"Kings" are individuals who have been bestowed with incredible supernatural powers and granted the ability to recruit others into their clans. Protecting the lives and honor of their clansmen is an integral part of the Kings' duties. After a video depicting the heinous murder of a Red Clansman spreads virally, the unassuming student Yashiro Isana is accused of homicide. Now, a manhunt is underway for his head, bringing him into contact with the infamous "Black Dog" Kurou Yatogami—a skilled swordsman and martial artist determined to follow the wishes of his late master, the Seventh King.
Meanwhile, the current Red King, Mikoto Suou, faces his own imminent demise as the search for Yashiro narrows. But during Yashiro's struggle to prove his innocence, a greater conspiracy is unraveling behind the scenes; clouds begin to appear in his memory, and close friends start to question his very existence. What began as a simple murder is now leading towards a full blown war between Kings with the very fate of the world at stake.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Tatatatara
You're probably aware of the fact this anime is gettin' pretty low scores and most of the people who review it keep complaining about same stuff. No coherent plot, weak character development, rushed storytelling, blah blah blah. Well, well. That's all cool and stuff, but why don't we show the other side of the coin, too. By the way, I'm a guy, straight and all. K is manly stuff, k. (fakken pun) Story: 9 Simply put, this story is great. It's not the most original story of all times, but it isn't a complete cliche either, as many would like you to believe. See, the thingabout K is that it sells a really TRAGIC, DARK, DEEP and SOUR story of betrayal, friendship, and sacrifice, in a shiny package so that the general audience would be satisfied with 'hot' bishies, tits and cool animation, while some people, like myself, can still enjoy it for what it really is.
I won't say anything else about the story's content, since you can clearly see it in the series description.
People complain about not knowing what is the sword of Damocles, or where the King's power come from and what not. Those same people give Evangelion a score of 10 even though it's full of randomly chosen cool sounding terms from Bible and what not. Compared to Eva's sea of dead scrolls and Lance of Longinus, K's sword of Damocles is much more relevant to the story and actually serves as a foreshadowing to the show's overly dark culmination.
Do note however, that the pacing in the beginning is rather weak, which is completely understandable considering the character cast and time frame in which the story had to be presented. Pacing improves in the next half of the show, leading to ones of the most epic scenes of this season.
Art: 10 One word, gorgeous.
Sound: 10 Outstanding, fits the mood perfectly, and overly improves the viewer's enjoyment. Not much else to say, except that this series has one of the greatest ED songs in last few years, not counting Fate/Zero's endings, of course.
Character: 100000
Look, don't trust people who'll tell you that this show has weak character development or that the characters are generic. Considering that K has only 13 episodes, and it's cast is freakin' huge, the characters are pretty much the soul of this show. Their interactions, personalities, lives and motives, ability to make you both laugh and cry, all that makes them pretty much the most memorable characters I've seen in a long time.
K's characters are not the fanart you see on Pixiv and Zerochan. They may look gorgeous, perfect, flawless and shallow, but actually, they're just flawed, tragic and ultimately human reflections of us all.
Enjoyment: 10 Obviously.
Overall: 10
Get mad all you want, but K gets a pure 10 from me. This anime is not what it looks like at the first glance. It's not what you think it looks like under it's shiny package either. It's a tragic tale of a group of people who share a bond thicker than blood, a bond that will eventually lead them into becoming more human than humanity itself.
thewinrar
K can be best described as a poorly baked cake covered with an excessive amount of icing. One can look at this cake and view it to be extremely succulent and sweet on the exterior, but after tasting it, one may find dissatisfaction from cake's lack of quality. Just like this cake, K attempts to attract viewers with its beautiful visuals and flashy soundtrack like icing, but the poor quality of an inconsistent story that felt rushed can dispel the exterior beauty and leave viewers sick to the stomach. Upon viewing K for the first time, it is hard to disagree that it looks beautiful. Kperfectly portrays the gorgeous aesthetics of an urban city landscape with tall majestic skyscrapers, bustling pedestrians in every street, and an abundance of detail in every nook and cranny. To add to K's beauty, is the addition of a very refreshing and versatile soundtrack that perfectly captures the emotions of each scene. The music in K includes a large range; from soft melodic piano pieces, to intense electronic beats and mellow hip-hop. The music is implemented in a very sophisticated manner and never feels out of place or repetitive. This wonderful combination of visual and audio appeal reinforces the sense of beauty of K.
Although K looks beautiful, one must be cautious of its beauty. The beautiful appeal of K is only icing on the cake and the actual quality of the cake itself may be a different story. K's biggest drawback would be the attempts to implement a wide cast of characters. Since K revolves around the theme of gang rivalry and leadership, the multiple characters from the different clans carry a large focus within the story and although this can be very exciting, the attempts have gone to waste due to the short time given in the space of thirteen episodes and lack of definition. The many characters are given many scenes such as flash backs or fan-service that attempt to reinforce their personalities and shine them in a likable manner. This is possibly the strongest element about K, but this turns out messy as many characters that are given lots of screen time hold no significance in the story whatsoever, leaving the story to be rushed and full of holes to fit the span of thirteen episodes. K gives side characters a chance to shine, but these efforts leave viewers wondering why these pointless characters are given so much screen time when the time itself could have been used to improve the story.
As stated before, K is extremely comparable to a cake. Too much time and effort was spent on trying to sweeten the cake, but the limited amount of time has left it undercooked. One may think that this cake is a failure, but in absolute truth, it is not. An undercooked cake is not ruined and can still be enjoyed, this is very similar to the essence of K as it all comes down to one's sweet tooth. Although the story of K felt rushed and messy, the character interactions and personalities truly sweetened this anime and the excessive amount of icing on this cake can also add to the appeal. If you're interested in an anime that not only looks and sounds beautiful, but goes in-depth of exploring different character relationships and personalities, this anime is for you. However, if you're looking for an anime with a consistent and well written storyline, you should look elsewhere.
SeitenSoushi
First review coming up, K?! (pun intended) Story: 9 At its core, K is a story about finding the identity of a murderer and its implications in an ongoing war between superpowered clans. Elements of sci-fi, fantasy and mystery are combined to make for a very appealing package. In my opinion, the first few episodes don't really explain much, but they leave enough questions unanswered to make you keep coming back for more. I suppose it may be to give the viewer the same feeling that the protagonist Yashiro would get from having his daily life changed so suddenly. However, the story reallypicks up in the latter half and overall was simply very exciting to watch.
Art/Animation: 10
The animation for K is absolutely amazing. GoHands really impressed this time. The backgrounds are highly detailed and the setting allows for some beautiful shots of the city and the island. Reflections and lighting are done expertly, even if at times it looked a little too bright. I also really like the character designs in K - everyone looks great and the SCEPTER4 uniforms are a notable highlight. Additionally, the OP and ED sequences are highly stylised and great to watch, meshing well with the songs chosen.
