Shuuichi Kagaya is what one would consider an average high school student, but sometimes, he turns into a monster. He doesn't know how or why he got his abilities, only that he would prefer no one knows about them. One night, he finds a building ablaze with a girl trapped inside. Deciding to save her, he transforms and carries her to safety, but accidentally drops his phone.
The next day, the girl he saved—Claire Aoki—finds him and confronts him about his monster identity. She even goes so far as to push him off the school roof to prove her theory after Shuuichi denies her allegations. Desperate to save himself, he transforms, and Claire snaps a picture in order to blackmail him into telling her everything he knows about monsters, which, ironically, isn't much.
As it turns out, Claire has a secret of her own: she has been searching for her sister, who also became a monster. She enlists Shuuichi's help to track her down, but they aren't the only ones searching for answers.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
cigare
Are you ready? I'm going inside. You're so sticky and wet. I'm going all the way in. It's so warm and fits just nicely. Does it hurt? We're one now. I'm just a mere being wandering on the hellhole that is earth and as such, I don't deserve anything worthy of praise. But when Gleipnir knocked out my doorstep I straight away knew that this was the present I've always wanted. Yes, because Gleipnir is more than an anime - it's a new experience to be witnessed at least once in our dismal life. Something that would make our hearts go full uwu. Gleipnir isn't the usual story.It's far deeper than you may initially think. In fact, I'd consider this on par with Monster. Just imagine Johan as Shuuichi and his sister, Anna as Clair. An indissoluble bond. In this case, however, they're not really brother and sister. Neither a couple nor friends. They're life--fighting for the freedom that some despicable beings have extracted from them. It's a harsh truth and yet, they don't surrender. They never will and with that only they'll make new friends. With that only, they'll have an adventure that's both fun and sad.
Gleipnir was a pleasant surprise. Because I thought to see something where the protagonist just gets some powers and with that only he'll get out of anything fairly unharmed. While I admit there's a bit of friendship power in here I would be lying if I said that the whole thing is to build on that only. Shuuichi never wanted to be in such a situation, yet he's there fighting all kinds of monsters. Without Clair, he'd be dead by now. She was an inspiration--no she was the will Shuuichi never had. Without her, he would have not done anything he has done. Isn't Clair great though? I'd say that she was the highlight of the anime. Indeed she's the best character with also the saddest backstory in the whole anime. Not only that--she won't let anyone down. If she starts caring about someone/something you bet your ass that she won't surrender until it gets that shit done. Some may consider that selfish I'd say it leads more to dedication. The dedication she has had is nothing short of a miracle.
The other characters are significantly meaningful as well. Everyone in a pretty cool fashion do what they're told to do in the first place. Some are edgy and some are not. Some are cute and some are not. Some are strong and some are not. It's a near-perfect cast of characters that exist to give our favorite duo a run for their money, which is necessary for their growth in the repugnant world they live in.
For you to understand Gleipnir you have to look beyond the obvious. Once you do that, you may come to appreciate its greatness.
Stark700
Gleipnir, what could we ever do in a world without you? A whole lot actually. For instance, I don’t have to suffer every week watching some kid in a creepy mascot animal outfit running around. Watching Gleinpir was not a pleasant experience and by unpleasant, I mean the type of unpleasant that makes you want to turn the television off. First of all, let’s ask ourselves, just what the hell is Gleipnir? It’s not a real word but a creation made by Sun Takeda. With that out of the way, you may probably want to take a closer glance at the synopsis because it’s full ofbizarreness. Even our main protagonist Shuuichi Kaguya has a strange characteristic – the ability to transform into a monster. And after encountering a mysterious girl named Claire Aoki, his life gets even stranger. As with supernatural mystery stories, I tend to think Gleipnir as the type that tries to be as mysterious as possible. In this base form, we see our main characters trying to find answers but it’s obvious that something darker and sinister lurks behind the scenes. Does Gleipnir takes its opportunity to capitalize on its premise to make this into a pleasant experience? Hell no.
There’s actually nothing wrong with a show being edgy or even use shock value to be appealing. The main problem lies on how Gleipnir executes its ideas. The mystery seems intriguing on paper until you see how thin the storytelling really is. From the first episodes, I got the impression of a ridiculous show without a clear target audience. Let’s face it, this isn’t an easy anime to recommend to anyone. At its core, we do have the relationship between Shuuichi and Claire, two characters that are practically polar opposite of each other. It doesn’t help that Shuuichi is a reserved individual with little social experience. Take away his ability of monster transformation and there’s literally nothing special about him. On the other hand, Claire is a clever girl who managed to blackmail Shuuichi and can be deceptively hard to read. Even though her goal is to find the truth about the monsters and her older sister, it seems no one can really understand her. Despite her age, she doesn’t seem to retain a moral sense for humanity. What I mean is that she actually kills others without hesitation and isn’t afraid to take daring risks. After gaining control of Shuuichi’s body, she literally becomes a killing machine although not mindlessly but with a purpose. Throughout the series, she shows no mercy towards her enemies and it’s shown to be taken lightly. Gleipnir seems to force body horror and fan service at numerous amounts, sometimes perhaps way too much for its own good. Shuuichi and Claire’s relationship is built on trust although with more episodes progresses, they seem to grow more intimate. Don’t expect true love blooming between the pair though. The author didn’t want to pull the trigger because this is obviously not some fairy tale romance.
