Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
OGdragon143
This anime was alright. There wasn't any major character development, or any that I can remember. It was a fairly boring action anime, and the characters were also mediocre. But I do have to say, the animation and the style of the anime were very good. The plot was underwhelming and boring. I don't even remember if there was a plot. You can watch the anime if you want, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. This isn’t me hating on the show, it just wasn’t for me, and I wouldn’t recommend it to someone. But don’t hate me, I am just stating my opinion. (animation carried)
Read at the sourcetiramisulover22
really enjoyable, every scene after episode 5 starts to be so visually appealing its like a newborn baby looking at their mother. Had a lot of implications about government, morality and media which is rare for me to find. i loved the ending, and i will definetly read more of his works. recommend to anyone!!1! please give it a watch! i seriously love the unique artstyle and animation it took for this!! however i will say it was predictable what would happen, but interesting in a way you want to see when and how it will happen! the characters are all so different, though some could use more work! lots o character development shown visually (as seen when courier takes the coin, and mc cuts her hair..) everyone had a reason for every decision they had despite everyone thinking of akudama as a…
Read at the sourceNoemix
I honestly enjoyed it, I wouldn't call it a favorite tho.
I think I would like it way more if we got more time to attach to characters, instead everything is pretty fast paced. For a short, one season anime it's perfect I think, but it had so much potential of possibly having 2 seasons that each have around 24 episodes if not even 3.
Overall, if you're someone that enjoys fast paced series, this is definetly something for you, if you're someone that like to get deeper to know each relevant character than I say you go on and watch something else.
Read at the sourceAZIZ713
Akudama Drive is the perfect anime for a Saturday night binge. Hard-hitting action, composed and sensible storytelling, and characters with clear motivations—what more could you want from a 12-episode anime? This series kicks into high gear from the very first episode and never lets up until the end. Any necessary exposition is delivered through creative interludes that never overstay their welcome, usually lasting no more than a minute. You jump in, watch, and quickly understand the story being told. I had a lot of fun with this anime and loved each character’s arc and involvement in the narrative. My one critique is that I wish Pupil’s character arc had been more fully resolved. Her story ends with her coming to a realization about something, and then—BAM—she’s never seen again. It felt…
Read at the sourceKimuraTheHatoru
What a rollercoaster. One that really ended in a freak tragic accident where i lost my life in.This is what Akudrama Drive got me feeling. Now let's get into the why.
The show starts well enough,and it keeps that momentum until we get out of Expo Park.Although even before i started seeing some cracks in this story. Then it really falls hard.The short time we spend with Swindler and Sister is easily the worst most mind-numbingly terrible part of this show. First of all they thought they cooked with that haircut change but they were daydreaming while the kitchen was burning to the ground.Worst makeover ever.Second of all, we meet the stupidest trio of human traffickers in existence.That whole sequence made my IQ drop at an alarming rate. There's the suspension of disbelief of the various in…
Read at the sourceKranst
Stylishly absurd and unapologetically action-heavy, Akudama Drive is an over-the-top combination of cyberpunk aesthetics, heist shenanigans, battle royale-esque combat, and pop-culture references that attempts to deliver straightforward entertainment. Fair warning, though, as fights range from fun skirmishes early to excessively violent later. This show is all gas and no brakes. It commits to the “rule of cool” completely and often abandons logic to achieve this result. Surprisingly, this anime original ambitiously tries to double-dip into deeper narrative topics and themes of civil unrest, corruption, righteousness, freedom, and hope amid despair. Sometimes this succeeds, but its exaggerated nature often works against character development and thoughtful messages.
Read at the sourcebekam11
((Review: English - Español))
** English=
This was a solid series. The animation was top-notch—I’d honestly say it’s movie-quality. Even though it’s cyberpunk, it doesn’t go overboard with the style or the color palette.
It’s an action-drama with a heavy dose of dark gore, set in a post-war futuristic world. The plot is really engaging and feels a lot like a Battle Royale.
Usually, when 12–13 episode anime have a lot of action and a clear, focused concept, they’re super easy to binge. This one flew by in the blink of an eye because every episode delivers enough action and plot to keep you totally hooked.
So, if you’re into action and drama set in post-war futures, and you appreciate high-end visuals with a gritty, gory edge, this is definitely a must-watch.
