Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Jeysuke
Note: Watched in English Dub for immersion.
Babylon starts like a sharp modern thriller and ends like a bad joke that refuses to explain its own punchline. I almost never write reviews at all, but this show was so appalling it pushed me to write my first one.
The opening episodes set up a grounded, uncomfortable premise: a prosecutor uncovers corporate and political corruption around a new "suicide law." The tone is procedural, the world feels recognisable, and the show hints at a complex legal-political drama. Then Ai Magase enters, and the script throws away its own rules.
The core problem is simple: Babylon wants to be realistic and philosophical, but hinges everything on a woman who can push almost anyone to suicide by talking to them. Her "ability" is never given coherent limits, m…
Read at the sourceNi-Nu
Babylon is an anime that is not intended for everyone. The series explores numerous deep and complex themes that require an open-minded viewer capable of understanding what lies beneath the surface. It addresses political issues, social analysis, human psychological struggles, conspiracy, political corruption, and criminal behavior. Additionally, it examines social phenomena such as suicide, depression, love, and issues of trust.
The anime also reflects on the nature of life through a philosophical and pessimistic perspective. For viewers who appreciate this type of narrative, it comes highly recommended. Ratings should not be the primary reference point, as the series is not designed for a general audience due to its sensitive and distinctive style and unconventional storytelling. Moreov…
Read at the sourceDARKGMM
Let me start off by saying that anyone who gives this less than an 8 is clinically ripe for the straightjacket. The only reason you would give it an 8 instead of a 9 or 10 is the really slow start and you really need to be into law and a crime to even get though it. I am, and it cost me a bit. Bit once I was concentrated and I to it, it grips you and doesn't let go.
(Next part can contain spoilers)
I love the fact that the series conveys the woman's (!spoiler alert!) powers so well and you can almost feel then yourself. Which is exciting and horrible at the same time. Furthermore going all over the place, from Japan to America and the inclusion of other countries gives a more broad sense to what all the buildup was for. So.e shows will do this over many seasons (and could be beneficial s…
Read at the sourceyuzuki_kiryu
Babylon attempts to merge philosophy, psychology, and politics into a narrative that tackles the complex issue of suicide, but ultimately falls short in its execution. The story delves into profound moral questions regarding right and wrong, presenting an intriguing premise about the legalization of suicide. However, the show's potential is squandered by its inability to effectively explore these themes.
Initially, the anime's dark visuals, dramatic lighting, and supporting soundtrack create a gripping noir atmosphere. The first seven episodes suggest a solid, politically charged investigative narrative. Unfortunately, the storyline takes a downward spiral, becoming increasingly abstract and convoluted.
The primary antagonist, Ai Magase, possesses an unexplained ability to manipulate ind…
Read at the sourcehana_a_cha
The story begins with concepts that are genuinely thought-provoking: a deeply philosophical question and a villain that, at first, seems interesting and well-done.
Then the question is forgotten, the villain turns into a super-powered devil, and suspense and psychological horror vacant their seats in favour of not very exciting politics and… action?
Since the villain is arguably the main attraction of this series, that was the most upsetting part. Maybe it won't be, if you don't buy into the cool thing that seem to be going for at the beginning, and just expect a supernatural thing right from the start. Still, it seems unfitting, considering other themes.
There's a time skip at one point, and that is where it's best to leave this show. There's not much to miss in second half. Especially…
Read at the sourceSpartan_1_1_7
Babylon is a political mystery thriller that centres on Zen Seizaki, a public prosecutor in the newly created Shiniki district near Tokyo. While investigating a pharmaceutical company for a defective drug, he stumbles upon a mysterious death that leads him to a deeper conspiracy involving mayoral elections and legislation to legalize suicide.
Considering the premise, the anime is naturally dialogue-centric. What starts as a story focused on a corruption investigation in local elections unravels into a deeper philosophical tale about the meaning of life and death, the benefits and pitfalls of legalized suicide on society and civilization, and the age-old battle between good and evil.
The anime consists of several characters at the highest position of power within their jurisdictions that…
Read at the sourceVanniePon
If you are not a stable person, you shouldn't watch this Anime, cause there are a lot of scenes that are not safe to watch if you are.
Let me take you into a world where the suicide law is discussed, you are allowed to kill yourself if you really don't want to live anymore. But what if the government doesn't know if it would be right to set this law in the world.
