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So Dante and I have been following this anime called NEEDLESS. I’ve finally gotten a hold of the last episode and watched it. So with that, I’ve managed to finish it so it’s done for good so I have to write a review on what i thought of this show. The short version is, this show is mediocre. While it may be enjoyable, it isn’t that great and doesn’t offer any value other than that. In the moe-filled anime today, it does stand out as a shining gem though, unfortunately, skip back a couple of years and you could do so much better.

Firstly, what is NEEDLESS about? Japan has been nuked by foreign missles leading it to become a barren wasteland. As an aftereffect, many of the survivors have gotten super powers becoming the titular NEEDLESS. The head of an organisation called Simeon is hunting down these NEEDLESS so the head can obtain all their powers and become all-powerful. The show follows 2 NEEDLESS, Blade and Eve, as they encounter a child called Cruz and go to take down Simeon. This sounds really generic doesn’t it? It is. Any huge plot revelations could be seen from a mile away. This isn’t neccesarily a bad thing as it lets you enjoy some mindless action but if you’re looking for anything with a deep and intriguing storyline, this isn’t your show.

But it doesn’t matter if the story isn’t that great, as long as the characters are appealing right? That’s where this show both succeeds and fails. Each character has a distinct personality that sets them far apart from other characters, from Blade’s brash personality to Eve’s ditzy forgetful nature. Every character’s ability is unique and the show goes to lengths to emphasize this by claiming that everybody has only 1 power although main character rules says different. The personalities of the characters helps to keep this show fresh and stops turning the comedic moments into a period of unfunny, from Blade’s lolicon-ism to Eve’s inability to remember names, It stops them from turning into a pile of stereotypes. So where does this go wrong? It screws up big-time on the pacing. Many characters who may seem to have a big effect on the story have their short little moment then fade into the background such as Disc. She serves as a plot point for a couple of episodes early in but by the end, all she has is speaking lines and doesn’t do much apart from that. Likewise is Riru, while being one of the big bads she doesn’t get the screentime she deserves. Though if you enjoy this show for what it is, it’s easy to look past these points. The only problem is Cruz. Other people may think differently but I have a serious problem with characters who just bitch and whine all the time about how they’re going to lose, especially when their friends are right next to them fighting with their lives on the line. Ignoring him, the characters provide a diverse engaging cast.

At least the big bad has style. Albeit a strange one.

Now onto the minor things like the animation and music. Overall the animation isn’t too shabby for the show but there are definately some scenes that are questionable in the quality department although I can’t help feel that it’s so bad it was intentional. They tried to pull of a Gurren Lagann sketch look but instead made it look like it was either the drafts coloured in or.. well that’s all it can be. Luckily this only happens once in the show however there are other scenes that have problems but they’re not big enough to ruin the enjoyment. Alot of detail has been put in to make each character look unique. (Do not point out THAT line of dialogue to me. If you do. May god have mercy on your soul.) Even the most minor characters that barely last a couple of seconds on screen have a unique look to them that you wish they had a bit more screentime. In the end there aren’t many problems in this side.

In contrast, the music is actually quite good. The OP’s are quite energetic and fit in with the show quite well. However the ED’s are pure fanservice material. (Why yes I do enjoy Aggressive Zone thank you very much.) The soundtrack is quite well done with its fast beats and awesome guitaring and really help to throw some much needed attitude. Infact it was good enough that I hunted it down just to listen to it and it is definately worth it. (Well in my opinion). The music for dramatic moments is just an orchestrated version of the OP that fits in quite nicely with the show and doesn’t feel out of place in comparison to the usual adrenaline filled music. So in the end, the soundtrack flows quite well. And no I have nothing to say about the voice acting. It’s well done like every other anime.

So while this show may not be good, it does just about enough things right to be worthy of at least a look. However if you’re like me and have already seen lots of stuff and are running out of things to watch, then this show does prove itself to be a decent high-paced show in comparison to everything else this / last season. Or if you’re like me, you watched the entire show just for one lovely character so you can spam a certain individual. (You know who you are and yes I will spam you some more.)

And that marks the end of whatever non-sensical thing I just wrote at 5-6AM in the morning.

Damnit. And I went the whole article without mentioning Setsuna<3