In the year 2043, <Infinite Dendrogram>, the world's first successful full-dive VRMMO was released. In addition to its ability to perfectly simulate the five senses, along with its many other amazing features, the game promised to offer players a world full of infinite possibilities. Nearly two years later, soon-to-be college freshman, Reiji Mukudori, is finally able to buy a copy of the game and start playing. With some help from his experienced older brother, Shuu, and his partner Embryo, Reiji embarks on an adventure into the world of <Infinite Dendrogram>. Just what will he discover and encounter in this game world known for its incredible realism and infinite possibilities?
(Source: J-Novel Club)
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
TheDeedsOfMen
"It would leave a bad taste in my mouth." ‒ Ray Starling You know what, Ray? This anime leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and you are one of the chief culprits. Infinite Dendrogram promises infinite possibilities, but instead we get Ray Starling, a piece of cardboard masquerading as a human being, a robot that gazes upon the world with an empty light in his eyes, an empty husk of a man who delivers the most generic lines imaginable. "My battle's far from over. You can't stop my pace, my sword-wielding arm ‒ not yet. Not as long as I see tragedy before me ‒ tragedy andyou!"
‒ Ray Starling
What next? He might as well say "Halt, you fiend! My blade shall thwart your evil plans!" because it would not surprise me anymore.
Ray is a typical hero to the extreme. He is so selfless and altruistic that he makes angels blush. He is a white knight who swoops in to rescue people in obvious distress, often random children kidnapped by heinous villains. He never has to make any difficult decisions because the villains are always obvious. Ray also likes to deliver simple, cheesy rants about justice and helping people, completely unironically, of course. This includes his catchphrase "It would leave a bad taste in my mouth." What would leave a bad taste, you ask? Not saving people in need; what else?
Ray goes further than that though. He refuses to grab the valuables of a villain he defeated, considering it blood money. He is even reluctant to accept a cash reward for his actions and tries to convince his party members to take his share as well. And this happens not just once but twice. That's ridiculous. You fought hard for the money; it is alright to accept it sometimes. Not to mention that he could always use it to improve his equipment, which would help his altruistic efforts in the future, so his refusal doesn't even make sense from a purely altruistic viewpoint.
That is not all. Many characters find Ray interesting simply because he sees the world of Infinite Dendrogram as real, which isn't even unique to him. Several other characters feel the same way, yet they are not treated with the same level of interest. Ray is also one of the most promising new players in the game, though still underpowered compared to the more experienced players. That doesn't stop him from saving the day though. As a side note, the game is also ridiculously imbalanced. Even though it is not particularly rigged in Ray's favor, the fact that it is rigged in general should result in endless complaints from the player base. Oh, and one more thing. Ray happens to get a girl as his Embryo, Nemesis (his unique special weapon that evolves over time). That's right; his weapon can transform into a girl because we had to use that trope as well. Maiden Embryos are not unique to Ray in-universe by any means, but it is still convenient.
Ray was generic in the light novel already (yes, I have been reading it), but in the anime most of Ray's internal monologue and backstory have been cut, along with general narration. So we lose all the context and he becomes even more of a generic hero. So generic, in fact, that he has no personality left. I would excuse you if you thought he was secretly a robot all along. Many of the other characters have also taken a hit in the adaptation, and their personalities have taken a turn for the bland. Near the end, they try to deliver backstories for some of the characters in the form of short flashbacks. Not the most subtle form of infodumping, but it is better than nothing. These flashbacks outline the original motivations of the characters in entering Infinite Dendrogram in the first place. Usually this involves various ways of escapism, but it is not enough to salvage their characters. The flashbacks are mostly loyal to the novel, but it doesn't really help when the original backstories were almost as short. Rook's backstory seems particularly implausible and makes me wonder why any of it was necessary.
This is the result if you take source material that already has problems and then rush the adaptation and butcher whatever was there. The source material already had many of the same issues, but it turns out that trying to squeeze 5 volumes of an infodump-heavy light novel into 13 episodes is a bad idea. Who would have thought? The script went from long-winded explanations in the novel to explaining pretty much nothing in the anime. Most of the info-dumps related to the world are cut, leaving only the bare essentials. You won't understand how some abilities work. You won't properly know the side characters or even the main characters. You won't even know the names of some of the countries. It is that bad. Good luck understanding what is going on, why it is happening, and what the context for any of it is. If the main point of your novel is world-building, having an anime adaptation without it simply means that you are airing an empty shell. They might as well just put "Read the novel, idiot!" on-screen.
Or take the comedy. The novel already has the tendency to make jokes that are too obvious. For instance, encountering a bunch of thugs in a back alley while they are trying to kidnap a child and then pointing out that the encounter is clichéd. It is better to be aware of the cliché than not, but an even better idea would be to write something else entirely. In the anime, the scene loses every last bit of nuance and self-awareness. In the novel, the jokes have the subtlety of a brick to the face. Now replace the brick with a pile of bricks and maybe a sledgehammer, and you have the anime. We have slapstick comedy like Ray catching fire or enveloped in a cloud of toxic gas. We have his brother wearing a bear costume and ending almost every line with "kuma" (or "grizz" in English), which is bear-ly ever funny. (Yeah, that was a bad one too.) We have Nemesis eating too much. We have people over-reacting to every single thing. We have Ray finding or purchasing too many of the same now-useless item several times, which is a bit funnier in a kind of blunt way (maybe?) but can't exactly carry the show either. There is a character who literally says "xD" and "lol" on-screen, which may produce a quick cheap laugh out of sheer surprise. We are hip on the interwebs.