While Shuuichi and Claire has to carry this show on their backs, there are a few individuals worth mentioning. First, there’s Elena, Claire’s older sister who possesses a twisted obsession towards Shuuichi. Perhaps one of the most mentally unstable characters in the show, she represents the dark side of humanity and is willing to do anything to get what she wants. If you’re familiar with the term ‘yandere’, that’s basically what she is. Then, there’s the mysterious ‘Alien’, a character who is looking for other aliens on their planet. Truth to be told, he is a big question mark as no one knows exactly what he is. Taking the form of a young man, we do know that he will grant a wish to anyone who can help him achieve his own goal. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t devote enough time to explore his own story as we are constantly fed with Shuuichi and Claire’s relationship. Being a show about monsters, this came to me as no surprise although I do wish the show made more time on characterizing Alien. He seems to be much more than just a mystery. For what’s worth, most of the other characters this season are less appealing despite some having important roles. Kaito, Honoka, and Sayaka are a few examples as it’s hard to get invested into their characters. It seems the anime wants to evoke emotions for the viewers but with such limited storytelling, these characters aren’t worth to watch for. Even in the case of our main leads, they don’t strike to me as anything special. Shuuichi and Claire’s relationship is saturated by lazy writing that anyone could easily come up with. That’s also to say, the overall direction of the plot is mediocre at best and couldn’t be salvaged even if it’s twice episode count length. Thank goodness it isn’t.
I sincerely hope you don’t plan to watch Gleipnir with your family or kids around. This isn’t a show suited for the faint of heart. Gleipnir seems to be in love with itself, being that it loves fan service. It uses it in the form of nudity, body horror, and gruesome action scenes. It isn’t ashamed to pull the trigger with violence in ways with heads being tore off or body ligaments being blown to pieces. Claire is also a walking billboard of fan service as she’s half naked nearly half the show. And let’s not forget, she literally climbs into Shuuichi to control his body. That’s like some twisted form of metaphoric union. Of course, let’s not forget the appearances of the monsters themselves. I don’t know if it’s just me but somehow, Shuuichi’s monster form looks unintentionally comical. It looks like a creepy oversized toy that came to life. Here I am sitting wondering what made the author create a monster to look such way. Is how they see stuffed animals from nightmares?
No, I can’t recommend Gleipnir to you and it’s more than just because it’s “edgy”. Even without the shockingly amount of grotesque elements stuffed into this show, it still remains mediocre by the contents of its plot and characters. It’s barely watchable at best and sometimes, I wish I didn’t jump into the manga either. Because for me, watching Gleipnir is kind of like eating junk food and you feel too guilty to know the mistake until it’s too damn late.
Marinate1016
Action, ecchi, mystery, sci-fi, battle royales. If any of the following interest you, you’ll like Gleipnir. It was easily one of my favourite shows from Spring 2020 and was a fun time throughout. For me, the ideal anime is one that blends a lot of lewd fan service with a good story and characters. Gleipnir managed to do that very well. I understand fan service and edgy story set ups are not for everyone, and if you are opposed to that, you will probably not enjoy this. From the very first episode, the series managed to hook me with its interesting premise and mystery. Everyweek I was on the edge of my seat waiting for a new episode to drop and find out more of what was going on with the story. I’ve not seen any other battle royal anime besides this and Darwin’s Game, so the concept is fresh to me and very enjoyable.
I really don’t have too many criticisms of the show as I’m pretty easy to please. Some might argue that the MC is a bit bland or that the show is overly edgy, those things don’t bother me much. I watch and rate purely on enjoyment and I had a blast with this one. The story feels unique and hooks you pretty early on.
Action sequences are well animated with nice character designs and art. OST is well done and added to a lot of the scenes.
If I had to change anything about this show, I would make it longer. The pacing is fine, but it just really felt like an extra few episodes could have fleshed the story out better. This, like most anime, was mainly a set up to get people into reading the manga. It certainly worked on me. I’ll be sticking with this series for a while to come.
Gleipnir gets 8 coins out of 10 from me.
fastghosthunter
Imagine being a kid and one day you wake up to huge paws, an enhanced sense of smell, and a sudden hunger for freckled, crazy, blonde panties. For most people we call that puberty, for Shuichi it is literally a nightmare as he finds himself blackmailed and joined at the hip to a crazy freckled blonde named Claire who quickly entagles him and a brutal and violent death game. Gleipnir's setup and its first initial episodes have the subtlety of a brick. From the get go you know what this is about. Shuichi turns into a big giant fursuit, and when Claire steps inside of him,his eyes widen and with a shocked expression says " she is inside me"... It's about sex. Or more specifically its about puberty and an adoloscent burgeoning for, well sex. The characters and furthermore the characterzation in this show isn't why you are watching this show, and the mangaka Sun Takeda knows this. The characters here are derivative. The dynamic of a meek, but good natured male protagonist with a fiery, more ambitious women has been done to death. What sets Gleipnir apart from being another generic show. Well three things. It's edginess, its imagery, and its utterly dry deadpan sense of humor.
