Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AlexFernandez03
Spoiler filled review to the one person that cares about this show: Plot: This show is horrible. One of the major complaints I have is what decisions the characters make. In the second half on the show, The main character's hiding place becomes compromised and he STILL decides to go back there even after knowing that it is a huge risk. Not only does it result in his friend being kidnapped, but him and his friend both become depressed as a result of this. My other major complain is that a fucking 7 year old girl kisses a high school boy on the lips. This is just absolutely repulsive and I have never cringed or been more disgusted at a screen in my entire life. If you enjoyed this scene, I think it is safe to say you are a peodphile.
Now on to my minor complaints. The animation. The animat…
Read at the sourcejcrowly
For my first ever review, I wanted to give it to the show that showed me the joys of low expectations.
I was watching a bunch of Top 10 Anime videos with a couple of friends just for kicks when one of them recommended this show to me. The guy reviewing the shows was downright embarrassing to listen to, I think it was probably the weird accent, but I guess he must've been pretty good if he got me to watch the show. So with pretty low expectations, I decided to give the show a try.
Story: 8/10
So to begin, the story was pretty original from what I've usually seen and you may even learn something about the history of some of the darker parts of Japanese culture. You have the protagonist, Shinkurou Kurenai, a high schooler, who takes on odd-jobs for his employer, Benika Juuzawa. One day Beni…
Read at the sourceNervin
There are fantastic anime that focus on slice of life such as Usagi Drop or the Aria series, and there are action based anime such as Black Lagoon or Hellsing Ultimate; then there is Kure-nai, which mixes both genres. This is a difficult task, and if handled improperly, it can tear down the whole story, which in fact happened in this anime. While it executed the slice of life part well, blending in the action was poorly done to say at least, resulting in major plot holes, as well as an unnatural story progression. This anime would have been much better off by focusing on the slice of life aspect, yet sadly didn't.
~Story~
The premise of Kure-nai is simple: 16-year-old Kurenai Shinkorou, a master martial artist and professional mediator, yearning for better paid jobs, receives a request f…
Read at the sourceSirHellfire
One of the hardest things I have to do as “reviewer” is try and justify why I thought a show was good. Sometimes it’s easy as hell because there’s so many things I can easily point to and say, “This. This is the reason I like this show.” Other times the things that make a show good are a lot less evident and normally lead to me having to say something like, “It’s just good because.” Kure-nai is definitely one of those anime that belong in the latter category, and as hard as it may be I’ll try to justify my point.
The Short Version:
(+)The characters are well rounded.
(+)The art is splendid (Except the OP, I don’t even know what that was).
(-)There’s not exactly much of a story.
(-)The sound isn’t anything special.
The Story (6/10): The set up for the story is simple, the MC is a peacekee…
Read at the sourceNeverKnowsBest26
Kurenai is a show that blends several different story elements together. It's an action thriller, complete with secret organizations and trained teenage operatives. It's a story of personal growth, with the two main characters learning what is most important to them and how to fight for it. It's a slice-of-life with quirky characters and hints of romance. This all adds up to a 12 episode show that gives you a good taste of each, while managing to tug on your heartstrings from time to time. Yet, unfortunately, for all the juicy morsels it offers up, Kurenai is oddly un-filling. There is a feeling Kurenai could be better had it developed some of its ideas further, and cut off some parts that were needless. The result is uneven, yet ultimately rewarding enough to warrant a watch.
Some suspen…
Read at the sourceAngelsArcanum
Preface: The Kure-nai anime is a truly underrated gem of the medium; it is a shonen that transcends the limitations and trappings of its demographic into something adult and intelligent, and into what I find to be one of the best shonen anime of all time and it also happens to fall into that 1% of "anime adaptations that are better than the manga/light novel/visual novel they are based off of."
*I would go into length about the differences between the anime and manga, but it would be too extensive for this review, so I'll have it on file if anyone wants clarification later*
When I heard about Kure-nai back in '08 and read up on the premise, my tastes were too underdeveloped at the time and I dismissed it as some dull slice of life (in a laymen sense) story that wouldn't satisfy my adole…
Read at the source_Rika
Once in a while you come across anime from which you expect pretty much nothing to begin with but you see a couple of episodes and find yourself having the urge to continue watching until the very end. ‘Kurenai’ was one of them for me.