More generally, the show over-explains what is obvious while simultaneously leaving many important points unexplained. (The latter parts were probably in the novel.) Sometimes the characters are having awkward and unnatural conversations about information they should already know and have no in-universe reason to repeat.
"There certainly was a lot of bickering yesterday."
"Everyone kept trying to..."
These conversations take place purely for the sake of the audience. It is a lazy and poorly conceived method of delivering exposition. Sometimes characters even explain what they are obviously visibly doing at the moment for no reason. This includes pointless villain speeches in which the bad guys explain their current plans, and people talking to themselves out loud.
Franklin tries to provide more of a central antagonist to the show. The problem is that he ends up looking like a cartoon villain who acts evil for the sake of evil itself. You know, the wacky evil mad scientist. His motives are poorly developed too, both in-game and in real life. Even with the short flashback of his background, it is hard to see why exactly he'd end up with goals like that. Furthermore, the inner workings of Dryfe (a country) are barely addressed in the anime, just like the inner workings of just about anything, really. Franklin also likes to deliver lengthy villain speeches to explain his current plans, to show off to everyone that he is evil and strong, and to scare the good guys into giving up, as if the latter has any chance of working.
The show also tries to focus on whether the world of Infinite Dendrogram is real or not, including whether the tians (NPCs) are living, sentient beings. While this is generally a good idea, not much comes out of it and it is too little too late. As a moral aesop, it is also a bit on the obvious side, though better than simply the power of friendship in its most generic form. I kind of wonder though. It seems implausible that so many people would not consider the tians sentient when they so obviously are.
I don't want to dwell too long on the visuals, but let's note that they are not great. The animation quality isn't the best, and it looks lazy sometimes, with unnatural movements. But what struck out to me even more were the designs. So many places, characters, and creatures look so generic. These are some of the most generic goblins I have ever seen. The boss monsters look generic as well. Plains, roads, the crypt: they all look generic. The common criminals look so clichéd that they might as well be wearing shirts with "thug," "ruffian," or "scoundrel" printed on them. The evil wizard looks comically evil and not in a good sense. His scenes, which were already generic in the source material, become a laughingstock in the anime. The mecha looks fairly generic too, but at least it is on the realistic side, at least by mecha standards. The bigger mecha looks less realistic but still fairly generic. Ray's red-black coat is a fashion disaster and not in a funny way. They point out that it looks too edgy for him, but a bigger problem is its sheer ugliness. This is your fancy new coat, Ray? Really?
We get to very briefly see a few of the capitals of the other countries, which was nice. If only we could see them more. The opening song is alright, but the opening visuals reuse animation and awkwardly try to hide it with the excessive use of flashy effects all over the screen. Hey, at least they managed to draw my attention with the visual onslaught.
Thankfully, there is a silver lining. Because the show is so rushed, at least it will only take 13 episodes to finish, so it is faster than a more decent adaptation would have been. Always look on the bright side, right? You could watch it out of curiosity to see just how generic a protagonist can be and maybe scratch your head at some of the visual designs and adaptation decisions.
810Teams
“The possibilities are endless.” - Infinite Dendrogram’s slogan This review contains mild spoilers. 🙅♂️ 4/10 Welcome to Infinite Dendrogram, the world's first successful full-dive VRMMORPG, where the possibilities are endless. Infinite Dendrogram is a show about the game of the same name. Infinite Dendrogram shows potential, but sadly it was wasted in almost every way. If Infinite Dendrogram was food, it would probably be the one that looks good but tastes bad. 🎬 Story - 2/10 At first glance, Infinite Dendrogram might look like Sword Art Online, but it is not. According to the slogan of Infinite Dendrogram, this is where anything can happen. The overall story is notpredictable, due to the unique abilities each character has, which seems to be a fairly nice idea, but at the same time, it is also due to having improper world settings and a messy storyline.
First of all, Infinite Dendrogram is much like any MMORPG as we know, but with no limitations, rather close to the fantasy world than a game, resulting in a mess, nothing is balanced. Upon the registration, players will receive a power unique to their own, called “embryos”. However, while they are having a huge role in the game, players are not able to choose it, similar to not being able to choose a class in an MMORPG. The concept of MMORPG is broken here.
Second, Infinite Dendrogram allows player-killing, even right in the city, which is supposed to be a safe zone in many MMORPGs. Crimes, terrorisms, and wars are also being allowed. The concept of MMORPG wrecked again. Getting killed also results in a 24-hour log-in restriction into the game. Infinite Dendrogram made me wondered if there is the point of making a game like this.
