Tag Archives: Shin Sekai Yori

30 Day Anime Challenge Two, Challenges, Series

30 Day Anime Challenge Two: Day Seven

January 26, 2020 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It is day seven of the second 30 Day Anime Challenge.

#7: Character You Wish Had Died Instead The One That Did

Can I just say most of the minor characters in From the New World? In a series where so many characters meet tragedy in the face of a society that seeks absolute control, it is really easy to hate most of the people who hold power. Say what you will about the series lackluster animation and spotty writing in place, but its ability to portray a dystopian society gone wrong. Specifically though, Shin’s death was near the middle of the series felt particulary sad, given the fact that there was likely nothing that good be done for him.

Which character would you have preferred died? Let me know in the comments.

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If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

30 Day Anime Challenge, Anime/Manga

30 Day Anime Challenge – Day 25: The Saddest Death

May 21, 2018 Jack Scheibelein 5 Comments

Hello, Anifriends

For day 25 of the 30 Day Anime Challenge, I’ll be talking about the saddest death in anime.

This is a category that I am sure a lot of people take very seriously, and for good reason. A character death means a lot more than just the fact that the character is dead. It means that character no longer gets to experience life, something that most appreciated every day they are alive.

There are a lot of shows like Clannad that I have yet to see and as such can’t really consider for this category, but there is one show that still weighs heavily on me, ever since I watched it last year. That would be Shinsekai Yori, or From the New World, and the saddest death would be that of Shun Aonuma’s.

Shun’s death, while not exactly unexpected, was certainly impactful to the story in a way that made it hard to fall asleep after I stopped watching for the night. It is at his death and that point in the story where our main characters realize that the utopian society that they had been living in might not be so utopian.

Shun’s friends realize after his death that there is a lot that the all respected council is hiding from them, and it becomes apparent to Saki that many of the assumptions she had made about her classmate were false.

What is even more tragic about his death is just how much the rest of Kamisu 66 seems to want to move on from his death, not thinking about it at all. It becomes all the more tragic when the ending of the show is revealed and the cruelty of the Kamisu 66 and the remaining psychics gets exposed. But, that would be spoiling a show that I consider too good to do, so I will let you go watch it!

What is your favorite attack used by a character? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you want to support the Aniwriter through donations or are just feeling generous, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Otherwise, thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Anime/Manga, What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You Watch?: Shin Sekai Yori

December 10, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 6 Comments

If you’ve read my review on Shin Sekai Yori, you’d know that I consider it one of the best shows ever made, and for good reason. The shows complex dystopian future with a rivalry between psychic-powered humans and intelligent rats that humans use as servants. The focus on Saki and her coming of age story is one of the best-written shows to come out in recent memory. Being as that is the case, I’ll try to recommend shows that I think can at least get close to being as good.

Psycho-Pass

Even though I recommended it last week, it is certainly worth a second recommendation, for a couple of reasons. The first is an equally as interesting dystopian future about a world where crime is judged by a living computer, and everyone is assigned a number that determines their level of threat to society.

The second is the cast of interesting characters, especially in the main character Kogami and the villain. Their view of the changing nature of justice under the Sibyl System creates an interesting conversation between Kogami, Makshima, the show’s main villain, and Akane, who acts as our window into the world.

Samurai Flamenco

Weird is a word that I find can be a bit generic when trying to describe a show to somebody, but I honestly think it applies here. Samurai Flamenco, the story about a man turned superhero, is a show that on the surface appears normal, but by the time you get to the end, you’re confused.

Shin Sekai Yori has a lot of that same weirdness, except it makes sense within the context and scope of the story. Flamenco, meanwhile, makes unprompted cuts into different arcs with very little explanation to back it up. And yet, it works. Samurai Flamenco takes a “down the rabbit hole” approach with its writing, and seems to have paid off, as it remains entertaining the whole way through.

Steins;Gate

If there was ever a show that needed more attention, other than Shin Sekai Yori, it would be Steins;Gate. It really does surprise just how many people have not seen this show, and most of the time without a good excuse as to why not.

If you haven’t seen anime’s best Time Travel, then you really should. With solid animation, great music, and one of the best-adapted stories, It’s not something you should be missing, especially now that you’ve read about it.

What would you recommend after seeing Shin Sekai Yori? What do you think of the shows on this list? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Anime/Manga

Review- From the New World(Shin Sekai Yori): One of the Greats(SPOILERS)

August 19, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

When I first started this blog for sharing my watching experience I wrote a review of Eureka Seven and said that it was one of the best shows I’ve seen to date. Two months later and I’ve watched another near perfect show. From the New World is not only one of the best anime I’ve ever seen, It’s also a piece of art that should be recognized for its wonderful dystopian story and masterful presentation.

