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NARUTARU
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Animation - 6.8 |
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Sound - 7.6 |
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Story - 7.4 |
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Character - 7.9 |
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Value - 7.6 |
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Enjoyment - 8.0 |
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Average - 7.5 |
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Lavos |
(2007-09-13 13:53:27) 2007-02-15 16:28:31 |
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I thought I might just share my thoughts about this hell of a messed up series I have just pushed myself to watch till the end. Instead of trying to summarize the “plot” I might instead say something nobody has said so far. I believe someone might benefit from this rant.
Let’s start from the start. I had heard many things from this series. When that happens what I usually do is I come here, and look up a well written review (usually Ridian’s if avalaible) and then decide if I give a try or not. You know, one starts to get pretty tired of the lack of originality and meaning lately. Every (And i mean EVERY) anime done nowadays can be described using the x+z+y ecuation. You might be tempted to apply the ecuation to this one. It might remind you of Evangelion, Elfen Lied, Saikano, Now and Then, Here and There, Scryed, perhaps even Pokemon? Well, It’s more than that. What? Dragonets you say? Don’t get to excited with them, just remember to pay attention in the last couple of episodes. You might even skip episode 10, you have my permission. Do I want a second season? I’m afraid I have to say NO. Will I rewatch this? I must say NO again, because I did not learn anything from this.
Freud would like this series for he would have lots of work to be done with the characters. This girl is being abused by his father, the other girl is being abused by her brother, this other girl is being abused by her peers… At one point I just was hoping to watch sad truly *disturbing* ending where every annoying character in the series dies with blood spilling all over the place, and lot’s of corpses. Instead I was treated to some watered-down vendetta. Well it wasn’t that bad, I got enought satisfacction from it, and at least there was a message behind it.
Now, for the more unimportant matters, we have the music which clearly won't win any prize(at least not in this dimension). The OP I kinda liked, which you might too if you are able to “see” the hidden meaning behind it soon enough. The ED is completely forgettable. The animation sure could use some work(Am I the only one who has difficulty distinguishing between female characters?). But hell, who cares about this nuisances when we have such an important message being shown to us? If the developers didn’t care, why should we?. I am going to try to summarize the message for those of you who didn’t seem to get it, which sadly seems to be more than less:
Be a Good Person.
Don't abuse your children, don't demand too from them, be wary of their needs and how they are doing at school. Don't participate in bullying, and don’t look the other way if you know it is happening. DON'T FREAK OUT, especially if you have a weapon of mass destruction at your disposal inside your wardrobe. Killing everybody is not going to help, trust me. And last but not least, please, be optimistic, even if this world deserves to be destroyed and all its inhabitants turned to ashes. Oops.
As a conclusion, please, show this to everybody you know: your 7 year old cousin, your teacher, your kids, your wife. Strap them to a chair if necessary, they will thank you someday. If you have the oportunity before they free themselves from the straps, you might as well show them “Grave of the Fireflies” and kill two birds with one stone. It should ne mandatory watch material in US schools, and If time travel existed, maybe with this, the "highschool massacres" could have been stopped.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Wow.. Narutaru is really weird. And a bit disturbing. o_O At fist glance it seems like a kids show, but as it goes on it gets more violent.
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petran79 |
(2007-11-30 05:20:30) 2006-04-20 13:55:21 |
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| Average |
4.8 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| (Triad and AonE fansubs. Narutaru is one of the best translated works I've watched, even surpassing official versions)
After reading the manga I decided to give the anime a look. I have to say Narutaru is one of the best manga adaptations I read, considering it is only 13 episodes long. Of course a good adaptation does not mean that an anime should be good. But since the manga is one of the good and disturbing titles I came across, Narutaru managed to be an enjoyable animated feature, if overall very angst-inducing and disturbing as well.