Sound: 9
K has fantastic music - among the best I've heard for a while. There are many great tracks and they are used well to enhance the feelings of the scenes. Some of my personal favourites are the main theme, which was also used in one of the PVs; and the ED song, performed by Neko's seiyuu. I think having the character songs play in the background for the next episode previews was a particularly nice touch. The voice acting was top notch, with plenty of big names such as Sugita Tomokazu and Ono Daisuke, to mention a few. Across the board, they really succeeded in bringing out the characters' personalities and emotions.
Characters: 9
The characters in K are one of the main driving forces of the series. Much of the plot revolves around Yashiro, who at first appears to be just another happy-go-lucky high school student thrown into the midst of a gang war he knows nothing about. Kuroh is more tough and composed, and his seriousness is a nice contrast to Yashiro's carefree personality. K also presents us with an interesting dynamic between the Blue and Red Kings - they fight on opposing sides, but seem to be more than just simply enemies. The only possible flaw I found was that Neko's character didn't really get enough elaboration; it almost seemed like she was just included because her powers were needed for the story. The focus moves between the various sides so we get to see events unfold from several perspectives. The characters do develop well throughout the show, with some interesting revelations, though due to the 13-episode length, some may find that not everyone got fully fleshed out. However, the manga prequels make up for this.
Enjoyment: 9
K was a very enjoyable series. There weren't as many fight scenes as I would have liked, but every time I did see some action it just looked incredibly cool. Whilst the premise may not be entirely unique, K had more than enough flair, intriguing story and compelling characters to keep me hooked until the very end.
Overall: 9
For me, K was an amazing series that just got better and better with every episode I watched. If you like supernatural action with an interesting identity mystery attached - you should definitely watch K.
Thanks for reading! Please give feedback if you found it helpful ;)
PeachYogurt31
Art and Animation: 9 I'll start out by writing about the positive aspects of this anime, which is obviously the art and animation quality. Fantastic fluidity to motions. Very active scenes and active bodies. The color usage is bold and nothing to overlook, however, I did start to find the experimental color gradient to be a little bit of an eyesore at times. Yet, at other times it was definitely effective in setting the mood. The characters were cleanly drawn with slim, delicate figures. Smaller details such as clothing design and the cityscape are fun. Character: 6 The show is similar to Durarara! in that it incorporatesa medley of characters in a crowded city with some magical powers sprinkled in. When I saw the plethora of characters, I didn't expect to get a character driven story. And it wasn't. Unlike Durarara!, which was given 24 eps to tell its story, K-Project only got 13. The characters weren't given enough time to truly shine individually, but that is not to say that they weren't able to shine in conjunction with other characters. The relationships between Shiro and Kuroh, Mikoto and Reisi, and Misaki and Fushimi were good enough to add a little complexity to the characters and story. But the number of characters did leave me a bit overwhelmed.
Sound: 7
I am not a fan of the soundtrack, OP, or ED. But I can't say the music was bad. It was average for an anime like this.
Story: 4
Now we get to the part that explains why this anime failed. The story, in short, is too messy and poorly developed. Even though it's supposed to be a mystery about Shiro trying to understand his identity and amnesia, I found myself more drawn to the gang war between the red and blue teams. Yet, that part of the story was never fully developed enough and left me in the dark as to why they were fighting so much. Part of the mythology of the anime revolves around the colors and the powers that come with them. I would have liked to get a crash course on the history and involvement of these powers in their reality. When the mystery is revealed, the resolution is unsatisfying. You couldn't get a strong feel as to why the main antagonist is the way he is, because they spent so little time developing him. There are many subplots, which would have been okay, except that this is a 13 episode anime. Most of the subplots were let to ease to an end instead of approached and dealt with properly. This left me feeling a bit bereft and questioning the whole point of building this whole maze of story.
Enjoyment: 5
I got bored with it halfway through but kept going because it's not bad enough for me to drop. It took me a while to complete it because I got involved with other animes. Despite the incredible visuals, the poorly written story and flat characters failed to enthuse me. The cluttered storyline and mythology kept me confused most of the time as I was trying to play keep up with all the little subplots and characters.
Overall: 6
It's not a bad anime, but it is an example of an anime trying to take on too much at the same time and failing miserably. I would say that maybe if it was given 24 or more episodes, it might have been able to rescue itself. But its biggest flaw was trying to fit a 24 eps story into 13 eps.
The_Pro_At_Stuff
Beautiful art and appealing soundtracks. You're probably thinking, "This will be amazing!", right? Well it isn't. There are many flaws and factors that drags K down from being a well done anime to a below average one. Let us start with a close look at the story. Our hero, Isana Yashiro, goes on an errand one day and is suddenly attacked by a group of men on the streets. It is later revealed that he is blamed for a murder that he does not remember committing. An interesting plot with a decent bit of potential behind it. Everything is fine until we realize the plot comes toa complete standstill. After many questions and events are raised, we come to the mid-way point of K. That is when it becomes apparent that the anime is not going anywhere. As this dreadful standstill is happening, more and more questions arise every episode. Plot twists are added as an attempt to make everything more bearable, but it just adds to the confusion. To remedy this situation, the creators tried to cram all of the answers in to the last few episodes. The result was a rushed ending with plot holes left floating around everywhere.
To summarize the story, i'd have to say it was a complete mess that was painful to watch. The creators wanted to make the anime more interesting and unique by continuously adding elements to their plot, but they ended up dropping the ball big time.
Characters are supposed to have vibrant characteristics and at least seem somewhat realistic. That is because to get the most enjoyment out of a story, we must be able to connect and feel with the characters. I was not able to do that with anyone in K.
As an attempt to make the characters seem as cool as possible, they were all given silent and complex personalities. We get no insight into what the characters are actually thinking, and the minimal dialog is of little help as well. They are so unnatural and impossible to figure out. Most of them are like emotionless statues that just talk occasionally for the sake of being alive. There is also a severe lack of character growth and development that destroys any chances left of connecting with the characters.The creators tried too hard and ultimately made the characters too complex and just plain uninteresting to watch.
Although the storytelling in K was horrid, the visuals and music were of the highest grade. The BGMs had a nice ring to them, and the surreal backgrounds had my eyes glued to the screen for every second of every episode. Character animations and fight scenes were extremely detailed to the point where i have nothing but praise for them.Since it would be annoying to listen to me ramble on about the art, i will just leave it at that. All you need to know is that i thought it was very good.
While my eyes and ears were indeed very entertained with K, my brain was moaning from boredom and distress for a significant portion of the time. My enjoyment was greatly derailed by the plot and characters. Good art and music was the only thing that kept me going.
