Kaiba
Kaiba is often confused with being a cyberpunk anime. However, it leans more towards the dystopian fantasy genre. From looking at its cover, many fans might get confused that this anime might be for kids. However, it has a clear R-rated sign, meaning it is definitely not for kids.
Anime with philosophical themes are not new. We’ve come across hundreds of different anime that deal with this theme. Kaiba is one such anime that incorporates a similar theme, delving into consciousness. Let’s talk about whether Kaiba could be a little less confusing for the viewers, or was it just a jumbled mess? For that, let’s delve deep into our review for the anime Kaiba.
Kaiba introduces us to a world where memories are stored in small chips outside the body. Even after the death of an individual, they don’t entirely go away. The memories can be viewed, altered, and transferred between others. The rich can use the chips to obtain new and carefully selected bodies. However, the poor have to sell their bodies and conserve their souls in the chips to earn a living.
The upper world is separated from the lower world using an electrolyte cloud that can not be infiltrated in any way. A mysterious man named Kaiba wakes up in an empty room with no memories. He has got a hole in his chest and a locket with a picture of a woman inside it. He soon escapes the facility, saving himself from attacks.
He then journeys to recover his memories and identify the woman in the locket in the underworld. He comes across a lot of souls and learns the importance of memories.
The story of Kaiba is very unique and something we’ve never come across before. Kaiba is like a journey that we feel ourselves going through with the main character. Kaiba meets many characters during his journey, each having specific characteristics that make them distinct from others.
We realize during the journey that the world they have created in the most surreal way still has something lacking in it. And that something might be the depth. The world itself is half-heartedly explained, which is a big turn-off for fans.
The anime indeed features a bunch of deep philosophical stuff that sometimes blows our minds. However, there is a lack of a proper guide that helps us understand a few things. But we can’t ignore how Kaiba could sweep us off our feet from the very start. It was such an emotional rollercoaster right off the bat. Some scenes were so moving that we could not help but let out a few tears of sorrow and sadness.
The story of this anime is not just told through words. It’s also told through symbolism, expressions, thoughts, and other things that don’t need words or sounds. It’s just beautiful!
Being philosophical, many anime series tend to get very pretentious and preachy. Kaiba, however, did not use such devices to convey human philosophy. It says such deep things without words.
Overall, the story of Kaiba is fascinating. We didn’t find anything wrong with it when such anime are bound to have something that might leave a bad taste in the viewers’ mouths. But we really love everything!
It will not be an exaggeration to say that Kaiba has one of the most memorable and enjoyable characters of all time. We’re not given the typical good and bad people.
There are just people, people with distinct personalities, ideals, motives, and memories. Kaiba actually made us care deeply for almost all the characters that we see throughout our journey. Even the side characters can pierce through our hearts despite having little to no screen time. All the characters felt so real and relatable.
We also can’t ignore the chemistry between the characters. It’s authentic. There’s no form of fakeness and pretentiousness between the characters. No emotion is faked. Everything is 100% genuine. The creator of the series knew well what he was doing while creating such characters with so much depth. We commend the creator for his efforts!
The main reason behind Kaiba not getting the grace it deserves was the way they animated the series. It’s just not fair how a beautiful masterpiece didn’t get the praise it deserved because people didn’t like the animation style for Kaiba.
We liked the animation and the use of bold colors that suited the vibe of the story well. The imagery is quite surreal and leaves a strong impression on the viewers. The movements of the characters are pretty fluid. So what if it’s simple? There’s beauty in simplicity, Always. You need to check it out if you’re into simple animation without having to deal with the mess of too much going on in the background.
The opening and ending soundtracks created a perfect otherworldly, philosophical feeling that went well with the anime’s theme. Each song used in the background is distinctive enough for you to remember that specific scene. A lot of effort is put into the music department of this anime.
Kaiba absolutely got us hooked right off the bat. All the fears that we had at the start about this anime vanished when we watched the first episode. We definitely recommend you to watch this masterpiece of an anime! This is why they say that do not judge a book by its cover.
