Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ToxicRock
Not going to act like I was paying the utmost attention to the show. I am even watching it right now as I watch this but holy frickin heck is this anime bad. The animation is great and the fight scenes are top tier even now. The first opening and ending are some of the best I have ever heard but the story is fuckin awful and wish washy and all over the place they don't explain it till later if at all so you're just sitting their guessing. Characters are absolute trash they feel like they're trying to be deep and dark but it's for the most random reasons ever
Read at the sourcewlitsch
I don't want to rehash what other reviewers who found this anime wanting had to say. They were mostly right. It's a random mishmash of anime tropes and doesn't know what it wants to be. That mish mash is mostly an unintelligible admixture of Nauscaa Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Eureka Seven.
As a person who considers themselves an ecologist in spirit, a scientist by profession, and an advocate for human rights by hobby I must say that the morals of this show are as mishmashed illogical nonsense as the rest of it. I feel sorry for the children that might "learn" something from it.
There is a bunch of self righteous talk of treating the xam'd or hiruko parasite like a human with human rights, despite it having no intelligence whatsoever, but in actually fact all those who s…
Read at the sourceZergneedsfood
On a ship headed for unknown destinations, cast against ethereal clouds and a violet sunrise, a raven haired beauty reads aloud. Her voice echoes with a mixture of sobriety and apathy. Behind its ostentatious opening and impressive spectacles, it is this somber tone that reveals Bounen no Xam'd's profound humanistic elements and its trust in the resilience of the human spirit.
For Xam'd, the destination is often as important as the journey itself. While its story begins in the independent civilian center, Sentan Island, Xam'd brings our characters to foreign lands and war ravaged towns, cities turned into industrial waste and forest of stone creatures. Even without explanation, Xam'd's imagery brings to mind a very visceral illustration of the world our characters traverse, and manages to…
Read at the sourceap1001
What did I just watch?
Bounen no Xamdou is one of those show where you watch it to the end hypnotized by the pretty visuals and then when it finished you realize you have no idea what the hell the entire thing was about.
I have to check two wikis to get a rough understanding of the plot, cause BONES suck at exposition and thought cryptic means good. The only thing I got was confusion out of the entire thing.
Story - ?
The story is about a war between two countries with one having some organic weapon cult thingy? I think? The reason I say this is because the entire show can't seem to decide what it want to be, at first it seems like a story about a young man dealing with the fact he became a monster-thingy and need to learn to control it, but then there is this weird cult and war thing…
Read at the sourceguhthix
Do you want to experience a very deep story with good romance, drama, action as well as art along with exceptional characters? then, this anime is for you.
Presenting you a masterpiece by the creator of Eureka Seven
Story (9/10):Its about a boy who goes into a misadventure without his own will. a story about the extent of the bond called friendship, and he troubles he faces in order to survive. the story was Dark, but it was pleasant. there were times when you actually laugh and actually cry. i found the story quite realistic. the anime explains all the emotions that a person may experience when they are in a bind, which includes from jealousy to fear. the spoiler of the ending is explained below if you are interested to know how it all ends. Incase you dont understand what happened ( wil…
Read at the sourceerickpaini
It's a great work.
At first I even thought about stopping to watch, but when the story began to develop I was very surprised.
The story has totally changed direction and characters that at first seem unimportant, began to gain ground and become very important for the work.
The OST is very good, especially the opening.
The art itself did not please me much, but it did not spoil the anime.
I recommend this anime to everyone, it really is an anime that is worth watching.
Read at the sourceexplicit707
Bounen no Xamdou is one of those series that took me by surprise. It was on my to watch list for a while, and I really trudged my way through a few misses before I found this one. It's hard to get a gist for what you're going to see by reading a synopsis, because it is a character driven story from start to finish. The overall story isn't bad, but it's really about the people in the story and their relationships with eachother. I was impressed, and it had a satisfying ending as well. Definitely this was a great series.
It starts our looking like your stereotypical mecha, post war, children of war, superpowered series. I thought I was in for the same song and dance I've seen over and over again. I was surprised to find that this wasn't the case. After the main character is wisped away and…
Read at the sourcedomofication
“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose" (Kevin Arnold).
Beneath the romantics, action, and tragedy in Xam'd lies a simple message: the importance of identity, which is perhaps one's most treasured possession. Memories, friendships, relationships, and the power of a name are all components tied into one's identity, which Xam'd examines closely.