If a guy monstrously transforming into a fursuit with a girl climbing into his back to control him doesn't scream "this show is edgy!" the there are a million other things that will. The fanservice and the action are almost all in this anime to sell the shows edginess. Pretty much every episode(not exagerrating) has to have an obligatory panty shot/crotch shot. The action is even better. I was sold on this show, after two characters got done punching and kicking the living daylights out of each other, the fightscene was tailended by a smith & wesson, oversived revolver stuck in someone's back, while the trigger is slowly squeezed, brutal execution incoming.
If i have you excited. Let me quickly quell that excitement. This show isn't really edgy. I mean it tries to be, but this show doesn't really have the fictional fursuit balls and gutso to truly be dark. All of that stuff is really window dressing to entice the viewer to tell an otherwise more conventional battle-royale, death game story. This show throws curveballs at you, sure! My favorite being when Shuichi and Claire finally run into somebody who is clearly stronger then them. They ask him for his motivation is, and he with a straight face pretty much admits to being an masochist and just looking for somebody who has the strength to kill him. I say that to not only highlight the shows deadpan dry humor but to also highlight the fact that character motivations are a huge backbone of this show. Except Shuichi. The protagonist, Shuichi, is pretty much blackmailed into this whole thing. Shuichi spends the better part of four episodes sniveling, and crying that Claire is manipulating him. Which she is.
The character dynamic of this show of a clearly emotionally disturbed girl manipulating a meek, booksmart nerd have people comparing this show to one of my favorites Aku No Hana. Although the initial plot construction of this show is very interesting it grinds to a fast halt because Shuichi has the personality of a wet blanket and outside of his whole "I just want to fit in schtick" he doesnt really get anymore character development for a large swath of the shows runtime. Another thing about Shuichi's unconfident, dark moody nerd character troupe is that this show doesn't really put it to use at all. Aku No Hana, NGE, shows that both have these character archetypes, both delve into the psychological reasons.
Something that I look for in shows that isn't really discussed a lot is continuity. Continuity in characters and themes is very important for shows to feel like they have some sort of intentionality behind it and not just a mishmash at various unrelated ideas. Gleipnir suffers hugely from this problem because in a scene to scene sense the show can be very entertaining and even funny at times. The big problem I had with the show is that it fails to combine the things that make it entertaining in any meaningful way. It wants to be this heavy, middle-finger to the world story, but the show doesn't really have anything to offer for it. Perfect example is these monstrous transformations are supposed to be external displays of these characters inner personas. Which is why it is very fitting that Shuichi's transformation is a harmless hollow teddy bear that needs somebody to crawl inside for it to gain its full power. However, it doesn't help that a lot of the characters transformation besides shuichi's or his side characters don't have any thought put into them at all, and are usually just grotesque ugly big tooth monsters/insects and sometimes just amorphous shadow blobs. Another example, is that the audience is aware that these characters are in a death game anime. Death is literally in the genre name, and these characters always seem suprised or are caught unaware when they are subject or are subjected to brutal violence. Its bizzare. Like me or you, if caught in this situation would constantly have our head on the swivel if we realized that other literal ghouls and goblins are out for our head, yet Shuichi and his gang are constantly caught off guard, pretty much every time. There is no continuity to these characters actions or words which makes everything else in the story seem loose and unfocused.
Gleipnir had its moments. Even the overt sexiness never ceased to amaze me. I mean this show is downright revolutionary with the way it sneaks in its fanservice. The scene where Claire grabs her crotch while saying "did she go inside you" is legendary. I just wish everything else in the show felt that fresh and inspired.
Connoisseur5910
Can't wait for Season 2. Well now that that is being said let us review it. Finally since a longer time, I found a nice Seinen Anime, which is just 13 episodes long. Sure it ends in a way, which leaves you expecting a sequel, there is some more to be shown. Anyway, the plot is exactly as I like it, more of a dark one, just what a real R - 17+ Rating needs, Action, Mystery and Supernatural with a small flair of some Ecchi. To be Frank, do not get discouraged by the first episode cause it is just, well OK and the following secondand third also leaves the Viewer Sceptical. Just like it said, it need time to kick in. After it every episode is more interesting than the previous, cause the plot thickens and more is revealed about Gleipnir. And last few Episodes are really cool. The plot itslef centers around some magical coins which when you find, give it to a alien and he will grant you a wish, of course downside is, you will want more, more wishes granted and powers gained from gathering the coins for the alien the less Human and more of a monster you become.
Now the wishes that are being granted are various, everything from new car, more money, sexy Bitches, to changing you form, gaining more power and eradicating all Life on earth. That also says a lot about characters, some want to have more arms to molest women, some just grow flowers and plants, others, kill without effort, manipulate minds. The Moral of Gleipnir, is I would say, Fear not the supernatural, fear the people that can use those mysterious powers.
I also must say, the OP song and ED song are really good, perfect matches for those sequences. In my playlist already.
What is left is season 2.
I recommend you all, give this anime a shot.
