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ZEGAPAIN
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Animation - 9.0 |
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Sound - 8.4 |
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Story - 8.5 |
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Character - 8.8 |
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Value - 8.5 |
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Enjoyment - 9.1 |
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Average - 8.8 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| One of the better mecha/sci fi animes I've seen recently. I know the hype is all about Code Geass and Gundam 00 (both excellent animes as well, btw), but Zegapain imo can easily stand up to them. I got into this show expecting another generic mecha anime, but boy have I been happily proven wrong. Zegapain has one of the cleverest take on the whole parallel world scenario I've seen. If you're into sci fi or mecha animes, or just plain good anime with very good animation, understated yet excellent music and some very likeable characters, do yourself a favor and check it out. You won't be disappointed.
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xkeix |
2009-02-11 22:07:22 |
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| Average |
7.0 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Personally, I don't think that Zegapain deserves too high a rating. For that reason, the usually laid back and lazy me decided to do a review such that its ratings are more objective and justified. =P Let me explain my point further in the paragraphs that follow.
I do admit that I tend to be more critical because I drew comparisons with other mecha anime of similar ratings. As it stands at the moment, it received 8.9/10 which is too high for this mediocre anime.
Animation:
In my opinion, animation is not merely just how well it looks visually but also how the animation as a whole appeals to the viewer and is presented. This is perhaps why Zegapain's animation is also the biggest aspect which disappoints me.
Zegapain attempted to do a 3D animation style for its fighting scenes. It totally backfires because it makes the mecha fighting scenes exceptionally boring and unengaging instead. Same scenes were constantly being repeated. Occasionally, the background changed while the same fighting sequence remain. At other times, its the same fighting sequence with some parts cut off or added. If u watched the anime, you will get a better idea of what I'm referring to. The battles always feels one sided.
It’s seriously a far far cry compared to other mecha anime from Sunrise like Gundam or Code Geass.
Sound:
Opening theme and ending theme is pretty average. Background music that supports scenes is also unimpressionable.
Story:
This is perhaps the only redeeming aspect of the anime. The story is panned out in a rather interesting manner and touches on philosophical questions. However, it is way too similar to “The Matrix”. Nothing particularly refreshing still and not much of a plot to speak of. It had an interesting concept which failed to really develop well.
Character:
Characters aren’t really engaging for me. Character development are also at best mediocre.
In conclusion, I would encourage those who like animes that pose philosophical questions to give Zegapain a shot. However, if you're seeking some thrilling action from this anime, I would suggest you to give it a miss.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| First of all, I think I've finally made sense of the name. I think "Zega" is supposed to be a combination of the words "zed" and "omega" and it was intended to denote something which comes last. Thus, when combined with "pain" it refers to the "final pain" or the pain of death. This makes a lot more sense around ep 6 so stick around untill then.
Actually, that is probably one of the biggest problems with this series: the entire first DVD contains nothing which will get you hooked on this series. I was first intrigued by how fluid time and space seemed to be in this series, so I stuck around to see how they would explain that, but even that barely kept me going. I mean, let's be honest, the battle sequences are bad, the characters seem a little stock at first, and for those first five episodes, the plot feels really predictable. What's worse is you really can't skip those first five episodes. You'll understand what I mean by ep 6 and if you're still not interested by episode seven, then I guess this series really isn't for you.
Now that we have that out of the way, let me say what is good about this anime. Two words: premise and character development. This series has a downright magnificent premise. They've constructed a world which, by its very nature challenges and eventually overcomes the main character's values and beliefs. The series combines a brilliantly constructed world with just the right characters to create character arcs, themes, and sub plots that raise it above it's failings and succeed in turning Zegapain into a very enjoyable anime with enormous replay value.
That said, in order to enjoy Zegapain, one must be willing to forgive its pitfalls. The giant robot fights, in general, aren't particularly interesting, but they're not really that bad either. They could have made the Garsorum more sympathetic and their motives believable. It really could have done with fewer battle scenes as well since most of them weren't much good and it would have given a little more time to depict the characters' internal struggles, which is what we were really interested in.
But none of that is to say you shouldn't watch it. By all means you should. It's one of my favorite series. I love Zegapain. It has one of the most interesting plots I've ever encountered and makes such use out of its characters that it can and sometimes does bring one to tears. It has many subtleties and hidden meanings that make the series worth watching again and again. But the creators made a lot of minor mistakes (almost entirely near the beginning and end of the series) that you have to be willing to forgive in order to really enjoy the series. It's a lot like the case of Da Capo or Mai Otome: It's a great series, but it has some problems.
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nauXolo |
(2008-02-23 22:39:17) 2008-02-23 19:11:18 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Zegapain is one of the most engaging mecha animes that I have watched in a long time. It integrates elements of philosophy, technology, and humanity into one wonderful creation. Both the animation and music is stunning and modern. The story always leaves enough mystery, yet keeps introducing new elements that allows you to fully engage in the events. While the characters may not be the most complex, there is enough variety that allows for a number of viewpoints. Overall, Zegapain is a very well made mecha-based anime that appeals to those who want a well thought out fictional world.
