressed. Maybe at some point I'll watch it to the end.

Nabari has a really fine intro and for about 8/10 episodes it keeps up rhythm and charm. The base idea is really interesting because it puts a total apathetic characters like Miharu at the centre of a storm of events dealing with murders (the first episodes are somehow more cruel than all the rest), opportunism, revenge. Shinrabansho is the primal cause of all. It gives the bearer the power to do everything he desire, and for Miharu who just wants to lead a normal uneventful life it will be the end of this childish dream. He will be forces to make decision, to accept the he's not and island, and that someone does really care for him and vice versa. Unfortunately the second half spoils this really well scripted web of connection, focusing on the tedious relationship between Yoite and Miharu. The ending is trivial.

Story=ninja's except it's not terrible and chilidish and isn't afraid to have people die. Enough said.

I really liked the style of animation this show incorperates. If you pay attention to the backgrounds you'll understand what I mean, some look like still frames of painting, very pretty. Besides that The animtion looks really good and so does the combat, no crappy suspended pictures, the fights actually look like fights and not still shots of special moves.

I really really like the intro and outro. The music for the credits was mighty. I watched this in english (on netflix) therefore my expectations were low for the english voices but they were all at least satisfactory, a few felt off but they actually picked a solid cast. Sounds aren't off either.

Characters are given depth early and then sort of left alone later. This isn't a huge deal because the characters are still consistant with what we as viewers learn about them however, they did a solid job introducing us to each character and gave some deep insight when the situation called for it. Better than most but still lacking.

I was very surprised at exactly how good this anime was because it was actually really good! Story never faltered and continued on track. Animation was always always enjoyable to look at. Sound and music matched the anime very well. Characters were fairly 3D and were capable of thought/change/growth. Plus the action was great. This anime is bringing back credibility to anime's with ninja!