World Trigger
“Visitor from the Other World”
Like most anime I’ve watched over the years, World Trigger was one I discovered by accident. A “Happy Accident,” if I’m being honest. It is an anime based on the manga of the same name released in the Fall of 2014. Season one aired from Oct 5, 2014, to Apr 3, 2016, for 73 episodes. The series is ongoing, and fans eagerly await news on a season four 2023 release date.
World Trigger is the type of anime that I hear gets better with time; think Bleach or Naruto. Animated by Toei Animation, the story is set in Mikado City, a city of 280,000 residents. One day a gate opens from a parallel universe, and beings known as “Neighbors” appear. These large worm-like creatures come to tear Mikado City to pieces. That's what bad neighbors do, right?
Conventional weapons have little effect on the “Neighbors.” so Mikado City creates “Border,” an Agency tasked with defending Mikado City against these threats. The first episode of World Trigger dives right in, providing the viewer with a flashback and some exposition, and based on the opening intro, we get an idea of who our possible protagonists are.
Four years after the first Neighbor's appearance, life has more or less returned to normal. A new student transferring to class is all the talk and a recent attack. We meet Osamu Mikumo, our typical socially awkward Middle School student who is the subject of occasional bullying and pranks by the rude boys in the back of the class. Known by the nickname “Four Eyes” as he wears glasses, Osamu gives off those Nanao Nakajima (Talentless Nana) vibes. A friend to the underdog, annoying, but you love his sense of honor. Whatever that trope is called in shounen anime, then that’s Osamu.
He’s paired with the new transfer student Yuma Kuga, a mysterious white-haired kid who moved to Japan. Yuma is short in stature but has an intimidating demeanor. Yuma immediately gains the ire of Osamu, who is directly suspicious. He also gains the attention of the troublemakers in the back of the class probably because the girls immediately like him. I guess a white-haired kid with red eyes showing up in class is a sight to behold! Not to mention who would move to a city known for being attacked by beings from another dimension. Nevertheless, never underestimate the new kid, especially when he one-ups the bullies. I think it is safe to say he can hold his own.
If he one-ups the bullies, you can expect two things; first, he’s probably a secret badass, and second, he’ll punk Osamu. He doesn’t punk Osamu, but he is hard on him and looks down on Osamu’s bully philosophy. He even goes as far as referring to him as “Four Eyes.”
Osamu believes in ignoring the problem or diplomacy to keep the peace. The bullies believe in payback, and Yuma believes in standing up for yourself. So best, two out of three, maybe? Anyway, if we don’t fight, we don’t get a Neighbor invasion, which was obvious where this sequence of events led. We also don’t get the big reveal, which I was surprised would happen this early in the series. Instead of one reveal, we get two and a means by which Yuma and Osamu will be joined at the hip. This is a good thing as the two slowly develop their “bromance.”
In the opening intro, four characters are seen. The first is seen only in a flashback of a Neighbor event in Mikado City. In this scene, the Border Agent defeats the enemy and asks “Four Eyes” if he is okay afterward. It is not revealed who he is by name, but it's safe to say he and Osamu have a history, and he is probably another of Osamu’s classmates. Rounding out the foursome is a student who is seen reading in class. Amatori only appears for a few seconds, and I’m sure we’ll see more of her.
It is evident from the jump that Toei Animation would make this a long-running series, so the animation budget was spread out considerably. So considerably that someone forgot that glasses have arms on both sides, complete arms. There is a frame where Osamu’s glasses look like a bridge with the middle blown own from under it. There is some scene reuse, and the fight scenes are sometimes static. I'd expect better for a 2014 anime, but they were going up against some heavy hitters at the time, including Psycho-Pass 2, Terraformers, and Parasyte -the maxim. I guess Toei was taking the route of we’ll beat them with storyline and honor, and we’ll stay very faithful to the manga.
Still, it's not a complete wash, and the character designs weren’t wrong. Mitsuru Hongo adds a mixture of themes, and World Trigger gives off many, including military, sci-fi, school, delinquent, and magical girl. This is not a surprise considering Mitsuru Hongo has worked on numerous anime of varying styles, including the long-running Crayon Shin-chan.
Despite its flaws, I enjoyed the first episode, so it's on to episode two!! The voice acting is pretty good, and Tomo Muranaka and Yuuki Kaji work well together voicing Yuma and Osamu, respectively. The background music is well leveled. I never felt the voice actors need to shout over the music. The opening theme, "GIRIGIRI" by Sonar Pocket, will take some time to grow on me.
Please Like, Comment, Share or click one of the links below to read another post.
https://pinnedupink.com/blogs/random-thoughts-because-mondays-suck-1
https://pinnedupink.com/blogs/on-screen
