Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
_Bubassotto_
It seemed interesting at first, but ended up being just another empty and unimpressive anime. Sakugan had a premise that, at first glance, caught the eye: a charismatic visual style, a curious setting, and the promise of exploring a father-daughter relationship in a hostile world. It seemed like something more emotional, perhaps even intimate, would emerge within an adventure setting. But in practice, it took a very different, and much more generic, path.
Going through the three pillars:
The animation is, without a doubt, the strongest point. The anime has a vibrant visual style, with vivid colors and a design that tries to be expressive and light, especially in the interactions between the characters. The fluidity is consistent most of the time, and you can perceive a certain care in th…
Read at the sourceandiabrudan
Oy, Hollywood, you dropped this garbage on your way to the d̶u̶m̶p̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ cinema.
Sakugan must be the worst anime I've seen this year, and I've seen some big stinkers. Don't let the budget fool you, this thing is the equivalent of "The Acolyte" or "Madame Web". Good for it that it came out in 2021, cause it would be thorn to shreds today. To shreds, I say.
Where do I even begin with this? I guess we have to address the elephant in the room, so we'll start with the characters.
- Memenpu is one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever seen. Arrogant, dumb, extremely annoying and a Marry Sue to boot. I haven't seen a "Childcare" themed anime waste so much potential since Usagi Drop.
If you're expecting any heartfelt moments between father and daughter here, you're knocking at the wro…
Read at the sourcediet_koma
I like this show but I feel like it should've had more episodes, I'm not talking about a second season (even though it also needs that), I think season 1 should've been around 14-20 episodes. The first two or three episodes are well-paced and invest in Gaganber's and Memenpo's relationship as a parent and child who are complete opposites of each other. Still, by episode 6 it becomes clear this show moves too fast for the themes and ideas it presents. I do hope we get a second season but seeing as it's not too popular I kind of doubt we'll get one unless this show gets a sudden boom in popularity.
Read at the sourceheycoolbook
first of all, i wanna start stating the good:
the art direction:
i liked the mech designs, character designs, the characters that mattered really looked unic, you could telll a lot about their personalities just looking at them. And the world, seemed interesting to look at, but i prefered the outside locations rather than the cities, the cities were nice, but i feel the art direction shined more on the outside designs.
the animation:
it wasn't something that will knock your socks out, but it was a solid work throught out the 12 episodes. the mechs were 3D, but the nice 3D, it blended well enough with the 2D elements.
the soundtrack:
there were a couple of tracks i know i will add to my playlist that's for sure, the op and ed were meh tho (for me at least).
now, that the good it's out o…
Read at the sourcePyro81300
Y’know normally I’d start off a review sorta giving a brief talk about what the anime I’m reviewing is, but that’s the thing with Sakugan. Neither I nor the anime itself have a clear vision of what it wants to be. The things I can say that are in Sakugan are mecha, adventure, familial themes, commentary on corrupt governments, kaiju, mystery, drama, SoL, and more, but the anime itself never really keeps to one main idea and you often ask yourself “why is this even an element in the show in the first place? ⅓ of the eps might as well be filler, ⅓ are semi related to the overall plot but feel disorganized in execution and not well paced, and the last third actually being the main plot but are still wack in execution and pace and just have some questionable writing overall.
The main story st…
Read at the sourcebotaz
Characters:
Let us start strong, the characters, each of them are unique, have different personalities traits and flaws. They all represent something in the world. Most of them have certain values they try to fullfill. Voice acting is great and makes them seem like real people.
9/10.
Art:
The art is absolutely amazing, everything look alive and the art style is great. The only flaw, but that can be said about most of Mecha animes, are mech's themselves or maybe i just don't udnerstand how they should look like. I was in love in the art and it was one of the main reason for me to watch the anime. Fight animations aren't as good but, we don't see a lot of that.
9/10.
Sound:
The sound track is great it's not the best since it's repetetive, but over all it is enjoyable in it's moments. The…
Read at the sourceKosar42
Ignore the other crap reviews this is an anime worth watching. I hate how this site has a minimum word length for reviews. that one simple sentence encapsulates all I wanted or needed to say. Yet It cannot be post here because oh noes its too short. It doesn't dive into the op/ed soundtrack and how germane it is #whotheFKcares I'm here for the show not the introduction and ending music I skip whenever possible because I can't be bothered by the repeated waste of my time. Honestly who doesn't hit skip intro when watching say Netflix or click next episode, I apply the same manually to anime; when the intro starts i click 1:30 farther ahead and when the ending starts I click the next episode. Also this review doesn't criticize the animation, Its not top end nearly realistic and is far from be…
Read at the sourcesomecarrot
I felt like writing a review because I was genuinely disappointed by an anime for the first time in a long while, and while I have a lot to say, I'll *try* to keep it short.