** Español=
Esta fue una mu…
Read at the sourceYamiLoon
One of the best original anime I've watched for sure.
Akudama Drive is a chaotic blast of style, action, and attitude, and I loved (almost) every second of it.
Visually, it’s absolutely stunning. The vibrant neon-drenched cityscapes, dynamic animation, and slick character designs make every scene feel alive. The soundtrack hits hard too, amplifying both the adrenaline-pumping action and the more somber moments with precision.
The characters are colorful, larger-than-life, and fun to watch, even if some of them could’ve used a bit more depth. The same goes for the story, the central plot is intriguing, with great momentum and world-building, but certain developments could’ve used more breathing room to truly land.
Despite some minor flaws in character development and storytelling depth,…
Read at the sourceRai3_3
The first three episodes are bearable as a typical shonen action anime, complete with all the cliché archetypes. The storyline might remind you of older anime like Psycho-Pass or Cowboy Bebop, but not in a good way. It feels like ChatGPT spat out a script and something had to be made from it, with those mentioned anime used like a filter over a bland photo to somehow compensate for the anime's tastelessness.
After the seventh episode, I couldn't bear the boredom this gave me. A boring action anime—how bad can you make it that I started yawning in between? I had to skip to the finale, and it turns out I never really missed anything.
ZERO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
ZERO STORYLINE
CLICHÉ CHARACTERS
(It makes me want to vomit thinking someone recommended this as the best to me.)
Read at the sourceComet_Official
I put this anime off for so long mainly because I thought it was another anime, Guilty Crown. I decided to give it another go and found out it was not what I initially thought it was and became hooked! I binged it in a night and I must say DAMN. It gave us the Akame ga Kill treatment and I am not even mad about it because the story was so good! Although I would have liked it better if Swindler actually had some other skills beside talknojutsu I really enjoyed it even with the ending being quite dark and uncertain. If you are looking for something like Cyberpunk Edgerunners then I recommend watching Akudama Drive as it has the fights, the carnage and the story to boot!
Read at the sourcelustzz
Pretty cool show! It has such a random plot, thrown at you without any context (and it ends very abruptly too), but it's surprisingly well delivered.
We're in a dystopic Kansai, subordinated to Kantō after losing a war. The only way to get from the messed up Kansai to the paradise that apparently is Kantō is by the one "shinkansen" (i.e. high speed train), which is venerated by the people of Kansai as an actual god. Some special "akudama" (criminals) are gathered by a cat and hired to steal an important package that's being sent to Kantō.
That's all. The story follows this heist and ends as suddenly as it started. Even though I feel like there could be a whole season before and after this one, the abruptness is actually a nice touch. Akudama Drive still manages to fit a lot of character…
Read at the sourceblueberri7
i usually don't prefer anime with sci-fi aspects, but this one might've changed my whole perspective on this genre. although i didn't like the mc at first, but as i watched her character really grew on me. i think this anime is a good representation of how power holders and governments brainwash people into thinking that something is evil and that it should not exist, only for them to abuse their power and turn out to be the real evil ones. it shows how one can be pushed to do bad things for their own survival and due to certain circumstances , and it leaves you wondering whether that makes them a bad person or not. plot twists, a bit of foreshadowing, interesting story,good action scenes, and most importantly a satistfying ending, at least for me. definitely adding it to myt top 20 !
Read at the sourceGoldenGooseProd
Kazutaka Kodaka is known for spamming his themes over and over again to the point where "hope" and "despair" become white noise. Then he creates the character Kyosuke Munakata to deconstruct these platitudes, ironically turning "platitudes" into a platitude itself.
Akudama Drive is all style and little sauce. It looks aesthetically appealing and the character work isn't the worst thing in the world– especially the protagonist. However, once again, I am left with a Kodaka work where I feel that his message is far simpler than what he aims to accomplish.
If the only "visual novel" you've read is Danganronpa (implying that you count Danganronpa as a visual novel) then this show is probably for you.
You have 12 episodes to develop your decent-sized cast. I would prefer it if you spent just…
Read at the sourceCaeruleus_CCXVI
7.25/10 ~ A fun Ride
Akudama Drive is the type of anime similar to Redline that isnt really the best in so many aspects, but the parts it gets right are really good to even great. Just turn your brain off and enjoy this one.
