Growing up as an orphan, Yuki Sakurai questions his reason for living and ability to see a person's painful memory by simply touching them. After receiving anonymous notes telling him to die, Yuki is unable to shake off the nagging feeling forming inside of him. Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched, both by people who want to harm him and those who want to protect him.
One foggy night, Yuki's life is saved by a beautiful man with silver eyes and jet black hair—a man he has never met before yet seems familiar. With the arrival of this mysterious stranger, Yuki's forgotten past has been awakened and the purpose of his existence has appeared before him.
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru tells the story of a teenage boy as he discovers who he is and where he comes from—all while making friends, experiencing betrayal, and slowly piecing together the puzzle of his past.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
IceAndCream
This is a bishounen anime. It's a showcase of gorgeous guys. It has very pretty animation--lots of the outdoor scenes have a rich, glowing atmosphere, characters live in ornamented rooms, and everyone has detailed hair and eyes that glow like gems. But the eye-candy factor is really the only positive thing about this anime. It's the only reason I didn't give it a lower rating, which it honestly deserves. I don't mean to offend, but probably the only viewers that would actually enjoy this show are angsty teen girls who need some affirmation. Because the side characters spend mostof their time worrying about, discussing, or affirming our main character (who comes across as a sensitive weakling who doesn't actually do anything).
I gave this series a low rating because there is practically no story. It's almost as if the script began as 4-episode OVA, but then someone decided to stretch it into a full-season series. For an incredible 24 episodes, practically nothing happens, and by the end of the series, we've barely learned anything about the characters. Even about Yuki, who's supposedly our hero.
The setup seemed promising. We meet our main character, Yuki. He apparently has some supernatural skill, including healing. More interesting is his ability to look into people's minds by touching them.
Yuki was raised at an orphanage. A guy claiming to be his long-lost brother takes him out, tells Yuki that he is a re-incarnated fighter, and now must live with other re-incarnated fighters. For centuries, the souls of these warriors have been fighting demons in each generation. Each character has a unique fighting skill. And most of these warriors are high school kids (and, of course, totally hot-looking).
The first few episodes were interesting, but after that, it seemed the series devolved into....Yuki-worship.
Yuki is the only one of the team who has no memories of his past. For some inexplicable reason, all the other warriors adore him. It's like their whole world revolves around him. When Yuki is sad, everyone sits around in the living room, doing nothing. When he is away from the house, they stand around in the dining room, doing nothing. And the whole time, they randomly call out his name: "Yuki," or ask, "I wonder how Yuki is doing now?" "I wonder how he's feeling?" "I feel so sorry for Yuki." It made me want to say, "SHUT UP AND DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE!!! DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO?" For warriors, they spend a lot of time worrying about their comrade's...angst. I almost forgot this story was supposed to be about a big battle of good vs. evil.
It's stuff like that which eats up most of the time in each show. Again, and again, characters stand around, randomly saying each other's names. It's like the creators were scraping around trying to stuff in every possible bit of filler they could. I wonder if the actors felt ashamed, having to say such inane lines over and over again.
The things which I actually wanted to know more about was never discussed. For instance, Yuki and Luka's backstory is barely discussed, even though it's supposedly important. Yuki is said to be important to the team, but he barely uses any of his skills. (After the first 2 or 3 episodes, he barely use his super abilities any more.) There are a few meaningful conversations, and an occasional battle (which are decently done).
But for the most part, any chance to put in real or meaningful content was scrapped in favor of filler that communicated...nothing.
I think I've beat this series enough, so I won't say much more (except that a lot of the costumes and weapons were downright cheesy). Unless you're a major bishounen fan, you probably won't enjoy this series much. The last episode wasn't much of an ending. Nothing was really resolved. It was like, "Was that it? Did I miss something?"
(P.S. Despite the tag, it's not truly a shounen-ai)
Mimi_Taylor
The Zweilt Guardians are a bunch of hot males, plus one female, who have supernatural powers. Their purpose is to defeat these powerful, sexy demons called Duras who wish to destroy mankind. The innocent and oblivious main protagonist, Yuki, is approached by the Zweilts because he is their light and hope in this never-ending battle. Granted, this is just your basic good vs. evil story with pretty boys on the screen, but this by all means ISN'T a bad anime. STORY & CHARACTERS Uraboku gets off to a serious start, delving into heavy subject matter such as: orphans, troubled pasts, parental abuse, death threats, and world destruction.What an impressive way to begin things. It makes you wonder why everything is so dark and sinister around the most innocent person in the world, Yuki.
Yuki is a soft-spoken and mature boy who helps to take care of children in an orphanage that he had grown up in, and he often hangs out with his childhood friend. The peaceful days don’t last forever though as the Duras begin to stir activities nearby while his friend engages in more odd, secretive behavior. Furthermore, Yuki has these powers that suddenly awaken and cause problems. After a series of odd events, he meets a mysterious, sexy beast named Luka who claims to be his protector, followed by members of the Zweilt, and the head of the Giou Clan who tells Yuki that he is his half-brother and would like to take him away. So they end up taking him to the Twilight Mansion, and he comes to learn all about the Zweilt Guardians and their shared destiny.
Luka is a powerful duras fighting on the protagonist’s side, and it’s obvious that he is very attracted to Yuki and vice versa. Most of the time, he is standing around quietly with a deadpan expression and wearing ridiculous outfits. While he doesn’t seem to be that great initially, he gradually gets more involved with the other characters. In addition to that, he has an ancient love story that he is hiding from Yuki, and it eventually becomes a concern and interest to him.
