Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Belts
Is Akiyuki Shinbo, the auteur anime director at the heart of Studio Shaft, famed for Puella Magi Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series, a genius?
In my essay on Shiboyugi, I mentioned that newcomer director Souta Ueno distinguished himself from most well-regarded anime directors by focusing less on the details of movement and more on shot composition and framing. Of course, Ueno is not the only anime director with this style, and the description undoubtedly also applies to the far more established Akiyuki Shinbo. Shinbo's use of eye-catching backgrounds with modern art aesthetics mean his works often look intriguing even when absolutely nothing is happening on screen. It's no surprise why he has often paired with writers known for their long-winded philosophical monologues, particularly…
Read at the sourceIamtragedy
As a devoted fan of Nisio Isin’s works, I went into this with high expectations and he still managed to surpass them. This experience has only deepened my appreciation for his skill in crafting intricate mysteries and, more importantly, his mastery of character writing. His ability to bring depth, nuance, and unpredictability to his characters continues to amaze me.
On the technical side, Shaft Studio once again demonstrated why they are the perfect match for adapting his stories. Their signature style was at its peak here, elevating every scene with striking visuals, dynamic direction, and an artistic flair that perfectly complemented the narrative. The OST was nothing short of phenomenal and each track enriched the atmosphere, heightening the emotions and immersing me even further into…
Read at the sourceLowcchierTheory
~Colors and enigmas at the price of being ordinary~
((This review avoids crucial plot details, but contains light commentary on the character dynamics and atmosphere of the work.)) Kubikiri Cycle tells the story of a young man called Li-chan and his experience in an isolated mansion where geniuses are brought together to work alone, but end up living together as a kind of "family".
Each character presented has striking characteristics that are reflected in often unsettling designs, conveying their respective geniuses... with the exception of Li-chan. He is portrayed as a pessimistic boy who avoids conflict, finds it difficult to be honest and lives in constant denial of himself - to the point of not even knowing for sure why he is there. This contrasts sharply with Kunigisa Tomo, the b…
Read at the sourceAnimeEnjoyer420
I love a good mystery, and Kubikiri Cycle does at least somewhat deliver on that, so it's hard to entirely dislike it. While it does get a little too convoluted at the end, the actual murder mystery portion of the series is the most sound and enjoyable part of it. It's the other parts of the series that are a letdown.
In particular, there are two elements that stand out above the others as critical issues: the characters and the dialogue writing. These problems are distinct, but related of course. The characters are insufferable virtually without exception, and a big part of that is the pretentious dialogue. Conversations feel about as authentic here as they do in an Ayn Rand novel. Characters talk in grand philosophical statements and go on endless, preachy monologues about their persona…
Read at the sourceTeramol
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
I'll be the first to admit I'm not that into murder mysteries. However, I mostly enjoy the Nisioisin and Shaft combo mostly known for the Monogatari series so when I found out it's the same thing here I got a little interested regardless. This 8 episode OVA is based on the Zaregoto series of novels and this one adapts just one part of it which imo is one of its biggest downfalls.
The setting is fairly basic and screams Danganronpa (supposedly it also inspired the latter funnily enough), you have a dozen give or take geniuses of various fields summoned to a mansion in an isolated island and after a while, someone gets offed and the mystery continues. Yes I said continues because the story is a mystery from the first minute. We know next to nothing as to why this is hap…
Read at the sourceRESOLVING_POWER
I watched Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregototsukai, also known as The Beheading Cycle. Here are my thoughts:
This is an OVA by Shaft, and it certainly feels that way. The visuals are signature Shaft and resemble past works by the studio. I did not particularly like the character designs or art style, personally. I also wish there were more visual detail in general. However, the visuals were still mildly interesting due to the way Shaft uses cinematography.
The OST is by Yuki Kajiura. It is decent but it felt like not a whole lot of artistic risk was taken. It uses the same kinds of instruments and sounds you've likely heard in her other past OSTs. It was not particularly innovative. (Having said that, I suspect I'll be more impressed with it once I sit down with the OST alone and…
Read at the sourceMarco_Yooo
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Okay, this is a hard one to review. „The Kubikiri Cycle „ or „Zaregoto Series“ is the first work of the famous or infamous NisiOisiN. Having already watched and reviewed the „Monogatari Series“ as well as „Katanagatari“ i decided to go back to the start of his career as a writer. I had incredibly high expectations for this one, but were they reached? I proceeded to watch the entire show in one sitting.
Story – 8/10
First, we have to talk about the mystery aspect of the show.