The problem when mangas are adapted to anime is that many scenes that are violent and influential in the manga lose their meaning in the anime due to censorship. Despite these limitations the anime in the final episodes had to me almost the same effect as manga volume 6 did, despite featuring much less graphic violence and nudity (in comparison to the manga that featured a lot in some scenes). The producers found the perfect way to tackle the problem of censorship and make the anime as enjoyable as the manga, something not many animes accomplish succesfully. So if you've read the manga and liked it, I'm sure you'll enjoy the anime as well.
If you havent read the manga then there's a chance the anime will not appeal to you since such themes are rarely used for TV, except hentai. But if you're used to mature animes then there wont be a problem getting used to this.
I dont know what the producers had in mind and whether a second season was to follow (I doubt it though since two main characters of the manga were omitted) but this is one of the most abrupt endings I've encountered. Judging from the script and the story I should say that the series is exclusively for the manga readers of Narutaru. From the fansubs the dialog was almost exactly like the manga, as if the script writer had the manga directly in front of him while writing the script. The story also follows the manga toe-to-toe with no fillers at all. Rarely have I seen an adaptation with no fillers. It is impossible to draw every manga scene but they managed to fit as much as possible in 13 episodes. But I guess it would be impossible to think of a more fitting ending after introducing so many characters and putting them aside later on. As some reviewers below state this could have dragged on to 26 episodes without problems if it was produced after the manga's last volume. To understand the story the manga is a necessary read.
As for the animation, if it was made in the mid-90's I wouldnt mind about the visuals but they are simply mediocre. Too bad because the manga is well designed. Despite this flaw the character's expressions are as in the manga. The gore scenes in the end are also impressive. But I liked Shiina in the manga since here she's ugly drawn and animated. As for the animation, some nice dogfights betweem JSDF aircraft and dragons and thats all. Nothing worth remembering besides that.
The unique Opening and the Ending are very good.
As for the music I think they hadnt a good direction in making good horror/sci-fi BGM in the last episodes and it could have been much more effectively put together. The SFX were mediocre, of B-movie quality. Only the voices stood out.
The characters were so many that if you havent read the manga you'll not grasp much. A short introduction to the basic characters:
Shiina Tamai: a 12 year old, compassionate with a strong personality never giving up. In the last manga volumes she even offers her body to a guy, though till then she has already entered middle-school
Shunji Tamai: Shiina's father. Hardly developed here,except the dialog he has with his divorced wife, Tamai Misono. She's undeveloped too
Sakura Akira: the opposite of Shiina, she's reclusive, suicidal and extremely shy. She skips school a lot. Some of her features may turn male viewers on, so be warned. I liked her the most
Kaizuka Hiroko: Same character with Sakura,except that she's a good pupil and is bullied much more. The last episodes revolve around her.
The rest of the dragon children arent that much developed. Only Tonomori appears as much as the manga. There's not much explaining about the rest and their plans in changin the world. Also the episodes about Kiuji and Jun hardly add anything to the plot. Only reading all the manga volumes will shed light to all. I liked a lot Takeo's cynicism towards his pregnant 16 year old girlfriend. If only everything could be solved easily in that manner....I was astonished by his words.
Hiroko's female bullies were also convincing in their roles, as well as that boy that Akira fell in love with.
Overall convincing characters, just not much background info.
This could be a good watch if you've read the manga. If not, aim perusing the manga and then try to watch this anime or else you might get confused. This title shouldnt be missed by those who like weird animes.
And if you like to see the chibi versions of the manga characters in that amazing opening.
Now after reading all the manga volumes, I'd recommend the manga over the anime. The anime is one of those cases where, concerning the story at leat, it is necessary to have read all manga volumes, because the story of the anime stops at the start of manga volume 7. But ignoring that fact the anime is worth a watch if you're tired of mainstream animes
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Haman |
(2005-11-19 20:37:22) 2005-11-18 19:15:26 |
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Narutaru wins the award for succeeding at becoming possibly the most surprisingly disturbing anime I have ever seen. It does so through skillful juxtaposition of cute and naive with oh so dark an underside. It makes you wish to see more, even if you arent quite sure you want to.