The Zweilt Guardians are strong, courageous fighters who have a detailed history behind their group. Most of them look to be Yuki’s age, and they each have a close partner that they fight with. In fact, they’re almost always seen in pairs and act like a big family. Their characterizations are very well done, for they have distinct personalities, fully developed backgrounds, and a strong fighting morale. Seriously, they rarely ever hesitate in battle and emphasize on working as a team. Their close relationships give off a certain charm as they grow into very likeable characters. However, their main drawback is that they can be too sentimental and melodramatic at times, and they constantly worry about Yuki every darn minute. Let the poor feminine boy breathe!
The Duras are the big weakness of the show. None of them can be taken that seriously except for one that appears in a very late episode. The main bad guy turns out to be a horrible cliché (I’m sure you can guess who it is), and his henchmen consist of a pair of evil twins, a giggly girl who collects hot guys, a sexy woman who wants Luka, etc. Some of them easily get obliterated, but the higher-grade demons do receive a bit more characterization.
There are a few side characters who also reside in the Twilight Mansion, such as the doctor, the maid, etc. They are annoying, clichéd, and their comedy doesn't even beat Luka's bizarre outfits. But don’t worry; they don’t actually get a lot of screen time. I nearly dropped this series when they were introduced too.
SHOUNEN-AI
This anime is classified as shounen-ai, meaning boy-love. But if you’re coming into this expecting something along the lines of Gravitation or Junjou Romantica, you will be disappointed. You will never see any obvious indication of shounen-ai, like 'kissing' for example. Some of the male characters are rather close, but they could also just pass off as best friends. They're left up to your interpretation. Personally, I am not a big shounen-ai fan, so I appreciate how the gay tones are handled in this.
SOUNDTRACK
Epic, just epic! This is undoubtedly the best OST that I have heard all year. The music is done by Shōgo Kaida whom I have not quite heard of before. During major battles, the tunes are orchestral, enchanting, and dark, such as “Zweilt Imashime no Te” and “Me wa Yaiba Kami wa Yoru.” Another great track that has a soothing, ghostly choir in the background is called “Bloody†Cross”. During slow scenes, the music is usually airy, melodic, and sweet such as “Kaeranu Hibi Shiroki Ashita.” You can easily find these on YT for streaming.
There are two OP songs, “Till the World without Betrayals” and “Inishie” by Rayflower. They’re decent Jrock at best, but they’re not my favorite, and I probably won’t listen to them again after the series ends.
OVERALL
Uraboku has a lot of things going for itself, such as a likeable, well-developed cast of visually-appealing characters, colorful action, dark undertones, and an epic OST. Plus, the shounen-ai tones are very subtle much to my pleasure. However, the plot really does lack originality, and the villains are clichéd and can’t be taken seriously.
usagituskino321
'Betrayal Knows My Name' seemed like a promising anime with my interest lying in the central plot (or what I originally thought was the central plot prior to completing the anime) of Yuki and Luka. In Yuki's past life he and Luka fell deeply, and madly, in love. Luka finds Yuki again in his next life (reincarnated as a male) and stays by his side for the entire 24 episode run. Up front that seems like a promising romance story. You have Luka who is madly in love with Yuki and will protect him as well as do anything for him. Butthen you have Yuki, the main character, who has no memories of his previous life with Luka or the love that they shared. Through more than obvious hints and comments from the side characters of the story, Yuki does in fact have a good idea that he and Luka were past lovers. But through the 24 episodes all he seems to do is have a complete and utter lack of interest in it. I can't say that he was 'avoiding' the subject because the subject never came up!
In fact, BKMN seems to focus ten thousand times more on the relationship between Yuki and his childhood best friend, Kanata. There are more flashbacks, memories, and emotions tied between the two of them. And Yuki is shown having much more feelings for Kanata than Luka, in my opinion, throughout the 24 episodes of the series.
By the end of the anime Yuki and Luka's relationship has not progressed one single step forward. Yuki uses him as a means of protection and comfort and takes him for granted more or less. For example in Episode 4 Yuki first tends to Tsukumo who is wounded by a slash on his shoulder, then he goes to speak with his school acquaintance who is emotionally scarred and depressed, then he goes to the orphan children to untie and comfort them only to be upset himself as they react very negatively to his presence and tell him not to touch them. Yuki then has his own moment of feeling sorry for himself and cries to Luka about how pitififul he feels. Luka who has been standing by his side watching him tend to everyone and everything with a deadpan expression on his face and a gaping hole in his abdomen. Luka, out of everyone there, was the one most severly injured and the ONLY ONE who Yuki ignored. In fact it isn't until the next day, in the afternoon, in Episode 5, that Yuki turns to Luka and asks him if he would like him to heal his wound as well.
Whoops, guess Yuki forgot that he had been stabbed. Everyone else was on his mind, apparently, and everyone else remains on his mind for the rest of the series. Luka is probably dead last on Yuki's 'my most important people' list.
I love Luka's dedication and loyalty as well as his deep, emotional, feelings of undying love... but those traits just turn negative and annoying when they are spent on a character who doesn't deserve them. Luka became a mindless drone in many of the scenes where he literally has no reaction to anything. He literally means that he will do anything for Yuki, let Yuki do anything, and never 'betray' him even if Yuki puts him last on his list and treats him like the dog he's acting to be.
