Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Allagowf
Evil exists, this is a fact ...
Children of the Whales is simply a stupide tragedy with superficial characters, seeing their friends and family killed in front of them, and they simply keep calling for peace and they do their best to not revenge, I really hate when the creators try to show that humans should not treat violence with violence, these fake morals made me want to vomit.
Protecting your beloved once is something I will consider one of the Holy morals. Being weak and uncapable of protecting your family and being happy with it should not be promoted at all.
Of course, in our developed world there are police and army to protect and apply rules so they will judge evil, but in a savage world like the Children of the Whales, it's just showing how fake the writer is.
Read at the sourceInter_anime
"Children of the Whales" or "Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau" is a precellular anime, it has an interesting premise, complex world-building, and decent animation, yet despite all that it constantly felt as if it was coming up short. Depending on what you like in a show, this anime might either be really enjoyable for you or not enjoyable at all.
One thing that is really appealing about Children of the Whales is its setting and world-building, it's hard to explain without giving too much away, but there's this whole complex story of this sea of sand with various islands called "whales" with the inhabitants on them being divided between those who have special power and those that don't. For each society there is a different drawback to having these powers called "thymia", for the protagonis…
Read at the sourcefrozenpancake
I'm actually shocked to see so many people dismiss this show as just a "pretty looking anime" with little substance-- or at least, from the skews of negative reviews, that's the interpretation I got.
In my opinion, this is an amazing show, especially if you're a Hayao Miyazaki fan. From the absolutely stunning production value to the mesmerizing music to the soft-spoken narrative, it's the quintessential Ghibli-esque experience you can ask for in an anime. The key difference, I would argue, is that Children of the Whales is a very sad tale-- quite possibly a tragedy if you look at it in a certain way, where it offers more mature and dark themes than Miyazaki's work. Basically, Children of the Whales' atmosphere is comparable to Miyazaki, but the takeaway message is not.
This anime was a…
Read at the source2life
This anime is so unique it could be one of a kind
Not really anime, not really Chinese cartoon, this story sail between being weird and great. Children of the Whales is a story which could not be for anyone. It appeals and please quite a niche group of people. Nevertheless it did really please me with its unique story and world.
§§§§ STORY §§§§
So I cant really go deep in the story without spoiling it so I won’t. That would lessen the fun of watching it yourself. Children of the Whales is told form the perspective of Chakuro who occasionally narrates some of his thoughts. It gives the feeling like you’re being told an tale or good story by the mc himself. For just 12 episodes this anime feels deep and convinces me that there is a lot of lore behind the real storyline. They have funerals,…
Read at the sourceraisin-kun
I am in despair. For the first time in a long time I am actually sad that an anime has gone this poorly. I had hopes that Children of Whales (KujiKora for short) could be a little gem of an anime. JC Staff are an animation studio that have probably been the most consistent studio in all of Japan and have given us some incredible classics like Nodame and Hachimitsu as well as some great contemporary works like Sakurasou and Raildex. I had hope that this anime would be able to join their echelons. Fantasy is a genre that I have hardly explored but this show had so much promise to introduce to me a whole new, wonderful world with a smooth, slow, purposeful story that took you in with beautiful imagery and charming characters. That was my hope. And it was shattered.
WARNING: DUE TO THE NATUR…
Read at the sourceBanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)
Whales are intelligent, majestic creatures. Rulers of the sea by size and by power.
In comparison, Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau has no size. It has no power.
All it really rules over is the bottom of the ocean – right where it belongs.
STORY
Credit where credit is due: Kujira no Kora (as it will be shortened to from here on out) contains a neat premise what with its expanse of sand, an inexplicable titan, and the cultural norms it creates. It at least has the footing necessary to get the ball rolling (or, in this case, get the “boat” rowing).
But as a narrative, as a story, this whole venture sinks rather than swims.
Major issues reveal themselves swiftly and without remorse. For instance, the bad guys hav…
Read at the sourceSethlWhitaker
One must truly understand, to a profound degree, the duality of the nature of life to fully appreciate this anime and all it has to offer this world. If this is you, as it is me, then this will likely become your favorite anime. I sincerely hope it comes back for a second season, though certainly not at the expense of the delivery of its message. Truly a masterpiece, as it stands.
There is nothing more that needs to be said.
Though when I hit submit it says; "Please enter a longer review"
So I'll repeat; There is nothing more that needs to be said.