See it if only for that alone, because while you might find a more unusual anime, or a more violent one, you arent likely to find many that use those things so well.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| More chaotic than chaos mathematics, as disturbing as Paranoia Agent and with violence sometimes reaching the level of Elfen Lied, yet always more meaningful. And without any story in fact. That's Narutaru, anime that I recommend to watch once, just to know what it is, and how well it can operate with macabre, creepyness and psychedelic moods. Because it can do it fabulously, mostly due to music and characters.
I somewhat enjoyed few of it's episodes, yet I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, to be honest. Mostly at fault is lacking plot... or rather too many plots that this anime tries to realize. We have here normal school-life and family problem, that is spiced up with a hint of mystery, under Hoshimaru's name and dragon calls to Akira and Shiina. Unfortunately, that gets dropped completely, just when it gets interesting.
Another story comes in, and this time we have an insane foe, and struggle for whether dragonets are to be used against or for humans (cilche, but it could be even OK, especially after Panda's Academy Trio appears, and the other group). Yet not only it gets dropped, it also never gets decent explanation!
Finally we have Koontz-like story that shows school from dark and gloomy perspective. And this one is also not quite ended. In fact, this anime suffers for inability to end anything IMO. Thus it never can satisfy You, because it will leave matters to rot, not exploit them to their fullest, if at all, and thus annoy the hell out of You.
Onto details than...
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CoachZ |
(2005-06-14 14:16:02) 2005-05-20 12:36:47 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| For some odd reason, Narutaru happens to be one of those anime that I seemed to favor. The animation was quite creative to the whole given story. From the opening theme song it wasn't too bad, but I really was fascinated with the ending theme though. As for Shiina, she was one of those main characters who had to struggle through her childhood as to being at times neglected from most of her own youth. As to finding those friends in the moments that resolves to make her time more joyful than anything else. Most of the characters that were shown in each episode were kind of memorable and aren't much given notice to the whole story until later, when the events really do pick up that gives it some twist to the whole idea. As strange of how it was making itself, it was being unusually cute while at the same time being rather well-adjusted to the entire segment of making it quite imaginative, and yet a bit awkward to some that have viewed this.
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nauXolo |
(2005-05-10 21:56:15) 2005-05-03 00:50:03 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I find this to be hopelessly slow in the beginning. They tried to make it all subtlely tense and dramatic, but I just though that made it lifeless and kind of boring.
One of the biggest turn offs is the animation. There isnt much energy in the movements. There are a lot of panning shots where the characters just dont move at all. Although that star thing is pretty cute, the animation is not that pretty.
As for the story, I found it to be mildly curious. There were a lot of things that I had a lot of questions about and the ending does an okay job at touching upon it. Yet, the underlying story isn't that impressive. There isn't m uch that happens and what they could have done in the first 7 episodes could have easily been squished into 5. I guess it is a stylistc choice....
The characters, well, Shiina has an interesting character and is quite enjoyable to watch. At least she seems quite cute but as for Akira and all those other random side characters, I really found them to be so flat and uninteresting. This was probably one of the worst aspects aside from the animation.
I wouldn't recommend watching this anime. The beginning is weird, there are a lot of things that happen and it doesn't do much to capture attention. I would only watch this if you have an intense curiosity for weird things occuring made and presented in an esoteric way. It is quite slow and nothing really happens for awhile, a long while.
The main reason I actually finished this was I really wanted to find out what the heck was going on....