Aside from his obvious mistreatment of Luka, there are an onslought of additional things I despise about Yuki. For starters I cannot stand how utterly useless and worthless he is. For the entirety of the 24 episodes he literally stands around and does NOTHING. He mopes in his own self-misery and only has fleeting moments of happiness --- which only surface when the entire side character cast is surrounding him and gushing words of love, admiration, and need. He is constantly putting his 'team' in danger as he recklessly rushes off to be a part of the battle. And by being a 'part of the battle' to Yuki that literally means just standing in the background, wide eyed, and watching everyone get beaten up while he continues his internal monologue of how useless and powerless he is.
The cast of other characters in the story could have had potential and could have been likable if they all didn't dive into 'Yuki Worship'. And when I say 'ALL' I mean 'ALL'. Hell, even the main bad guy dives into 'Yuki Worship'. The entire anime is glorifying the main character over and over shoving it down the viewers mouth just how wonderful, brilliant, loving, innocent, sparkly and selfless Yuki is.
Well, I don't know where that Yuki is or where he went because the main character I've been watching for the past 24 episodes is nothing but useless, worthless, SELFISH, insensitive, and again SELFISH. Yuki is the most selfish character in the entire anime when it comes to the good guy team.
With how pathetic, selfish, and useless he is it's no wonder he and his teammates have been reincarnated over and over for the past thousand years to fight a never ending battle that they keep losing. News flash, guys, it's time to kick God's Light to the curb. He's the one putting you all in danger in the first place because he's constantly inserting himself into danger intentionally and can't seem to comprehend that that, in turn, puts his entire team in danger because now they have to run out and try to save his sorry but AGAIN.
Rawrzz03
To be honest, the only thing good or at least satisfying about this anime are the hot guys. Oh, and the graphics, the characters look really really good, with lots of details and nevertheless, the outside sceneries look truly fantastic. Story: The story is completely boooring. It's true, in the beginning you are somehow captivated but after a few episodes it gets very uninteresting. This whole anime is about Yuki, the most ANNOYING chacarcter. Why? Well, I really hate it when the main hero always needs to be babysitted by the other characters. In every single episode you will hear at least 4 times someone askingYuki if he is alright and if we put together this scenes we could make 5 episodes of other characters worrying about Yuki. Another fact is that this anime should have had maximum 12-13 episodes because in most of the episodes the action is missing and you get really bored.
Sound: Sound is ok. I rated 9/10. I like both the openings and endings.
Characters: Like i said, Yuki is the most annoying character of the series. The ones that I liked were Reiga and Luka. Although in this anime they are talking about thier previous lives and how they are always reborn, we find NOTHING at all about Luka and that is really sad, because he seemed an interesting character. Nevertheless, we learn nothing about Yuki, who what the hell is the main character but still, his past remains blurred.
Enjoyment: The fights are enjoyable enough, that's fair, but this is all I enjoyed.
Overall: This anime is bad. Bad. I do not recommend it. It's truly a waste of time.
Laciie
This anime is bishounen central. That may have been (part) of the reason I became motivated to watch it, because I stopped watching after the first four episodes, took a long break, then started again a day or two ago. I thought it would be really good, as I have a couple of friends who are a fan of it. Well. I guess I got a kick out of watching this. Story: 6 It's not the story itself that's bad. The premise is good, maybe a bit average; MC with special abilities he has no clue about. He suddenly gets involved in this mess with creatures called Duras,whereupon he meets a man named Luka who swears to protect him. The main character, Yuki, has actually been reborn several times (and this is no spoiler; they give it away within the first four episodes), with other members of his family he had no idea about until the attack, and with Luka.
It's the development that's bad.
For an anime with such an interesting premise, the development is bad, I could even say horrible. Why? I had about a billion burning questions, and pretty much none of them were answered? Sure, the characters were asking the questions themselves, but there was never. An answer.
Examples:
1) Why was Yuki a girl in his past three lives but is now a boy?
2) Why does everyone seem to revolve around Yuki?
3) How did previous!Yuki get together with Luka?
There are also a huge number of cliche'ed lines in this anime. There were so many that I felt kind of embarrassed when I heard them.
Art: 8
The art was pretty good. I felt like it was a bit inconsistent, but I didn't really care. Although the animation was smooth and beautiful, I have to say. The hair. It's so distracting. There were a lot of those 'wind-blowing' scenes, and all I'd do was stare at the hair going 'Lol what so much hair'.
Sound: 8
Another better area in this anime. All the seiyuus did a great job. Although Yuki's voice annoyed me a hundred percent of the time. I'm not sure, but something about his voice just really annoyed me. I can't hate his seiyuu, because he's played quite a bit of characters I can respect. I guess the quality was a bit less in this anime.
Character: 5
Ahahaha oh god. This is where most of the shit hits the fan. And it's mostly because of our main character, Yuki.
Yuki is literally such a useless character. They try to portray him as such a kind, caring character, I get it. He always seems to want to 'do something about the current situation', but he can't because he's absolutely powerless. He goes 'I'm going to save ______!' but he can't, because he doesn't have any power.
Or rather he does, but he doesn't use it.
See, he uses his power in situations that come rarely. Like the last couple of episodes. He somehow magically has the ability to use his offensive power, although he's been useless for the past 20 episodes.
Another thing that had me going "lol wuh' doing the anime was how Yuki-centric it is. Everyone loves Yuki. Yuki is amazing. Yuki is so kind. Our world revolves around Yuki. Yuki is our sun. Yuki is our GOD. When Yuki is sad, we'll just mope around at home. When Yuki is gone, they'll be like "Where is he? I wonder if he's okay? Can you here his voice? Yuki. Yuki. Yuki, YUKI."