I absolutely LOVE classic murder mysteries. I also think they are incredibly hard to pull off, because they are either to short and simple, or extremely predictable. The setup is very classic: A set group of people on an island completely disconnected from the outside world. What i like…
Read at the sourcehexashadow13
tl;dr: An anime that’s gripping and interesting, but also completely hollow.
This OVA series is an adaptation of the first volume of the Zaregoto series of novels. Thus, this is a Shaft adaptation of a NisiOisiN novel series, but more than that its one that feels very close to the very well known other NisiOisiN Shaft adaptation, the Monogatari series. In a way this anime is a murder mystery. It introduces to the viewer all the players in a closed environment. The body from a closed room murder is then found. And then it has the protagonist gather various clues until he discovers how the murder was performed and then has him reveal it to the rest of the cast in a dramatic fashion. But this is all ultimately pointless, or as the protagonist liked to say, nonsense. The murder mystery while…
Read at the sourceMrYandereFan26
When I watched the first couple of episodes it immediately reminded me of the Monogatari series. Right from the style, the head-tilts, the character designs and even the dialogue. It was all so similar. I then found out it was by the same author as the Monogatari series (Nisio Isin) which was likely why I added it to my list in the first place. It was also animated by Shaft, the same studio as The Monogatari as well.
Right from the first episode, I definitely really loved the animation, character designs and felt the voice acting was really great. However, I was really confused as to what was going on and had a hard time following it.
However, once it got to the third episode I did start to understand it more and it became clear that there was a mystery going on and they were aiming to s…
Read at the sourceernieshmitz1
Nisio Isin has a incredible talent, this oddly deep yet strangely self-aware style of prose which never ceases to intrigue me.
Here the isin style is in full force with his sights targeted on the classic Japanese murder mystery genre.
Art and Sound here are incredible, as per usual with SHAFT, however some too familiar with their works may find this one somewhat uninspired in design.
The characters are absolutely fascinating, with the protag being of special note for me.
His unique blend of introspective melancholy and self-loathing serves as a perfect prototype of the one and only Ararararararagi. (The source LN here having been written before Monogatari).
The glasses girl and head maid were also great.
The mystery twists and final reveals were quite entertaining and fairly clever.
A…
Read at the sourceTotallyMonoFan
I wanted to write review about this anime because it's the first work of my favourite author, Nisio Isin. when he wrote the novel he was barely 20-21 years old and it's one of his best works. I know i know, anime only adapts volume 1, but as someone who haven't read it yet, this will be my thoughts about Anime only.
Plot: 6/10
Due to a mysterious disease, the genius Iria Akagami has been forced by her family to stay in a mansion on the isolated Island with only a handful of maids. To keep herself entertained, Iria invites a variety of fellow geniuses to stay as guests in her home.
one day one of the guests are found dead in her mension, so other geniuses including our main characters: li-chan and kunagisa tomo, are trying to find the killer before the murderious events progress any furthe…
Read at the sourceErrorFortaken
The Kubikiri Cycle is an anime that was so refreshing to watch the murder mystery in this show wasn't a total give away and I felt like I was genuinely invested in figuring out what was going on and and who did what. Most shows usually end up falling flat in the mystery, making it pretty obvious what the answer may be but that surely wasn't the case here. Due note if you have seen the Monogatari series the take on how the scenes are setup i.e. random jumps during a scene and shots of characters looking at a different direction or just something not even in junction with what's going on during a conversation.
The Story/Plot was alright nothing huge but still an entertaining setup, Although in the beginning for the first 2 episodes it felt a bit flat. It Wasn't terrible but just character i…
Read at the sourceasei
I wasn't sure about writing the review. But I just have to express my thoughts about this anime.
I love the shaftness in anime. That's my aesthetic 100%. Therefore visually I find this anime pleasing. I guess the only anime made by SHAFT which visuals I disliked was their take on Fate. There it felt unnecessary. Here it is on point.
Sound in this OVA is good too. The ost that plays during the episodes is soft and relaxing, I find it almost meditative. And OP/ED songs are so great I haven't skipped them even once.
