Anime Club: Kiznaiver

KIZNAIVER

CREATED BY: Hiroshi Kobayashi

NO. OF EPISODES: 12 episodes

GENRE: Action, Thriller, Science fiction, Drama

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Japan

Kiznaiver takes place in the futuristic, fictional Japanese town of Sugomori City. While the city appears to be normal, in reality, it was created to test a large­scale experiment known as the “Kizna System”. The ideal goal of the currently incomplete Kizna System is to create world peace by connecting people through shared pain and suffering. All those who are connected to the system are called “Kiznaivers”. If a single Kiznaiver experiences pain, either emotional or physical, the system distributes it among the other Kiznaivers.

A few days before the start of summer vacation, a mysterious and seemingly emotionless girl, Noriko Sonozaki, tells high school student, Katsuhira Agata, that he has been selected to become a Kiznaiver, alongside several of his classmates. This allows Katsuhira to share his pain and build bonds with his classmates, whose lives and personalities each differ from his own. This leads to serious implications as Katsuhira’s classmates attempt to shoulder each other’s pain and Noriko assigns them on various missions.

I can wrap up the idea behind Kiznaiver in one word…relationships. Kiznaiver has a rather unique cast of characters, each one making an impact on the series. This is very important, as Kiznaiver is a very character ­driven show, so it is necessary to have an entertaining cast like it does. Besides that, each episode focuses on a single aspect of a relationship or friendship, trying to see if we as individuals can connect on that level. A rather interesting concept…with an okay execution.

In fact, if you can accuse Kiznaiver of anything, it’s likely that it’s trying too hard. Not that effort itself is ever a bad thing ­ but by hammering on its characters’ most core emotions and illustrating them through its occasionally overwrought prose, the show threatens to show its hand too early. Normally, shows like this would illustrate the feelings of their characters slowly, accompanied by a gradual reveal of the scifi premise. By spilling so many beans early on, Kiznaiver opens itself up to either tell a more ambitious story than you’d expect, or simply stumble around reiterating the emotional points we’ve already heard.

PROS:

• Fun cast of characters.

• Well­ written dialogue.

• Decent character­ driven show.

CONS:

• Emotions are hammered home too hard.

• Doesn’t tweak the science fiction world enough.

SCORE: 7.0 / 10

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Brandon Stuhr

Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.