Pros:
- The animation style really pops and I really enjoyed it
- despite the blood and gore being over the top it felt Borderlands level of silly
- The English dub was pretty good
- This may be controversial but I think because the anime wasn't the best in the story department, the ending was actually good fit as they probably would have just fucked it up and they left it really up to viewer interpretation
- really felt like someone just jammed Suicide squad + Borderlands + Redline together which im a fan of all these things
- Cyberpunk is one of my personal favor…
Read at the sourceDompa112
An extremely visually pleasing anime. The style, animation art. Straight away from episode one i felt this was gonna be good. Overall id say stylish edgy action anime not to take to seriously just enjoy the action and good looks. Overall an inreresting and fun cast of characters with their own quirks and powers. It never really excels at something but its always enjoying to watch.
Music was ok. But not anything that stood out. Especially the Op and Ed.
Asfar as original animes or more short action packed and fastpaced shows go you cant go wrong with Akudama drive. If not for anything else a treat for your eyes.
Read at the sourceAikoNeko7
Akudama Drive takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through a futuristic sci-fi world, where each episode unfolds with surprising twists. While I was initially hesitant about its scattered storyline, I found the ending particularly touching, leaving a lasting impact despite the ups and downs of the journey.
Story in unique in term of it sets in a future where everything is controlled by computers and the most powerful is the "Executioners" who are the police of this town whose only job is to safeguad the city against the 'Akudama". I liked the set up but I found the story too be too scatter poltted. Though the story does have unique flavour, the ending had me smile more. The visual art was very much stunning.
Read at the sourceCarbonRuiner
TL,DR: over the top situations full of action scenes, an impeccable visual style, and an interesting non-logical story, but everything's so cool.
First thing first, the show is good, but as good as a good action shonen/movie/videogame, period. The rest is incidental. You should approach this anime as you would if it were a Devil May Cry, if it's cool it's cool, whether it makes sense or not.
So if you are looking for a deep and well tale story, an intriguing with no plot holes and a study of the psyche of its characters this is not that kind of anime (this is not, even with all the similarities, a Psycho-Pass kind of show). This is a wild ride with a story and characters that make you want to keep watching it, but without asking for any of the above.
Everything is so over the top, but so…
Read at the sourceTrickyHunter0506
The visuals were great , fight scenes were awesome, characters and animation 😘. The story or plot was really great with some twists, the fact that it ends without you even knowing a single character's name just their Titles like Swindler, Courier, Hacker, Doctor, Hoodlum,etc . Damn. This one was quite the ride. At first I didn't think much of Swindler girl, I thought she was pretty dumb but actually at the end time. I respect her big time. Every character is unique in their own way. But In particular my favorite characters were : Swindler and Courier.
I recommend this Anime to everyone who like cyberstyle animes.
Read at the sourceRedstern
I'll just say this right of the bat. If you're looking for a show with a complex story and deep, well written characters, you won't find that here. But if you just want something flashy to monkey brain to, well here you go.
This show is a complete brain off thriller, and that's exactly what it was going for. The characters all have no names, no backstories, are completely one dimensional, and are all dead by the end. The story makes absolutely no sense, and the visuals are super colorful and flashy, packed with violence, explosions, and mild gore. It may not have the kind of hilarious absurdity that Jojo or Baki has, but it's still a fun watch.
Don't think about anything, just turn your brain off and enjoy the edginess, the colors, the violence, and have a good time.
Read at the sourceIsaqueSan
This anime starts off quite boring, but then, man, what an incredible ending! It went from dull to amazing in no time.
The art style is really beautiful, even though I'm not a big fan of cyberpunk, it manages to bring an incredible balance.
The story follows a linear and quite predictable path until episode 6, but from there on, it's surprise after surprise. Solid 10 without a doubt.
Avaliação geralEste anime começa bem chato, mas então, cara, que final incrível! Passou de monótono a incrível em pouco tempo.
O estilo de arte é realmente lindo, mesmo não sendo muito fã de cyberpunk, consegue trazer um equilíbrio incrível.
A história segue um caminho linear e bastante previsível até o episódio 6, mas a partir daí é surpresa atrás de surpresa. Sólido 10 sem dúvida.
Read at the source
