Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AngeVNs
ISLAND, for better or worse, is your typical modern visual novel-to-anime adaptation. It takes a 30- to 40-hour, multi-route story and somehow condenses it into one 12- to 13-episode season.
How well does it do that? I never read the visual novel, but honestly, even I could tell how rushed the storytelling was.
The beginning seems fine. The main character, Setsuna, wakes up naked on an unknown island, where he meets the three main heroines and eventually helps them with their personal issues.
I like the idea of this because, like many anime adaptations of visual novels, it takes the main points of each route, puts them into one timeline, and removes most of the romance outside of the main heroine.
Eventually, the story takes a serious turn, and we learn more about Setsuna, the main her…
Read at the sourceScanerior
An anime series that initially appears to be a "regular summer romance/friendship story", but in the background of each episode it also presents small pieces of a larger story. The second half of the series starts to deal with the story in a big way and we see a rather interesting ending, although I must say that I probably managed to get a little lost and I'm not sure if I completely understood how everything happened, but the core of the story is clear. Overall, it's not an exceptional anime, but I simply enjoyed watching it so much that I give it 9/10.
Read at the sourceTrainter
Adapted from one of my favorite visual novels (top 10). Made by the super reputable studio Feel Animation, which has made 2 other masterpieces adapted from visual novels, Yosuga no Sora and Kiss x Sis. But the important thing is that I didn't pay attention to the studio's name before watching, didn't look at its profile on the site, only knew from the visual novel and watched enough anime to add to the summer list. And it surprised me... twice.
Surprise 1: Too good, far beyond my expectations, far beyond.
On a remote island separated from the mainland, a young man drifted ashore, he didn't remember anything about his identity or what happened, he only knew that he had traveled through time to come here to save the girl he loved.
Even though it's a 12-episode anime, I enjoyed this series…
Read at the sourceSensel
Island had all the ingredients for a compelling sci-fi mystery story, love, destiny, and a mysterious wouldn't you guessed it.. island. its promising premise was ruined by awkward pacing and clumsy execution. The story in it self, while still somewhat intriguing, felt slow yet the critical development moments rushed, it makes twists feel unearned. Characters had potential but there was not much depth to them. The art was okay, nothing to write home about. Fans of extremely open mind and patience may still find value here in the emotional sci-fi side of things, but most will likely be frustrated by the wasted potential.
Overall the anime isn't that bad, but the wasted potential here is surreal
Read at the sourcecrustaces
This anime adaptation, while trying to mirror its original game, falls significantly short in capturing the game's unique essence. The story, which in the game is rich and immersive, feels rushed and predictable in the anime, lacking the depth and intricacy that fans of the genre would appreciate.
Artistically, the anime's style doesn't quite complement the story. It misses the nuanced visuals that the game presented, making it less engaging. The characters, a vital component of the original game, are not well-rounded in the anime. They lack the complexity, showing neither significant flaws nor strengths, and their reactions to situations feel unrealistic and oversimplified.
For fans of the game, this adaptation might be a disappointment due to its lack of fidelity to the source material…
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
Island is curious specimen of anime. It's one of those shows where the overall score does little to inform you of what the show is like. Despite the middle-of-the-road score I'm dishing out, very little of Island is middle-of-the-road: most of the time it's either bad or good.
Island is about a guy who wakes up naked on the beach of Urushima Island with vague memories of being a time traveller who's supposed to save and kill some people. For generation after generation, the same three powerful families shared control over the island, and our amnesiac soon gets himself tangled up with the current heirs of those families as he tries to figure out his mission.
Rather trying to make a good first impression, Island audaciously starts off by throwing its bad foot forward. Within the first five…
Read at the sourceTanauwu
I'll spare you the long essay.
It's not amazing, but it's not horrible either. The story had a lot of potentials. I gave it 7/10 and here are the two main reasons why:
1) too rushed. The ending, oh it could've been so good, so prolonged, and chewed up well, but unfortunately, it was way too rushed IMO. I personally think this show should've been 18-24 episodes long. If it was, I surely wouldn't mind watching because the idea is good! But it felt like a last-minute project, where you start off slow and hardly focus, and then by the end you're really into it but have 50 minutes to finish and present the whole things. So yeah, too rushed imo.