I went in expecting something Made In Abyss esque, and the first episode did perpetuate that, a world wider than you can see with mysteries you will unturn. And then... well that was kinda it.
As the show progressed, you barely learned about the world and its characters. Mainly just the characters, which I found either pointless or annoying with the only exception being Gagumber. He's a genuine dude trying his best, he's seen the world and bases his decisions on experience. He's witty, charming, and enjoyable to see on screen. It's a shame that the focus is his daughter instead.
Memenpu is a child genius... who a…
Read at the sourceVaguelyweebish
Sakugan is an example that shows that no matter how good a story's worldbuilding mixed with top-tier production values is, good characterization is the absolute base necessity for it all to mesh together. After all, stories are supposed to be about PEOPLE; but Sakugan seems more concerned with smashing together as many cool elements as possible while doing the absolute bare minimum with character writing.
What's most disappointing about this series is that it had the potential to be the next mecha icon along with landmarks like Gundam and Gurren Lagann. The art and animation mixed with the jazzy, catchy soundtrack offer hours of splendor to drink in, and the mech designs are some of the most distinct and visually pleasing I've ever seen--particularly the series' unofficial face Big Tony.…
Read at the sourceren0080
Slight spoiler ahead. You have been warned.
This is one disappointing anime. It started off pretty promising with Gurren Lagann-esque feeling in it's first few episodes. But it quickly fell off because of how the direction of the story went.
It got too episodic with it's plot which is a turn-off for most people. It also didn't help that with each episode, every cast seems to revert back to their initial personality every time just for them to "develop" at the end of each episode. It makes the cast and their relationship feels fake and forced. It's not a very good way for episodic format.
Another one of this anime's problems is how inconsistent the narrative is. It also left off on a pretty lackluster end with how they f*cked up with their "mystery" aspect. Shouldn't have revealed everyth…
Read at the sourceAnimeEnjoyer420
Recommendation: An infuriating mess of a story that goes nowhere while pissing you off every step of the way with a horrendously unlikeable cast. This is the worst show that I watched in 2021. Contains spoilers for episode 1 and vague spoilers for the end of the series.
Story: Genius 9 year old Memempu dreams of a tower and venturing out of her colony as a Marker, someone that explores their dangerous underground world in a mech, to find it. Her father Gagumber tries to dissuade her, but ultimately realizes he's fighting a losing battle and goes along as her partner to protect her. Whatever promise you think this idea contains, I can assure you that the show wastes it. It goes off the rails early, with Memempu's friend Lynda and her dad Walsh being incinerated by a random kaiju literally…
Read at the sourcePyraXadon
I’d like to imagine that the boardroom meeting when deciding how to write this show went something along the lines of “But what if we did THIS thing too?” and the other members just shouted “Write that down! Write that down!” because it sounded like a good idea at the time.
Story:
In the underground world of the labyrinth exists different colonies that’re interconnected by the various tunnels that allow the people of the colonies to export goods and mingle with one another. In the colony of Pinyin lives a father and daughter named Gagamber and Memempu who help excavate the mines as a means to both make ends meet and contribute to the colony. But Memempu wants something more. After discovering a secret stone that might lead to a tower that she’s repeatedly seen in her dreams, Memempu trie…
Read at the sourceHeadcanonCultist
SAKUGAN IS A COMEDY
SAKUGAN IS A COMEDY
I REPEAT: SAKUGAN IS A COMEDY FIRST AND FOREMOST.
And a rather funny one at that.
The first couple of episodes are misleading. This is not a Made in Abyss clone, it's a wacky adventure show with a distinctive "Satelight" vibe. Gagumber, Memempu, & Co. spend most of the show traveling between colonies and clowning on one another; the kaiju are largely a non-factor. Don't hate it for what it isn't. Enjoy it for what it is.
Yes, the main plot is stupid. No, you aren't supposed to take it seriously. Just turn your brain off and laugh.