Read at the sourcediomenes666
Beautiful art, intersting story, some cool characters, AN AWESOME OP¡¡¡¡¡ i love it, the guitar was epic sad and happy at same time...it feels so good.
the story is so fast and good until chap 10 then ...it feels incomplete, this anime needs a second season
the art is colorfull pretty well done, not astonish but feels so warm
the sound is decent, but the OP is lovely
the characters, well need more time to learn about them, this is the weak point
I rate 7 because the lack of development of some characters and the incomplete story...maybe after another season it will get an 8.
Is not a masterpice, is not so original, but it´s decent whit nice art and a cool vibe.
my favorite character....maybe SAMI ...you know after chapter 2....
whats the worst...well maybe the bad guys ...they dont f…
Read at the sourcesamara261
Going through the reviews, the major complaint seems to be the complete lack of romantic relationships and the hardly fleshed out characters. While there is indeed much to be desired, the anime does not pretend to be about either of these things.
In a word of magic and gifted children who are ruled by elders without similar abilities, Children of the Whales does not pretend to be about childish friendships or silly moments growing up. Instead, they dive right in with a character who is misinformed yet eager for proper answers. And a system set up to ensure he is constantly shielded from them.
The anime is gripping, not only because the bright colours (might I add here that each character on the Mud Whale is named after Japanese colours) contrast almost sickeningly to the content, or tha…
Read at the sourcesimonyib
I believe that this is a great anime, with some of the most spectacular visuals and fantastic musical elements I have seen and heard in a while, coupled with a story that will get you hooked in from the first episode.
While my opinion of the visuals and the music is shared by others, the storyline seems to have received a lot of unjustified, in my opinion at least, criticisms. This is where I would like to do the show some justice.
This anime is the tale of the descendants of a group of people who refused to become the mindless puppets of a central authority. For this, they were banished from their homeland, and sent into a prison they could not possibly escape. What is more, their rebellion against the central power has been demonized in the historybooks of the mainland, where they are…
Read at the sourceTyrannicswine117
Warning possible Spoilers
Children of the Whales was incredibly close to being dropped from me, it starts off poorly and yet it somehow manages to make me watch it till the very end. This is thanks to a alright yet very familiar story.
Story (6/10)
The story concentrates on the people of the Mud Whale, an island drifting an ocean of sand. They discover a girl who turns the whole world of the Mud Whale upside down.
The first two episodes really didn't do much for me and almost made me consider dropping this show, the artstyle, music and the world of the Mud Whale itself had me interested. The characters were the main problem, they were just bland as hell, thankfully the ending of episode 2 kept me on board and I don't regret it too much.
Episode 3 and beyond changed everything, it's deve…
Read at the sourceLacePendragon
Children of the Whales was a beautiful, soft story about discovery, loss, and magic. While a great deal was never explained outright, enough was explained that I felt moved by the story, and Chakuro and his friends were brilliant characters that I was rooting for the entire time.
The colours and lighting in this show are part of what makes it so good. It's a very emotional story that relies on silence, emotional beats, and what is left unsaid, but it works rather well. Not only that, but the concept of the magic, as well as what it does to the people of the Mud Whale, was incredibly unique and something I enjoyed watching and seeing.
And I will freely admit that Ouni is one of my favourite characters in the entire thing. Really hoping we get a second season for this.
Read at the sourceDarynlxm
This anime is the definition of "Trying too hard."
Lets start with the story: On the surface its actually a decent concept. In fact, if there was more world to explore it could be quite enjoyable. Instead, the first two episodes are 25 minute expositions that end up doing nothing for the story overall.
From that point on the story attempts to pull heart-strings by delving into the debate of logic vs. emotion, and exploiting the death of children to really drive home the point of how gut-wrenching the story is.
All in all the story ends up going nowhere while attempting to paint itself as some kind of amazing piece of art. In short: skip this anime if you can. Its not worth it.