I should make a tally, someday, of how many times I laughed when this happened versus how many times I wanted to break my iPod's screen.
Luka is our apathetic guy who's so madly in love with Yuki that he'd never betray him. In fact, that's his motto. He says it in every episode, right before the OP "Only I can know your pain, and only I can know your uncertainity. I will say it a million times, if you need it... I will never betray you!" He's portrayed as a pretty epic badass. Although his clothes are kind of hilarious and over the top, his character is not that bad. It happens off screen, but apparently before Luka arrived at the Twilight Mansion, he was very anti-social (whoa, whoa, surprise there). But ever since Yuki came, he began to open the doors to his heart. This is the only development we see, in his character, at least.
The side characters had a LOT of potential. I liked them much more than the main characters (particularly Hotsuma and Shusei), but unfortunately, they were not given too much time to develop their characters, and they were Yuki-ists as well.
The villains were generic. I don't even think I need to describe them, I was pretty much facepalming every time I saw them.
Enjoyment: 6.5
Honestly, I got so annoyed with Yuki I barely had any room to actually enjoy the show. One of the only parts of the anime I liked was the Hotsuma/Shusei arc, and that's probably it. The rest of the time I was laughing or trying not to break my iPod screen. Still, that being said, I don't hate it. I did enjoy some parts, if not all. It was fair, not the most enjoyable anime I have ever come across of.
Overall: 6
Honestly, I hoped it'd be better. Not bad, it was okay. I could list at least a hundred other animes better than this, but it was okay. That's all I can say about it; okay. The outfits were ridiculous at times, and the animation was really pretty. The OST was good. This isn't actually a shounen-ai, but it implies a lot. You can interpret the pairings in whatever way makes you comfortable. Some of the characters are very close, such as Hotsuma and Shusei.
rajanikanth
I have not read the manga and this review is based only on the anime.... Nothing..... just nothing happens in the anime. From the first episode to the last nothing happens...the story moves at a snails pace.....it bored me to hell.....I hate the character Yuki.... anime has a bunch of beautiful people who all obsess over Yuki, who has done nothing, will do nothing and can do nothing....I dont know why they all obsess over him..in every damn episode all the characters just sit together and obsess about Yuki...and Luka just chants the word Yuki and nothing else........in all of 24 episodes I have seen Yuki donothing except be a wimp...
GOD its just a waste of time....
Hazegurl
Ok, I just finished watching this anime, first let me go over what I liked about it. The guys are all hot! Oh yeah, if you want some great eye candy then this one is a good one to try. Its also a Shounen-ai which makes it even better and an action one at that. So if you love bishie boy action type of animes then it is worth checking out. However, although an anime has these elements does not mean I can give it a high score. Heck I have watched plenty of bishie type animes that I couldn't get past the fifth episode of andhad no choice but to drop *looking at you Mien Liebe* so I have no other choice but to go over everything that ticked me off about this anime.
The story is about a boy named Yuki who was reincarnated from a woman, he gets saved by a man named Zess from a Duras (evil creature thingy) and he gets caught up in a war between the Giou Clan and the Duras. At least this is the best way i can explain the story because when it first comes on you will honestly not understand anything about anything concerning this story. You feel as if you were dropped in the very center of the story and you have to struggle to catch up. When i really think about it, the show doesn't do a good job of explaining what the heck these Duras even are or where they came from or why one character can control them even though he is only half Duras. Anyway, Yuki and Zess become close and we discover that they were once lovers when yuki was a woman. Zess is still very devoted to Yuki but sadly it doesn't seem to progress from there. The relationship between them is never fully touched upon. Yuki and Zess stare at one another, profess that they long to see each other when the other isn't around, they touch each other faces but that is all you get out of them. No kisses, no passion, not even an acknowledgment from yuki that he even remembers the relationship even after he remembers everything else.
The story has its moments of drawing you in, such as the potential subplots with the other Zweilts(sp). You have two guys who seem like they could be lovers and one is struggling with his feelings of guilt because he hurt his partner.
The Zweilt(sp) partners who both seek revenge on the Duras general who killed their trainer
The story of the Giou Clan leader and his butler and past with Reiga, the villian of the show.
However, these are all swing and misses as the writers don't bother to truly flesh out any of these characters and they sort of make it hard to root for them. Instead, the characters seems to have no life of their own besides worrying about Yuki, caring for Yuki, protecting Yuki, loving Yuki, and needing Yuki. They call Him their master yet you NEVER find out why. Yuki is by far the most useless character on the show. He does nothing but stand around while everyone fights and risks their lives for him, they all gather around him to protect and save him yet you never find out why the bad guy even needs him. So far all you get is that he "changes people's hearts" The other characters have so much potential but when they are around yuki it is all about Yuki and when they are not around Yuki they talk about nothing but Yuki.
It really ticked me off when the first pairing I mentioned were talking about their relationship, it was touching, sad, tender, and almost romantic until one says "You love Yuki" (or something similar) then the other replies "You love him too" WTF?!? Yuki was barely around them and had almost no contact with them but suddenly they both love him?