Third, Infinite Dendrogram contains a contradiction. While the game is where you should be having fun, Infinite Dendrogram is having several serious moments. Unlike Sword Art Online which real death is involved, Infinite Dendrogram has no real threat, even with anywhere player-killing is involved, players can always escape from the game. Infinite Dendrogram confused me if I should feel relaxed or get serious when watching the show.
Fourth, a few plot armors are detected. I personally prefer the hardworking or smart protagonist than the one that usually gets protected by plot armors.
Lastly, the storyline is messy, going from one place to another quickly. It is more like a couple of events packed into a single anime than a well-written continuous story. This is one of the possibilities that could happen when the story has no actual objective.
In conclusion, the main problem of the story is about the settings of the world which is at risk of not fitting well the story, and yes, it did not fit. Making a world where “anything can happen” is like saying “I have no idea how should I write a proper story, so I will use random ideas that popped up in my head along the way of writing”.
🎨 Animation - 6/10
Overall pretty standard art quality, nothing has bugged me. However, the animation of the action scenes seems a bit stiff, almost no tension, not so many action moves are being shown.
🔈 Sound - 7/10
Standard theme songs and soundtracks. I am not a sound expert, so I would say that I find nothing outstanding and nothing bugged me.
🕶 Characters - 3/10
Character is an important factor in impressing audiences and keeping them from dropping the show. While Infinite Dendrogram seems to noticed mistakes that happened in other shows and did try to prevent them, but ended with a failure.
First, despite the show is giving off a serious vibe, characters have no real objectives, not making me having any interest in them at all. They just do whatever they want.
Second, the characters’ background is not being told properly. While the main character’s background is not being told, several supporting characters’ are being told instead. However, I find them to be not convincing and meaningless, not really related to their actions or motivation.
Third, character design and looks are important. According to the anime poster, the protagonist, Ray, is wearing a good-looking white knight-like costume. However, at a point in the show, he comes to wear a totally different style of costume instead, which is not a matching appearance at all. Even this is intentional, I find tainting to characters.
Lastly, the protagonist character development is not very promising. Through the 13 episodes of Infinite Dendrogram, the protagonist gains some upgrades, but what I saw was the same move is being used repeatedly, basically a one-trick pony.
🎉 Enjoyment - 4/10
I used to play an MMORPG and find them interesting. I enjoy seeing how different MMORPGs could become, like Sword Art Online, Elder Tale from Log Horizon, or NewWorld Online from Bofuri.
However, I came to disappointment. I have never seen such a chaotic, messy, and unbalanced MMORPG before, as well as how the story and characters correspond to it, which is just did not work out, seeming like the settings of the world just do not work out from the beginning. It does not mean that I hated this show, I just do not like it and a bit disappointed.
📌 Recommendations
If you are still new to anime, Infinite Dendrogram might be fine for you. Infinite Dendrogram is probably an anime for a group of people who usually overlook flaws and illogical things. In conclusion, if you are looking for an anime about games, action anime, and you can overlook flaws and illogical things, then I recommend this anime. Enjoy!
JoeEagar
I enjoyed Infinite Dendogram. Yes the main character is badly written, but the others make up for it. I didn't care what happened to Ray Starling, but I found all the other characters compelling, from Marie the alleged journalist to Hugo and Franklin to even Nemesis. It's an enjoyable and light-hearted show, especially if you pretend that someone other than Ray is the main character. Unlike many shonen shows Dendogram doesn't surround Ray with people who worship him--Ray is treated as either a friend or a lovable little brother, a welcome break from "the sun" trope that's been done to death in shonen.This is what makes the other characters so compelling and is why they're able to compensate for the shallow tropeyness of Ray.
dkpatkar
I don't know why this anime has so many negative reviews and why this is less than 7 stars , but in my opinion it is one of the best anime I've seen, although SAO and LOG horizon would still be better than this , but this anime is actually better than lots of trash vrmmorpg type anime, the protagonist isn't super powerful here , there are no cheat skills or anything, most of the settings seem normal, it's actually better than Is it wrong trying to pickup girls in a dungeon, i wish this anime had more episodes and more seasons, whoever reading myreview i would humbly ask you to not be bothered by negative reviews and go ahead and give it a try , thanks.
KANLen09
July 15, 2043. On that day, a Full-Dive VRMMO was released, with its unique system called "Embryo" allowing each player to follow an extremely varied—or rather, an "infinitely" varied pattern of evolution. The game's name and slogan? " offers a new world and your own possibilities." What possibilities you may ask of offer in the new world? Generic tropey settings? Generic sterotypical characters? Generic visuals? Generic music? The whole platter of this game is genericness, and the reason why we watch this generic Isekai series is to be offered a new world with DIFFERENT possibilities, not to watch series like this of boredom...who would wantthat?
The "first" VR MMORPG (with AI) to make waves in the reality world (that isn't the human world), oh how great the world they live in! Oh, did I forget SAO, the "father" of the Isekai game genre re-birth? That has existed since 2022, and this game progressed it 21 years later in 2043? Which one's the more popular one now, EH??? Where's the blurred line between fantasy and realism??? Who started it first???