Although I hesitate to go too into depth about Zegapain's brilliant fictional universe, I feel that a little introduction is needed to truly understand my thoughts on it. The story starts out with Sogoro Kyo getting involved with a group of people named Celebrants. According to them, the world that Kyo lives in is actually a dream reality, and does not exist (reasons given in anime). In fact, they claim that the real world has been destroyed and that the world he sees no longer truly exists. With this, Kyo struggles to accept the fact that his schoolmates aren't physically there anymore, while trying to find a reason to fight against the GARD-OMS, who seem to be destroying the real earth, now devoid of humanity.
Zegapain's story is what drives everything along. We follow Kyo's realization and understanding of his situation as he encounters various people similar to him who have had to deal with lthe loss of identity and the loss of loved ones. As he battles seemingly endless GARD-OMS, he tries to identify why he fights and who he wishes to protect. Furthermore, he tackles the philosophical thought of what it REALLY means to be alive. If you no longer have a physical body, yet still feel pain and sadness, are you still alive? Also, Kyo gets involved in many complicated relationships with two girls, which influence Kyo in different ways. So, to summarize, Kyo is fighting for humanity, but struggles to identify why he is fighting, and who exactly he is.
While this may all seem WAY too familiar to mecha fans (after all, Gundam SEED, Evangelion, RahXephon, etc. are all like this), the story scenario sets it apart from the rest. I've already revealed more than I intended, but the innovative story is truly what makes me interested in watching this. Nevertheless, with such a heavy emphasis on developing and revealing plot points, the characters do not receive as much development. Aside from Kyo, the other Zega-pilots and bridge crew do not really change much. Instead, we learn more about their deep past history. After all, it is only Kyo who lost his memory due to 'wet damage'. Everyone else still clearly remembers their past pain, while Kyo has to relive it. Nevertheless, I found that the cast of characters really guided Kyo along well. While I never focused much on the characters, with such a diverse range of personalities, I never found any of them to be uninteresting.
If Zegapain is really all that I make it out to be, why do I not give it a perfect score? Even though it evoked emotions that I forgot anime could do, I was not that deeply engrossed with the characters. Aside from Kaminagi's sad story, I wish I could have felt more sympathy for the characters. Misaki Shizuno could have mad more of an impression, and could have done more for the storyline instead of being so passive. At the end, you kind of understand why she is the way she is, but that came out of left field. I could keep blabbing, but the bottomline is the less than perfect characters influences the story progression as well.
In conclusion, Zegapain is one of the best sleeper hits ever. If you enjoy watching mecha of any sort and if you like to tackle similar philosophical questions posed by Ghost in the Shell, with lots of GREAT mecha action and fight scenes (as in, hardly recycled), then definite watch this. It may seem to take a little bit to get into, but soon you'll be craving more.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| It's really too bad this anime has been sort of brushed over by most of the anime community. With all the mystery and twists thrown into the anime, the story and characters is constantly evolving. There's enough action, romance, mystery and school-life to hook almost everyone till the end.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Blewin |
(2007-09-03 02:04:01) 2007-09-03 01:58:45 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| One word: Amazing!
the anime has everything, action, humour, mysterious plot, great characterisation, but above all, it's deep with thought-provoking elements like "The Twelve Kingdoms".
I'd say... "Zegapain" is like "Rahxephon" and "Noein" (but easier to understand) with a buildup of emotions as found in "Last Exile". It has its fighting moments like "Gundam" but focusses more on characterisation and questioning the world like "Eureka Seven".
What is reality? What is immortality? What is human?
The description of "Zegapain" on the anime's mainpage is totally misleading, but delving any deeper would go into serious spoiler stuff.... anyway, just watch it!
As other reviewers have said, you won't get the story till episode 4. But that's a bit quick.
You won't get the story unless you watch the entire anime. Just like "Noein" and "Eureka Seven". yes, "Zegapain" is slow, but the buildup is addictive. The show doesn't lose its focus, instead, it heightens and adds to it. Each episode reveals more about the world and its people.
The anime does well in focussing on the main character and his struggle to accepting the "truth" of the world. Diverging into the lost memories and pain of other characters would give away too much of the plot and trivialise/lessen the emotional impacts. Of course, the character himself also serves as a stark point of question. Is he himself real? when he's... different from.... before? uh, don't want to give any more spoilers.
Awesome anime. Will definitely rewatch it.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This one was a very refreshing anime. After first few episodes i was mistaken thinking, that it's nothing special mecha anime. I'm so happy that I was so wrong.IMO this is one of the better animes that were released not too long ago.
Animation: Animation was very good, if every 26 episodes anime would have such good animation that is so pleasent to watch...