I swear this anime should have been called "Yuki, the c**k teaser" Everyone on the show falls in love with him men and women but all he does is stand around like a woman gasping and telling everyone to stop fighting. Then the bad guy finally captures him but instead of killing him he just wants him to watch his friends get killed. Mind you, i can understand that the bad guy was his friend and there was some conflict with killing him, i can understand this, but it was never explained why Yuki was so important he needed to be captured and taken. And it was done so stupidly. Yuki just stands there juicing up his powers and suddenly his in classic damsel bridal style pose near the bad guy who is taking him away. Of course, this means that the other Zweilts get to talk about Yuki for the one billionth time and go save him for the one billionth time.
Anyway, as much as I complain I have seen worst and it did keep me hanging around for all 24 episodes and I would probably watch a season 2 if one comes out. It did have a decent main plot once you get over the first two or three episodes, I liked the IDEA behind Zess and Yuki, loving someone no matter if they are a man or a woman. But I wish the writers would have at least let the character TALK about that.
WowAnimeTaiga
The next time an Anime character says: 'I...I...I..' I'm gonna punch someone, I swear to God. Damn even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to count the times a person says that and doesn't finish their sentence. But alright, the review. Story: The story isn't actually bad. The story has quite some depth, including the background stories of the characters (in fact this is probably the most important thing in the story). Especially because it features shounen ai, it is a more unique story than a standard romance story. Because let's face it; this is a romance anime. Sure there is some fighting, but notvery much. The few (compared to other anime with similar stories) fighting scenes are also generally short.
The problem with the story however, are the characters. Most are cool and good, except the main character. Will talk about that later.
Art:
I think it is comparable to anime such as Zombie Loan. I'm glad they chose for normal eyes and stuff like that. Unlike other things, the art and animation didn't throw me off. It was actually quite good.
Sound:
I just said the Art didn't throw me off. The sound did. Not in overall, but the most important sound did. And that is the main character's voice. Honestly damn how annoying can a voice be, seriously. I wouldn't really care if a side character had this voice, but the main guy just talks so much with that annoying voice. It actually makes the conversations involving the main guy and someone else annoying. I honestly thought of stop watching this anime the first episodes just because of his voice.
Character:
This is probably the thing that the anime does best, and does worst.
Let me start with the not-so-imporant side characters. These are actually done quite well. They all have a very specific personality, are not boring and for boy-lovers here: The guys in this anime are hot. I absoluty have no problems with these characters.
But now to the main character: this guy is so fucking annoying. No, it's not because that is how he's supposed to be. It's because he's crying all the fucking time, always complaining, always trying to be the good guy and always talks with this annoying voice. I have never seen such a boring main character. I couldn't' care less about him. Even though he is the core of the story, this anime would have been so much better without him. The anime should have focused on the other characters.
Enjoyment:
This is probably the first anime I have watched completely while really struggling to finish it. The only thing that kept me watching was the story and the other characters, but it was a hard time and I wouldn't recommend this anime to anyone. There are plenty of better anime out there with this setting and a good story.
ohkeiji
this anime has gone down in history as my least favorite anime i've watched. i've complained about it to many people, and here are the reasons why. (bear in mind its been quite a while since i've seen this so excuse any missed details) so, my very biggest issue with this was the plot (specifically the ending). there were so many ways this show could turn out and so many hints at the character's pasts. the majority of the show is based off of the character's backstories and the time loop they seem to be stuck in, but it's never explained. i watched 24 episodes and theydid not go into any depth about the backstories, or any past lives or adventures when they clearly are crucial to where the characters have gotten to. i was hoping for some sort of explanation at the end, but i was left with nothing learned and just confusion and anger instead. it was so irritating to spend so much time on a series only to be left with nothing in return. i have so many questions i was never given answers to, and that's the main reason i really do not like this anime at all.
a few other things as well:
-i did genuinely like most of the characters. some were fairly predictable but they all managed to hold my interest-- i'd say the characters were a strong point in this anime.
-the music and art were fine to me, but didn't particularly stand out
-not very much was explained about the past (which is pretty important to the show)
-there's a fine line when leaving out critical information, and this anime quickly passed from 'i want to know more!' to 'okay so i know nothing at this point.'
-the best thing about this anime was hotsuma and shusei, and their relationship. their bond with each other was quite complex and i enjoyed seeing how they act around each other.
-the plot seems interesting, but i just felt it was a useless build up to a confusing ending and too many unanswered questions
so, to summarize, i really wouldn't recommend this anime unless you want to be disappointed.
inspirations
I actually enjoyed this anime. Besides the uber gorgeous boys, the story hinted on a lot of different subjects. Honestly, if you're one of those hard core boy loving girls/guys, this is the anime for you. The art is very well done, and you won't be disappointed! A downpoint of the anime is that not every one looks into the deeper meanings of the story line. I guess it's hard to see that if you're blinded by the art and overall characterization of the characters. Unless you take a close looks at the subjects being touched, it's hard to like this anime without thinking it's justanother normal 'good looking guys' blah blah blah.
A few key things that this story touches on: racism, unconditional love, tradition, etc
I'm not going to explain when and where, because I'll be spoiling it for you guys...but if you pay really close attention, you'll see the above subjects covered in the story.