In the end, i have no choice really but to condemn this anime. It was simply uninteresting and poorly done. Perhaps they focused too much on how it looked and totally forgot to write a story until the last minute. Either way, i would only recommend watching this if you are very curious about it.
Stark700
I love K! I love it for the fact that the series seems almost like watching rainbows without an actual way of expressing itself at first, especially regarding its artwork. It's almost like the directors are indirectly saying, “let's throw some cool animation and shit and get the audience to watch this!" Sure, there is a plot but it's just way too slow. I'm not exaggerating here but K is a series that just doesn't work out right at all. For those of you reading this, you might agree and some of you might not. Anyways, let's begin shall we? Let's start by asking ourselves...what is“K”?
Well, K is an original series that began airing in the Fall of 2012. It's animated by the studio GoHands and directed by Shingo Suzuki. He is also responsible for some of the character designs for the series. The series apparently also has manga adaptations with a prequel known as K: Memory of Red. Well, anyways, the series is quite mysterious...
For instance, what the hell does “K” actually stand for?
Some of the titles of the episodes suggest things such as “Knight”, “Kitten”, “Kill”, “Key”, Karma”, etc. I often wonder why it's like this. Sure the titles might give off some hints. Example: episode 2 titled Kitten is dedicated to Neko-chan who is..a cat or kitten. However, most of them are rather vague and leaves it to the viewers' imaginations.
Story: 3
Seriously, what the hell. Are the directors serious here? No, that's not even a serious question because the story of K is a joke, one that's not entertaining at all. We begin the first episode with Shiro apparently framed for murder. From there on and out, the series becomes a sort of cat-and-mouse scenario where he gets hunted down. But then, there are the side episodes and occasionally flash backs involving other characters. I have to say that this does NOT work out right. It's like trying to cook a dish without the proper ingredients.
Think of it this way. You want to make a pizza. You have the dough, the ingredients, the oven, etc. Then, when the time comes to make it, the pizza turns into shit because it's mixed in the wrong way. K is no different to be honest.
Oh but that's not all. K also tries too damn hard. It resorts to using some plot twists and thriller like sequences but it doesn't work. Why? The series' scriptwriting is just awful. The plot is revealed but what is the main purpose of it? I almost feel like nothing when I'm watching this series. It's slow with a capital S. S for shit in the storyline department.
Characters: 4
Almost, all the characters in my opinion lacks something or has qualities that are cliched, generic, and not done right. Let's take a look at our three main protagonists starting with the kid who has been on the run from the very beginning:
*Yashiro "Shiro" Isana – he is the happy and outgoing guy of the series. He often makes jokes but at the same time is quite respectable to his peers and classmates. There is a big secret about this character but we don't find that out till nearly the very end.
*Kuroh "Black Dog, Kuro" Yatogami – this guy even has a side story dedicated to him. Talk about being on the spotlight! But anyways, Kuroh is pretty much the opposite of Shiro. A few words that can describe him are “quiet, mysterious, haughty, caring, loyal, and courageous”. Yet at the same time, he lacks a personality. Seriously, he doesn't have much of a personality at all except when he interacts with the two main protagonists.
*Neko – Oh who am I kidding here, this is probably one of the reason why more than 80% of the demographic are watching the series. Neko is a very energetic young girl with a curious personality like a cat. Curiosity killed the cat? Neko actually brings that expression to reality in a few times when she acts before she thinks. She's got a million dollar body but a 2-cent brain. She doesn't like to wear clothes and often times or not, clings onto her beloved “Shiro” as she likes to call him.
The rest of the characters seems to play roles only in action rather than in the actual story, the one that moves ridiculously slow. The Red King and Blue King clashes in the latter half of the series but once again, it's cliched with the usual egoistic talk and dragged monotone speeches. The righteousness from the Blue King also seems ironic since he wishes to protect the students yet his group is responsible for the danger of their lives in the first place.
Artwork: 8
Alright, I admit it. The artwork of the series is amazing. It's like you're in a dream where everything is colorful and presented in a way that is at cinema level. The blue aura backgrounds and the characters' outfit designs makes them look like bosses and gives off that cool feeling which is one of the positives of the series. It is no doubt that the artwork and visuals represents the highlight of the series. Pretty cool designs I'd say even though some of the clothing doesn't look too original. Yes, I'm looking at you, Full Metal Alchemist and Tegami Bachi.
Soundtrack/Music: 7
Although not up to the art standards, the soundtrack of the series is well presented. Some of the OST are pleasant to listen to whether it's a dramatic, action, or emotional scene. The opening song , "King”, by angela is also well performed where it depicts a montage of the main as well as the supporting characters.
The ending song though is just a slap in the face. We see..well, mostly Neko wearing almost nothing as she doesn't like to wear clothes making suggestive poses. It's just pure fan-service and nothing more. Once again, it tries to use its visuals to do the talking rather than expressing.
Overall, this series deserves a “5”. The story is so damn slow and the characters give generic a whole new meaning. Luckily, the soundtrack and artwork makes up for this. Yet, at many stances, I feel that K isn't doing a right job of progressing its episodes. Although the plot eventually reveals itself, it shouldn't make an excuse to make the audience wait. Now, I'm not saying this series is the worst garbage ever created. If you enjoyed the series, then do what makes you happy. However, K did not live up to its expectations. At first, I thought I was watching some good bullshit from K but that doesn't seem to be the case now. K is just bullshit and I can't recommend this to anyone.
Jaggy
Story: 1/10 I've never watched an anime with a more pathetic story. I think I find the Cockroach girl anime more appealing than this one. The story line feels like the creators decided to pull all their favorite aspects out of all the anime they've ever liked and put it into one. There is a weak reference to "deep" connections between these 7 gangs in the anime, but this story is following the main character, Shiro and his cat that turns into a sexy girl randomly. The blue gang is a vigilante police group and one of the members, Kuro, believes that Shiro committed a murderbased on this shady cell phone video of Shiro or someone who appears to look like him, committing the crime, and Kuro decides to follow Shiro around at school and become a "transfer student" and cook for Shiro and his cat like he has no real duties. The story line is absolutely horrid and there is nothing great about it.
Art: 10/10
The anime contains the most beautiful art I've seen in a lot of anime, but that is the only thing going for it. I am continuing this anime based on the art alone.
Update: 1/10
As the series went on, the art began to decrease in quality. The group probably spent all of their budget on the first episode and everything else went to horribleness.
Sound: 6/10
It sounds fine.