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Kaj |
(2005-03-22 20:24:34) 2005-03-22 20:21:38 |
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| Average |
6.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| I can't figure this anime out. This is one strange, strange series. It succeeds to be both lighted hearted and dead creepy. In fact, it succeeds in doing a lot of things that it's meant to do, including freaking me out, but it kind of fails as anime as whole because it doesn't quite come together. It's a bewildering mixture of a lot of genres, but in the big picture, it doesn't really fit into any of them. As a result I can't really fathom out the motivations behind it - just what was the maker trying to achieve with this? One moment everything seems like normal life, another moment everything goes mental and then the next everything returns to normal again. So normal that bits of it could be taken out of some school kids drama.
The main strength of the anime stems from the way this anime conveys creepiness so incredibly well, mainly thanks to the music but also with things like title fonts. I always had the feeling that this anime was teetering on the edge of a pit of diabolical violence, and in the last few episodes it finally falls in and... JESUS CHRIST. Think Elfen Lied. There's a certain kind of similarity between EL and Narutaru, especially with the type of violence. Difference is that Narutaru, though containing less violence, is a hell of a lot effective with it despite not being as graphical. It keeps you on the edge, letting you hold you breath for what seems like an eternity before unleashing it upon you. It's all about the build up and suspence.
But at the of the day. The question still remains - just what IS the point of this anime? It has a plot that seems to miss out more than it revealed. It has quirky characters that are undeveloped (they never did tell you why Sakura is like how she is now), and seemingly pointless. It tries to be a lot of things and ends up not really being any of them. This anime is basically all over the place, but it does have some merits. Worth a watch because it's so unusual and does some things so brilliantly. Just don't expect a great anime, but an ok anime that is great in places.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Dylan |
(2005-08-10 18:18:46) 2005-03-18 04:16:53 |
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Why God why? OK, this anime is a little too slow for just 13 episodes. Like, WTF? I mean, seriously. So many questions unanswered, so many characters undeveloped, so many things that needed to be focused on, so much ambiguity. Why God why?.
With that said. Creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy. Really flipping creepy. Not scary exactly, but so creepy it amazes me. They have just managed to make some of the creepiest characters I have ever seen. Also just hits in on some creepy parts of society in a child's life.
Anyway, please read the rest of my review.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Narutaru certainly isn't what I expected it to be.. It left me with mixed feelings about it all.
I can't believe this aired on as a kid show, cause the theme screams 'MATURE' all over.
Now, let's start with the animation. I didn't like it that much. All the people were quite skinny and the Dragons looked just plain weird. (maybe they're supposed to look that way though.)
Anyhow, The animation wasn't that good.
We move on to the sound. OST was kinda nice. The themes playing in the background were nice tunes that fitted the mood, so that's a plus. The OP/END were also nice.
As for the voice acting, I needed to warm up to Shiina's vioce at first, cause I thought it didn't fit with her, but after a few eps I got used to it.
Then comes the story. I don't know what to think of it. It isn't even finished.
It's a original concept as it covers things most Media would stay away from, but it's rather vague executed. Also, not all the episodes kept the tension that it should have, but the later eps 10-11-12 do a great job keeping you interested.
I'm still left with many questions about it, and I hope this isn't the end of NaruTaru. But with this ending, it doesn't deserve a high rating, because the story itself continues.
The characters were also one of the strong points of the Anime. Many charaters have a horrible past or something horrible is happening to them throughout the Anime, and then they'd do something you'd never expect.
Some characters were a little vague though, as we didn't get that much information about them, that's too bad..
As for Value and Enjoyment, I wouldn't watch it again for fun myself, but If a friend asked me to show this to him/her, I would watch with them.
I found Narutaru to be quite nice, but it left me unsatisfied..
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orichalc |
(2004-11-12 09:56:53) 2004-11-12 09:55:43 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Kitou Mihiro does Pokemon. The first episode and the crayon opening sequence are kiddy-show camouflage for the peek into the dark hearts of humans - particularly children.
The problem with the anime is that it is basically incomplete; you have to take what you can from the half-manga storyline that turns up.