Other than the main character literally being a 'god' to everybody in the story, I really liked this!
globaldictator9
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteriu (what a mouthful ^_^) translating to Betrayal Knows My Name is one of those hit or miss anime. Some people absolutely love it while others could seriously care less. To be honest, I lean more to the latter group but there were still a few good points about the series that are still worth the mention. Now for a spoiler free review Plot(7/10)- The plot is one of those honorable mentions. It follows the story of Sakurai Yuki who grew up in an orphanage with no memory of his past. While that part is a bit clichéd, we soonlearn that Yuki posses the power to feel others emotions and meets others who posses unique abilities. Yuki is thrown into a supernatural world where he fights to protect those he cares for while also discovering the secrets of his past. Now, if you enjoy action, Uraboku definitely has its fill of great fight scenes. It has some sword fights but is also a great balance of magic so one doesn't overshadow the other. Another great aspect of the plot is the back story they give the characters, which gives a better understanding of where the characters are coming from. While there are still some plot holes and details that don't make total sense, the plot keeps you on your toes and has moments that really build up that suspense.
Sound(8/10)- Another great part of the series, the OST's are the kind you'll add and put on repeat on your playlist. Music can be a key role in turning a scene into something cheesy and something epic and the music in Uraboku definitely did the latter.
Characters(5/10)- This is where we see some of Uraboku's weak points, starting with the characters of the show. While the plot was cool and the music was great, Yuki was SO annoying. It's hard to enjoy a show when you want to slap the protagonist right in the face for being too weak, too stupid, or just plain irritating. Yuki was the type of character that hates seeing other people get hurt but is so darn weak himself that he can't do ANYTHING but run off and get himself into danger, making everybody else came and save his sorry but. Most of the other characters are pretty typical; another tsundere, another yandere, more bishounen. The only character that stuck out was Luka Crosszeria who was easily the coolest guy in the show. He's got looks, he's got power and he's a demon. Yeah, I know, he's pretty awesome. And those plot holes I mentioned before? Luka's story is one of them. From watching the show, you can figure certain things out about his past but they never really bother explaining it which is a real let down since he's the guy you look forward to seeing the most on screen.
Art(6 or 7/10)- The art was fine, there wasn't anything too special about it. The only kind of strange thing is that everyone has REALLY pointy chins, sometimes to the point where it turns a supposedly attractive shot of a character into something laughable.
Overall- Like said, Uraboku is a hit or miss. The plot and music were cool but there's a lot of information they give you that doesn't add up. Not to mention, the ending was SO terrible. Honestly one of the weakest endings I've seen in a series. They build this plot up and they basically leave it hanging, its not even one of those "open ended" endings where you can determine what happens next yourself. It's just.... eh. One more thing, that maybe only I found annoying, was the number of times where everything happened "in the nick of time." There's no accidents or cool twists; Yuki is always going to be saved because people come right when something disastrously cool is about to happen. You honestly begin to expect Luka to show up to deflect that sword being swung at Yuki or for him to grab Yuki before he falls. It's.... really irritating. So...
Pros- Music, interesting plot with great battles, Luka!
Cons- Typical characters with unlikeable protagonist, confusing details and plot holes, and that dumb ending
ancientUnicorn
This might be my favorite anime series ever. If you're a fan of bishounen and light shonen ai, you will probably love this series! It has some of the most beautiful animation I've ever seen - Amazing! I like the main core of heroes - They are especially good people - One volunteers at an orphanage at which he was raised for example. It draws you into caring about them imo. I can understand some of the criticisms I've read by others, but I think although the story and characters are simple, and the themes and ideas are ones you'veprobably seen elsewhere previously, it's so well done that I loved it anyway! I am sure I'll watch this one again and again!
If you like this one, you MIGHT also like Descendants of Darkness (more shonen ai with magic dragon battles) and Devils and Realist (another show filled with sparkly bishounen lol)
Yukia92
Yuki, a young boy who suddenly finds himself in a world full of danger, love and hate. He is the reason for the zweilts. The zweilts are guardians who are supposed to help Yuki in his quest to prevent the end of humankind. He lived in an orphanage sincehe was just a baby, so he has no idea who his parents are. Always he has felt unwanted. Then something changed. One day he felt he started to change. It was like he couldn't touch people without snooping into their past, and he started to notice that there was something else that was really strange. Therewas somekiind of power he never could have dreamt of.
Then Takashiro came along and claimed to be Yuki's brother on his father's side, and that he had been looking for him for a long time. Now, Yuki's life was changed forewer. But it was already after a meeting with a handsome man who had saved his life. Zess(also known as Luka crozzeria).
This was the start of a new and different life for Yuki. Everywhere he turned there were people he could len on. People who needed him. And he was going to fight by ther side in the fight against Yuki's childhood friend whos turned out to be the reincarnation of Reiga, who once was a very good friend of Takashiro, but he had lost faith in humankind until he met Yuki.
The events in this animé is fantastic and so full of spirit. It's labled Shounen Ai, but clearly, all it does is giving you hints. There are no actually scenes of boys kissing, so even though you're not a fan of Shounen Ai, you can watch this and still be safe
Koibotaru
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru, aka "Uraboku" is an anime of demons and super power. At first sight, you think it's about good vs evil. However, it's not. I'll start with good points. The first episode is pretty promising. It makes you wonder about the story behind the characters and how the events will turn out. The characters are drawn beautifully. The animation and the effects that appear when characters cast spells or use super powers are good as well. But other than those, this anime has nothing to show. So here are the bad points: However good the first episode seems, the rest is actually boring. Nothing changes ordevelops. If you just wanna know how it ends, you can just watch first and last two episodes.
You don't really understand anything. No answers are given to the "Why / How / What / etc" questions. You also don't get to see the past much so many things make no sense.
Every character worries about Yuki way too much. They literally do nothing, but just worry.
Yuki doesn't do anything either. He always wants to protect others but he has no idea how to do so.