Character: 1/10
Just like the story line, the characters are pathetic. They are not unique in any way and there is no character depth at all. I feel no emotions or sympathy for any of them. The main character, Shiro, seems to be this aloof high school kid who appears to have some dark side or schizophrenic tendency, but also doesn't seem to have much care. The cat/girl turns into a human randomly, she has two different colored eyes, and does "cute" things. (I think she is a rip of Shiro from Deadman Wonderland, but not as enjoyable). The red gang seems to be a collection of "tough, cool guys" plus some strange gothic lolita girl. There hasn't been much on the red gang yet for me to make inferences on them. The vigilante police blue gang includes Kuro, the guy who carries around swords and follows around the main character while the main character tries to prove his innocence. He's boring and one dimensional and seems to be a rip of Jin from Samurai Champloo, and he carries around a weird briefcase filled with cooking utensils. There is a woman in the blue gang, who is dressed in this outfit where her butt hangs out but apparently works in this professional setting. She seems like a rip of Hawkeye from Full Metal Alchemist.
Enjoyment: 5/10
I enjoy it because its fun to make fun of.
Update: 3/10
Overall: 3/10
This isn't an anime that will ever make a mark. It in general, just sucks.
Update: 1/10
If you enjoy watching characters stare at each other for long periods of time, fight scenes eliminated, important parts of the story not even animated (the blimp crash scene), and characters having "deep" connections and conversations with each other which are never explained, this is the anime for you.
Toucanbird
I've got news for GoHands. You can polish a turd, make it really pretty, flashy, and cool...but it still doesn't defeat the fact that it's still a turd. K Project might be the biggest letdown of an anime I've seen all year. It has some of the best OSTs I've heard in a series this year. The animation is gorgeous and the art direction in the first episode had a setup for a series that was going to be epic. So what the hell happened? To put it bluntly, how did such a captivating series become such an epic pile of crap? Simply put, the storywas all over the place and it all begins with the setup. The plot resolves Isana Yashiro who is falsely accused of killing a clansman of the Red King. He is hunted down by Yatogami Kuroh, the servant of the former Colorless King, HOMRA, the clansman of the Red King and SCEPTER4, the clansman of the Blue King. Isana is befriended by Yatogami in the process as well as a strange girl/cat named Neko, who we find out is a Strain. Together, they try and solve the mystery behind Yashiro's mistaken identity for a killer who claims to be the Colorless King, as well as find out his connection to the Silver King. Everybody got that? Good...because I sure as hell didn't. For one, who or what are the Kings? The series briefly describes them as seven people with special powers. When they release their power, an object appears in the sky called the Sword of Damocles. So what the hell is the Sword of Damocles? Gooooood question...because the series doesn't explain that either.
There's a clash between the Red and Blue clans during the early stages of this series because Munakata Reishi, the Blue King feels that another disaster will befall them because Mikoto Suoh's (The Red King) Sword of Damocles is in rough shape due to overusing his power. We get very little explanation or back story about the dangers of a king maintaining their Sword of Damocles so it is just another minor plot point that falls to the wayside due to poor development.
I found the ONLY thing this story did well in both explanation and in storytelling was the reveal of Adolph K. Weismann, the Silver King. Weismann was just about the only character that got any sort of development, albeit still not enough in the grand scheme of things. We learn that the Silver King is also known as the Immortal King...yet, we don't get an explanation as to WHY he's immortal. Or at the very least, the series doesn't do a very good job of explaining that detail. We also find out that there are 7 Kings in total, but it's unexplained who these Kings are, where they came from, and why they have these powers as well as why they can pass their powers down to clansman.
That leads me to my next point, this story just didn't develop it's characters...any of them. Apparently according to the plot, we should be invested in the battle between the Reds and the Blues. The conflict between Suoh and Munakata. Okay, can you at least tell us WHY? There are times when I wonder, is this story about Yashiro, or is it about Suoh? Or how about Yatogami Kuroh? We learn that he was a servant for the former Colorless King, Ichigen Miwa. And? That's it...for being the what would become best friend of the lead character for this series, we learn next to nothing about him...and don't get me started on this mess that is Yashiro's character. The explanation and back story behind his character is so fragmented and confusing that even when the series is completely said and done, I still don't know ANYTHING about his character.
Ultimately, it felt like the producers tried to tackle way too many issues in a 13 episode series. What it resulted in was a lot unresolved plot points and loosely knitted character development that fell apart at the seams because there were far too many characters to even try and develop. GoHands should've realized (and I use this analogy a lot) that sometimes, less is more. Give us a narrowed down, detailed look at each set of characters or clans. Give us a better explanation/back story to who or what the Kings are. This series MIGHT have worked in a 26 episode set...and I say that loosely. They still might not have been able to tie up all the loose ends in 26 episodes. All-in-all, considering the production budget behind this series, there was a lot to be desired by the time it was all said and done.
AnimeForDummies
K-Project 1st Review and a Long One *Please take the time to read/skim through it. Don’t just judge by the score I give the anime! If you hate my review, please explain why. The autumn season of 2012 was an entertaining one. The season brought new light and a breath of fresh air to the anime industry. Of all the anime there is to talk about, K is one of the most talks about anime to date. It might be though to the fact that the PVs carry ton of promise for the project bringing in hugeamounts of hype and a start of a new fandom. Sadly, K collapse under its own weight with ton of criticism toward its poor story and plot progression. Creating a huge divide among the anime community with one side being the haters while the other side the fans. I’m categorized under the fans but K indeed has flaws that should be taking account.
All in all K is a project underworked. For GoRa’s 1st anime project, I found it be a massive success. And I will explain why:
Story: (+/-) [1 MAL POINT]
The story at the beginning: Tatura is murder in an incident putting Yashiro, the main protagonist, into a chaotic battle between the Kings and clans regarding who killed Tatura.
The story is indeed the biggest problem of K by far. It is important to note that K’s story is not action oriented given by the few scenes of action nor is it a mystery because you’re not meant to solve it. K’s story is a mix of different elements but these elements is what makes its story collapse.
If you ever seen an anime produce by Nakanishi Go, you might be able to pin out the problems the plot has. K suffers from poor plot progression. The anime wants to explore all the different elements but sadly with only 13 episodes it isn’t possible. The 1st 3 episodes focus on explaining the world of K. Episodes 4-9 focus on the bonds and tensions between characters. Last 4 focus on brining all characters together for the big finale.
Asking little questions is the key to enjoying K or then your negatives will ruin your positives. If questions do arise, then don’t be afraid to ask the community has ton of excellent theories is quite accurate.
Yet, the plot manages to be quite interesting at times. The story is filled with interesting moments and twists that you sometimes wonder if the story is the main focus. And it isn’t! The main focus is in the characters.
Characters: (+/-) [1 MAL POINT]
There is lot of things to say about K and its huge cast of characters. I don’t hate any of the characters. They all perform their roles masterfully with their voice actors truly capturing the personality of the characters. So why did I give it only 1 MAL point? Not all of the characters are given the proper screen time they deserve.