Uber_Bacon
Gleipnir suffers from the “Fire Force Syndrom” where the main cast is so unbelievably stronger or smarter than the villains that you start to wonder why there’s even a conflict to begin with. I know Fire Force isn’t the first of its kind to do something like this but unlike some other shows, it's most frustrating when the concept of the show is really interesting. However, unlike Fire Force, everything else about this show also falls flat. Tl;dr Gleipnir started out pretty promising but slowly as time went on went from “decent” to nonsensical in about 6 episodes then stayed at that level for the restof the journey. It MIGHT might be considered a “show that really isn’t for everyone” but I really can’t imagine a single thing that this show does that isn’t mediocre at BEST. I’d recommend you stay away from this anime.
Story: 3
I have no idea how they turned a story of a dude transforming into a mascot with superpowers boring… but they did.
Gleipnir’s story started out SUPER interesting but eventually as it slogs on you start to realize how barebone it truly is which is a trend that we see throughout the whole experience. You start to feel invested just to get dragged out of the story due to really weird coincidences, strange plot developments, or characters acting nonsensically. Characters being the biggest drawback in the anime, tearing down the story instead of lifting it up (save for one or two notable examples).
Art: 5
Probably the only “mediocre” thing about this whole show
The first three episodes were where the show was at its greatest in terms of art with smooth animation, only problem was the relatively generic character design, but a character doesn’t have to be the most unique for the show to be good. Slowly but surely, however, the animation quality started going down as the action sequences became more scarce and shorter until you’re left with almost nothing.
Sound: 5
ngl the opening was kind of a banger…
This is probably the last compliment I can give to this show and even this is a stretch, the rest of the OST is extremely forgettable and repetitive.
Character: 3
Usually, a story is held together and carried by its character which is unfortunate because almost every character in this show is completely one dimensional and is either forgotten or killed before they ever get any plot development of any kind. Almost everyone is boring and flat and it feels like the entire cast is made up entirely of background characters.
Enjoyment 1
Nothing about this show is satisfactory, conflicts end in really bizarre ways, characters that seem like they should be important die in three seconds, the story either progresses at a snail's pace or dashes by so fast you can’t even comprehend what just happened. It’s not fun to watch and it's not even that fun to make fun of.
Overall 3.4 Rounded down to 3
If I had one compliment to give this show is that it kept me watching every episode despite how much I didn’t like it.
LordSozin
This shit was garbage alright, but I thought it was going to be the type of garbage that I would enjoy like of which the Highschool of the Dead. Don’t get me wrong, the first half of this show was enjoyable. It had an interesting premise, fights, ecchi fanservice, etc. The second half of this show was where it fell apart for me. What initially was going to be about an adventure between a boy named Shuuichi and a yandere girl named Clair to find out the reasons behind her sister’s murdering of her parents, to the boring stale talking about nonsense with maybe afew actions here and there.
The show started it off strong. We were introduced to the main male protagonist Shuuichi who was bestowed with an ability to turn into a monster that resembles a teddy bear. This ability gives him an abnormal amount of strength, power, and agility. However, he doesn’t know how to use this power to his advantage -- at least effectively. This is where Clair, the main female protagonist, comes in. You see, she’s the yandere of this show, but not too extreme like the which of Yuno Gaisai. And she has a motivation that is at least understandable, unlike Yuno. Just like any Yandere, she is badass, cool, sexy, and can knock you out in one punch. She’s also merciless. If you rubbed her in the wrong way, you might as well be dead. What’s her involvement with Shuuichi? Well, she pilots Shuuichi’s monster.
Clair can pilot Shuuich’s monster form by going inside the body of the monster. That’s right, when Shuuichi is in his monster form, people can get inside it. However, just like any living beings, the monster’s inside is always hot and humid like a sultry day. Thus, you will always see her wearing bikinis or swimsuits because you know, for fanservice. And yes, there will be plenty of ass shots.
The premise of this show sounds all fine and dandy until the show introduced aliens. That’s right, ALIENS. Instead of focusing on finding the truth behind Clair’s sister, we have to follow our two main protagonists’ journeys finding these alien coins, basically the MacGuffins of this show. These alien coins are needed to be collected and delivered to the guy -- who’s an alien -- at some random vending machine somewhere in Japan. The thing is, what happens after they delivered the coins? Will the alien tell Clair about the truth of her sister? Or will the alien use the coins to summon an alien invasion? We don’t know. The show just introduces some of these random asspulls to explain these powers for the sake of explanation. What’s next? A full-blown war with other aliens? Fuck this show.
After the reveal of aliens, the pacing of this show slumped. It went from pure action to stale talking after Clair and Shuuichi joined a useless clan of people who can turn into all sorts of things. They have a common goal: collect as many alien coins as possible. Along the way, they fight other clans for domination. However, in all of these fights, Clair and Shuuichi were the only effective ones, the rest of Clair and Shuuichi’s clan were just useless.
This show’s production quality is surprisingly outstanding. Especially with the smoothness of the action scenes. Outside of that, the attention to background details, character designs, and lighting was mediocre.