And that's quite a lot: sociopathic kids using Pokemon style creatures to lash out at society, horrific bullying, playing with peoples' lives, suicidal impulses... This anime goes where almost nothing in whatever media dares.
I really enjoy the fantasy-overlay that the Dragons (Ryuu) and Dragonets (Ryuu no Ko) provide on this look at the nasty side of society. Like Paranoia Agent, it brings so much more to the material than a mimetic approach (overrated as much as "escapist" media are derided) would.
Animation is spare, sometimes (like an infamous car scene with Shiina's imobile head) overtly cheap. OP is kinda weird, ED I really like. Story jumps around can be disconnected, but it isn't a conventional narrative so I'm completely fine with it - even with the up-in-the-air ending.
You get the feelings of fear, menace, and helplessness you don't usually feel in anime because the characters basically come up against the worst aspects of human nature and don't necessarily come out on top. Episode 3, the air "battle" and the last 2 episodes stand out.
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| Average |
6.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Whelp, I have to admit, this show grew on me a little bit. The first few episodes bored me silly. Then I was just numb to the middle ones, but by the end, I sort of cared what was happening. It's a shame that everything had to be so rushed. I hear the manga is quite good.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This is definatly an odd anime... I'm not sure how I feel about this one... The show seems have been done decently, and is worth watching the first few episodes, but keep in mind that this anime does get a little horror-rific for me in some scenes.
-IJ
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Ridian |
(2006-12-09 21:03:14) 2004-07-07 06:33:33 |
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| Average |
7.0 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Narutaru is a grim, creepy little work that starts out passively forgettable, much to the dismay of many viewers. Those who stick it out through the uneventful first episode, however, find that the series becomes darker and darker until it has become a completely different monster. The culmination of this series, in fact, is so bizarre and morbidly fascinating that I can't help but, in spite of myself, want more. That said...
The animation of this series, though it isn't really a focal point, is decidedly sloppy. Things look quite simplistic and a lot of shortcuts appear to have been taken in the creation. There were some interesting perks, such as the impressive design of the dragons and dragonets, but overall the anime just doesn't look nice. Narutaru really had the capacity to throw around even more emotional or psychological impact with some better-looking animation as well; the sparsely-used filters such as color inverting really do help to leave a lasting impression about a certain scene. If the animators had found a way to use this effect a little more without abusing it, then Narutaru could have benefited greatly.
The sound is similarly lackluster. The OP is fun, but be ready to laugh nervously at its bounciness as the plot advances...And the ED is decidedly generic. Insert music is similarly unremarkable, with very little memorable tunes aside from horror-movie chords for some shock effect here and there. I'm not wild about the voice acting either; though Shiina takes a while to get used to, you'll learn to appreciate her sincere and energetic performance versus the somewhat lethargic ones by the rest of the cast. Though a certain important character gives a delightfully creepy turn on the final episode...
Despite what this review may have led you to believe, this is not a story anime. The anime itself reinforces this fact, and as you watch on you will discover that the plot is generally disjointed and garbled. At first it starts out with an amiable visit to Grandma's farm, but quickly enough it mutates into a war for humanity on the horizon...and as the anime wears on, the viewer begins to realize that this war is against humanity itself. I appreciate how well this works itself out in the end. Though most of the episodes tie in to the final result of the plot, things get a little messy at times, especially Episode 10...what the hell did we need THAT for? There is just no room for filler when you've only got thirteen episodes...a lesson that Shingetsutan Tsukihime and many 13-episode series of late should have learned. In the end, there are a lot of unanswered questions and dead-end plot points in here that a much-anticipated second season will hopefully clear up.