Art; I will say that I did enjoy the background art. I do enjoy a unique look, but its completely thrown o…
Read at the sourcewyrdnemesis
I am quite new to reviewing anime series, although I am certainly not new to watching them. I will try to write a brief review that does not divulge anything essential. I was intrigued by the dystopian promise of this series (other reviewers have called the series "utopian," but "dystopia," I think, describes better the world the anime presents). The main problem for me at this point (Season 1 being over) appears to be twofold: 1) the series does not handle well the emotional excess it piles up rather quickly and all too abruptly and, as a result, often blends melodrama with bizarre farce that seems quite out of place; 2) The changes in plot direction are too sudden, leading to patchy characterization and to some alarming inability to make characters find/fit their environment. At best, it…
Read at the sourceHarucchan
Kujira No Kora is beautiful anime in all senses! I realize not everyone will like, because it’s quite a sensitive story; it’s that kind of story which leaves you, at the end, with lots of tears. The story is quite interesting too – it’s filled with a magical world and mysteries; so, I’m sure if you start watching it, you’ll end up watching all episodes in a row, considering how much addictive the show is. I need to be sincere with you guys: the show is really interesting, but the story has some inconsistencies; it’s a shoujo show, but, as far as I’m concerned it ends up being too shoujo – to the point where the story becomes unrealistic, at times, because the show follows rigorously the “shoujo criteria”. Everything said, you’ll love the show, so don’t hold back and just watch it right awa…
Read at the sourceFuegoIndigo
Imagine you are walking up a staircase of your memories and on top of those stairs lies the exit to real life. There are many memories that you wish you forgot, there are those that are bittersweet, funny, ridiculous; an amalgam of emotions and thoughts. You are going on a journey of enlightenment with patience and endurance for whatever comes in the way. Suddenly, the staircase ends and you are not even close to the surface. You start pondering whether your quest of reaching the top was fruitful or completely for naught. You consider waiting for the rest of the staircase to appear and keep on the manner with which you started. However, you realize that no matter how much you wait, you will never escape. That is my impression of Children of the Whales in a nutshell.
It is rare that I find…
Read at the source-HippySnob-
A bizarre world building ended a tragic and epitome of disjointed plot
As referring set of tragedy events behind the story which lies under the beneath catalyst breach of such unspoken some more less detail never detain an interior crappy edgy tone vibes.
In depths between an example of Dante's Comedy but with a common poison
A structure which bases on an imagining contents in a form of writing directs
unnecessary gibberish drawn out of context grandiose tale without based to the point of existentialism behind the drastic factual and careful disregarded recyclable setting. Not only it has a shallow mediocre material, but tells neutral status rather than taking some components on every aspects that depicts on a massive downgrade fantasy series. Such as political struggling issues on the…
Read at the sourceNotAnElk
Children of the Mud Whale is a beautiful show with an interesting world that is a complete waste of time. Most of us watched it for the pretty background art and fascinating concept, but it fails miserably to deliver on these.
Story: 3
3 is a bit generous and is there solely because of 1) a death early on that caught me by surprise, and 2) the world building. Mud Whale has an interesting world, with whale/ships powered by grotesque monstrosities on a sand ocean. There's an evil empire and other kingdoms scattered around, it all seems like it should be really entertaining but it just isn't. The direction is awful, it feels like they didn't take their episode numbers into account at all. A third party that intends to ally with the Mud Whale shows up at random in one episode and just hangs o…
Read at the sourceEnZanity
If you asked anyone to describe Children of the Whales, they would probably call it a tragedy. The people that enjoyed it would say it’s a heartbreaking tragedy filled with death and agony, a show packed with emotion. The people that disliked it would call it a tragedy in a more literal sense, and personally I agree with them. With boring and unexplored characters, predictable and badly paced drama, and a dollop of plot armour to top it all off, Children of the Whales manages to mess up almost every part of what could have made it an interesting watch.
Our MC for the show Chakuro feels like a misplaced side character given a slight power boost. He doesn’t do much but survive the whole ordeal and worry about everything, making him completely irrelevant to the story. Our converted enemy Lyk…
Read at the sourceStark700
Watching shoujo fantasy adventures these days feels like taking a dive into a video game world. When Kujira no Kora Wa Sujou ni Utau (Children of the Whales) began airing, I had a strange instinct about the show. It felt like an anime that really wanted us to really embrace its ideas but fell short on capitalizing on all of them.
Created by Abi Umeda, few people probably heard of the author’s name. Taking a close look at their resume, some of their work consists of horror genre series. Crafting a shoujo fantasy adventure sounded like a challenge. However, I will say this: the author decided to mold a variety of themes together that felt different from some of the other shoujo fantasy series I’ve seen in the past. To be clear, I think this show is suited for an audience beyond just the fem…
Read at the source