Right off the bat, we'd think of a sliver of hope that Isekai genericness of games like these could offer something different: it's not being able to die both in-game and real life, it isn't being unable to log off either, and as the opening review says it: offering you your freedom to do whatever you wish of infinite possibilities, essentially roaming around like free men and women. And in retrospect, I honestly bought the idea (as is with many LN readers when they first started this series) and thought it was a good one to settle into...until the novelist went too deep and gave up on ideas thereafter, resorting to generic settings that are none the wiser (oh how we hate you Japan for stuff like these).
Starting out this journey like newbies, MC Ray Starling is the kind of newbie I would expect from being a total beginner, but the problem is that as he progresses he went from a rookie to a full-on retard, as if he's the parrot to everyone around him. Even as Embryo Nemesis (AI program) tracks his progress and becomes his sword (and shield if putting it literally). And everyone, I mean EVERYONE in this game, friends and foes alike, are just copy-paste cut-outs from similar shows we've seen time and time again, and communications with Ray are as simple as molasses (but of course, confusing and questioning to the newbie).
Admit it, the characters here are also one-note purposeful characters, meant to serve their time and duty in their assigned position and rake in the efforts. Take "Brother" Bear Shu for example. Being a veteran of the game, his introduction to Ray is as subtle as possible because he's what known as a Superior Master, people who can engage with their Embryos well enough for their desired power. It's not until late that he shows off that power at the "appropriate" timing when the world is at stake. NPC Marie Adler (also a Superior Killer), also tending to Ray when he was just beginning, same as Shu, is being very cryptic at the start (for Ray to get used to the game), but then also comes at the opportune timing to strike. I'm really guessing that you do not need to see the "accidental" coincidence here. And hello, Dr. "Generic villain" Franklin, to decimate an entire town just for the sake of killing the MC, WOW, just WOW and being OP for cheapo reasons. *clap* As the saying goes: "Every man for himself".
Amazingly, NAZ's visuals are not too bad either, just decent. Even in action there's some CG but it's not horrible to say as a quick mention. Given that we've seen much of ID:Invaded (by the same studio), stereotypical visuals. The same can't be said for the music, ending up at the decent range as far as VA-talented musicians go (for Aoi Yuuki and Aya Uchida).
Overall, this series is just another textbook example of a promised Isekai plot that was never utilized nor planned well, that sums up most LNs and the novelists in this day and age trying to break the SAO mold that sadly cannot be shaken, yet loosely inspired from. It could've been a fine-to-good one had the potential be unlocked (as in diving into a new world and creating infinite choices), but it's clear as day that no amount of Isekai would run series like this rampant on its knees (while still serializing in Japan) and challenge the status quo.
What a total shame, Infinite Dendrogram, giving us limited choices with a contrived plot that's bitter to swallow.
Marinate1016
Dendrogram is a show that had potential, but failed to ever really live up to it. More often than not with anime adaptations of isekai and VRMMORPG Light Novels, we see that they’ve only reacted acted as promotional material for the LN. Dendrogram doesn’t break that mould at all and while a fun watch for me personally, fell flat for long stretches. The world and characters that the show introduces are interesting, however rarely are fleshed out and rarely are we actually made to care about them or their struggles. The notable exception to this is Nemesis who I personally really liked. Even without having readthe LN(will do later), I can tell large amounts of the story were condensed and omitted for the sake of an enjoyable anime experience. When making these adaptations it’s always a gamble as to what parts should or shouldn’t be omitted, but it feels like in this case NAZ did not get it right and that we were missing things .
I quite enjoyed the art of the show and thought the character designs(done by White Fox) were all really nice. Animation wise, the show is quite weak. At times I felt like I was looking at a PowerPoint presentation. This is consistent throughout the show and even the final fight felt that way. There’s not a huge amount of CGI, but when done I felt like it was subpar.
For me, an anime does not have to be some masterpiece for me to really enjoy it. Dendrogram is certainly not an objectively great anime in technical nor narrative aspects, however it did manage to keep me entertained and I looked forward to it weekly. If you are not a fan of VRMMORPG you will not enjoy this show. Hell, even if you are, there’s a good chance you still won’t like this show. The first episode is pretty much how it remains throughout, so that’s enough of a barometer.
Dendrogram gets 6 Superior Embryos out of 10 from me.
Washint0n
It doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. it doesn't have a taste at all. It is neither good nor bad. it is just empty. not even entertaining. i'd rather choose a horrible anime than this empty one. it's like playing a game but skipping the story. story: generic but empty, not even entertaining. There are the originals of stories and later on it becomes generic if used over and over again. nevertheless, generic stories most probably will be entertaining. For example, marvel movies are the best generic but entertaining stories. Infinite dendrogram is generic but horribly empty. It is generic because it follows astandard, but it is empty because it's execution of that standard is not complete. It lacks the minimum of generic stories - entertainment. it might as well pursue ecchi , at least the perverts will be entertained.
art style: standard
characters: exaggerated. MC high horse doing "good" to save NPCs, but in reality/practice - a very greedy person. he takes all the loots without even helping the NPC victims.
character reactions: MC is a FRAUD. MC sees bad things done vs. NPCS. He tries to saves them. actually saves them and receives very huge loot. MC doesn't want the loot. He takes the loot but he feels to bad for the huge prize, so he decides to divide it with other party members. He never really helped the NPCs, not even a single coin.