Story is another deal. It is not boring per se, yet I see how people might dislike this anime because of it. Kubikiri Cycle tries to be both: a "coming of age" story and a "murder mystery" one. And I feel it is neither. During my watch through I set myself to receive it as a murde…
Read at the sourcedenpoki
spoiler free!
i never thought i'd actually ever write a review but i enjoyed this anime so much, i had to say at least a few words.
story - 9
i would have given it a 10 but i disliked the fact that i had no idea what this anime was about up until the last few seconds of episode 2. other than that, i think the plot is wonderful, even though sometimes it gets confusing and kind of hard to follow. also, the last episode really threw me off, i didn't expect that.
art - 9
found it really cute, that's all sound - 6
omg i almost dropped this anime because of the sound. normally it was fine but when we could hear his thoughts the sound was so bad i wanted to rip my ears off. idk if this is because of the website i watched it on or if it actually sounded like this but it was horrible. again, at…
Read at the sourceSazassin
This is peak murder mystery. I have not really delved into murder mystery genre before, this is most definitely my first time.
This anime isn't meant for everyone, especially when the animation style is by shaft who do not go by your typical animation you would see in many popular anime.
Furthermore, you really need to concentrate when you are watching this anime. You can't skip a single detail, for me I would rewind if I felt that I missed a line or just pause to read the whole lines carefully.
It is also vague just like the main character here, whose depth we do not truly understand or does he even have depth? I think the main character was the biggest flaw here in this anime, yet I saw it from his perspective and enjoyed it. But there was basically no character development other th…
Read at the sourceZengaea
I don't know anything about Nisioisin further than Monogatari series. The infinite abstract art style the character designs and monologues. I see as the (monogatari style). Although I think it's a unique presentation and interesting. I don't really want to see anywhere else except Monogatari. I like Monogatari series , although i'm not a big fan of it. Why I talking about Monogatari tho? Because it has the same misconceptions.
Zaregoto is a crime story, and a weird one. But not so interesting though. The characters are quite one dimensional and simple. In theory, they are the smartest of the smartest. And that's also monogatari. Characters conversation are like they mind are in a perfect harmony. And that's makes them geniuses, at least that's what it seems. Of that espects we can also sa…
Read at the sourceZenuKun
(Spoiler free)
Yes... Okay Im basing my review on personal preferences but this is by far if not the one of the best works by Shaft. Now I really loved this mainly because of the characters and artsyle.. I am a very big fan of Shaft's works and I got to say that they made this the way it should be made. The story itself was great as well, given that it is only 8 episodes, it did really well in portraying the plot. And just a fair warning before you watch, you need to have focus on watching especially during the first 2 episodes.. If you liked The Monogatari Series and Mekakucity Actors (which I highly recommend as well, also made by Shaft) then this one is definitely for you.
The Characters were straightforward, the storyline was just perfect being that I am a fan of all the genres in th…
Read at the sourcepotbrick
A protagonist without a name. A protagonist without a purpose. Surrounded by a cast of genuises: people who are defined by their place in the world, and by their capacity to fill that space with their radiant competence. A protagonist that lives in fear of competition because he is too afraid of finding out what his true value is. What does life have to offer for the mediocrities that surround the talented? What value is there in being the dust in someone else's dream? Zaregoto doesn't purport to have a clear answer on that front, nor should it. But with each subsequent twist, it proves that even those at the top are not as static or as confident in their purpose as they seem. Just a motley group of people trying to fill the massive, nonsensical void of life. And if they don't have a clear…
Read at the sourceAgent_Redacted
Kubikiri Cycle is a vague, arbitrary, mechanically indefinite story. An average tale of nothing at all with an unnaturally empty certainty at the heart of it. Ending anti-climatically like a red, red fantasia.
The anime is over-the-top and over-complicated. And by over-complicated I am talking about piling a layer of one thing with another and another and another. All the messiness revolves around a boy and his perspective/perception from the beginning to the end of the anime. Ironically this anime could be a very strong Theory of Knowledge as it shows several aspects of things and how the boy perceives them. It's very bizarrely unique like most of the shows Shaft produced.
Enhanced by the weird-ass animation and art style of Shaft which made the show even more inexplicably ludicrous an…
Read at the sourceVeronin
Until the final moments of the second episode, it is extremely unclear what Zaregoto is supposed to be about, or even what it wants to be about.
Little of significance happens during this time: character introductions interspersed with surreal 'SHAFT-ness' (this should be coined as a word if it hasn't already) and philosophical discussions about the meaning of life and why the protagonist is apparently such a big fat loser. Cool, so everyone is a weirdo, and the setting makes no sense, but why are we supposed to care, again? I expect most people who are not already fans of Nisio Isin or SHAFT anime will lose interest somewhere during this time and potentially drop the series altogether.
Which would be a mistake, because the third to eighth episodes are an absolute joy to watch, and con…
Read at the source