The main trio [Yashiro, Neko, & Kuroh] represent the power to have close bonds with each other. Mikoto and Reishi are the Kings with huge hearts toward their clan who journey a solitary road. And there is Yata and Fushimi two close friends/rivals that can never be separated by faith [no yaoi here]. K is all about bonds but what about the other characters?
There are more obvious bonds within K but the screen time is given more to these parings more than anything else. I personally wanted to see more of Ana as she manages to be the most questionable character regarding what she means to Mikoto.
What ever happen to Izumo? Given a role of a typical leader!
The classmates were interesting and wish they had more time on screen.
Rikio!!!! He means something to Yata but what? The poor old Gold King….. not even given the proper time to be on screen for being the Gold King.
Hopefully these problems will be fixed for the next season because these bonds were unique to K making the characters memorable in their own right.
Art: (+) [2 MAL POINTS]
The biggest positive of K is its Art, and that is something we all can agree with. Animation quality of K can just not be described with words. It’s just plain beautiful to look at. GoHands really knows how to bring quality to the next level.
Following a similar art style that can be found in the Mardock Scramble series, K uses a smart blend of gradients to bring out the colors of the characters and the setting. It even helps create a realistic shine on objects that shine depending on the lighting. Ton of detail is pack in every frame with the brief scenes of CG being forgiven as this is animation at its best. With only one major screw up being with the Bell Tower Explosion scene [rather not explain as it was horrific to watch]. Action scenes are well drawn out fill with the flashing colors of the physic powers even though they are quite short.
K broke new ground in the anime industry showing how TV animation can reach the quality of the movies. Setting the bar high to what future TV animation can look like.
Sound: (+) [2 MAL Points]
Soundtrack of K….. memorable!!!! For Endo Mikio’s 1st time in the anime industry, he manages to capture the urban feel of the city and emotions of the characters. You know a soundtrack is going to be excellent when the 1st track, title “Suoh Mikoto”, comes blazing in with the beat and intensity of the pain to describe Mikoto’s character. This helps creates stage for K when the opening credits were done rolling as we enter the world that is K. And there are more tracks I wish I could describe but in the end their no real way to describe the emotions and feelings you get from each track.
For the OP and ED songs, they do their job well but aren’t as memorable as the soundtrack. Then again my taste of music is quite different when it comes to OP and ED so sadly I can't go in depth.
Enjoyment: (+) [2 MAL POINTS]
K is an anime that isn’t meant to be taken seriously. The fun of K comes from the bonds of characters within the beautiful world that is the anime. I personally had a blast with the anime. Even though it has flaws, K manages to not be an utter failure of this season. In fact my memories of K will stay in tack as K’s charms can appeal to anyone.
Either it is for the animation, soundtrack, characters, or the story, K has something for everyone. For the 1st project of GoRa, it is a massive success that can be use to make the project better than it was before. I’m looking forward to what GoRa can bring to the table in the anime industry with its future K relating projects. If you’re someone like me who is going to watch the 2nd season, I recommend reading the manga prequels and watching K in a new positive light.
Now I will but my review to a close to the most memorable anime of the year for me. Enjoyment of the anime is different for everyone. I'm here saying that you should watch it but of course this anime will not appeal to everyone.
Thank you for reading my review!
Dandey
K, let me start by saying that although this series wasn't close to becoming a masterpiece, it is not nearly as bad as alot of viewers are making it out to be with scores such as 3's/4's. However i can see why many people didn't like this anime. Plot: Im not going to bore you all with giving a summary of the plot, as im assuming you have at least some knowledge of the show if you are reading this review. 'K' had so much potential, however like many recent shows airing, the plot was neglected due to the high demand of having pretty visuals andcatchy songs that will attract in viewers. The story line wasn't bad at all, it was simply lacking more attention from the creators. I felt as though the entire plot was rushed, resulting in many questions that were left un-answered.
Art & Sound: There's really not much to say about these two components of the show. Both were fantastically done.
Character: The character development was fairly bland and poorly done. I noticed that alot of the main characters didn't have any development or references about their past. I don't know what i was expecting, but it wasn't what i got.
Overall, it was an okay show. Give it a try and if you don't like it in the first few episodes, give it up. Because it doesn't get better as the show goes on. It's one of those shows that you will hate, love, or you will be neutral with it because lets be honest. You all have nothing else to waste your time with. (that's why you are reading this review).
atmosphic
Sometimes I wonder if people want to be original from the get go or just take concepts from different shows, throw them all in a pot and hope something good comes out. Project K is a classic example of people who have to much to do and not enough resources to do it with. STORY 4/10 From the first episode we have been given the basic outline of each character, their goals and where each of them stand in terms of ranking. It doesn't help the viewer that episode one starts in the middle of the plot, tracks back and then pushes forward. Itsets up a very clever way of telling the story by throwing all these problems and situations at the viewer in hopes it will make it all clear by episode 13. Depending on how far you read into the plot and the characters motives you may get a completely different answer.
ART 9/10
The art of this show is what (in my case) makes it memorable. It sets a brilliant landscape for the show from the city to the wastelands, the technology such as the robots have all been detailed to the millimeter. You can probably watch this show and adore it based on the art alone.
SOUND 7/10
I was sort of conflicted with the OST, while the music was very good it felt like the tracks were played in the wrong moments. The opening theme didn't fit the style of the opening and the main piano piece was very overplayed, it almost felt like one long music video for that one song.
CHARACTERS 4/10
As I've read in some other Project K reviews people say that the characters were too 'under developed' for me this wasn't quite true. From episode one it was like the characters were just to distant from the plot, not giving much of a story away. I'm not sure if this is a result of the makers wanting them to seem more mysterious or setting up something for season 2 but I couldn't feel sad or pained for a character I barely knew.
ENJOYMENT 7/10
This isn't a bad anime. I enjoyed it, the art was amazing, the soundtrack was good, characters were likable. I give credit to the producers who were able to squeeze all these different plot points in to just 13 episodes.
OVERALL 6/10
I think Project K had to much to live up to before it even aired, with the story telling style of Baccano! and overall plot feel of No.6 this anime is enjoyable and that's all you really need. Not much to think about or keep up with (Unless you're one of those 'deeper meaning' people).
If you can stand the amount of fan service it gives girls to ship him with him then I recommend this show as just a bit of eye candy for people who like quality art with simple-to-follow plot.