Others will may either hate this anime or be indifferent.
LaLeLuLiLo
Forgettable, that’s all this show is, just so god damn dull and forgettable. I don’t mean just the entire show as a whole but also after each episode it’s difficult to really remember what happened. There’s just not much there plot wise that’s really worth remembering despite how much terminology and infodumping the show does. So much of it is just unnecessary as the information seems to extend farther than the show's 13 episode scope. Outside of what little there is worth remembering about the show, there’s not much that’s memorable about the show in of itself. There’s nothing about the setting, the characters,the battles, the interactions, or just about anything else about this show I really want to remember for the sake of remembering. The most effort I have put into trying to remember this show is from doing this review and saying every once in a while, “oh, I guess that did happen….”
The plot for the show, at least for the first half, is the basic misadventures of playing for an MMO. going on quests, fighting monsters, meeting new people. and so on. It seems like something that would be fine and simple, but somehow the show managed to make it such a chore to get through. For you see, one of the main points of the game is that the AI is advanced enough to pass off as real people and can be perma-death-ed. This in turn creates some sort of stakes and tension in an otherwise easy going game, especially for our main protagonist who does see them as real people . While it may seem like an interesting take by using a new perspective, there’s never enough time for these AIs to really care for them. I guess the closest thing to them would be the embryos that are humanoid companions to people such as the main protagonist. Of course all of the ones present in the show are one-dimensional and don’t really help support the point. Then again it’s not like the player characters are any more interesting or complex, so it could have something going for it in-story.
Aside from Ray Starling being the main protagonist there’s not really much about him that’s noteworthy. I guess the fact that his chad older brother plays the game as well, and also that there is probably someone behind the scenes manipulating Ray into being something great, but not much of that really matters. I don't really plan on talking about the rest of the characters because i'm not really keen on creating a laundry list of them and their one note characteristics. It only really peaks in terms of characterization for 3~4 characters and it’s mostly backstory for why they ended up joining the game. But I will put a small footnote for the fem-boy character Rook Holmes mostly due to his character class being a pimp and his embryo being something akin to a succubus, and that’s pretty funny for some reason.
The worst part of the show is the last half when a tournament is interrupted by some player character stealing the AI princess of one of the games kingdom . While it seems to be doing the appropriate thing in setting up this entire event with an antagonist, tension, and a goal, the entire thing is just an utter bore. With most of the focus being player vs player battles with the only consequence they’ll have is being unable to log on for 24 hours (which is really dumb). It’s only made worse by how unironically try hard the players make it. It wouldn’t be so if it was for this event, but it’s kind of been a thing for the entire show and it’s really hard to care about anything that happens at this point.
I wish I could say something about the visuals or audio but there;s nothing to really write home about. At this point I'm already mentally checked out from having to remind myself what the hell happened in this show. The most positive thing i can say about this dull, forgettable, disposable show is that at least it wasn’t too annoying to get through.
slavemaster_1991
Do you like trash? Not funny kind of trash, but a hot steamy pile of irredeemable garbage? I think not, cause noone does, and yet here it is. I remember someone said "Dude this novel is pretty good, you might want to check it out." I didn't and after this adaptation I surely will not. Now, a bit more details. Sound and art - basic and bland, nothing worth of mentioning. World and story - oh boy, here is the first part of what makes this anime terrible. Ok, I get it, it is a MMO RPG that is so realistic that it is "alive". Or maybeit is not a game and a real world and players are transported there with some arcane stuff that everyone thinks is just a game - who cares. But man, if it is a living world, can you at least make it CONSISTENT? We have fantasy stuff as usual, magic-swords-archers, but also mecha. Yes, giant robots with lasers in medival fantasy world. For what reason, can someone please explain to me? Also, being an RPG having a concept of "embryo" - ingame item that is given to you from the start that levels up with you and can turn into a cute girl (yes, for MC it is a sword turning a girl cause you need to start a harem from something I suppose?) - is plain stupid cause player does not need to grind for one type of gear AND rolling a character has way too much impact. Oh, and did I mention that apart from out of place high-tech mechs it is a completely ordinary fantasy world with classical evil necromancers that kill children and lots of damsels in distress awaiting resque? I don't think you could go more generic if you tried, cause those are the default good deeds any hero should do. But lets move on to our heroes.
Cause "heroes" they are only in name. They do, in fact, "leave a bad taste in my mouth". Yes, this is the catch phrase of our MC, the dullnes and blandness incarnate. He manages to be both completely void of character while also being an irritating "righteous paladin" who does only good, is loved by people and is a good guy overall. Oh, and he also plays the same game as averyone, but gets better job and gear from the start, finishes a high level quest on day 1, kills a few unique bosses without proper preparations. Does it sound like cheat wishfullfillment self-insert protag? Yep, I do think so. But wait, other characters try hard to be the worst one, so MC has a tough competition! We also have secondary cast, that is either for MUH TRAGEDY or MY COMEDY, also completely devoid of character and yet having a dedicated episode for their arc. And no, it is not an arc that actually shows character development, it is somehting like an infodump of TRAGIC PAST that has zero relevance to the world the game is in. Why is it in here, if said characters are somewhere on a level of target dummy in terms of being human-like? I have no idea. Oh, and lets not forget the villains! While with bad mobs doing bad thins nothing can be said, they are just XP, there is one bad guy for the last arc who behaves on the same level of cringe that MC does. Making a bad show from a war, talking non-stop about how cool he is, how smart his plan is while laughing like a maniac - and yet loosing to a low level MC who has no high-end gear - yes, it is how this world works.