Read at the sourceSanaeK10
If there's one thing I hate, it's "Read the Novel!" endings. Especially so considering this is from a competition where the winning novel would have been animated, so you'd expect at least the production committee to fully animate the damned thing. At the time of this writing, no sequel season to Sakugan has been announced, so I am gonna dock it for not bothering to end conclusively.
That said, even taken as it is, ignoring all the plot elements, Sakugan is still a blast. The show is largely an episodic romp/road trip through various locales with a dad-daughter tag team plus two extra party members who join later on, and it is a fun time. Even the penultimate episode is set up like a regular episode of the show, and the mini adventures Gagumba and Memenpu find themselves in are always a…
Read at the sourceSpirit_Chaser
Sakugan feels like you could watch the first and last episode and not miss a thing because the middle was so meaningless and terrible. It showed promise as being a great emotional journey through mysterious underworlds towards a strange land, and the fun and comedic dynamic of a father daughter duo. Instead, it's silly and bland adventures and a story with not just so many things left unexplained, but meaningless villains that make strange decision that take away any kind of stakes or risks.
After a strong first episode it felt like the staff gave up and the series would consistently decline after that. The world building was there, you could say, but it wasn't explored or shown as good as in the first episode as the cast didn't do much wherever they went besides blowing things up and con…
Read at the sourcePurpleMagic
Oh Sakugan, you had a promising first episode and then you slowly dissented into an absolute mess. The show started off with a cute drama filled father-daughter dynamic. It had a simple goal of a Memempu finding the place of her dreams. Then it started adding new characters with wacky comedic hijinks. It became more of journey type show where the team go to one location, something really bad happens, and in the next episode they'd briefly mention it and move on. The show got more and more predictable plots and kept delivering stagnate humor. IDK how else to explain it, the show a boring mess with missed potential. Watch if you want but your not going to get that same delicious taste as in the first episode.
Read at the sourceIceman598
I'm going to introduce you to one of the most boring anime of this season: Sakugan.
But before we go into explaining what makes this anime so boring, we need to first present the positives.
Already, the first episode and in particular a certain moment really hyped me.
The sequel could be great, and following the fragile relationship between a father and daughter during this adventure promised drama. I also suspected the presence of "comedy" in the work in particular present in the rivalry between father and daughter which is the central element of the story.
But despite its promises, from episode 2 the anime was already starting to lose its interest, the characters do every episode, things having nothing to do with the story and one wonders what is the main plot. We also follow at one poi…
Read at the sourcedeku1997
The show started off strong with an interesting premise and fell completely flat once I realized the writers don’t know what the meaning of character development is. Memempu starts tolerable, quickly turns to unbearable and stays firmly planted in that region throughout the show. Gagumber is barely any better and his dynamic with Memempu is horrendously annoying. It gets no better throughout the season. I only gave it a five because other than hating how the two of them interact the show still had some promise and hopefully season 2 shows us some massive changes to the characters. The other side characters are aight, but nobody is fantastic.
Read at the sourceStark700
Sakugan, is sort of an anomaly, as in the type of show that takes off on an unique adventure in a science fiction realm. It's also unique in that the anime is based from a story contest novel that ultimately became what we see today. From the science fiction category, Sakugan is really something an underrated gem I don't see people talk about much this year.
At first glance, the premise doesn't sound too special and seems like something anyone could come up with. A science fiction adventure usually depends on characters that are worth investing into and an imaginative setting. Memenpu and Gagumber are two characters that exmplify the daughter-father relationship in fictional stories. Both of them clearly cares for each other but aren't always on the same page. For someone her age, Memenpu…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
In order to understand what Sakugan: Labyrinth Marker a.k.a Sacks&Guns!! is all about, we need to know the origin story of how it's all conceived: Project ANIMA. This is a large-scale project in which DeNA's MangaBox, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Sotsu Co. Ltd., and MBS (Mainichi Broadcasting System) jointly produce 3 original TV anime series made respectively by studios Satelight, J.C.Staff and Doga Kobo, written by the general public in 3 categories: Science-Fiction/Robot, Alternate World/Fantasy and Kids/Game (you can see the respective studio-genre correlation) that's judged by the various Project ANIMA teams, to help discover hidden talent and help propel the anime industry forward.
This is the first of 3 Project ANIMA works, and is an adaptation of Nekotarou Inui's Sakugan Labyrint…
Read at the source