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 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 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 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 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 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 sourceephemerry
The Zaregoto Series, also known as The Beheading Cycle (because, y’know, people get beheaded and stuff), is another brain child of Studio SHAFT and NisiOsin. If you didn’t know, it’s the duo that made the Monogatari series. I initially thought it might be a good combination, along with the same character designer, a murder mystery, and Kalafina being behind many of the music compositions. I felt like I could jive with all of that.
Little did I know, that this would not only be a lower budget production than Monogatari, with jarring cuts that looked like they were clipped in Window’s Movie Maker, but that it would have the WORST last of episode of ANY series. Actually, I think it might be the WORST episode of any anime that I’ve EVER fucking seen!
But, before I get to that! Let me preface…
Read at the sourcemayoiko
Overall:
1. The protagonist is typical nihilist wannabe.
2. The case scenario is typical Agatha Christie's locked-room murder.
3. The irrelevant cool genius Aikawa is typical Sherlock rip off.
At the moment I start watching it, I knew this anime is all about nihilism and existentialism, but it's definitely nihilism for the protagonist, plus it was started with a quote by Nietzsche, the godfather of all nihilism fanboy, so at that moment I assume that the writer of the story must be one of those nihilist f*g. Later, I found out that it was by Nisioisin, and tbh I never really finish the monogatari series, I only watched the first season, as it was dreadfully boring for some reason I just gave up. So, all I know is that Nietzsche's nihilism must be his primary inspiration for this.
At seco…
Read at the sourceagahtha
Story: 10
Art: 8
Sound: 6
Character: 6
Enjoyment: 10
How the hell do you write a decent review for an anime that is perfectly written? Nisiosin created the zaregoto novels when he was 21 yo, the same age as I am right now, and in comparison I feel like a kindergarden kid. Before starting this anime I was brainwashed into thinking this was not a mystery story and that the mystery parts were just a facade. That is not true, this is a mystery story. I don't know how the zaregoto novels progress because I didn't read them, but the anime was definitely a mystery, and an impeccable one. You will be exposed to the mentality of the different characters. The key word here is "twist", how do we perceive reality? do we blindly accept everything we see as true or do we go deeper? do we have the curio…
Read at the sourceEdward979797
An adaptation of the first in a series of acclaimed mystery novels by Nisio Isin (of Monogatari and Katanagatari fame), Kubikiri Cycle plays out much like a traditional murder mystery on the surface, but manages to do enough to set itself apart, even in anime format.
Any viewers familiar with SHAFT's visual style should know what to expect here. The overall style and art direction are as stunning and compelling as one would expect. Vivid backdrops and imagery effectively complement the show's numerous monologues and dialogues, forging a link between what is being said and what is being shown. This adds a new dimension to most scenes, and keeps the hours upon hours of talking from becoming stale. In addition, character designs are imaginative and unique, and do a solid job of conveying the…
Read at the sourceDetective
Superimposition and retrospect ultimately lead to this abomination. This is an amateur work by NisioIsin developed, marketed, packaged, and sold in a post-Bakemonogatari world. This is the greatest undoing of this work, but to understand why this project failed beyond direct content we have to tackle a series of other shortcomings first.
1. Closed room murder mystery featuring a cast of geniuses.
2. The ever tired and tiring fantasy that is the coming of age narrative.
3. The once-iconic now-generic SHAFT direction style.
1. Vagueness is not profundity
The story is set on an isolated island where an assorted group has been assembled by a quirky patron of the arts. There are around ten characters in the story. Only two are men, including the protagonist. Most of the other characters are…
Read at the sourcemoozooh
This won't be too much of a review because the current top reviews already do a great job at that, and I fully realize that most people won't get to read this one. However, if you don't find them convincing enough and are trawling for some more articulated opinions that avoid the "it's by of fame" kind of arguments, there are probably some more things I could iterate upon further to convince you to watch this short series.
See, this, for me, is one very good reason to watch anime at all. Zaregoto is a product that intentionally works on multiple levels: it's pleasing to hear and look at, it's intellectually challenging, and, perhaps the best of all, it interacts with a viewer in a very specific way that I shall describe as 'endearing' for the lack of a less corny term. And by that I m…
Read at the sourceSpoopsterCH
Zaregoto, much like most other Shaft and/or Nisioisin productions requires a certain mindset as well as expectations to enjoy.
While I don't like how pretentious saying this sounds, I still have to say it:
This isn't some 'Whodunnit'-rhomp you can watch after work or school while being half asleep. To truly get most out of it, I recommend really focusing on it as much as possible.
That, or get drunk and enjoy the pretty pictures and lovely sound.
I've been guilty of that too occassionally.
Now on to what you can actually expect.
Zaregoto is a character study donning the guise of a murder mystery, with some good indulgent waifu material, as is Nisioisin's law.
Now, one could say that this sounds a lot like the Monogatari series, which is also a character study pretending to be a 'Girl-of…
Read at the sourcekokuborou
We all know Nisio Isin as a genius writer for the Monogatari novel series but what remains unknown is his first work: Zaregoto Series who inspired him later to write the Monogatari series. Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregototsukai is the first volume from that series that was adapted by Shaft into a 8 Ova and as any monogatari fan you can notice some similarities in the plot, story and character traits.
The main story is set in a mansion on a remote island where 12 geniuses with special abilities in their own domains and with different circumstances are gathered to prove their worth. The build is slow in the beginning , it takes 2-3 ova until the main plot is revealed but if you are patient you will be rewarded with a great mystery , with clever tricks behind the crimes and dialogue…
Read at the sourceLouysG
:: NO SPOILERS ::
Zaregoto is a Nisioisin show. Who ever told you it was a mystery probably told you PMMM is a kids show, and Shokugeki No Soma is a cooking manga. Bottom line, if you like that Nisioisin flavor you're gonna like this OVA, if you don't, well, at least ep. 7 has a beautifully animated scene directed by Akiyuki Shinbo that's worth the 8 ep. price of admission.
Without reading any of the other reviews I can tell you what they're gonna say. Zaregoto is a slow build. The main character is an edgelord. It's a little bit too much of a stale whodunnit? without a sense that something tangible is at stake. Yeah, forget that noise. Like Monogatari, the big flashy genre set-pieces are sideshows, the character drama is the main event. All the mansions and murders and mauve color palet…
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