Meet Zen and his coworkers that are entrusted with this law and to find out what is good and what is evil in this world.
There are many brutally shots and brutal deaths in this Anime, I warned you already twice now.
Should a law like that exist, or would the world extiguish?
Read at the sourcePaulDanger
I went into this series completely blind and have to say that I am pretty glad I did. The series revolves heavily around the concept of suicide which by all means is not an easy topic to address.
The series starts out pretty strong with its first few opening episodes by establishing the world’s setting and characters. However, the story’s narrative did leave much to be desired The primus of analyzing suicide through a country’s legal system is certainly an interesting way to put this topic on display.
At the beginning of the show, the main characters were put into a situation where they were tasked with investigating a newly forming independent prefecture that was being established during a high profile political election. It was quickly addressed that this newly forming prefecture was…
Read at the sourceShouKyng
The suicidal theme is not addressed in many anime, and sometimes it is not addressed properly. But this anime approaches this theme very well.
In "Babylon" , the time location is in what I can say is a contemporan Japan ( so the contemporan world ) which is perfect for this theme. As for the location itself it's a made up one, so by herself it can't really give us more context about the actions ( Shiniki - that means the new city )
The suicidal theme is approached in a legal way which makes it really interesting as suicide is not legal ot illegal . In the anime , what can I say is the secondary antagonist, tries to make suicide legal by any means ( mostly legal means ) and he succeeds.
The interesting part here is not necessarily the characters, the action , etc ... What is important he…
Read at the sourceSamintheair
TW: This anime discusses suicide at length, so be prepared for that and avoid it if you can't handle it.
This was perhaps one of the most disappointing dumpster fires I've seen. The anime starts off alright. Art is fine, characters are believable and the story has some intrigue. However, as the story progresses, we start to lose track of the characters, and we get wrapped up in ethical discussions that try to appear deep, but ultimately sound like they were formulated by a child, and we end up with a somewhat expected conclusion. This could have been a much better story, but as one reviewer put it, your best bet is to stop at episode 7, though I personally recommend you don't even bother starting.
It reminded me of Death Note because of the themes it considered and the way it started so…
Read at the sourceAvroraa
Babylon is an anime series that had the potential to be great, but unfortunately falls short in its execution. The story revolves around the main protagonist, Zen Seizaki, a public prosecutor investigating a pharmaceutical company involved in a scandal. The anime starts off strong with a gripping storyline that keeps the audience engaged.
However, as the series progresses, it begins to lose its focus and the plot becomes convoluted. The pacing of the story is also inconsistent, with some episodes feeling rushed while others drag on. This inconsistency makes it difficult for viewers to remain invested in the story and the characters.
Despite these shortcomings, Babylon does have some redeeming qualities. The animation and soundtrack are well-done and add to the overall atmosphere of the s…
Read at the sourcetokyorevengi
Spoiler free.
Episodes 1 - 8 were really good, and made quite a good story surrounding zen seizaki. The problem about this anime are the later episodes, as they kinda start a whole new arc to the story, with forgetting the initial plot to the story. I heard that the manga only went until episode 7 or something. If that's true, i can understand why it takes such a bad turn in the later stages. The ending would have been a nice cliffhanger, if there would be a season 2 to it. But if it is meant to be a ending, it's bad, not only because it was just bad, but because the whole story just got put aside and they never even showed how the story evolved after that last episode etc.
I somewhere read, that the author is going to release a light novel volume of babylon, so maybe the story isn't co…
Read at the sourceRebelPanda
Throughout my high school years, I struggled with an illness in my mind I couldn't put into words. The way I thought of it was a roller coaster that I could never get off. My whole life has been a series of peaks and valleys.
For weeks, the roller coaster would be at a peak. I would have an endless supply of energy. I was able to make friends and enjoy every day to the fullest. Then everything would crash down and suddenly the roller coaster was stuck in a valley. For weeks, I would be exhausted and depressed. Making friends was the easy part, but keeping them was hard. During a valley, trying to talk to anyone was as painful as getting a tooth ripped out of your mouth. I had to avoid my friends altogether so I wouldn’t have an angry outburst and ruin our friendship. Growing up, I didn’t…
Read at the sourcemega_prize
Very disturbing
Very thought provoking
Not for the sensitive hearted. It is psychologically damaging.
