Hypnosis Mic Division Rap Battle | Anime Review

Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle

We’re calling all the rap fans here. You all are in for a treat!

The manga for Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle was already a hit. Despite fans not being able to hear the actual rap, they were still satisfied with the lyrics they were able to see. We were a little confused because anime like these do not work well, but to our surprise, the anime executed the theme well. Having a super weird premise, Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle is a pretty fun anime to watch.

Some people might find the story weak, but it’s not a serious anime that must be very plot-driven. Therefore, we love this anime for the fun of it. You do not need to activate your brain to analyze what’s going on in this anime. Just relax your mind and enjoy the bat-shit insanity!

Japan had been overthrown and replaced by the Party of Words that uses Hypnosis Mics. The Hypnosis Mics could channel the words said by the user that could physically affect the listener, to the point that the listener could feel extreme pain and trauma. The Hypnosis Mics were used by terrorists, gangsters, or even the military as all weapons were banished by the all-women party ruling Japan.

The women lived in Chuuouku, which was considered to be an elite space. On the other hand, the men lived on the outskirts, a place called “Divisions.” The men used to battle with each other using rap because that was the only weapon they could use against each other.

The Party of Words encouraged men to fight using the Hypnosis Mics, and that’s how a war broke out to rule Japan. A legendary band called The Dirty Dawgs reunited after the Party of Words pulled some strings. They were encouraged to fight for their country’s dignity and be the best rap group in the universe.

The members of the Dirty Dawg, Ichiro Yamada, Samatoki Aohitsugi, Ramuda Amemura, and Jakurai Jinguji, now split up and with their own bands representing their home divisions are ready to battle with each other. The rappers need more than just practice to win the battle.

The plot is quite plain and straightforward. It’s just about rappers going on about their day. We hate to say that, but the story deviates from its premise. There are also many plot holes here and there throughout the anime, which disappointed us a little.

Other than these things, if we ignore everything and just watch this as music fans, then we’re going to enjoy it. It’s fun watching our rappers’ day-to-day lives. We see many characters having conflicts with each other. However, we’re never told about their history. So, when it comes to the actual rap battles, we don’t see as much rage and tension between the teams as there should be. We observe the anime following its basic plot in the last few episodes of the series, but we still don’t get enough explanation of certain things.

We also see many elements of “Fujoshi'' in this anime which is not a bad thing, considering many anime fans are into it. There’s A LOT of fanservice for girls in this anime because of the presence of some of the cutest anime guys. It’s hard not to fall for them!

Overall, the story of this anime is its weakest point and definitely could’ve been better.

We definitely see some amount of effort and care put into character designing in this anime. The creators tried hard to individualize every character not only with their appearances but also with their personalities. If we read the script and have to guess which character is speaking, then we can easily do this with the characters of this anime. All the characters in this anime are pretty likable with their own quirks and way of dealing with different things.

The only problematic characters that we came across were the Buster Brothers, who look strikingly similar. But they’re adorable, so we’ll let this one slide!

Overall, the character designs are all very fresh and pleasant. We keep wanting to know about all the characters by delving deep into their pasts. But unfortunately, the anime lacked a bit in the storytelling department.

It won’t be an exaggeration if we say that this anime has used the best CG ever in the history of 2D anime. The CG is not too flashy or daunting. It runs smoothly without looking weird and laggy. It feels as if you’re watching an actual concert when the characters are on stage.

The colors used were very vivid and not out of place at all. They actually were able to differentiate each character based on colors too. The animators also added the lyrics when the characters were rapping. We commend this little addition as it could help the people who understand Japanese. Overall, we see some efforts in the art department of this anime and are glad about it.

Here comes the actual department where this anime has to be strong. The music and the rap songs are absolutely beautiful and catchy. However, most people were expecting some hardcore rapping. The creators did really well with the softcore rapping, and it did not feel out of place or irrelevant.

We get to listen to brand new rap songs in each episode, and there are no songs repeated ever. We have to give it to the voice actors for doing such an impressive job with rapping and making it look natural with each character. The sound quality was also outstanding. The creators did really well in the sound department.

The anime indeed has some visible flaws. However, if you want to watch something lighthearted and fun without having to use your brain to untangle some tactics, we recommend you watch this. Also, hello rap fans? You’re going to have so much fun with it!