To be honest, anime was so bad that I even doubt author had any experience playing an actual MMO or talking to real people, cause neither of them in this story seem to be even remotely realistic/good/entertaining. This anime is horrible and I can't stress enough HOW horrible it is. Don't watch it, save your time.
lolibolt
I started watching this one not thinking much of it, but I thought "hey it's a new one of the season that may be decent, I'll give it a try!" Though it may not have been the worst anime I've watched, it definitely wasn't good. Story: The story itself had something to go around, it was a kind of different concept but executed poorly, having the infinite possibilities in a different world and a hero figure is pretty bland at this point, but this anime didn't really help out the blandness of the genre much. Art: I appreciated the art, everything looked nice and was prettygood quality, not much to complain about there.
Character: The characters were the worst part about this series, Ray was just a stereotypical hero character that had no defining original idea about him, and having to put up with him every episode was bad. The other side characters hardly got developed and had short little flashes about development but even they weren't very good.
Enjoyment: I can say I put up with this anime because I thought I'd see it through to the end, I did and it wasn't something I'd really watch again.
Overall, it was decent at best, not the worst but for sure not the best, characters ruined it the most and the only part I thought was good about it was the art and the potential they had with the story, in all, I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone but I think if you can overlook some flaws you might be able to enjoy it enough.
Disfemisef
Inifinite Dendogram follows Ray Starling as he makes his way through the world of Inifinite Dendogram and dealing with the obstacles thrown his way and tries to grow. That said, I have very little more to say because the show was just so... Whelming. The plot is basic, so are the characters and the villain made no sense to me. I guess the animation was decent. It was rather disappointing to see that the protagonist offered nothing new to the show and he was as standard as a standard Isekai protagonist gets. There was also the whole thing with the Sherlock Holmes kid. I just foundit weird and not very entertaining.
Whike Isekai has produced some interesting twists into the genre like edgier heroes and more interesting worlds, Infinite Dendogram offered none of that which was unfortunate.
So, I'll only recommend this if you are an avid fan of Isekai.
___YTG___
I am glad i ignored all the hate comments and watched this anime, its got real good animation and story. Its like slice of life isekai anime where mc gets stronger without much effort, it is very different from sword art online and others, it has action too idk why its not in the tags and some jokes are really funny, it is one of the light hearted anime which just makes your day, If you are the type of person who is just an adrenaline junkie then this anime is not for you... The story is decent without many plot twists, which makes iteasier to have fun while watching it.
The artwork and art style is like every other anime.
The sounds are decent too, they are reason every pun they had became funnier.
All the characters are better written than the mc which gives this anime more depth as all the characters are interesting.
I enjoyed this anime from start to end i am hoping for a 2nd season because the concept which this anime has brought has alot of potential to swing the story in any direction.
I would say that for this anime judging by watching is better than judging by review.
mushimk
Caught in a catchphrase... Once in a while, some animes will remind you the efforts involved into its making. So it should't suprised you if i tell you that Infinite Dendrogram is all about the efforts the studio rather wouldn't make. Or maybe the studio tried very hard to make this anime one of the worst of its kind (which is, now that I think about it, a very good way to prevent making efforts) So yes, Infinite Dendrogram is a catastrophe, mostly because of its main character. Unfortunately not only because of him. From the poorly made actionsscenes, short and overconfident, to the story, short and overconfident, there's not so much to grab from this anime which comes from nowhere and will swiftly return there. Maybe here and there some snappy dialogs, but funnily enough, dialogs coming from any character apart from the hero, as it happens.
And please don't get me start on the catchphrase. Please. Don't.
Still, creating a hero this flat, without depth, underdevelopped, and filled with emptiness is just tragic. Some say a fictional hero is something close to an autoportrait of its author.
Well, that just add up to the tragedy now.
So, surely by now you understand why I don't recommend this anime to anyone, but I can't stop there : I also *strongly* encourage you to watch something else.
Very strongly. It's enough that poor us have sacrificed ourselves to watch the thing until it ends, in pain.
TheMoonlitShadow
I was just watching this series because I wanted something to do with my time, so I wasn't taking it too seriously. The characters aren't really anything great - Ray is extremely underdeveloped as a main character, and strangely enough, his Embryo, Nemesis, gets perhaps the least focus of everyone, and I expected her to be a main character, but she just wasn't. The other characters are.... better. None of them are really amazing, but the ones that kept vaguer have an air of mystery to them that makes you think they're pretty interesting, and what you do see doesn't hurt that image. That's most ofthe high powered players, they're interesting, because they aren't really explored. While Ray and Nemesis are like 4's - not good, sometimes get in the way, but ignorable, the rest of the cast is maybe a 6, and for side characters, the side characters are 8's.
