REVIEW: Kiznaiver – Episode 1

Series Synopsis (courtesy of MyAnimeList)

One day, Noriko Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira Agata, “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers. Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land, but as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. The story is set in this town where Katsuhira and the others live.

You can find Kiznaiver streaming on Crunchyroll.com

Episode Review

So I ‘m gonna go into this thing with some prerequisite so people know where I’m coming from. I am a total Gainax/TRIGGER fanboy and love almost everything they make. That being said, I am going into Kiznaiver completely expecting to love it. However that won’t deter me from reviewing it properly. If anything I’ll be more judgmental because I hold TRIGGER’s work in high regards. Just be prepared that there might be some gushing to come.

The series starts off strong with have a unique art style and direction to it. Already you know that this will be a show unlike you have ever seen and its something that will stick in your mind from all the other new shows coming out. Most of this episode is character intro and teases the plot. Of course there is a huge mystery as to why the “Kizuna System” was really invented. I assume it wasn’t the reason that Noriko said it was solely on the account of it being the first episode. Also I don’t really agree with how she sees the world and reason for violence. Personally I think empathy goes longer than people think and sharing pain would do little to weigh in on things that come down to your ideals and choices you make at an individual and personal level. That’s not a fault of the show, but its an ideal that people (myself included) will have to fight with as we let the story play out. I’ll give Kiznaiver the benefit of the doubt solely on pedigree and say that philosophy will blow up in Noriko’s face.

Everything was delivered in a really clean and to the point manner. Never was there really any down time in what was going on, and that’s what I like to see in first episodes. Already were getting to at least know what everyone is like off the bat and don’t have to waste time with things that don’t really matter. Those can come later once we care enough about the characters and want to see them doing pointless things. The directing was incredible, but what can I expect from the man who worked under the pupilage of Hiroyuki Imaishi. That TRIGGER style along with Mari Okada‘s emotional storytelling seem to fit well together and really lets them play with emotions that may seem too cartoony in other shows.

Ultimately I can’t say anything bad about this show just yet except for the fact that it might turn out into a show that preaches a lot. And unless those views are important enough it may end up pushing me way. I’m expecting big things from the main character as well. As he is now I feel I could grow very cold towards him in the next episode if they don’t give me some back story to him. All together the characters are pretty blatant in their typing, which is intentional. But that makes them hard to talk about now. This is going to be a big character piece with a load of interconnecting themes in it, so I’m trying to get as deep as I can. This show won’t necessarily be for everyone, but if it was I think it would lose some of the heart I feel its going for. So I implore all of you to check it out and see if it will be one of those shows that will shake your heart up. It certainly seems like it will be that way for me.

Episode Rating: B-