Its basically a bunch of bishounen running around their "center", Yuki. No logical talks, no epic fights, or anything else. Nothing actually happens. You just get to watch beautiful faces.
peachxmoon
Story: 10 I mostly admire that the characters are easy to relate to. And I know it's basically just a romance in the middle of a large battle. But the story does have a lot of potential, so I hope that they make a second season to tie everything together. It's also interesting that the beginning was sort of like Twitches. Yuki is finding out about his powers while secretly being watched, not knowing that someone else (Kanata, my spelling could be wrong) is doing the same thing. Art: 10 The art is the best that I've ever seen done, besides Rokka no Yuusha. Thegraphics are realistic, except for the wind blowing their hair around. I've never seen hair in the wind swaying in a perfect line.
The sound is good too, I can't really go into detail about it though.
Character: 10
All of the characters have believable pasts and are relatable. I noticed that a lot of people get mad at Yuki because he mainly stands there during battles but technically, his powers weren't fully released or easy for him to control.
Overall, I think this is a great anime so I'll probably watch it again and possibly the second season, but I'll probably just end up reading the manga.
pleochroic
I started watching this because I am on a binge watching anime with Sakurai Takahiro in a leading role. I know the Odagiri Hotaru, mangaka (though have not read the manga on which this anime is based), so I was expecting bishounen central, and lots of bromance, and that's what I got. There's even a story, but alas, for 24 episodes, not enough of it, and especially not enough progress. I've got another 6 episodes to go, and I won't store this review until I am done, but at the moment I am just SO FED UP with the central character Yuki, who isthe ultimate Mary Sue because everybody just loooooves him, even people who start out disliking him. He has this tragic back story, which unfortunately he doesn't remember a bit of, he's part of a star-crossed pair of lovers (he was female in his past life), which unfortunately he doesn't remember, his former lover Luka (tall, dark, handsome, laconic, and mysterious) protects him at any cost, with frequent declarations of "I will always be by your side", and "I will never betray you", and Yuki shows about as much interest in that as he shows in the temperature of his tea. Instead he goes on and on about Kanata, his childhood friend, and that sort of turns into a fiasco. This isn't even a proper love triangle, because Yuki is densely oblivious of Luka's feelings, and one can't rightly say that he is in love with Kanata either; he's got all the passion of a desiccated kumquat. Speaking of fiasco, Yuki is a walking one. He knows he is in danger and everyone is doing their best to protect him, and he's always very polite and apologetic about it -- and then he goes off on his own without a care that this will put others in greater danger. He is supposed to be their "god of light", but he is really spectacularly selfish underneath his supposed altruism.
I hate him. It's not gonna happen, but I hope he dies. Too bad that if he dies he'll probably just get reincarnated anyway, so what's the use. ...Episode 22 -- I am ready to do the killing myself, I swear. Yuki is such a twit. ...Episode 24 -- ok, they managed to make me stop wanting to kill him after all. ;)
Story (5/10): Some epic war for good and evil which has been raging for millennia. There's not really any rhyme or reason for it, and at this point we don't really know why this happens. The last battle was the one in which Yuki tragically died in Luka's arms, or something like that, and we're about to have another one. The good guys are Zweilt Guardians who fight in pairs, the bad guys are demons who come in 3 different strength flavours, mid-villains, opasts, and general class opasts (oh, yeah, the usual proclivity of mangaka to just throw random, ill-fitting Western names around; their version of weeabooism, is always good for a laugh). The top bad guy is the demon king. Clan Giou are the caretakers of the Zweilts, and the clan leader reincarnates them. Most of the time during the anime there are random skirmishes between Zweilts and demons, the rest of the time is spent on introducing us to the various good guys and their back stories. Odagiri is a BL (Boys Love) mangaka, but don't expect anything here but plausible deniability in the form of bromance, so people who don't like The Gay can watch it without being grossed out -- there is a lot of bromance though; pretty much every male/male Zweilt partnership and just about any other guy who can partner up. I think there is one het couple here, and they're brother and sister -- very close brother and sister, uh huh.
My main dissatisfaction is that this is all disjointed piecemeal, never a truly cohesive work. We don't find out enough about why Luka and Yuki are such a great love, and so I really don't care other than feel sorry for Luka that Yuki is such a drip in this reincarnation.
Art (7/10): Odagiri's manga art is very arabesquey and delicate, and much of it is lost in the transfer to anime, but the boys are all pretty, and the backgrounds are lush. There's some badly integrated 3D, and some really nice special FX in the battle scenes.
Sound (7/10): This anime has an astonishing star cast, so many awesome seiyuu, but somehow, while the work is competent, there are places where the dialogue kinda drags. The BGM is quite good, lots of orchestral passages; I also like the OP, but the EDs leave me cold.
Character (6/10): There are a lot of characters here, and they all have at least some story, which is better than most anime. Not a lot of growth, but some. Overall it might have benefitted from fewer, but deeper characters. I wish I had liked Yuki better, since so much centres on him, but I simply do not share the Japanese adoration for "pure" and "innocent" characters; I liked Yuki best when he actually did something to support the team instead of putting them in danger.
I definitely feel short-changed about the most interesting characters, the ones that had aspects of good and evil within themselves, most notably Reiga. I guess I'll have to read the manga, even though that seems on long-term hiatus, so there is not much hope.
Enjoyment (6/10): I wasn't bored for the most part because all the different character introductions kept me interested even when nothing much was happening. This won't even make it close to my top anime, but my time wasn't entirely wasted.
