Year: 2013-2014
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Episodes: 34
Rating: 3 out of 5
Dating can really suck ass sometimes. Trying to get to know someone can be either lovely or a freakin pain in the ass. You have to get to know the person by spending time with them and asking a ton of questions to see if you are a compatible match with each other. This cycle can be one and done or go on and on and on. Lord have mercy if you have to go on many dates. Yet, you can go on dates like an amusement park, club, or whatever you like. Trying to find that one person to spend the rest of your life with. Date A Live is an anime where one dude must go on dates with spirits and seal their powers, or they will destroy the world. Good luck.
Overview
Thirty years ago, the Eurasian continent was devastated by a supermassive “spatial quake,” resulting in the deaths of over 150 million people in an instant. Since then, the quakes have been plaguing the world and humanity every so often on an extremely lighter scale. Once again, it could be worse, but hey, people adapt, and life moves on.
The series revolves around Shidou Itsuka, an ordinary, average high school boy who lives with his loveable and caring younger stepsister, Kotori. On a planned day after school, Shidou is supposed to meet Kotori, but things take a turn for the worse when an imminent spatial quake threatens the safety of Tengu City. Fearing for his sister’s safety, Shidou rushes to save her, only to be caught in the eruption. Waking up on a spaceship high above, Shidou’s life suddenly changes when he learns that his dear ole sister is commander of a protection unit called “Ratatoskr,” who are tasked with saving powerful entities called Spirits, who are the causes of the quakes. Kotori forcibly recruits Shidou with the task to make each Spirit fall in love with him to save them from death at the hands of the Anti-Spirit Team, a ruthless strike force with the goal of annihilating Spirits. With the fate of the world resting on his shoulders and charms, Shidou must convince each Spirit to fall in love with him.
Review:
This anime is funny, entertaining, and has a good heart behind it. Yes, it is over the top and sometimes really sexual with the way the characters act, but overall it is a fun anime to watch. There is also a character for each male or female to love and adore.
The plot of this is strange and hilarious all at the same time. Shido has a loving relationship with his stepsister Kotori. Things turn when a quake comes, and Shido is recruited to seal Spirits powers. The way this is done is through dating. Shido must have the Spirit fall in love with him so he can kiss them, where he can seal 99% of their power. Strange, isn’t it but what is hilarious about the whole dating is that Shido has a team speaking to him and giving him three options to choose from. It is literally one of those dating games. The crazy part is, usually, the first choice he picks is the wrong one.
Season one of this anime is great because it is simple and to the point. Shido must seal spirits powers. During this season, we learn that Kotori is also, spoiler alert, a spirit who can use fire. The group spends quite a bit of time protecting her and trying to figure out her past. I will admit, season two of the anime was a drag. It was way more sexualized, and several of the new characters just didn’t hit it off for me. It was a little too much in the sexualized category. Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable, but it really took away from what the show was building in the first season.
The animation is simple and unique all at the same time. The animation is simple and standard when it comes to drawing the characters. They are distinct because each one has a different color hair, or eyes, and all the things that make them different. The animation becomes unique when each character’s powers are unleashed, there is hardly any CGI, but you can tell that the company spent some effort or making the animation during the use of powers a highlight.
Now, the freakin characters in this anime are the best because they are so wild and funny. Shido is that fun-loving male character who everyone falls over. He is the typical male protagonist that unties everyone and fights to make sure he can save everyone. Now the craziest character and the one that is used for comic relief is Kyōhei Kannazuki. I think Kyohei is hilarious because she has ZERO filter in what he says. He is the comic relief because every time he says something stupid, he gets punished and seems to LOVE it. She loves getting beat up by Kotori. Sometimes when he speaks, he does give great advice only to mess it up.
The female characters are where it’s at. The first one is Tohka, who is the first Spirit saved by Shido. Tohka is beautiful but sometimes clueless. She spends most of her time wanting to eat food, but when she is fired up, please watch out because it will go down. One of my favorite characters is Kotori. She is Shido’s foster sister and the commander of Ratatoskr. She is funny because she is the leader and constantly abuses one of her subordinates. She is also revealed to be a Spirit, but when she is pushed too far, homegirl has a major sadistic side. I don’t care what anyone says, Yoshino Himekawa is by far one of the cutest and funniest characters. She has the appearance of a young girl and has a very shy personality. She actually communicates through a rabbit puppet on her left hand named Yoshino, who straight up is savage when talking. The realest of all the Spirits and one of my favorite characters in the whole show is Kurumi Tokisaki. She is by far of the most sadistic characters in the show. Her left eye is an inorganic golden clock face, representing her remaining time. Homegirl has no problem killing people. She actually finds it enjoyable.
Date A Live is a funny anime with a pretty good storyline. The highlight of this anime is the characters. There are so many characters that you will find one to like. The story is okay, but hey, it deals with trying to date, and maybe I can use some tips. Watch this anime when you want to see some crazy action, BEAUTIFUL girls, and have a good laugh.