Rewrite [Review]
“Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place’s shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosey boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko, and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.” -MAL Rewrite
As an avid fan of Visual Novel and Key (the company), Rewrite was one of the first visual novels I finished and when it was announced to get animated I was very happy and worried.
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Story:
Rewrite (the Visual Novel) is one of my favorite visual novels ever. And to be able to see it get animated was very exciting. However; I was worried on how they would portray the story since there are different endings depending on the route you take in the game. And as I expected it was a mixture of all the endings with some original content to attempt to connect them together. The first half wasn’t too bad, although it’s condensed and missed some details and I was expecting that. The second half where the routes should’ve taken place was not only very choppy but confusing as well. Even though I’ve played the game and know what happens, the ending still didn’t make much sense to me.
Artwork & Animation:
The character designs stay pretty true to the source material, albeit a little bit flat. The animation was choppier and rougher than I would like it to be. Flaws aside, it was fantastic to see my favorite character and in-game scenes come alive, through the animation.
Character(s):
The character development could’ve used a lot of work, there are too many characters in the story to develop well in a mere 12 episodes. Sure we got a little bit of development for all the characters, but the distribution is too small to feel a connection. For fans that are new to the story of Rewrite, it’ll be hard to fall in love with the characters with the way the anime portrays them.
Sound (OST & Voice Acting):
Using a lot of the original soundtrack from the game brought back a lot of nostalgia for me as a player. The songs range from happy upbeat songs to slow ominous strings to bring out the dark side of the story.
Enjoyment:
As a player of the source material, there was a lot more for me to appreciate. Those that haven’t played the game will find this anime lacking in a lot of areas.
Overall: Score 7
Rewrite is a condensed version of the visual novel and it includes a somewhat original route not scene in the game. And since it’s only a 12-episode season there are a lot of missing information and lack of character development. But it’s a miracle that it was even considered for an anime adaption so that gives it some brownie points.
KiritoNarukami 