Sound. Sound effects are not the best i've heard, however op/ed are very nice and easy listening, and music in background is very well blended. I would give it 10, but battle sounds sometimes started to be annoying. so those scenes was least pleasant to watch.
Story is very interesting. The start may be a little slow, but this anime is 26 eps long, so later eps buys it back alot. even if it was kind of little predictable, but it was well blended together and the story it self made me guessing so how things will be next. story value is quite unique, has something that makes u remember this anime after sometime. If i had watched it at time it aired on tv, it would have been pretty long waiting for each ep.
Characters rating is from 8-9. i give it 9, because they are not boring,and they are individual. only main character was abit annoying.
Value: This is not anime that will stay on my HDD, but will not be deleted right away, atleast not all of it. Especially the end episodes gonna stay for a while, because this anime will have only good memories. It's too long to rewatch, but must-have on dvd.
Enjoyment: The more i watched, more enjoying it was, so if u start watching it, atleast give it a chance watching more than 4 episodes.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Disclaimer
My ratings are harsh. 10s are reserved for shows of greatness, 1s are reserved for utter filth.
That said...
Q&A time:
Q: zegaPAIN?
A: yes, pain they actually mean it, just watch.
Q: ZEGA?
A: I've got nothing
Review:
Zegapain starts slow, painfully slow... with recycled animation. I noted that the same exact shooting sequence happened 3 times in two episodes with two different mechs. These episodes were probably made as part of a pilot, and therefore understanably a bit sub-par.
The show takes off after the 4th episode. (trust me it will seem like longer)
Overall, there aren't really any plotholes or loose ends come the final credits. Anomolous behaviours that the characters seem to have get resolved.
My ratings:
The animation was recycled in some spots aside from the first 4 episodes, bad form.
The sound was good, but the songs were standard J-pop stuff.
Characters seemed a bit stock and took some grumbles to get past.
I rated the Story as the lowest because the concept was utterly wonderful, but they fell short on the execution. I rated this a little low to reflect my mild disappointment. (Yes, dropped from a 9 to a six is a mild disappointment)
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| This anime is actually mediocre. I don't think it's as high as I rated it, but then again, an 8 for me, is considered low. ( to some degree) Above average, but not because of its plot. I guess I'm only halfway through it, so I can't really say if it'll pick up, but so far, I'm not impressed. Then again, my expectations weren't high, so I'm not disappointed.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| This newcomer anime has also done his share too this year 2006 but it was a half disapointment. I've waited for a good mecha to come out and this one is way too superficial. I've only seen till 15 episodes but it's clear enough to see where it's headed
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| So far I have really enjoyed this series. I'm only 10 episodes in, but I really have found the story fascinating and interesting. The story revolves around this guy Kyo and how he realizes that there's some other world other than the one he knows, that involves fighting mecha-style. The whole story has a real Matrix feel to it which has been used before, but this is nice. I like the constant parallel between the real real world and the artificial one. Give this one a spin ya might like how it feels.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This anime shows great potential of becoming really good.
This review is based upon the first 4 episodes.
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DTdude |
(2006-04-09 05:23:33) 2006-04-09 05:07:11 |
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Very Impressive! The first 2006 mecha anime show from the famous company, SUNRISE. Character design is awesome, the same goes with quality and sound. The voiceactors fit the character's personality really well. This show reminds me of "Sousei no Aquarion". Once again, we have a hero destined to save the world. Kyo, the main character, fights along side with Shizuno and ZegaPain to defend the world from evil robots.
Animation: Very nice 3D CG mecha models. The show's very bright and colorful. Sunrise never fails to disappoint us with the many quality shows they've shown us.
Sound: No OP shown so far, but should be pretty good. ED gives off a cool feeling along with the different scenes. I'll have to wait for more episodes to judge. Shizuno's voiceactor is Kawasumi Ayako (Mai) from Mai Hime. She has one of the cutest/coolest voices of all anime voice actors.
Story: Kinda Cliche, but if you like the hero save the world theme much like other shows (Gundam Seed, Sousei no Aquarion..list goes on), then you'll definitely want to add this show in your collection. It's been a very popular theme and will continue to be for many years to come.
Character: Ryo, much like many other anime shows is kinda stupid on the outside, but he's a very brave and kind hearted person. Shizuno is my favorite female character in the show. She looks really hot and Ryo's attracted to her. Hope to see more of her in the upcoming episodes. Kyo's childhood friend, Ryoko, is pretty cute. I hope there's a triangle relationship between shizuno, Kyo and Ryoko. That should make the story much more interesting.
Value: It's too early to give a rating, but by looking at the things in the show so far, it has lots of potential.
Enjoyment: I love it. The mecha and the different characters in the show makes me want to watch more episodes of this show.
As I come up with more thoughts and comments about the show, I'll update this review even more. Stay tuned.
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