2) The fucking lolis lol. It's just me, but I personally couldn't stand to see a 4 inch tall kid doing THAT thing with the main character. Threw me o…
Read at the sourceMoeTie
A Brief Study of Visual Novels - On Mother's, Lolita's, Freud and 'Island'.
The visual novel genre of anime adaptations is my favourite genre with-in the medium and quite possibly one of my top 5 of all media. This isn't to say I'm some sort of expert or authority on the genre - On the contrary I haven't even seen that many and played even less. Yet this is non-the-less my favourite genre.
For this brief study of some of it's core themes and how those relate to modern stories like our anime focus of 2018's 'Island' adaptation - It's pertinent to first clarify a few things.
For one I'll be freely speaking on Island, including any and all spoilers.
Two I'll also elude to a number of other novels and anime, though I'll add appropriate spoiler warnings for the most important details but be…
Read at the sourceaudioxtc
Island (Never)
I am on a good streak lately for random shows I’ve come across. Keep in mind, this could be a very well known anime and I’m just out of the public sphere, but I’ve just learned of it. I’m very glad I decided to give it a shot though! Spoilers ahead, and trust me, this is a show worth going into blindly. If you haven’t seen it, give it a chance!
I’d like to start out by saying the romance of the show is so nice. Once you get to the end, it’s debatable, but in the moment it’s nice. There were definitely a few choked up moments, but I had faith everything would work out. Aside from the whole parent thing, Setsuna and Rine have great chemistry and give the show a front runner for best girl, along with Kuon. I can honestly say that I’ve never been able to predict the girl that…
Read at the sourceXnightplus
This anime, seriously, it's the best.
People sound like don't like it so much, but for my it's brilliant.
I love how the story tells,
for the first time, you probably don't get it clearly.
It's can make your "brain blow up",
but through the story timeline,
and it has lots of punch lines that will make you shocked and for part
it's can make you feel some feels that I can make you understand this. For the art and character, it's for your feels, but for me, it's 10/10.
For the sound, OP, and ED it's great, but there's a song or a sound that originated from a Spanish song that will make you remember it's for so long.
For enjoyment, it has everything to make you love it.
In total, it's brilliant
So believe in me, you should get right into it and also fall in love with this!
Read at the sourceIncursioo
It's so underrated this anime and I'm glad to have finally given a chance to this anime that I kept in the plan to watch list.
I thought it was just a slice of life anime set on an island at first, but as the anime goes on I got really into the story which is typically what you want for your enjoyment.
The time travel stuff, I think is always my jam and it is always fascinating how authors are going to explain the troubles and holes dictated by this matter.
Unfortunately, it is rushed at the end, since the anime is only 13 episodes. Nevertheless, I bet that the manga would explain better the story, thus having a good pace of the events.
Normally I would give a 7 for this anime, but since it's so underrated I gave it a 8.
Read at the sourceJoroUzumaki
Honestly I am not a huge critic when it comes to anime. I appreciate a good story, interesting characters, and especially a good twist. For me I thought that Island was very confusing in the beginning, which it is sort of meant to obviously. Though after finishing the anime I do think that without knowing the information you get at the end, the first few episodes are difficult to appreciate at first. This is not to say that the first few episodes are not entertaining. I very much enjoyed the first few episodes. There were all kinds of entertaining and funny moments. I think if you are looking for a good anime to watch you should give this a chance. It probably won't be your favorite anime, but if you are looking for something to pass and stay engaged in then I would recommend this to you.
Read at the sourceAlexPaulLEWZ
This anime, I daresay, is the BEST ANIME EVER.
If you're reading this review, you have been most likely guided by fate. After all, this gem is hidden in the vast sea of hidden gems, as if you're trying to find a certain hydrogen atom in the vast universe.
Sometimes, there are anime that people recommend to me. They were nice, I enjoyed them, and I gave them the usual 10. There are also anime that I randomly come upon which I enjoy more than those recommended to me. Island is one of those anime, but the feeling it left me is more than just enjoyment—more than just what any word can describe. Thrill? Pleasure? Entertainment? Amusement? I can't really say. Like I said before, it's the best anime ever. A score as low as a 10 will not suffice. Before I continue, this review will not include s…
Read at the sourceabnormal_fetus
Overall: 4
Story 4:
Legend has it that nobody knows what the fuck is going on. It was a mistake starting this series. Disregarding Incest=Wincest, the entire show relies to heavily on the concept that it is deeper than it actually is. If you think about this show for more than five seconds you start to realize that there are multiple ways in which the characters could have interacted and the confusion generated from the shows supposed "deepness" makes me want to cry.