Growler
When you watch K the things that captivate you are the soundtracks as well as designs and animations. The story is intriguing and first but becomes a letdown later on. However you cannot say it is a failure just because you don't understand the overall complex of the series. For those of you who enjoy action scenes or characters that act cool and/or clumsy.. then you should watch K. For those of you who don't know how to appreciate a good anime please don't write crappy reviews when you look only at a tree and not the entire forest
CD209
Do you know one of those anime that despite not having anything outstanding to it, still end up making you watch it until the middle of the night and go tell all your friends about how great it is the next day? Yeah, K is one of those Story: 8/10 K story is set in a busy, futuristic city that underneath its grandeur lies supernatural forces and dangerous gangs. Much like Durarara!!, the show has multiple story lines that end up intersecting each other in the end. Now, if this is the first time something like this was done, I would really had enjoyed it much more.But if you are a big fan of Durarara!! like I am, you would be very distracted by how many similarities these two shows have. However, that did not stop me from liking the story of K. From the intense tale of the chase for a murder case suspect to the story of the psychic power wielding gangs, K has a pretty interesting plot. Just like Durarara!! though, there are some points that you might have to read between the lines a little, but for me, that is a lot better than having the plot spoon fed to me by the show.
Art: 9/10
Art is perhaps K's strongest point. When I was a kid, I always imagined I had awesome psychic powers and I would look like a total badass if it weren't for this thing called reality. But when watching K, I feel like my imaginative world came to life. Intense battle scenes, awesome psychic fields, cool character designs, etc. you name it, K has them all.
Sound: 8/10
If you like Nujabes even a tiny little bit, I think you would like K soundtrack a lot. Filled with suave urban style tracks, K's BGM fits the show's setting like a glove. Of course, it is not Samurai Champloo, but the music does grow on you and on many occasions add to the atmosphere seamlessly, making K a very appealing experience to your senses of sight and sound.
Character: 8/10
If you're looking for a show where even the side characters make you relate to them so much you could be their best friend, K might seem a bit lacking. However, for the type of anime that it is, it doesn't need to have those kinds of characters. Instead K makes up for this by having several solid leads, while adding in some character archetypes that we all know and love like the Spectacled Badass, the Sadist, the Kindhearted Gang Leader, the Ice Queen, etc. and does that take out any enjoyment? Absolutely not.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Like I mentioned before, K is not an outstanding anime. I've seen others shows that have used the elements that it has before and done it better. However, by combining these aspects together and multiplying that with smooth music and animation, K ends up being a very fun ride at least for me.
Overall: 8/10
Now those of you who are into more serious shows and expect only the best of story and character development might say that this show is not worth its score, and that is entirely understandable. However, for just sheer appeal to the senses, K is still a very enjoyable show. It does not try to be overly serious and it does not need to be. So go grab some popcorn and maybe even a friend, because K is a show worthy of the title King in its category (well, there are better shows of course but I just wanted to make that joke.)
karlstein12
K is by no means a masterpiece but at the same time it isn't as bad as some people are making out to be. I personally think that K completed the plot its based around its own little world pretty well. Isana Yashiro is a soft and an adolescent teenager who lives on his own and is always active with his friends around the campus. However he soon finds himself chased down by the infamous gang named "HOMRA" who are the clansmen for the Red King. In the anime, seven kings or rulers are portrayed who have their own persona and supernatural powers. From theimpeccable Silver King, to the inferior Colorless King, the series focuses mostly on the Red King and the Blue King. So after the murder of one of the members of the HOMRA gang namely of "Totsuka Tatara", a video tape is left behind which point out the seemingly innocent Isana Yashiro as the culprit. It also happens to be that Isana Yashiro isn't quite as the person he seems to be, as he has little to no memory of his own past. K follows the story of the Red King and the HOMRA members seeking their revenge of the murder of one of their members, to the Blue King and their clansmen trying to stop the inevitable battle that will shake the order among the seven kings and to reveal the true identity of Shiro aka Isana Yashiro.
K has quite an unique blend of characters, with Kuroh Yatagami, the student of the former Colorless King who is in the search for the person who is to become the next Colorless King, and to reach a decision whether the new Colorless King is worthy enough of the throne. He also has the job given by his former master as to decide whether the new Colorless King is good or evil, and if he's the former, Kuroh is to slay him right there. Coming to a decision that Shiro is the new Colorless King from the video tape that surfaced featuring Shiro shooting Totsuka Tatara, Shiro now has to explain that he's innocent. Shiro is shown as a silly yet simple and also a very mysterious character who is in search of what truly is he, along with Neko, a cat which possesses some magical powers.
From the beautiful melody tones inserted into each episodes and a good voice acting work done, K tops the sound aspect very well. Angela is an extremely talented singer and it's evident from the lovely opening theme.
GoHands has a reputation for creating a beautiful piece of art and K adds to that reputation. K is a burst of attractive colors and a ravishing artsyle that truly makes K a masterpiece when you talk about the artwork. It's one of best anime around in recent times if you consider the art of it, and for the same reason I can't stop but wonder why the studio has made very less anime's of the same type. Personally I really enjoyed K and I'll say that it's worth giving a watch. The story is well brought together which makes for a good watch and a nice ending.
Orsonius
When I first saw pictures and trailers for K, I though: "Man this looks promising!" And so the first episode started off with an amazing instrumental hip hop track, some cool looking dudes and a cute loli... and this weird blue filter... Well after a couple of episodes full of nonsense later I found myself baffled how anyone could even understand what this show was about. Well needless to say, this show made as much sense as a monocycle riding monkey on a plane. Let's just get to it.First the good:
Animation 8/10
This show looks damn fucking amazing it would have earned a 9/10 but that damn ugly blue filter ruined it for me to be honest.
I mean look at it it's fluid as hell, the fighting scenes are fabulous. I was impressed. The only thing it kinda felt short was sometimes when they used boring stills ineffective and some background looked okay but not great (but sometimes they also did).
Another gripe I had with the character designs. I like if they are individualized but they were a bit too Bi-Shounen for me.
Sound 6/10
The other great thing about this show was the great OST. A mixture of instrumental Hip hop and Electronica. Really cool and my first favorite OST of the season (others came to that list later).
The Voiceactors were okay but because the characters were so poor and 1dimensional they couldn't shine and non stood out.
The opening was horrendous and the ending forgettable.
Now to the bad Parts:
Story 3/10
That this convoluted piece of garbage even got 3/10 is a miracle.
But I have my reasons for that.
Besides the ending the plot made no sense. had no sense of pacing, was complex for complexity sake and even in the end wasn't clear. I would say the premise was okay but since it never really got explained it was just a huge mess.
At least because of the nonsensical story it never felt as if there was anything that wasn't important or like a filler, and some battles where cool so the episodes could be exciting and here and there was a cliffhanger or WOW effect but still in light of a stupid plot felt short.
Maybe it's me and I just didn't "get it", but then it was the animes fault. I "got" Lain, and if this crap is deeper than Lain I think I kill myself.
Characters 1/10
At least everyone seemed to have a reasonable motivation for what they did.
But else there was no development, nor did any character make sense. Everything felt artificial.