The story is pretty basic, and can seem really all over the place, but the ending changed my mind on it a lot. Almost everything ties into the ending - a little too cleanly, but just roughly enough where I still really liked it. Additionally, a lot of the power and details writing was like almost entertaining. I could tell a lot of stuff had been left out in worldbuilding and mechanics, but I could usually follow along well enough and forgive it enough for most of the action and plot to make sense.
The art, animation wise, may not be the best, but I'm not the best judge of that. Some of it is generic, sure, especially in one specific place int he ending which would've been cooler if it wasn't. However, there were also multiple times where I thought that the concept being shown to me was legitimately pretty cool to see. Some of the designs are just straight up satisfying, and they stuck out to me. The ice mecha was a very nice addition to the regular mecha, and made me realize that the jaggedness and hardness of ice make it pair very well with the aesthetics of metal.
As for sound, I skip OP's and ED's, but from what I heard I think there might be different ED's? Which I'm a little surprised by, if true, but I'm not sure it is. I rarely like anime OP's, and I didn't like this one either.
The other thing the story does well is give a sense of world. Maybe we don't get to see it here, but it really feels like there's a greater plot hidden in the future volumes of the light novel - the groundwork is being set.
While I was watching it, it felt like it had the potential to be good, but wasn't. The weak main character and only a little better side characters didn't help. But I did feel like it was worth it by the last episodes.
Also, the last villain... wasn't really the best villain. Although one of the very last scenes did excite me for their potential in terms of interactions with Ray.
MonarqueCeleste
I'm a huge Isekai fan, and that is to say Isekai in the large sense of the term. I consider every show where a character lives in a world setting different than his original one an Isekai. So this show started pretty good, I'd say the first 19 minutes of the first episode were great. The world was slowly explained, we got introduced to various characters and I really liked it overall. Imagine a game where every single action you take is permanent. No reset nothing and it goes on forever. Typically when you kill a mob or NPC they just come back to life ifyou reboot the game or buy a new one. In this world it's definitive so it lets you experience it differently. See how fascinating that sound? Well i'm here to tell you to throw all of that out the window.
I will spoil the first episode here so beware. When he was trying to save the imouto and was about to get killed at that time my mind was conflicted. I had 2 thought.
1. The author do something crazy and let the monster kill them both so that the rest of the story actually has consequences.
2. The author will bullshit their way out of this situation.
And sure enough after some wishy washy prayer/wish look what comes out of his bracelet? A whole young girl, and guess what she can transform into a big azz sword. Just that. And of course he defeats the big monster saves the day. Next episode he becomes a freaking paladin because reasons and that's it. After that everyone who's read or watch at least 3 isekai stories know how it goes.
The thing is the anime is not that bad, the art is okay. But that's the problem. Studios should stop thinking that fans are stupid and they can just throw out whatever generic isekai story and we will gobble it. But it seems to be working because they don't plan on stopping. There are great isekai stories out there and I would fight to the death for this genre. The problem is those studios are lazy or afraid of hurting people's sensibilities. When will we have a Re:Monster, Kumo desu ga or other interesting stories in manga? It's time to stop. If not, the isekai genre will forever be considered trash.
robert788
Infinite Dendrogram (2020) Why do shows get made where a fight is more an explanation of why they are there and how they will defeat them and a life story of the struggles they are going through. All you need is a straight forward character to cut through them all. If you do these things do it as flashbacks or beside the fight. It is not the worst premise of a show and is generally enjoyable. Another show of this season was very much better than this in most aspects. The story is fairly generic of a VR style game with believed in some that it ismore than a game. The protagonist and later it turns out his brother happens to be top class characters in a chance-based system to start. Usually, it can be very enjoyable to see unrivalled power growing but not when you get 90% of a fight being the whole chat about how righteous the character is and the villains explaining the evil plans allowing people the counter it. IF the villain wants to win why an attack in waves just unleash everything at once. If you took out all the extra chat during battles this would be a considerably shorter show.
The art of the show is pretty mediocre but it isn't too bad. When it drops it really drops. When it is good it is good.
Sound is not bad the OP is trying to be something it isn't and doesn't fit the shows look. The ED is alright too. The general sounds are not very pleasing and are pretty plain.
The characters do develop through the show but again it is just ridiculous amounts of explaining every action they take or took or plans too. It ruins the emersion of the show. It also takes away any chance of the world-building. The last episode at the very end was a nice addition though.
The show is pretty bad in many aspects. It is probably a solid 5 out of 10. Could be worse and I would be pretty upset to see this get renewed against some of the other gems out there.
KJinx101
This show is not for anyone who's an 'anime fan' looking for compelling shows that tug on your heart strings, have plots with crazy twists, deep messages, and whatever other things that make a show great. If I had to make a comparison to help you decide if you should watch it, it's not as deep as 'Log Horizon,' but it's got more flare than 'Isekai Cheat Magician.' It almost borrows elements from both shows and comes up with a show that's likely to get ranked in between them, depending on how you feel about each one. But honestly, if you like this genre, orif you're just trying to appreciate this show for what it has to offer rather than comparing it to other shows you watch, it's very enjoyable.