This show isn’t worth watching because for the majority of the time there aren’t many things going on. The dialogues are plain and servers pretty much no purpose. Unless you’re in for full ecchi, it’s not an enjoyable show.
k0tar0
I enjoyed Gleipnir but the last 2 episodes felt like they were completely rushed. The entire season was building up for a big unveiling of everything but only ended with more questions. If this is a line up for season 2 then I can see how this ending can be acceptable but the final fight scene felt inconsequential and confusing. I knew what I was getting into based on the Ecchi tag so everyone that's complaining about that have no basis to complain. Why watch if you are turned off by something that is advertised. The best parts of the anime were the animation andmusic in my opinion and that's what kept me watching. Before the last episode I had the show at an 8 but I had to drop it to a 7 because the finale was so disappointing and frankly, ruined the story that was built up. Hopefully there is a season 2 to actually conclude the story since there are still so many questions. The ending was a read the manga ending so hopefully when there is more source material, s2 will come out.
Thisizaraisu
Gleipnir starts out by following the edgy death game formula to a tee, but then creates its own identity and becomes something truly special. It's definitely the kind of series that you have to be open-minded to get through because the first episodes are a bit slow and dominated by fanservice, but once you hit the last third of the season you're in for a treat. In spite of its faults, throughout it all Gleipnir has very well-choreographed action sequences, characters that are more-than-decently fleshed out, and a concept that becomes more and more interesting as the series progresses and new information is given. Also,I honestly think Episode 12 is the best individual episode of anything from the Spring 2020 season, it's an emotional masterpiece and the episode that made me decide "Okay, if there is a Gleipnir season 2, I am definitely tuning in."
LegendAqua
Glepnir, from Norse mythology, the name of an enchanted chain that tied Fenrir, a monstrous wolf. LA came for Gleipnir for Nao Touyama, what LA got was a crazy bizarrely almost nihilistic team battle royale deathmatch for alien coins (no seriously). Gleipnir's premise is one of the more audience alienating (HA) animes out there, from our main protagonist Shuuichi Kagya voiced by Natsuki Hanae being able to transform into some stuffed plushie dog suit monster, it's not until an incident where he saves a girl, that girl by the name of Clair Aoki voiced by Nao Touyama that she pretty much blackmails him to keep his secretbut she also is trying to find a "monster" similar to Shuuichi, it's her sister.
The premise towards Gleipnir takes several swerves from this and gradually builds into something bigger and bigger to what LA said above, a team deathmatch situation in finding alien coins, as you see it's those alien coins that MADE Shuuichi into the dog suit monster and Clair Aoki finding her sister dives deeper into not only those coins but the ultimate reasoning to gathering the coins. There are little subplotline, like Chair and her sister Elena Aoki voiced by Kana Hanazawa's relationship to latter on when Clair contacts a gathering group for the coins which gets deeper to more monsters after the alien coins.
Before LA talks about the world building of Gleipnir, the entire relationship of Shuuichi and Clair is extremely dysfunctional with Clair doing whatever it takes for her not only to survive but for her to get answers about not only for the coins but her sister, but the entire dynamic of Shuuichi and Clair's relationship is more like "using" him and her methods, mostly viciously killing for survivable that makes Clair and Shuuichi's relationship rocky, BUT LA will defend Clair in saying that because of the entire alien coins making normal lowest of the low humans into powered up monsters and the prospects of what the coins are actually capable of, it's all of nothing in trying to gather them thus Clair's attitude, thus LA actually "gets" Clair's perspective on things and was pretty much why LA continued to watch this anime (Nao Touyama voicing her was a GREAT BONUS). Shuuichi does grow a backbone throughout this anime and also starts to "get" Clair's perspective as jaded as he becomes of Clair's perspective but as dysfunctional as their relationship is, they more or less have the same goals, finding out how Shuuichi turned out this way and maybe able to reverse it as finding out what Elena's deal with Shuuichi is AND finally to save the world from the lowest of low monsters to an extent.
On speaking of which, the "monsters" in this anime also gives us a certain perspective form their point of view and guess what they made us sympathetic to their cause, as they just aren't inherently evil, it's the environment they were brought up in that caused them to be jaded and lash out on the world and the coins gave then power and with that they want more power. In a ways, almost ALL of Gleipnir's cast aren't all inherently evil, just the methods they do things does but that they have some sense of humanity in their monstrous forms and power may indeed morphed them into those monsters...now was LA talking about Clair & Shuuichi or Elena?.
The animation done by Pine Jam, well shows off their grittier atmospheric animation on display and even a good jump in animation for battles as graphic as it does become. Pine Jam kinda went all out with this anime's animation, from the detailed and striking character AND monster designs, fluid and graphic battles and nice background work. Pine Jam stepped up for Gleipnir and it REALLY shows, LA will say one of their more pristine yet gritty animations work they've done and to think LA first thought it was studio Ezola who did Happy Sugar Life who did the animations at first, man was LA surprised.