To say that the writing is good is to sell this show short. Its brilliance begins with its premise: a story of a world torn apart by a war against a group of people who, in the course of human evolution, developed the ability to manipulate reality with his or her mind. In a new society set a millennium after the war tore apart the world, a town made up of humans with reality manipulating powers lives in relative peace.

What makes From the New World’s writing so interesting has a lot to do with the town itself. Most of the struggles in our main character Saki’s life come as a direct or indirect result of the leaders of the town, who generally comprise either the Ethics Committee and the Education Committee. Under the authority of these groups, the town has become what can only be described as a hyper-authoritarian state. The ability to move outside of the spiritual barrier that has been setup around the town is highly restricted. It is also found out later that the ethics committee has hypnotized all the groups of children accept Saki and her friends in order to make sure that they do not go against the committee’s wishes. This setup serves to show just how seriously the powers that they hold are taken. Someone with their Psychokinetic powers could easily kill thousands of those without it. As such, the Ethics Committee felt as though they had to protect their peace.

The show does make sure to call into question the morality of their policies of the Committees often. After all, they send out Trickster Cats to eliminate those who they feel are a problem, and they are openly hostile to those who question their authority. These actions are always shown in much darker and unforgiving light.

Saki and her friends ultimately carry the show. It is through their eyes that we see the corruption of the town’s leadership throughout all stages of their lives. Saki, the shows main character, is portrayed as someone who is constantly the learning. As she grows up she learns more and more about their town Kamisu 66 and what really goes on behind the scenes. It is through her that we find out about the trickster cats, the leader of the ethics committee Tomiko, and the treatment of the Monster Rats. She is both our main perspective of the world and also herself a bystander to its tragedy. It is also through her that we see a loss of innocence, both in herself and her friends, as they learn about the horrors of their history and about the society they live in.

Wataru is also an important character and one that complements Saki well. When she is in a moment of hesitation and she feels like she can’t move on it’s Wataru that snaps her out of it. We also see the world through his eyes, to a lesser extent, but as he grows up with her Wataru becomes a bit more cynical of the world than Saki. He is constantly making Saki evaluate the decisions she is going to make while also being there to protect her.

The Music in the show isn’t what I would call the greatest, but it is by no means bad. It does well to complement the tones of the scenes they are used in, whether those tones are romantic or horrific. I do have to mention one song, in particular, Kage no Denshouka Daisanbu, which while being one of the most prominent songs in the show is also the best song and is definitely worth listening to on its own.

It’s very hard to find fault in a show like From the New World given how perfectly executed it is, but then we get to the animation. Admittedly it gets better as the show goes on, but it the beginning it is really jarring inconsistent some of the characters look, especially during scenes when the characters are the focus. Although, I can definitely see an argument of this being intentional. As the show goes on the animation of Saki and her friends becomes more rigid and structured, mirroring her conformity to the society of the town.

I’ve had a lot more to say about this show because I feel like it deserves a good explanation of why it’s so great, and I hope this review has done it the justice it deserves. From the New World is a show that will stand the test of time because of its quality storytelling and ability to portray tragedy in all the complexity and nuance that a story like it requires. It is definitely a must-watch.

Anime/Manga, Opinion

Shin Sekai Yori(From the New World): My Thoughts So Far(SPOILERS)

August 9, 2017 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

As long as I have been watching anime, about five years now that is, I can honestly say that shows like Shin Sekai Yori do not come along often. It is a show that not only presents a fascinating world, but also one with some very interesting ideas.

One of the things that stands out the most to me is the plot point that everyone in the society that Saki and the others lived in is made up entirely of Psycho-kinetics. Being able to control things with your mind isn’t an especially new idea, but when given to an entire population there can be serious repercussions, and the show presents that well. It portrays an extremely authoritarian society that gives the kids very little freedom when it comes to using there powers.

Speaking of that authoritarian society, the way they show it is both subtle but effective. In the first episode or so, The kids in the class are asked to read two different stories: one of an ogre, and one of a karmic demon. Saki and the others later find out on trip to into the woods that both of these stories come from illnesses that affect Psychokinesis users, but the only reason they find out this information is because of a wandering library that they weren’t supposed to find out about. We can assume based off of these scenes that this is a very restricted environment.

One of the other curious things that kept coming up in the first episode was the idea that now that the kids are the Unified school that they are now considered adults, even though they are 12 years old when the story starts out.

There is also the not very well addressed(so far, anyway)disappearance of two different students after not using their powers correctly. It seems to me that much like My Hero Academia, the powers that be are much more concerned with preserving peace and order than they are helping any individual, even to the point of making them disappear if they threaten that order.

If this seems a little incoherent, then no its not you. The show looks like it has so many things that it wants to do and say, and it hasn’t gotten the chance to do and say them yet. My recommendation, based on six episodes, is to give it a chance if you’ve been skeptical. There’s so much going on, but not in the sense that the show has no direction. Certainly, Shin Sekai Yori is a great work of art so far.