{"id":2167,"date":"2020-01-20T22:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=2167"},"modified":"2020-01-15T15:59:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T06:59:42","slug":"mekakucity-actors-is-visually-stunning-yet-narratively-problematic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/20\/mekakucity-actors-is-visually-stunning-yet-narratively-problematic\/","title":{"rendered":"Mekakucity Actors<\/i> is Visually Stunning Yet Narratively Problematic"},"content":{"rendered":"

When <\/span>Mekakucity Actors<\/span><\/i> aired back in 2014, I remember being more than a little excited. After all, with the same studio and director as both the <\/span>Monogatari Series<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Puella Magi Madoka Magica,<\/span><\/i> I knew I would be getting a visual feast if nothing else. And while it certainly was that, by episode four of the series, I decided to drop it from my weekly viewing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30d7\u30ec\u30c3\u30af\u30b9<\/a> on YouTube<\/em><\/p>\n

What started as the exciting story of a shut-in boy and his mysterious AI friend caught in a hostage situation devolved into a series of episodes focused on the seemingly unconnected backstories of a group of superpowered teens. The story never seemed to move forward–only backward–and I got tired of waiting for things to happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In retrospect, after watching the whole series for this Patreon-sponsored retro-review<\/a>, I do wish I had watched it to the end. There is a lot to enjoy in the visuals, humor, and dialogue between the characters. However, the story still feels needlessly obtuse, even now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30d7\u30ec\u30c3\u30af\u30b9<\/a> on YouTube<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, part of the issue is the structure: most of the episodes are self-contained and focus on the back story of one or more characters–with present events serving as little more than a framing device for the flashbacks. Then, after the credits of each episode is a short, seemingly irrelevant storybook fairytale about a witch–which is actually the most vital part for understanding the entire series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it takes a bit of work, if you pay attention to everything that\u2019s going on and keep the fractured timeline straight in your head, it\u2019s not that tough to follow what is going on for the majority of the series. But near the end of the story–especially in the final few episodes where things in the present really get moving–the plot starts to play it fast and loose when it comes to explaining things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30d7\u30ec\u30c3\u30af\u30b9<\/a> on YouTube<\/em><\/p>\n

Major plot points happen off-screen and are never explained. The incredibly beautiful, yet ultimately abstract visuals, only serve to make it all the more confusing. In the end, I was left understanding what happened, but not why nor how–even with rewatching the final episode.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, it should be mentioned that <\/span>Mekakucity Actors<\/span><\/i> is part of a much bigger multimedia project: The <\/span>Kagerou Project<\/span><\/i>. What started as a series of Vocaloid songs spanned everything from music videos to manga and light novels by the time the anime began. The various media of the <\/span>Kagerou Project<\/span><\/i> all tell a different version of the same story with the same setting and characters–though the actual events portrayed can vary wildly. And this leads to the root of the anime\u2019s overall problem: it expects you to have a lot of knowledge going in.<\/span><\/p>\n