Art 7:
The actual artwork is really good. I thought that the art was better due to the fact that the scenes within the actual show are really vibrant. Also it has a good amount of fanservice if you are into that kinda thing.
Sound 6:
There is nothing stellar about the Ops or Eds. They are pretty generic. Even the singing wit…
Read at the sourcelLeco
Island
It's very weird... IDK... I didn't hate the show, I actually enjoyed it, but the Story made no sense, it has 192093012930192039 loose ends and I guess only the people who played the game will understand.
IT MADE NO SENSE BUT HAD KAWAII GIRLS AND FUNNY CHARACTERS... so it's worth watching I guess?? maybe... IDK...
AAAAAAAAA the ending made me lose my mind... idk boyz and grills BYeeeeeee
Well MAL won't let me finish the review so I guess I will write a bit more lol.
So here is the deal... go add me as a friend so We can talk about anime and stuff.
Read at the sourcecodeMan82
I binge watched this show twice as the first time through I missed important information about the story. I liked that it's a complete story from episode 1 through 12. The graphics and music are beautiful and the story is heart warming. The story keeps you guessing what's next all the way through. There is a lot of character development in the first 5 episodes and then "the plot thickens"... I loved it! The story really makes you think... It's worth seeing the story through as the ending is worth it. It is also a show I could share with my mother as I tried telling her a little bit about this story and she ended up having me watch it again with her and she loved it too! First Anime my mom ever watched and she liked it!
Read at the sourceMouradSME
A'ight, here's the thing: a lot of people have been giving some pretty bad reviews about this show, and anyone who has seen it would most probably agree... Except I don't.
So, before I get to the part explaining how I "chose" to enjoy this show, I will start by trying to "spoiler-less-ly" summarize the plot.
[Story]
You have your average looking Shujinkou (Protagonist) "Setsuna" who claims to have come from the future on a rescue mission. His destination is a certain island, "Urashima" with a rather confusing and dark past led by three distinguished families. Each family has its role and its domain on the island. And there's apparently a legend revolving around these families, more specifically the girls who belong to them (I'll say nothing more to avoid spoilers). Anyways, the island s…
Read at the sourceKimuraTheHatoru
I don't know why people hated this show. I watched it, laughed, cried, laughed some more.... It was a very good show, i watched it without any remorse or regret.
The story lacked some stuff. but otherwise it was music to my heart. I saw people hating it... but because im not the KIND of person who cares about opinions, i really must say that i enjoyed it. the time travel part and theories they called gave me an headache tho.
The characters were not so... memorable, but they played their parts, as they should, they had some story behind, nothing bad.
In the end, i gave this a fat 10, and i have every intention of keeping it that way.
Read at the sourcegargagaga
So many bad reviews from people who mainly expected something else... I rate it 7 aka above average. Island is a story that takes some time to build up but unravels in a dynamic second half.
This show has a plot that puts to shame so many "great" and recognized anime. While the first half, episodes 3-7, are indeed too slow, they are not uninteresting, with a few redeeming, unexpected plot points, and I had a good time watching them on speed x2. The rest however makes you will make you glad you waited. No spoilers!
Characters are flat, that I will admit. Breaking news : character development isn't the only way to make a show interesting. You have so many shows where the only sort of story to be found is the emotional development of everyone involved. Here in Island, characters are functiona…
Read at the sourceAstolfoPlushh
I dont know why most all of the member of MAL score this badly
In my opinion ISLAND have a unique story based on a Romantic, Sadness, and time travel.
in beginning episode you will be find loli and other fucking stuff in it.
but you must be know that most of all anime have an story introduction. i think most of all anime have story introduction in rage of episode 1 to episode 3 or 4.
in beginning episode you shouldn't skip anything, just stay and watch it until finish. Because you will lose the main story in beginning.
Next to the my score of this anime
STORY (10/10) : Why i give 10/10? because main story in middle episode to the end of the story have unique atmosphere, that you won't miss any sec on this anime. (REMEMBER YOU SHOULDN'T SKIP THE BEGINNING OF ANIME OR YOU WILL LOSE THE CORE…
Read at the source