Nao Touyama is showing off her femme fatale side in mature glory as Clair and MAN LA loved Nao Touyama as Clair in this anime and once again shows Nao's RANGE in this anime,pretty much gonna give Nao Touyama MVP for this anime. Natsuki Hanae was good as Shuuichi with his timid but dramatic performance with Kana Hanazawa giving off an almost Rize from Tokyo Ghoul cadence as Elena. The other two notable voice actors for Gleipnir for LA would be Kana Ichinose as Chihiro Yoshioka as being the polar opposite to Nao Touyama, though typecasted in this role, she does give some nice dramatic performances and her butting heads with Clair and finally Shizuka Ito as Sayaka Koyanagi was a surprise as being part of the main cast. As LA doesn't remember if Nao Touyama and Shizuka Ito's characters ever spoke to one another in different animes, but seeing this just made the voice cast for LA for LA soo much better, sure objective look LA is being VERY biased but let LA have this. Nonetheless the voice cast in Gleipnir was GREAT with MVP easily going to Nao Touyama for her extremely mature and almost viciously femme fatale cadence.
Gleipnir if anything shows ALOT of nihilism through the alien voiced by Takahiro Sakurai and the unwitting instigator to the entire anime and the worst thing is, he doesn't care. Hell his entire "goal", he doesn't care about, as he sees it more of a game and giving humans powers for the lulz as he sees them as "fun", even more fun than gathering his own "alien coin friends" as he NEVER cared about them and found THEM annoying too. From the backstory given through several characters, he unwittingly wants to the best for humans, but he himself is a false trickster genie type character without a care about the world he landed in and wants to "play" with the humans for fun. The humans he transformed for power may be the "monsters" of the anime, but truly, for once as much as Gleipnir shows the lowest of the low of humanity, this time...the alien is the true villain and monster of Gleipnir.
Gleipnir is an interesting edgy anime for Spring 2020 and LA says "interesting and edgy" as honestly as possible. Sure the fanservice does take the edge even further but for what the character focused plots and especially the mysteries behind Shuuichi and the alien himself makes the anime interesting let alone gives different perspectives of even the villains in showing that the human villains "aren't exactly evil themselves". Gleipnir has an audience alienating (HA) premise, but for the edgy stuff it did, it's characters and the mysteries behind ALOT of the plot points were it's best strengths towards mitigating the edge it had and more or less Gleipnir becomes an oddity, a GOOD oddity and another breath of fresh air in the same vien of Darwin's Game form the previous season but BETTER. LA was at first intrigued by Gleipnir with Nao Touyama voicing a main character attracting LA into the anime, but LA actually got pretty invested in the anime, from the mysteries of the anime itself to it's characters being mostly in the gray morality throughout.
Gleipnir is an surprising oddity of Spring 2020, something with edge WITH the nuances of it's plot, character and mystery elements and follows through with it, Gleipnir is something you REALLY need to leash onto...
robtosca
"Gleipnir" is an anime that proves to be better than what it initially sets out to be and stands out significantly, even with excessive ecchi (personally, I'm not a fan). What seemed to be "just" a story of a protagonist who transforms into a monster and teams up with a classmate, under blackmail, to learn more about these "monsters," reveals immense depth in its plot. As the episodes unfold, we witness the deepening of each character, including some that are not so central, demonstrating careful storytelling. A perfect example of this is the "monster" that appears at the end of the first episode and confronts Clairand Shuichi. She doesn't last more than two episodes, but we come to understand how she ended up there.
However, the best examples of this are Shuichi and Elena. We comprehend the feelings that led Shuichi to take on the monstrous form and his past, as well as the reasons behind his actions. Much of this is connected to Elena, Clair's sister, who initially was seen as a monster that murdered her own parents. We follow her entire backstory and how it is directly related to Shuichi and his transformation.
We discover how these transformations occur and the reason behind them, along with the game that involves all of this and how it began. The series develops a complete story with plot twists, psychological elements, and even macabre scenes in certain situations. There's also the evolution of the protagonists throughout.
Additionally, "Gleipnir" boasts a magnificent opening and ending that leave a lasting impression. I would also like to commend the excellent character design and, at times, fluid animation in action scenes. The soundtracks are also of high quality.
It's a shame the series doesn't have a second season, but I will undoubtedly read the manga from start to finish.