Likable was only the cute Loli for being a cute Loli. Yeah that's it.
Worst-Cast-Ever.
Value 2/10
If you have no Idea what I mean by this, go to my Profile, check "new rating system" and read about Value. I think it's a very good point to make for every show.
But I will include it's parts for this review
Rewatchability - only to see if it makes more sense. But please no thanks not again.
Sentimental - It was a particular bad anime with the most messy plot I've ever seen. It sure stands out to me. It was also the first really nonsensical anime I've ever seen. I give creds for that.
Historical - Non this show will be forgotten, didn't do anything groundbreaking or influential. At least I hope it doesn't influence other shows to be this bad.
Enjoyment 3/10
I did enjoy it for the music and amazing animations.
And I hoped it would become clear.
But after finishing it, it only was this really bad anime that I finished with wasted animation and soundtrack.
Conclusion : BAD do not watch, of just for the fighting scenes but I have some gifs for that if you'd like to seem them.
shinezu
Project K. What can I say? I have mixed feelings about it; more importantly it is a typical sad case of great concept ruined by terrible execution. Here's why. Lets put the story aside for a while, and talk about the concept. The concept for Project K is arguably fresh and creative. I won't call it particularly innovative but it does wonderfully so combine elements of sci-fi and fantasy. Seven Kings and their vassals endorsed by that special power, street gangs, military-like organizations and a high school and an inevitable evil mastermind behind all the events. It's a bit of everything and I suppose that's whyit is non-standard. With proper attention to each and every bit of that we would have probably received a truly memorable anime. And here's where Project K fails hard. Being only 13 episodes long it does nothing to process those ingredients into an edible dish. We never as much learn about the origin of power that is inherent to kings or how they received it. Is it magic? Is it science and technology? Who are other kings? What is factual peculiarity of their power? What is the story behind the crater thing? etc. Same pretty much goes to every other plotline and character.
Plot itself is somewhat messy. We've got a mysterious murder and gangs who are going after the culprit who is in turn the main protagonist who suffers from amnesia who later discovers kings/vassals/magic and the actual murderer. Seems like a very action packed anime huh? Well it isn't. Good 2/3 of it we are having character interactions and chases which have very little to do with actual plot and hence the very gist of it is unveiled during final eps. Such uneven pacing keeps you hooked only during very first and very last episodes, becoming rather annoying in the middle. Most plotlines go nowhere and a lot of things are left unexplained, such as who's Neko, where's slate, past of certain characters. It just doesn't fall in place. That being said, amnesia is an awful plot-device.
Art. Now art is one of the few strong points that K has. Animation is smooth and beautiful featuring great camera angles and spectacular special effects. The art itself imitates a cross-processed film which makes it look bright and optimistic, easy on the eye. The character design is hit and miss. Some are nicely designed with a distinguished look, the others are your typical janes and joes you'd find in any anime. Overall, it's a visual eye-candy although the quality declines towards the end of series.
Sound. Another strong point. The soundtrack is crispy with some lovely piano arrangements, if a little repetitive. I have nothing much to say about OP and ED, they are both quite decent, but not the kind of songs that would stuck in your head.
Characters are poorly fleshed out and present nothing original. We have typical personality-less school mob. We have an odd main hero who acts somewhat like Haru from Tsuritama. We have Neko who is in a sense a cardboard copy of Shiro (Deadman Wonderland), and we have Kuro (a lovechild of Kanda x Sebastian). In fact we have a ton of characters which are implied to have had interesting ties to each other in the past and present, but sadly it is never fully unfolded in the anime. It's not to say that characters are annoying or boring from the start, not at all. What I imply is, with the length of anime, it just seems unreasonable to put such a crowd in and toss hints about their complex history. If it was 26 eps long, that would be fine. Alas, it is not.
Overall, it's easy to watch. Project K is that kind of anime that is perfectly watchable if you turn your brain off and just relax. It's not the best anime ever, nor it is the worst one. If you are looking for something other than just swords and mecha, this is probably a good choice.
Odysseus
'Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings' Story: 4 Where to begin, first we start with the protagonist which is a student that goes by the name of Yashiro Isana, a normal student who attends school at first glance however that is not the case. Yashiro Isana is attacked by a group of suspicious men because Yashiro is suspected of killing one of the groups comrades, however to no memory of Yashiro. This is the catalystof the following events to come. Story wise we are left confused as the story starts to unfold later on the show and not much explanation is given early on. I can interpret this by the writers trying to replicate that same sense of helplessness and confusion that Yashiro is a victim of. When watching the show progress towards its end you would hope that stories and mysteries will unfold, however this is not the case 2/3 of the show we still do not know the full extent of the story.
This leads on to the criticism of the plot. With the story left to be fully explained towards the end of the series this means that story pacing feels unnatural and rushed towards the end as it feels the show is trying to tie up lose ends with what little screen time they have. I felt as watching the show I didn't care for the story as much because it wouldn't give me time to soak up story. With so many cool concepts for the show the 13 episodes did not do the show justice as there was room for the writer to build upon.
Art: 10
One section of the show that cant be criticised is the Art. Its visually stimulating, the way in which some scenes look almost real with what I can imagine are real life rendered images used as backgrounds for some sequences of the show, its as the anime world invaded reality. The colours of the anime are vibrant and bright which makes for a pleasant watching experience. Character models and attention to detail on characters are of high quality which adds a more authentic touch. Animations where also fairly good as most scenes where carefully planned out from a detailed standpoint. Compared to other shows such as bleach and Naruto that has a bad habit of recycled animation and static character models, K animates the show to a fairly high degree.
Sound: 8
The sound of the anime is also noticeably good. Voice acting is great across every character with characters such as Mikito, giving me goosebumps whenever he talks. As for selection of music its fair to say that the music choice they use is some of the best I've heard regardless that there wasn't many music selection as I would have liked there to be, meaning that music was sometimes recycled A lot but that's just me being picky. Overall the sound quality of music and voice actors they did use made the show a bit more pleasurable to watch.
Character: 5
Linking back to the original argument I made under the Story section with the story being to short and rushed this unfortunately carries over to the character development which I find there is generally none of. With Such powerful characters displayed from the very start of the show, its as if it almost intentionally sets up for these characters to develop and show a different side to the very linear personalities. The writer tries to compensate for this by giving us flashback sequences here and there, however this is not enough to fully immerse us with the characters on display. Furthermore some characters who play an integral part in the anime are introduced with no background story making these characters remain a mystery and for viewers to question the purpose of said characters.
Enjoyment: 6
For me personally I enjoyed the show at times but was left disappointed by the plot holes and the lack of details that I look for in an anime. The concept of the show was a unique one that I really loved but again was left disappointed on how the plot was lacklustre.The art made me really appreciate the show as at times it felt I was viewing a visual masterpiece with the amazing art direction is was going for. Overall it was a decent way to bide the time.
