Brynhildr in the Darkness Review

Promotional art for the anime featuring Kuroha (left) and  Murakami (right).

"Lives are never of equal value. There is always a ranking order." ~ Mako Fujisaki

NARRATIVE EXPOSITION

As a kid, Murakami Ryouta often spent his days around a girl who he knew only by the name Kuroneko. Both of them were fascinated with the sky - aliens specifically. When she claims to have found an otherworldly being, Murakami followed her, taking her words with a grain of salt. However, while attempting to reach the spot in question, they plummet into a river, hospitalizing both of them. Upon his recovery, Murakami is devastated when he learns of Kuroneko's death.

In the present, Murakami continues to work toward that dream of discovering an alien. He's at the top of his class, and head of the astronomy club, where he uses a research telescope to watch the skies. One day, an oddly familiar face suddenly transfers into his classroom.

MAIN POINTS
Conceptually, this anime had the setup to be great. There's a traumatic back story, sudden developments, conditions that allow for fast-paced action scenes, psychological themes, and a plotline surrounded in a veil of obscurity. Unfortunately, this potential was left completely untapped; none of these ideas came to fruition, so cliche was left to fill these voids.

OMG LOOK AT HOW DEEP AND DARK THIS IS 10/10

The story misses every mark set forward by the premises and nosedives under every expectation I held before it started airing. Far too often did I find myself watching a scene attempting to build up tension only to have the atmosphere abruptly killed by unnecessary and irrelevant fanservice. I don't mind a few racy moments, but there is a time and place for it, and Brynhildr put ALL of these scenes after the wrong moments. It feels as if the show isn't taking itself seriously. For an anime classified as "psychological" or "horror" to do this is rather inappropriate and disengaging.

Let's not even mention the ending. I didn't think it was possible to rush an ending even more poorly than Madhouse, but Brynhildr proved me wrong (and in record time). Massive plot holes and implications litter it, and makes the whole thing feel like it wasn't worth the time. They foreshadow the final fight every time that intro sequence plays, but it was one of the biggest let-downs I've ever seen, equivalent to how the Soul Eater anime ended (god that was just awful).

I wish I could say that the characters were at least mediocre, but I'd be lying. Characters are left virtually unexplored by the end of the anime. Development was nowhere to be seen. The only examples of characterization were lackluster backstories, and some of them are given to completely unimportant minor characters who serve as mere plot devices and harem additions. Tie in the aspect of a group of witch bitches all chasing after Murakami's dick, and you basically get Brynhildr.

At this point, it's not even worth watching, but if all you appreciate is decent art and animation, expect to get at least half that. The art was decent; the animation... not so much. It's pretty choppy at times and gets annoying.

Brynhildr's final fight scene is nothing like this (from the intro).

Not everything was terrible. I really liked the OST. The first intro is a dubstep remix of a classical piece, which I enjoyed. It really suits the atmosphere of the show (or rather, what it was supposed to be). The second OP is a track done by "Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas." As much as I like them, the track couldn't be farther from the feeling the anime gives you. However, that's really the extent of any enjoyment I got out of Brynhildr. This was painful to watch, for the most part, and I wasn't one of the people hyping it out of proportion.

OVERVIEW

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'll state it plain and simple: don't waste your time. The only darkness Brynhildr goes into is that of the trash, where hopefully it gets lost there. If you're looking for a huge disappointment, then dive in the dumpster and dig this one up.

Narrative: 1.80/10 (x3)

Characters: 0.70/10 (x2)

Aesthetics: 6.00/10 (x1)

Execution: 0.00/10 (x2)

Value: 3.10/10 (x2)

Composite Rating: 1.90/10 (59.5% F) "Fucking terrible."