No breathtaking visuals or sound; nothing you haven't seen before. It's about what you'd expect from a good show. I daresay it's standard-perfect, but not unique. High quality and definition stuff. Every character is essentially reflective of another one you've seen before. (I mean most shows are, but at the same time, you usually have thrilling plot to make everything more personal).
I think because of this, this show loads of bad reviews and poor ranking. If you look at shows we say are 'good' as a community, they're pretty much all shows the have a deep or unique message, crazy plot, and are in one way or another unpredictable.
That almost makes this show more of a niche show... for those of us who absolutely enjoy the fantasy/isekai genre. This show has your generic goodhearted MC that you've seen in every show where the MC the heroic type. Most people got tired of this sort of character when Kirito rolled around. The plot isn't amazing, and admittedly, once you see the first part of the puzzle, you already know where the rest go. The characters have stereotypical personalities *but* with rather unique background stories. And that's where this show shines. The game (in the show) reflects/rewards/affects each character based on the combination of the personality and how the backstory affects it. Saying any more would be spoiling it, but I think it's genius how the writer(s) came up with a legitimate way to take these so called "cardboard cutout" characters, overall plot, and generic scenery and apply them to a scenario with rules so well thought out that the show seems unique in its own ways. Everything in this show makes so much sense. The logic is there. You gotta appreciate the thought that was put into this; it's so good that if they had the resources to milk out the plot and the main character's progression over a longer amount of episodes (with suspense in the right places), we'd probably have more intimacy with these characters and the premise of the game to see the show for more than a generic and tropey isekai-ish themed show.
If you've watched almost every show in this general genre (isekai/fantasy/action/adventure)
you could find since 2010, I'll tell you right now this show is pretty good. 'Isekai cheat magician' is _average_ compared to the rest of these sorts of shows and this show comes out to be _pretty good_. You'll likely appreciate the steady growth in MC's skills, his lucky breaks, the development of the people around him and his relationship with them, and the fact that *nothing* (in my opinion lol) in this show is below average. I'll say it one more time: If you like this genre, or if you're just trying to appreciate this show for what it has to offer rather than comparing it to other shows you watch, it's very enjoyable.
Nylus86
As usual, a video game anime where the game is never balance... Hear me out, a level 1 can beat Level max that has grind for years in one hit. I think i have cleared everything for this review. Bye. Anyway, this anime is about a video game VRMMORPG which use the same nerve gear as SAO. Infinite Dendogram is a game with infinite possibilities, you can be anything, anyone. That's what they said. Hardwork and Talent are pointless, you can grind all you want, you can have great reflect or high intelligence, those are literally useless in this game because why? Because LUCK exist. Basically,anyone with personality that see the video game as real and not a game will receive a Maiden-type familiar (literal pocket waifu) which is very rare and op.
The mc just beat the shit out of a huge centipede who a level 100 has a hard time dealing with it, in one slash, and that was actually his first fight (lvl1 0exp). Something like full counter, but the problem is I never see a game where a level 100 died to his own attack once (twice for counter effect). And it's actually a normal attack, not a skill or ultimate that been reflected. The MC also got promoted to High rank job when we was level 1, when the requirement is actually the player need to be at least lvl50 first. And the most cringest line ever exist in anime, "it will leave nasty taste in my mouth" yeah, just stfu Ray.
Ohhh, and you think only the MC has plot armor? His friend which is the same level as the MC, have a beast-type familiar which is common, and not an offensive type, since the familiar is a Succubus. She can use charm, apparently has no success-rate, a level 40 can charm another higher level player no problem. She actually charmed few high-rank players and won (1vs+10). Can actually damage a huge Level 121 mecha which i would say a tank-role with her "little flare"? This game need a patch.
Other players, like usual they look like a mob, max level is rare, apparently walkthrough or leaker does not exist in 2040, everyone is idiot, everyone shocked when see a high level weapon, and uhhhh, problem starts when the MC start playing the game. The country was at peace before, how convinient.
Amaglam
tl;dr It's really a shame that this show was really that bad. I loved the premise of it but the story and the characters bring the show down into the abyss. The main character reeks of generic good guy self insert tropes, with no real hobbies, personality, or character development. This is to the point that Nemesis, his sidekick/partner even calls him out for it when he picks out the same style of clothing as his friend in-game. A lot of the original plot and depth also gets thrown away somewhere along the lines- the "realistic characters" aka the NPCs only serve as cannon fodderpast the first couple episodes. We also never hear of any concrete measurements of our MC progressing despite the fact that it was his main goal for like half the season. Again, I'd like to reiterate that the show's concept and premise was great but the execution was awful.
The art and sound were decent, I enjoyed some of the fight scenes, but occasionally the music would cue you in about 30 seconds-1 minute before a boss gets owned and you can very easily tell that is exactly what is about to happen.
The main reason I hung on and didn't drop was because of Nemesis. Lively and fun to watch, interesting evolution, etc. Once I realized that her development had fallen to the wayside I felt like I was too far in the season to drop. This was a show I heard and read bad things about, got bored enough to try anyways, and regretted. Don't fall into the same hole I did.