The story was executed well.
The plot twist at the end was amazing
I just only gave it a six because it truly is an evil anime and i feel not so good after finishing this. It sickens the soul so to speak.
Makes one really question and revisit their own values.
Watching this makes me shudder at the thought that people in power probably feel this way and is probably why our governments are turning on us as we speak. Its just a fresh idea on a societal taboo, and a controversial one. It gives it shock factor. thats what this anime has good going for it, that and the sense of justice in the protagonists. i usually enjoy that especially in japanese anime.
Read at the sourceFoxhound0x00
Watch till the 7th ep and then read the manga , manga is way better than the anime.
Following is some stuff which I wanted to speak about.
The art and the plot is good. Anime will pass for a good psychological thriller that you're itching for after watching a lot of other boring anime.
It starts out as a typical police procedural and then shifts into what seems to be one more decently produced "crimes in high places" mystery.
By the end of Episode 3 we realize this show is going to be something else entirely. Production wise the animation and artwork are good.
Recommended if you're looking for something to binge watch.
Don't forget! The simping kills!
Read at the sourceswaminathanWeeb
This is one incredibly ambitious anime that is executed really well by the director. At its core, this show is a well done suspense / thriller. The first half of the show primarily deals with this aspect of the show, the premise is exciting - it's a public prosecutor trying to unravel a mystery. But, the narrative is filled generously with interesting and unexpected twists while the pacing is quick and excellent. The villain in the show is also quite unique.
But this show goes beyond just being a thriller. It also works in the philosophical debates of what even is 'good' and what even is 'bad' and is suicide good or bad. While anybody highly experienced with philosophy might scoff at the level of argumentation and point out logical fallacies, I argue here for the generic viewer, this is a…
Read at the sourceMinaMino23
Babylon is one of the under-appreciated anime. In my opinion, this anime is very unique in bringing suicide conflicts, human rights are packed with elements of mystery and also politics.
The story, animation, voice actors and OST are quite good although they are not as good as other mystery s tier anime such as Monster, Death Note and others but this can be an alternative mystery anime with a fresh and unique story and concept.
The 'suicide law' debate is true or not? is it wrong or right? I think this is one of the most memorable moment in this anime.
I highly recommend this anime, especially for mystery-themed anime fans, I hope there will be a continuation of this in the future.
Read at the sourceTery1015
Babylon is a nice psychological/political detective anime. An okay anime that could have actually been great, in an imaginary alternate realm where Babylon instead focused on the direction that gave it so much intricate quality with intense atmosphere, and less on the direction that made it a pretentious show that aims to indulge itself in unnecessary moralizations
Story and themes
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The premise of Babylon promises a thrilling detective anime where the stakes are high in getting closer and closer to the truth of an organized crime conspiracy. Our MC, Sen Seizaki is almost the walking pinnacle of justice as he strives for nothing but the truth and pursuit of justice. He is thrown into a massive conspiracy involving pharmaceutical agents and the government, in pushi…
Read at the sourceStealth012
like this anime enough to give it an 8, however flawed it may seem, it's simplicity in it's drama makes me appreciate it's quiet heart of a story and characters, as well as it's shocking moments and narrative.
It has great music and art, and deserves better than the farce the arguments about it's validity give. While the ending is too simple to be good, it is still better than what it's given credit for in that regard, even though it basically wraps things up in like ten minutes that had been building up for the whole runtime of the series. The mystery around the villainy was great, a mysterious woman ready to kill all in her way, but smart enough to not be stopped, mostly. Not much in re-watch-ability.
The whole political element was well used and sometimes effective but was a cheap way…
Read at the sourcenervkun
SPOILERS
Ok, where do I even begin.
Like the majority of the people said, the first part up to ep 6 was fucking awesome, and it all goes downhill from there. Since everyone's comments are quite long and analyzed things in great detail ill just cut it short and call it a day.
from ep7 on, there was quite a bit of killing of your favorite characters, I don't usually mind it as it adds to the story and makes the ending more emotional and impactful. But in this case, nothing was explained. Like how did Sekuro even get captured in the first place? And how does Magase's powers work other than make them horny? Literally nothing was explained even at the end of the show. I feel that is the main problem with the show. The deaths of our MC's colleges and friends was just a very unpolished attempt…
Read at the source