Kadrian
This is probably one of the few anime that I have rewatched a third time. Yeah, that is how much I enjoyed this. It had great character developement and funny moments to cover the serious ones. It had a great protecting-relationships between partners that worked together. The drawing was also great and action scenes were drawn beautifully. SO if you are wondering if this anime is for you, check the below list that includes what I think of this anime: 1. Action 2. Great Drawing 3. Male Main Character4. Mostly Male Cast
5. Female are not squeaky or weak/pathetic
6. Great twists
7. No Harem/Ecchi/Reverse Harem/ etc
Give it a try then. It is really enjoyable and entertaining. I mean, it has beautifully drawn bishounens ! Grins
theoxpelia90
This anime is disappointing on so many levels, especially because it has SO MUCH POTENTIAL. But it falls flat on almost all accounts. STORY: All. Over. The. Place. Starting from the random names and powers that pop up without explanation and order. The story starts like ten sub-stories and finishes none of them. I understand that this is based on a manga that is supposedly a little better but in that case it would have been more favorable to go with just one story arc (that is Kanata vs. Yuki and co.) and finish it properly. What we are left with is a confusing, boring and anti-climaticmishmash.
CHARACTERS:
The most bland and boring main pairing ever. Yuki does not do anything, ever, and neither does Luka. Their bond is only thinly held together by their past, they do not for one second try to get to know each other.
Now, the only redeeming point of this show are the side characters. They have such fascinating, dark and angsty backgrounds that are given much more consideration than the main "couple".
Hotsuma and Shusei...how I wish we could have gotten a spin-off just for them. They were the only thing I looked forward to in the episodes.
Another interesting character was Kanata (after the reveal), surprisingly. I loved his struggle towards Yuki and ended up rooting for him (and Yuki as a pairing) instead of Luka. Sorry, babe.
But again, as with the story, the characters are explored and then heterosexualized into nothingness. I understand that this is not Shonen-Ai, but do not give me "partner" and "friend" here when Zweilts are clearly meant to be lovers. (They even say that on the show.)
Queerbaiting to the max and then no-homo-ing into oblivion.
Guess your romantic feelings disappear into thin air when the other is reborn as a man. So much for soulmates.
THE REST:
The art was really gorgeous, especially the close-ups of faces and eyes. Which is expected for a big studio like this. Although some far shots are done a bit lazy.
Music was ok, but barely there so not really worth the mention. The first intro was nice. It had a few good episodes (Hotsuma/Shuusei, Kanata/Yuki) but that is about it.
Frustrating, bland and disappointing. But hey, if you want to see some Bishonen throwing random German words around, this is the show for you.
(Also SS-Uniforms, really? So over it.)
Bla.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot about Sodom. My beautiful innocent unfortunately-named flower child. The only light in this bland darkness.
ggultra2764
Betrayal Knows My Name focuses on a teenage orphan named Yuki who gets caught up in a conflict between the human Zweilt Guardians and the demonic beings known as Duras. The Duras seek to kill Yuki due to his powerful ability called God's Light being a potential threat to their efforts to take over humanity. Outside of the Zweilt Guardians, Yuki also has protection via Zess, a Duras who is a traitor of his kind due to his mysterious contract to protect Yuki from enemy threats. Before I get into reviewing this series, I should address something that is fairly infamous with this anime and thatcomes in the form of the implication of it being a boys-love anime thanks to the close relationships that involve Yuki and Zess and a couple pairs of the Zweilt Guardians being young men. Having watched through the series in its entirety, I did not really see much that would elude to the possibility of the male characters showing any interest in one another, beyond possibly some romantic implications played up about a major revelation concerning Yuki's character and how it affects his bond with Zess. Even with these developments, this element to the series does not do anything to get in the way of the title's storytelling and I don't really get why there have been those making a fuss over it.
Setting aside the matter, Betrayal Knows My Name offers a solid amount of buildup in developing its story and exploring a number of its major characters. The series takes its time with exploring more of its supernatural elements with the mysteries surrounding Yuki's powers, the Zweilt Guardians, and the Duras' seeking to kill him off. Also going along by its title name, betrayal is a major element with a few of the major characters within the series that include Zess and some surprising characters who are acquainted with Yuki. In addition, the series devotes episodes to feature focus on the backstories and origins of a number of the characters that include Yuki, a number of the Zweilt Guardians, and even what led up to their official formation.
Setting aside praises, the series also comes with its fair share of shortcomings. There are a fair number of things unclear about elements to Yuki and Zess' relationship, including what led Zess to betray the Duras and what connections he has to Yuki as a result of it. I also felt that the drama coming from Zweilt Guardians efforts to protect Yuki due to concerns for his well-being came off as overdone considering his abilities and how huge a threat he can to the Duras' while willingly wielding it. The final episodes of the series also rush through its final conflict with a group of Duras that our heroes go up against, which ends inconclusively due to the show's manga source material still being ongoing.
Presentation wise, the show's a bit of a mixed bag. The visuals suffer from awkward character designs where the characters seemingly have the same facial designs and the animation is a bit stiff in regards to movements and milking animation shortcuts. On the plus side, the show's soundtrack does a good job at effectively conveying the proper mood during dramatic moments and battle scenes.
Overall, Betrayal Knows My Name is a solid supernatural action-drama that offers a solid amount of plot and character developments to keep you hooked on the show for its full run. While having its issues with plotting and visual presentation, it's still worth at least a rental to get a sense of the supernatural world it offers up.
