No.6 Anime Review

[hiriajuu]

It'd be hard for me to review the No.6 anime as a standalone series. I'm invested enough in the novels that my mind automatically recalls all the corresponding scenes from the books when I watch the anime, so I can't help but compare the two. And so I'm not going to try to review this as a standalone series, I'll be judging it as an adaptation.

Comments

[arya3087]

I've always thought (ever since I knew all the important details about the plot/novels) that 11 episodes were enough not only for a decent adaptation, but an actually good one, if done right. Which it wasn't.

Other than that - what you said.

It was ok, imo, and episode 11 doesn't exist. /forever in denial
I'll probably mostly forget about the anime in a few months anyway, and only remember the novels, since the anime didn't leave such a strong impression on me as the novels did.

[hiriajuu]

Ahah, my definition of "decent adaptation" gradually lowered as the anime went on. I suppose episodes 1-10 just barely lived up to my expectations.

Episode 11 only existed temporarily for me to complain more about it. After this post it doesn't exist again. o/

[anonymous]

One scene I would like to point out in episode 11 was when Nezumi attempts to sing to Sion when he was dead. Despite his statement just a mere episode ago that songs cannot save lives... he basically disproves his own words. Was that intentional irony? Or was the last episode so rushed that Bones basically forgot about it?? But yeah like you said, No.6 had alot of life/death themes...and unfortunately they stomped on it repeatedly on the last episode. :/
Well at the very least I got to know the novels. The anime was actually very good too, until that point. Thank you for the review and for the translations!
~Fen

[hiriajuu]

You're right, I didn't notice that. It's far from the first time the anime has contradicted itself like that, and definitely only one of the many contradictions in the last episode as well. I don't think there's any meaning behind it, it was just Bones not giving a damn anymore.

[canis_m]

Nezumi's line about "songs can't save anybody" is in the novels as well, although I can't recall which one, and that statement is contradicted by the events of the final novel volume just as much as it's contradicted by the events of the last episode of the anime: in the novel his song magically saves everyone in that he uses it to make contact with and soothe the angry bee-god. If anything I assume the anime juxtaposed the statement + disproof more closely to emphasize it. IMO the larger question being addressed, through this and through the various instances we see of No. 6 suppressing artistic expression, is "Is art escapist at best, or does it have real power to effect change?" Nezumi claims it's escapist, but the text's (predictable) answer, in both novels and anime, is "Art does have real power."

[hiriajuu]

Gah, forgot the novel had that too... I suppose I was too concentrated on the fact that Nezumi pulled a Macross on us. But yeah, the distance between volume 4/5 and 9 makes the contradiction less jarring since you can attribute it to character development (well, not like giant bees were part of any of that development, but), and the novel has its fair share of contradictions other than that.
Interesting how Shion ends up right with mostly everything in the end, whether it's about the power of art, a third route, that he and Nezumi won't become enemies, etc.

[aaabb]

oh, that quote from Shakespeare really fits with the show... i agree with what you said, all of it. I, my self, am feeling torn between feeling fond of that anime or just stik with refusing it, 'cause it let me know the novel that i'm loving so much that i cried for a written story for the first time in my life, but... i don't know, maybe i don't really agree with Bones' Sion, cause... he seems more immature in the anime... i can't help but love Sion every time i read a piece of the novel, 'cause his thoughts are that of a person who tries to learn something from all his experiences, he is a person with a greath mind, not only the heart the anime showed us... Sion understand Nezumi's struggle to not get involved with other problems... after the market scene he was feeling guilty for thinking Nezumi would save him so he tries to learn to fight for himself. It's like an "i'll fight for my life so i won't burden you, but at least let me worry for you" (Rikiga's aggression). Sion's not the little uke in distress that Bones showed us, and

[anonymous]

I agree wholeheartedly with you. The anime adaption per se was actually pretty good, they did a good job with the anime original stuff, but episode 11 ruined it all.
I guess the only thing I really liked about the episode was Safus singing. Her voice is so beautiful and asdfghjkl, they didn't use the same background music as when Nezumi was singing. Really, I liked that scene, but I'd have preffered if they would have let the song... be some kind of lullaby for Nezumi and Shion. So that they can both die in peace or something. .____.
But oh well. I hope that Bones will realize what they did and gives us something like an OVA. Would be nice, but I don't expect it.
Thank you for your hard work with your summaries and reviews!

[cieldelaimant]

Do you think based on the response.. they might come up and alternative ending. I dunno. OTL

BTW it was nice to read your review. Because I haven't invested that much time into the novel and the series (i'm relatively a new) so I'm not that ragey compared to everyone here. But neverthless. What you said made sense.. the meaningless dead and meaningless revival doesn't well MEAN anything. And the baby. Could it be fanservice *scratches head*

[hiriajuu]

I take the ending as Bones just not caring about the show anymore, so no chance of them making more of it (actually, that makes me worried about the scripts for the drama CDs...).

Fanservice? For who? orz