rafaeldaniel
I understand why this anime didnt got popular, this is definitly not an anime for everyone, in this anime and manga its not "substance over style" or "style over substance", style IS ITS substance, all the appeal this anime have emanates from its style, its clear the author came up with the plot after he had fun with its designs, it can be seen from the appeal of the protagonist: a cute bear costume drenched in darkness from its enviroment. and this is why it was never meant to be for everyone, its meant to be only for people who resonates with its weird concepts,but i will suggests to everyone to try to see if they can get hooked, because if they can, they will have one hell of a trip with this anime
And this is why i got so hook up on gleipnir, it remembered me from mangas/anime from the 90s/2000s where manga artists and animators didnt crafted their mangas thinking not just about focusing groups and market appeal, but how much fun they were having crafting their works, i intentionally used the word "crafting" because manga is something beyond writing and drawing, its both and neither, is something that born after these two were already combined into one
i remembered that i started to like anime and manga because the west were too focused on the "super hero" concept, while in eastern works i could find many weird, twisted, fun, and thought provoking concepts
and gleipnir reminded me so much of why i got hooked in anime/manga in the first place, the gist of the history is basically:
A death game, but it was never a death game it was just a hook to get your attention, its a group of kids investigating an urban legend about a "ghost" of a young maiden who asks people her name and if they cant answer it the entity erase their existence, and the mistery behind the ghost
its something like if the plot of the goonies or stranger things happened in the same universe as mirai nikki, and the events are directly linked, and stuff got really really really dark for the kids and they need to wrap all this mess fast
and this is the kind of weird histories we can only get in the manga/anime mediuns, this is something i want creators to remember, to focus more in telling the stories only they can tell to us
westerny12
You know how some anime save themselves with some good'ol fan service and nothing else worth mentioning asides that? Well this anime ISN'T just that. Story (9/10) Shuuichi comes off as your average "smart highschool boy". He does give us his thoughts about being like that and you set off on the idea of him being like that. Meeting Clair was the reason his life went downhill and brought us a masterpiece which is Gleipnir. We follow this two on their investigation with the appearance of monsters and the disappearance of something (or someone) Clair holds dear. The "mystery" they try to solve actually gets them nowhereand the things they find out only lead to more questions unanswered. The world they gotten themselves into has no place for mercy or rest. What will these two seemingly normal highschool kids, give up for the truth? What will they give up for their lives?
The story was hard to follow. I couldn't put my head around it, but something just felt distant. It sort of felt like something had already happened and the viewers got dropped in the middle of things without any context or background. To be honest, it was quite irritating. They also did this with the characters and all the more made the show hard for me to continue on.
So why did I give it a 9? The first few episodes didn't have much to go with. You would know too little to ever fathom what in the hell was going on. However, I shouldn't have been quick too judge. The show completely redeemed itself (story-wise). The story was already there and how they told the story made it even better. Our protagonist is surrounded with mystery and unanswered questions, the show very well tries to put the audience in the same trance. It worked. It almost felt interactive in way that what the MC knew is what we should also know. This is how the story connected to the viewers, or for myself. The story-telling was also careful when telling things from an all-seeing perspective. The concept of this show being a mystery-thriller sticks through the first episode to the last.
Art (9/10):
The art style was really smooth. The fight scenes was really well choreographed and executed. They were also sure to capture the character's emotions quite expressively. Though the background could use some improvement or a little bit more details but, that's just a personal preference.
Sound (10/10):
This show blasts us with its opening song on the very first episode. I wouldn't recommend watching it at first, because OPs do give off somewhat of a spoiler. When I did watch the opening song, hell it was quite upbeat and catchy. Their background music was also quite notable. They played a wide range of music, for fight scenes you'd get this sick EDM beat and for thrillers you'd get this sound that would creep you out and fill in some ominous vibes. The random choices of the sounds they played, worked out and contributed the shows mood and story telling.
Character (8/10):
Despite the great story, I felt like there were gaps or holes in characters that could have been told and the mystery or thrill would still have been there. There was also some inconsistencies with character behavior that made me question if something happened in between scenes that was not shown.
Enjoyment (8/10):
Overall (9/10):
My enjoyment with this anime started in later half of the series. It did redeem itself with its story and character development in the later half, but I just can't seem to feel satisfied with how things started. Other than that, the show for me ended on a high note.
I think when this show came out, I dropped it at first because not being able to watch the 13 episodes continuously would actually be a turn-off. Especially how the show was brought about in its first half of episodes, I didn't really have much of a reason to go on with it. This anime is quite edgy and "dark" that would not make it ideal to be watched out in public. There are various sub themes that are not quite tackled but it is still there and it is not really public appropriate. I would recommend this anime to anyone who could sit through the first few episodes and also to anyone who has a taste for edgy ecchi.
Gneves
This series made me feel a lot of things. The plot is great and truly a breath of fresh air in this 'fantasy/ shounen/ drama/' kind of anime type that haven't got a good entry since Mirai Nikki (my opinion). The problem with these type of show that has got a lot of things going on plot wise, is that it strives to be all at once, and maybe this works for a manga series but a 13 episdode anime doesn't work. The adaptation falls short in comparison with the source material and this leaves space to misinterpretations and contributes to bad reviews. Still theplot and the characters are great, the MC has a nice growth arc in wich he becomes more interesting and owner of his own story. These anime has 5 thrilling episodes that made me go from sitting on the edge of my seat (due to the action) to fell the emotional load of the drama that runs throughout the story. Would definetely recommend the anime and the manga.
Ava25zFate
Wow I am shocked! I looked at the promo an was like this looks weird as hell and it is going to be really bad, however for me maybe due to lack of other anime being released in the last couple of months due to the unfortunate events in world currently. This has been the best anime for me released this year currently. This can only be described as echi, psychological, supernatural gem with some great fight scenes. It very much has you hooked the entire 13 episodes and story has great development through out. Really do hope there is another season in the future. Thisis for sure one of those where the meaning of don’t judge a book by cover is appropriate.