Okay, so let's backtrack. Aesthetically, Narutaru's a letdown. Storywise, it's decent but nothing special. What makes this anime so unbelievably poignant? The characters. They are so emotionally charged, each with their own different objective and viewpoint on their (messed-up) situation...though one may find that they assume very different routes at the end of the series. Shiina, our endearing protagonist, is very much the foil of the mostly downbeat cast of characters, with an optimistic and at some times gung-ho attitude towards her life. She deals with problems and difficulties as soon as they come up and without any hesitation before they become worse; I think we could all stand to learn from her. Akira, school outcast and loner, deals with self-mutilation, an interesting theme that is rarely explored in anime. She feels like a failure to her parents and to herself and turns to cutting for her solace. Truly a sad state of affairs. Hiro is an intelligent, diligent young girl who gets bullied because of her superior test grades, which puts another sad facet of school life into view. Society places so much social pressure on the members that stand out (or maybe sink in...). And finally we have the three nihilistic students of Panda Academy: Sudo, Bungo and Ozawa, a triumvirate dedicated to reforming what they see as a weak society. Their actions may seem callous, but as we view the horrors that humanity commits upon one another, is their ideal really that surrealistic? The characters are so different yet connected on such an incredible scale that it is absolutely astonishing to think about. And poor Shiina's stuck in the middle of it all, threatened by losing much more than she'd ever bargained for. My only complaint, a decidedly small one, is that occasionally characters are introduced that didn't (yet) have a thing to do with any of the plotlines running in the series, especially in the aforementioned Episode 10. Often these characters pertain to their equally dead and negligible plot points, however, so they are easily ignored.
Is Narutaru enjoyable? That's hard to say, but it certainly is valuable on a score of levels. It has a powerful lesson to teach about human nature and does so in a media that one would never really expect, so perhaps that's enjoyment. However, it communicates its message in a way that can occasionally be horrifying and upsetting, which makes one wonder if they even want to accept this truth of humanity. It is HIGHLY recommended viewing to understand a little more about social psychology and the world in general. Because when it comes right down to it...are you going to disappear from the world, or is the world going to disappear from you?
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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|
| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| It's difficult to understand the motives of this anime. Just when you think you understand how the plot is going to evolve you're introduced to new characters and new conflicts, and by the last episode of the 1st season all hell just breaks loose. There are a lot of unanswered questions but that's a good thing, as long as there are further episodes eventually.
One of the themes this anime seems to be getting at has to do with the social stress experienced by Japanese youth by strict and unforgiving competitive schools and parents, basically the traditional society as a whole which stresses conformity.
The story is somewhat out of this world with all these strange dragonnet creatures that aren't fully explained, but i've given it leeway since hopefully more episodes and further development are on the way.
This is definitely a thought provoking anime that will keep your curiosity aroused in every episode. In contrast with the trend of of boring and predictable fanboy animes released recently, i had no problem getting through each episode of Narutaru. I recommend this to anyone that's mature enough to handle some grotesque violence and partial nudity. And besides, the opening/ending themes are really nice, if somewhat misleading :)
P.S. If you're one of those people that won't bother with anything that can't reach an overall score of 9.0 at Animenfo, keep in mind most of the people reviewing this are mature and capable of writing an honest review. (As opposed to the majority of people that review fanboy animes). Narutaru does have unmistakably below average animation and the story isn't complete yet, but it was still worthwhile.
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|
Emphy |
2004-07-01 04:29:55 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| When you first begin this series, you think : The Ultimate Anime for kids.
When you're halfway in this series, you think : The Ultimate Weird Anime.
When you're finished, you think : The Ultimate Anime for Thought.
It starts out as a normal kids' anime (it DID air in a kids' japanese channel). The adventurous protagonist, Shiina, goes on a journey to a faraway place and finds something. This something is Hoshimaru, which has VERY little reason to be here (I say this only because his history and reasons for his actions, mainly staying with Shiina the whole time, are VERY vague). She goes back home with Hoshimaru and meets some new friends. This new friends are...hard to really describe in words. All the more thought put into place by this anime. Anyway, these friends have the same type of creature (dragonets) as Hoshimaru. These people can control and connect with their dragonets much better than Shiina can with Hoshimaru. Unfortunatelly, this isn't a good thing. These people have evil thoughts and intentions alongside with their dragonets. This is the story of Narutaru.