The story revolves around Kurenai Shinkurou, a high school student who works as a dispute mediator. He possesses abundant martial arts skills and accepts requests from his employer Juuzawa Benika to resolve trifling conflicts and the like. When he demands for something more challenging, Benika consigns him the job of protecting a seven year old kid, Kuohouin Murasaki who belongs to a highly influential and plutocratic household- the Kuohouin family. Having no clue about the young girl’s background, he accepts the job after a bit of hesitation. How Murasaki…
Read at the sourceTheowne
This anime has good animation and a likable lead character but ultimately is somewhat mediocre. For one thing, the plot is not believable. A girl must go into hiding, and thus she is given to a high school student who is absent half the day. She is freely taken into public places, her appearance is not changed, and frequently there are moments where disbelief cannot be suspended at the actions done with this girl who is supposedly "in hiding". This could be ignored if the characters were very good. The lead, Shinkurou, was interesting enough, but very few of the other characters are. Murasaki is alright, but somewhat repetitive. The female love interest is dull, while another, more interesting female character from Kurenai's school is ignored for the most part. Frankly the series simply fe…
Read at the sourceThaiberium
Rifling through the anime I had to get through, I remembered that Kure-nai had piqued my interest after the first episode, and in the lull of things, I decided to finish what I started.
Now the story is about young dispute mediator asked to guard a young girl. Now at first the only thing that came to mind was, there is something deeper afoot. Sure enough, Kure-nai is rather shy with it's revelations and that just begs for the viewer to continue on until everything is over. In this regard it is well executed. As always, some of the scenes may not make sense until it is later explained but that is to be expected of this offering.
They went for a realistic approach in Kure-nai, which works well at points but sometimes results are either a victim of the uncanny valley or just plain disturbin…
Read at the sourcealx222000
Kurenai is about a young girl, Murasaki, on the run from her families' strict traditions, and Shinkurou, a poor student, who also has the job of settling disputes (usually violently), hired to be her bodyguard. (You'd think a dangerous job like that would have decent pay, but whatever)
The series mostly follows daily life, as Shinkurou learns how to deal with Murasaki, goes to school, and takes a few other jobs. While Murasaki learns about life, and how to have fun, with help from Shinkurou, and the other inhabitants of the apartments where they live.
All the characters are interesting in their way, and each fits into their part of the story well. The humour in the series is all character driven, just watching the way people (particularly young and impressionable Murasaki) act/interact,…
Read at the sourceSlacks
It is difficult to assign a proper rating to a show as unbalanced as this one. This uneveness isn't even a case of certain elements of the series being handled better than others; Kurenai is both pleasing and disappointing in every one of its aspects. The animation is distinct but marred by noticeable low-quality moments, the characters are as engraging as they are entertaining, and the plot moves from being confusing to entertaining to downright stupid. There are no triumphant highs or deep, dank lows in Kurenai, but this anime does enough seesawing between entertainment and disappointment to lead to a mediocre viewing experience overall.
Kurenai does do some things right. This show's biggest strength is its complex setting, which the viewer is thrust directly into from the very first ep…
Read at the sourceSanchez
A few years down the line Kurenai won't be remembered as a classic, hell I doubt many people will remember it now; it deserves more attention. But maybe it should be remembered as a classic. I believe kurenai has the biggest advancement in quality in production of anime ever.
Going in I didn't know what to expect, when I loaded up the first episode I was a little taken aback by the OP and my expectations were lowered a little, it seemed kurenai wasn't the type of show I might have been looking for at the time. But the OP is deceiving, catchy but deceiving. The second blow to my expectations came in the first few minutes with an apparantly supernatural element. "another crappy super power anime" I thought. But I soldiered on and by the end of episode 2 I was hooked. Kurenai is a breath of…
Read at the sourceRanivus
::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 5 (For an ass kicking bodyguard, this guy is feckless)
Art: 8 (Some anim. are laughable but overall its beautiful)
Sound: 7 (Sound was good... can't think of anything else)
Character: 7 (Shinku X Murasaki are the only 2 worth watching)
Enjoyment: 4 (Don't watch it for the action... you'll get 'boned')
Overall: 31/50 = ~6 (...what is that car doing THERE?!?!?)
::FULL REVIEW::
After reading through all the reviews, I have noticed there is nothing but praise about this show, and only one review that doesn't really explain the faults of the show. I'm here to fill in that gap. Personally I felt this show suffered from anime-itis. Don't know what that is? Read on dear reader...
Kure-nai in essence is, a rom-com of the 'brother/sister' sense. As you already know, Kurenai…
Read at the sourceTheLlama
Kurenai is the 08 spring anime I had the highest hopes for, and I surely wasn't let down by it.
