The World Ends With You: The Animation

"Shut up! Stop talking! Just go the hell away! All the world needs is me... I have my values, so you can keep yours, all right? I don't get people.

“Never have, never will." This monologue explains the story itself, I suppose. Sounds like a typical intense adolescent on hormones, on his own daring journey to discover the life of a hero who will save the day.

The World Ends With You | The Animation | Review | Pinnedupink.com

“The World Ends with You: The Animation” is a 2021 Japanese anime television series based on Square Enix's action role-playing game. This show was made by Mainichi Broadcasting System, Square Enix, DOMERICA, and Shin-Ei Animation. Based on the game, it was directed by Kazuya Ichikawa and written by Midori Goto. Takeharu Ishimoto made the music for the game, and Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi made the characters. Supervision was provided by the game's producer, Tomohiko Hirano, and director, Tatsuya Kando.

Funimation bought the rights to the anime series on September 16, 2021, and announced that it would get an English dub that would start the next day. It was transferred to Crunchyroll following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll. It has 12 episodes that are each 23 minutes long. It is an action and adventure show for teens 13 and older and was given a PG-13 rating.

The story of the anime is based on the main plot of the original game, but there are some small but noticeable changes. It centers on Neku Sakuraba, an antisocial adolescent who inexplicably awakens in the midst of Shibuya's crowded Scramble Crossing with no knowledge of who he is or how he got there.

He quickly realizes he is locked in the Underground, an alternate dimension of existence. Now that he has been forced to play the mysterious Reapers' Game, he must work with a girl named Shiki Misaki to make it through the game's seven days. As they learn more about what this weird game is really about, they complete daily quests and fight monsters called "Noise."

The primary protagonist and playable character is Neku Sakuraba. Despite being born and raised in Shibuya, Japan, he wakes up with no recollection of himself other than his name. He is a small teen with orange hair that sticks up in spikes, blue eyes, and a pale complexion. At first, he is shy and doesn't want to talk to people, and his dislike for them borders on misanthropy.

He also makes a lot of sarcastic and snide remarks, though he is wise enough not to say everything aloud. He dislikes Shibuya for its overcrowding and noise, to the point that he wonders why a town needs so many people. He doesn't like people who are loud and crazy, and he doesn't need friends, so he doesn't have any when the game starts.

Neku is an angry, forgetful kid, just like the main character of the original game. He doesn't talk much, but his actions show a lot about who he is. The character development is affected by scene cutting and reordering. Is it satisfactory? It all depends on who you ask. Some characters profited, while others did not. There are both large and small characters. In Neku’s case, I felt he was badly affected.

The game starts with an internal monologue that was left out of the anime for some reason. I'm not sure why, even with the pacing issue, because it wasn't a long sequence to begin with. This was a horrible decision because that scene is what leads to Neku’s character growth throughout the story. Even though the "filler" tasks help all the characters grow over time, some emotional situations would be empty without them.

Even though the main idea of the plot is still interesting, it tends to get boring. There is no actual suspense; one event occurs, then the next occurs without making us care first. We don't care since the characters' speech isn't all that intriguing, which is why I'm going to talk about it next. The story feels really rushed, and the program tries so hard to keep us interested in the story that it becomes unpleasant and irritating.

The artwork department is breathtaking. I was a big fan of the aesthetics even before CGI came along, but I'm not a fan of the CGI in anime, and this one didn't change my views. It just looks terrible and disturbs the overall immersion, which is a pitfall for some moments.

The music is the part that they nailed the most. Everyone who has experienced “The World Ends with You” would agree that it has a phenomenal soundtrack with so many bangers that still stand proud over a decade later. The soundtrack was created to match the contemporary musical tastes of Japanese teenagers and young adults in and around Shibuya in the late 2000s, and this is reflected in the anime so well.

There are several songs from the original game, as well as well-adapted versions of them, as well as new music that matches the overall feel of the franchise. The opening theme is "Twister" by MJR, while the closing tune is "Carpe Diem" by ASCA. The opening theme was supposed to be "Teenage City Riot" by ALI, but it was changed immediately before the series premiere due to the arrest of the band's drummer, Kahadio, for alleged refund fraud. Certainly, ALI's opener will be missed, but overall, this segment is well executed.

This rendition is unique. There is a lot of enthusiasm, careful attention to detail, and a strong desire to make the best adaptation possible, even though the budget and number of episodes are limited. If you loved the experience of playing the game or if the first few episodes piqued your interest, you'll likely get to watch this one without feeling disappointed.

But if you find the beginning of this anime a little boring, you might as well skip it because, in my experience, it does not really improve. It's the kind of anime you’ll be fine watching once a week, but it's not an exceptionally memorable one. If you liked what you heard, I recommend it. If not, steer clear, especially if you’re short on time.