Narutaru shows a theme of both psychology and disturbance in the minds of these 6th graders. It's very interesting to see how the characters react to the way the world treats them and how it revolves around others. While everyone has their demented point of view, only one is truly resolved in this 13 episode series, while the others remain untouched. This leaves a good opening for the next season, which is supposedly coming out. I look forward to it with much anticipation.
Overall, it's a great anime for anyone...who's not a kid (which is terribly ironic). With such deep psychology and disturbing scenes, as you've already heard from nearly ALL other reviews, kids should avoid this anime at all costs.
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| First episode: play. Okay, harmonica intro, nice cheerful characters in the intro, first scene: nice little cheerful happygirl arriving on a island, somewhat later: this nice little rubberduck appears and wants to be at her side. Ready for a nice feelgood anime. Second episode: shy girl gets introduced, meets with happy girl, shy girl gets home, shy girl does...
and there the story makes it's first unexpected shock. Man that suggestion really wasn't nice.
The first nine episodes tell the story of those creatures. There is the usual baddies vs goodies and of course, our main character is special. Unoriginal yet entertaining. The excellent soundtrack sucks you in the story. The background effects give it a nice creepy feeling about it. You just know that bad stuff are going to happen. One particular cruel moment I can remember in episode 8. You know it when you see it...
For episode 10, the story takes a step away and covers a completely useless sidestory. What was up with that episode?
And then came the already legendary episodes 11-12-13. The story takes yet another sidestep, but this time with the main sidecharacters. The creatures from the start are swept aside at the moment, to tell this sidestory.
Well what can I say about those episodes? It's what every serious bullied person secretly thought about doing to their demons at least once I think. But well, this show takes it a far bit further then just excecuting that idea. Actually, it goes even way beyond psychopatic level lol. You also don't need any fantasy at all to catch whats going on, if you get what I'm saying. It's seriously not right.
They should have made an OVA about those last few episodes. That would have instantly created a cultclassic for sure.
The characters are the standard stuff you see 'everywhere'. Excited, energetic girl, shy girl, smart, shy girl, caring father, etc etc. It's nice, but not really special.
Animation is sufficient yet not very special.
It's good that they make a second season, as there still is a lot of room for that. They can just pickup at the end of episode 9. Hopefully they don't try to copy their ending, because I don't think anyone will do these sort of things better ever lol.
I would say, watch it and get ready to see some nice freaky things. Don't pick this for it's nice storyline or whatever.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| A few words come up right now: cunning, brilliance, shocking and disturbing. Narutaru is very psycho, not everybody's cup of tea.
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
1 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Ok, this one's really hard to review. For the most part, I enjoyed the series and would recommend others to watch (although not kids of course). In terms of psychological impact, it's kind of like Evangelion's little stepbrother.
I pretty much hated all the characters, and I do not advocate absolute pacifism (there are times when you need to kill other people--see: World War II) but besides those two things and a total lack of a cohesive story, this show (season) could have been a classic one.
The show is incredibly demented for a anime, but the mindrape wasn't too bad, it was mostly the characters' reactions to being mindraped that bothered me. Although yeah, the second to last episode... Wow.
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Pantha |
(2007-07-09 16:44:22) 2004-06-01 22:35:58 |
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| Average |
6.3 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| If you were ever a bully, I suggest you contact your victim. He may have your picture marked on your wall. Parents, don’t pressure your kids to be something they do not want to be. They may snap one day. Surprisingly disturbing and slightly preachy, Narutaru is a work to be appreciated if only for its daring; not only does the show pull a rabbit out of its hat, but it transforms innocence into terror, evil, and outright hatred. Although Narutaru’s story is told in an unusual way, its pitfalls- superficiality, tedium, and shallow characterizations, keeps it from being an anime truly for everyone.
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