The artwork in the series is amazing. The main reason for this is the coloring - it's so vivid! It's sharp and varied colors, something which - as of what I've experienced - is unprecedented. The detail may skimp a bit now and then - which drags it down to a 9 (yes, I wanted to give it a 10). Oh, and the OP theme animations is pretty whacky - which is both good and bad.
The characters are as colorful as the animation is, even the minor characters. I really liked that, because it makes it oh so more realistic. And it's not only the characters as individuals, but also their relationships which I really loved. That does cover well up for the lack of character development that a 12-episode series…
Read at the sourceedgewalker00
on the shell, kure-nai is a very dull anime. the music is boring especially when the next episode is previewed and there are lots of local fanservice made to mention. however, after watching it, you would surprisingly find the anime deep. every episode rarely has relation with one another but it features lots of things reflecting culture, beliefs, change, and resolve. take the simple squabbles between murasaki and shinkurou. they always quarrel over petty things but they are only acting on their belief of their own right. they who live on different cultures and circumstances, when given before a problem or a point of discussion, they would fight over what they believed in.
the same goes for all other characters within the story. i believe that there's no such thing as "minor" in this anim…
Read at the sourceMaster10K
Kure-nai is for the most part, a Slice of life, Action, Comedy, Drama. There are some that will begin this series without knowing what to expect but one thing I can assure you, is to expect a very intriguing and fairly entertaining short series.
The beginning of this series is fairly confusing and can make it difficult to understand what it’s all about, as it seems like a bunch of random events; however what is easy to grasp is the main story. Shinkurou Kurenai is a high school student who undertakes numerous odd jobs and becoming a bodyguard for Murasaki Kuhouin (daughter of a powerful plutocratic family) is the newest job he decides to take on. During this time the two grow strong bonds with each other, as Shinkurou becomes sort of a parental guardian, but then something more to M…
Read at the sourcePBz0r
Kure-nai is one of the more peculiar shows of the 2008 spring anime season. It's not Kaiba in all its glorious artfaggotry but it's definitely not Soul Eater either. Most viewers can already gather from the first episode that over-the-top shounen battles are not what this show is about. Basically, Kure-nai is a story about two characters growing up, while discovering which kind of power is the kind that really matters. The kind that really matter accroding to Kure-nai is not a Kamehameha or a Rasengan, but the ability to make your own decisions, finding your place in society on your own and upholding your values at any time. You know the deal.
Main character Shinkurou Kurenai could definitely use some of this "power" as he is an orphan, having lost both of his parents in a terrorist attac…
Read at the sourcemr_utopia_man
A couple months ago, I decided to scout out some of the series in the Spring 2008 anime season. I found Kure-nai, and decided to give it a try. The OP scared me, and I almost turned this into an instant "drop." Really glad I didn't, because this show was a rare find.
Story
With only 12 episodes, it can be difficult to turn out that perfect storyline. Even so, they did a good job. The show is focused around the inner struggles and relationships of and between a seven-year-old aristocrat girl and her bodyguard, a poor, sixteen-year-old high school student. Nothing mind-blowing, but a sufficient premise all the same. However, it's paced very well, fast when it needs to be and slow when it's appropriate. I never felt the series get dull.
Realize that this is a both a comedy and a drama, and…
Read at the sourceTrashTTGLReviewr
Kurenai was an incredibly enjoyable anime.
The characters were done really well. The design was good and the animation was pretty fluid. There’s also a wonderful amount of character development. And I definitely can’t forget to mention the great voice acting.
The story was different. There were several conflicts building into one major conflict. Kurenai is full of action, a suspenseful drama with intense fights, yet at different times, it can be light-hearted and just hilarious.
The peeps really did a good job putting together this anime into a short but satisfying 12 episodes.
The music was okay. I personally thought it fit the anime well. It wasn’t absolutely amazing, but it matched the moments of the anime and that’s what’s important. And yeah…the…
Read at the sourceten6cha
This anime is absolutely HORRIBLE!! Okay, to be fair, it only became horrible after episode 8. At the beginning I was rating it a 10 and placing it among my favorite animes. The plot was somewhat unique, and there was the mystery as to exactly what the girl was running from, and shinkuro's past. But as the answers start to become revealed by each episode somehow in the 9th episode the author of the anime has no idea/clue where to take the anime. The action goes downhill, which is disappointing since it is supposed to be an action genre and they turn a possible bourne ultimatum-type action genre down to something you see on madtv (basically ridiculous). And just the way it ended was soooo pathetically random, I was just speechless as to how irritating it was. The only part that made my mood…
Read at the source