Luubie
Well, it is not today that we see shows that deceive by their relevance in debates in the forums. It has become common to see not-so-good animes stand out, while others that need more attention cease to be seen, precisely because of their not-so-good numbers, when it comes to popularity. Sword Art Online, Mirai Nikki and Darling in the Franxx are clear examples of too popular animes. While there are established shows that are not even commented on: Monster, PPTA, Tatamy Galaxy, etc. Where do I want to go? Is that Gleipnir was one of the anime that backfired andwill always be remembered, whatever the anime did.
Gleipnir is the type of anime that divides opinions between the anime of the season. Whether for the story, or for the relevance that the anime had, the show was constantly questioned about what different it would bring (besides the dog costume, of course). The anime has a clear difference between being the darling of many and having an absolutely weak and dull story. I felt it myself a lot while watching.
At first, we saw a pair that met by "chance" and decided to fight together for coins, that can make any wish come true (obviously, restrictions like resurrection exist, which is a positive aspect in the coherence of the story). In the end, the anime left more questions than resolutions. Shuichi's past, Alien's goals, confusing dramas and narrative have been punished over time and haven't resolved at all. Neither the action scenes, nor the team coin search arc saves the anime. Things were artificial, they gave no emotion and were uninteresting. I've seen this happen before, even this year, with Darwin's Game. Gleipnir worsened the situation. The dramas were not coherent and had many exaggerations. All problems were solved with deaths, fights or something, it seems that the characters do not know how to talk harmoniously (the suicide scene was very uncomfortable).
The end doesn't like it either, the quality only declines even more. A bad resolution, which gave aspects of a "coin hunt, part two". And speaking of the coins, I didn't really understand their purpose. Is it really a device used only to place orders? Alien does not seem reliable. Even in his dialogues with the other characters, all I understood was that he would need coins to rebuild his ship and return anywhere on the map. But what would he gain from seeing a possible carnage happen in his eyes? This is the most correct method to do? Honoka should be feeling uneasy to see this in the sky ... No, wait! Oh, never mind. Even the "death" concept was broken and Honoka became a protector of Kaito. It seems that the same consistency that I praised has been destroyed, doesn't it?
I don't totally disregard the show, its first half is okay, because in addition to starting the work well, it managed to bring a darker side that perpetuated until the end. In that sense, I did not feel an exaggeration, besides supporting the idea previously. But I think that was left out in a very abrupt way, since the rest of the show just used confrontations as a way to explain who is the strongest among the characters. A fake and very destructive technique, which degredolated Gleipnir.
I don't question the production, nor the staff's attempt to improve the anime, it was a decent job. Sometimes, it is necessary to watch some work, even if it is bad, to appreciate the effort of those who made the anime. It is a pity to see that they were unable to make the work good. For me, Gleipnir is nothing more than a popular anime and that, again, will always be commented for having failed, when it comes to pretending to be good. Even though it has more seasons, I don't think it will go to a good place in the end. There is the manga, which has advanced things a little more ... but, frankly, I am so tired of your work, that I will wait some time to read the original material. Overall, the anime only has good production and good opening and closing themes, because otherwise, it was a complete show of disinterest.
G_ifra
I'll describe this anime like the underwear it uses, it starts with nice laced ones and ends with a bland blue swimsuit. This anime starts well but after ep3 it goes downwards, even the art and sound deteriorate. The middle episodes can easily be erased without losing much of the story. A part of the ending episodes is even about erasing ties with the middle ones. Characters are incomplete as details get lost and you just have to believe they have reasons for their actions. The more you think about it the more questions you get. Ah for an anime about collecting coins, not a lotof coins got collected.
patkarunungan
If I'll write my synopsis, I'll put it this way. An alien spaceship crashed on Earth, and with it are numerous objects that look like coins. A surviving alien created a game where if a person gathers 100 of these coins, he will grant extraordinary powers to them. Stuff that I like: The main male character started as the usual beta male, but there were wonderful changes that made him less insufferable. The main female character is the most interesting. She is a complex character as well as her sister, who acts as an antagonist or perhaps an anti-hero. The main female character is not just smart butkind of a psycho and Machiavellian.
Even though I rated this as a 7, several elements might put off people.
*There's plenty of fanservice here:
It can feel kinky, and depending on how you accept or reject fanservice, it will give you different reactions. The target demographic is seinen after all, and it expects some maturity from its audience.
*The back story can be confusing because the full picture was only given at the 11th episode, a juncture that is too late for some people who might have dropped it.
*The plot is not complete:
Season 1 felt incomplete. It feels like a setup for a necessary, but unfortunately, it has been 4 years since season 1 came out and it's uncertain if season 2 will materialise.
Conclusion:
It's good enough for me, but it's not for everybody.
Drafler
Ok so what i think of this series is that it had a lot of potential in the beginning, but through the whole story there are still a lot of gaps that wasn't cleared out yet. The character progression was more mental than physical, but still was kind of great. Ark style was very good and enjoyable, I have nothing bad to say about it except the character design for Shuichi's power, I think it looked too nice and made some scenes much less edgy and serious as they should have been. But if you're searching for a new yandere waifu material so go onand watch this series you can find many good clips with Aoki Clair here that will surely satisfy you.
Overall I would like to say that this series deserves a good old "7" for a score
