Nothing like finishing two crappy anime series in the same month, and Yozakura Quartet was just as bad, if not worse, than Birdy the Mighty Decode. You’d never know it from reading the manga, but Yozakura Quartet is just a meandering mess that feels like one long filler arc in a bad, long shounen series.
Story
This story is a steamy load of crap, and reads like something a little kid made up. The entire danger of the Nana-Gou flowering is a complete farce, and clocks in at just under “light fluffy snow” and slightly above “freezing rain.” If Akina had spent time training the way Hime did, maybe his tuning could have been more precise and he could have tuned Enjin without tuning Gin. In the end, it didn’t even matter because everyone decided they didn’t give a crap about Gin anymore.
The funny thing is, the tuning didn’t work before, so why should it work again? And shouldn’t all the Youkai still be able to get into Sakurashin now that the border has been broken (not that it was that good a border in the first place)? The central plotline is so full of plot holes that it is absolutely maddening. Things like Ao getting a long ride to nowhere in episode 11 only to have to run back on foot across town in episode 12 are just icing on the cake. Basically what I’m trying to say is that the plot sucks and makes no sense. I would later find out that this is because the plot is a completely mangled monstrosity formed from frankensteined pieces of the manga.
Characters
The characters actually are not that bad, and they kept things interesting for the first few episodes. However, the director was not really interested in developing any of the characters, and they end up being very one-dimensional and silly. People then start powering up for no reason what so ever. Before you know it, everyone is throwing around brightly colored electricity and nothing makes sense anymore.
Even Akina’s whole emo-trip about Gin is really poorly done. This could have been a really poignant struggle in the series, but it was botched terribly. The same could be said about Ao, although at least she didn’t keep falling for the same trick over and over again (probably because she can read minds). As for the side characters, they were completely and utterly useless, although Yuuhi and Mariabelle did provide some entertainment value.
Tilt
The art was generally bad, although I liked the character designs. Unfortunately, the staff was clearly operating on a tight budget, and so the animation was lousy and the art was much worse than the manga art (making the eyecatches even more tantalizing). The battle choreography was by and large garbage, as if the animators thought that adding more bright colors could make the battles more exciting.
While Yozakura Quartet looked terrible, its sound was a bit better. The OP was catchy enough and the ED was not too bad. I didn’t like the BGM that much, especially that one crappy battle song (the “I don’t know the answer” one). The “Tsun tsun dere dere” song was amusing, especially in how consistently it was used, and compared to the rest of this series the music and voice work could be considered bright spots.
Verdict
Yozakura Quartet is a terrible and forgettable series, which is a real shame because the manga is not that bad. I didn’t read the manga until I was almost done with the anime, and I could not believe that someone could take the source material and botch it so badly.
Kabitzin’s Rating: 1/5
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10 Comments
Wow. Now I’m glad I jumped ship after watching 3 eps, but I’m also kind of sad that Studio Nomad was behind this mess.
What happened to the talent that made Rozen Maiden “highly-entertaining-despite-flimsy-premise” and the great characters of that series? You guys can do better than this and Kyouran Kazoku Nikki.
Amen
I watched the first ep or two purely on the back of the director but even his influence (which seemed to extend as far as the character interactions and dialogue, which were pretty fun) wasn’t enough to stop it being generic and, to put it bluntly, pretty boring.
If nothing else it reminded me why Shounen Jump stuff isn’t really my thing.
Dropped it at ep 5-6 and was wondering whether to pick it up again. Your review seal the deal not to pick it up again
Woah two consecutive 1/5 ratings in a row must be a first on SSAB! Dropped Yozakura Quartet at ep 2. Thought the way they handled the theme of Youkai vs humans to be uninspired and juvenile. From your review, I’m glad to have not stuck around.
I recommend Ga-Rei Zero to rinse out the bad taste
I’m proud to have made it through multiple bad anime series this month! The funny thing for everyone who dropped YQ in the first half is that that half was actually somewhat entertaining. It only goes downhill from there.
Man, I didn’t even start this series! and I really wanted to cause of the ROUND TABLE featuring Nino song (the ED). I sort of made an oath (hmm, I guess you can call it a New Years Resolution now) to watch all animes that had ROUND TABLE feat. Nino music… now I’m wondering if I should scratch that off my list. Hmmm, perhaps I can boogie-down with it for a while and then Jump Shark/hit-and-quit it afterwards… hmm, choices choices! =3
(btw, diggin’ da new Nagi banner!)
She’s actually playing a DS in the picture, but it got cut out in the banner.
O_O wha…wha… YOU DO CARE!!! :D:D:D:D:D:Dx159
Although the DS was cut out, its the thought that counts!
and I see that you added a few other banners (the kitty rubbin’ Yozakura Quartet cat and one of those blue haired look alike characters in ToraDora). Was I gone for that long? =3
I had some spare time so I added like 4-5 banners one night.