Overall: 6
To conclude I wouldn't recommend this show for any newcomer to anime not to say its a bad show but just because there are many other shows that perfect most categories I covered. However for someone who has seen most mainstream anime I would encourage you to watch it as the Art is some of the best you will see for any show. Finally with a Movie that is a direct sequel to the anime announced for release in 2014 there is still hope that they are able to tie all lose ends and build on characters to leave a lasting memory of the show.
Ledo-kun
After watching this series, I asked myself "What happened?" followed by "Why did I watch this?" Well folks, let's start with the reason why I watched this series. ART&ANIMATION This is probably the only reason why you would watch this eye-candy of an anime. It's so superb. The animation is so smooth. The fight scenes are awesome (although few). The art is so detailed. The colors are vibrant (but sometimes annoyingly too much). Character Designs are good. They fit each character's personalities. It really is a feast for the eyes. SOUND Soundtrack was pretty good. OP & ED are thumbs up. Voice acting was well done. There's nothing much tocomplain about.
CHARACTERS
Having so many characters to feature, most of them are left untouched, which is bad. There will be a sequel, which might improve this, but in this season, there's little to no character development at all.
STORY
When you speak about the concept, it's got huge potential. The problem with it is that the execution was badly done. The series will leave you with a big "HUH?" as it is so confusing.
ENJOYMENT
I'm a sucker for animes with great art so even though the story's not that good, I fairly enjoyed it just because of the art and the soundtrack.
I suggest that people who are finding an anime excelling in art and soundtrack to watch this as it is a huge treat but I also suggest that you have little to no expectations at all regarding the story as you will be heavily disappointed by it.
movoning
This is my second time reviewing K. Why? Because my first review wasn't good enough to protect it. First off, I will be writing some spoilers about the characters, especially Mikoto and Shiro. If you have not watched K, don't read the second half of my review. I won't review the plot, simply because I believe all plots should revolve around the characters and never the other way around. With a lot of mystery and action series, you are basically watching a puppet show with forced actions and personalities onto the characters just to keep the plot engaging. This will never work for me.Never.
K is different in that the plot is built around the characters. This is easily done in a slice of life series, but for a short action, fantasy, and mystery story, this is extremely hard. You have to build the characters the same time you build up the plot. This seems pretty easy in theory, but in reality, to prevent the plot from taking over the characters is a pretty hard task in a limited amount of time. The creators have to constantly keep in mind this cheesy idea: the “soul” of each character that tells them where they want to go.
Here comes the spoilers on the characters. I will focus on two only because others involve around them.
1. Mikoto. Yes, Mikoto. He isn't the main character, and no, I did not put him in the first place because he is my favorite. In fact, I dislike him. However, he is the most important character in K nonetheless. He is the foil, and actually I haven't seen in a long time this kind of fascinating foil. He is the foil that never truly interacted with the protagonist, Shiro, but it makes me excited just to think about them together. Oh, I should stop here for a second and comment something about the yaoi suggestions. I'm a fujoshi. But I'm not a fujoshi who drools over every boy love story. For example, I did not like Kuroshitsuji no matter how much I liked the boy and his butler. The beyond reasonable plot and cheap character development ruined it for me. Now back to K, if you are a person who is extremely sensitive to boy love suggestions, then K might not be a show for you. But truthfully K has very little boy love suggestions.
Now seriously back to Mikoto. Mikoto is the kind of tragic hero who is lost in his resolution from the beginning to the end. I wouldn't say he did what he did out of revenge. Of course, revenge is a part of it, but Mikoto is a much more complicated person. Let's say, if Johan Liebert from Monster and Kuroro from HxH sit at one extreme end and Luffy from One Piece sits on the other extreme end, Mikoto is the person in the middle. I don't like him exactly because he is in the middle, but that's just my personal taste. Mikoto could not abandon his sadness and anger and become monsters like Johan and Kuroro, and he also could not change the negative energies into positive forces like Luffy can. From the very beginning, he is already like a time bomb, both literally and abstractly speaking. Glass-kun tries to stop the bomb from killing himself and others around him. That's Glass-kun's role in the whole series, so essentially, Glass-kun is the foil to Mikoto. I won't get into other characters around them, but each major follower of Mikoto has his unique personality. Despite the differences in their personality, they still followed Mikoto till the end(except for that one particular person with his psycho voice. he is still interesting, don't get me wrong). So what made Mikoto so attractive for them? I think it's Mikoto's vulnerability that turned into strength for others, but not for himself unfortunately. And no, I don't mean they feel superior standing beside a more sensitive and vulnerable person that suffers alone. It's because they could feel the warmth from the fire he burns, so like Tatara said, Mikoto's power protects people, and his followers feel it. This whole set-up is symbolically consistent with Mikoto being the red king that wields fire that is a potential source of warmth and Glass-kun being the blue king that's cold in appearance but calms the fire when it goes wild.
2. Next is about Shiro. Personally, he is my favorite, along with Kuroh and Neko. I won't reveal his real identity here, but honestly, whoever Isana Yashiro is, Shiro is Shiro. That's why I like him the most. His warmth, unlike Mikoto's, doesn't come from self-sacrificial burning, but from his smiles. Shiro is a playful character that smiles a lot, even in dangerous and sad situation. His unfitting smiles are not satirical, unlike most people's when they want to feign confidence. Shiro is a person who believes in people around him and allows others to believe in him. His foil Mikoto can also do this, but again, they do it differently. That's why I feel so excited about this setup between Shiro and Mikoto. In appearance, Mikoto is a dying person while Shiro is an immortal, but they suffer the same loneliness. Mikoto self-sacrifices while Shiro smiles but they do it for the same reason. Kuroh and Neko are essential for the development of Shiro as a character. They are there so that Shiro has someone to smile at, especially when he smiles out of sadness. The cliché way of putting those three would be, they complete each other. Unfortunately for Mikoto, the person who completes him died. Their fate consequently changed because of this development. I feel in a way, Shiro and Mikoto switched their places in many respects.The most obvious one is Mikoto who had a special friend ends up losing that person while Shiro who had no one gains kuroh and neko. This situational switch triggered much of the character development.
In summary, K is a story about gaining and losing important people around us, and also learning from them about ourselves. I think it carries a very beautiful message.
I don't understand where K is confusing, how K is superficial, and why it deserves the low ratings and harsh reviews. From my point of view, I saw great characters and witnessed their stories. It's been so long since I can write so much on anime characters. Mikoto and Shiro are so well planned out characters, and I promise you, even if you have already watched K and deemed it not good, give the characters and their roles, even their power, more thoughts. You'll end up finding a lot of interesting surprises.