Story - 7
This was, unfortunately, the most acknowledged fatal flaw in Xam'd that prevented this artwork from being a masterpiece. While it was original, creative, and innovative, the writers made the plot overly complex, creating too many complicated technicalities, making the story difficult to follow and comprehend. However, the general concepts of the plot were understandab…
Read at the sourceNeverKnowsBest26
Xam'd: Lost Memories is a sprawling fantasy from acclaimed animation studio Bones. In the tradition of the grand adventures like Full Metal Alchemist and Eureka Seven; Xam'd creates a vast fantasy world, complete with a big cast of characters and an intricate mythos. It also touches on themes of identity and the tole of war. Xam'd tries to accomplish a lot, in fact maybe too much for its 26 episodes, as the show becomes uneven as it reaches its conclusion. Despite this, Xam'd is certainly worth taking a look at.
The story takes place in a world in conflict. There is a war between the Northern Empire and the free lands in the South. However, the war is far from high school student Akiyuki Takehara's mind, as his home Sentan Island has remained tranquil. That is until a sudden attack thrust…
Read at the sourceSanders_Man772
From the get go, when I started watching Xam'd, I thought of Howl's moving castle. Other who have watched this I'm sorry if you disagree with me, but the graphics, animation, fantasy story seemed so similar. Of course two different kind of stories, but I insist if you liked Howl's moving castle and its animation and its emotional journey and climb...You will like Xam'd :)
okay talking about the my scoring...
The story was amazing, I didn't think there was any unnecessary episodes that seemed like a filler you would see in many anime series. The story personally took me a while to understand what is going on in this "world" but once I understood what was happening I fell in love with how the story took off :) For me since now I understand what is going on, a second time watching it will pr…
Read at the sourceNvrtry
"Everyday I wake up thinking it'll be okay. 'Cause you promised me that, you'd come back some day. My heart is throbbing but I will wait. And I'll strive... to stay strong..."
Try as I might, I cannot think of a song that matches the content of a series better than the first ED of Xam'd: Lost Memories. If you wanted to, you could probably put these lyrics as the synopsis of the series and have it hold the same effect as the current.
Xam'd is not a series that everyone will enjoy. At first glance, it would appear to be another action series that people watch to see intense fight scenes and fast pacing. While the action scenes that are included are displayed beautifully, this is not what I, or anyone else, should classify as any other action-adventure. If that is what you are looking for,…
Read at the sourceGang_Orca
This show is the prime example of why the points scale for ratings on this site will never be able to reliably encompass the opinions of raters. The show has really good art and sound and for people that watch a lot of anime its hard to give shows like this poor average or poor ratings. You just see too much crap art to demean a show that goes the extra mile in the aesthetics department, But the plot is fundamentally flawed and stories make the show, no getting around it.
Most negative reviews point out cliche stuff like shallow character development and poorly thought out ending but this show just, ugh, it's just not right. The story's attentions is to diluted. Following characters for long periods that don't effect or convey the themes efficiently. There are a lot of flat out unnecessary…
Read at the sourceLooseshooter
I just finished watching this anime through the second time, and it has great replay value. The story is very intricate and interconnected so don't expect to grasp all of it the first time through, but the overall messages and themes are impressively powerful. It's got action, don't worry. Lots.
I suppose I'll start with the story first, STORY:
The beginning of the series is very focused on a few characters, and slowly branches out to include more and more characters in the plot until towards the end all of the characters are being covered but the focus is where it should be. Things start rather slow I think in the beginning, but the other elements really hold it together and make it worth sticking around for. I don't think many people will fully understand the resolution, so the tip I ca…
Read at the sourcesupermario23
This series reminds me of a very elegant and beautiful mansion on the hillside. A most grandiose house amidst the whole perfect ambiance of the forest surrounding it. But, as you venture inside, you find the whole house empty. No residents, furniture scattered around, walls tattered, curtains ripped...there isn't even a single rat scattering about. You are then filled with grave disappointment as you realize that with just the right amount of good care it could have been the best sight you could have ever seen.
Xam'd Lost Memories is just this. It delivers very well on the aesthetics, but it tries too hard to deliver its plot that it ultimately falls flat on its face. This is disappointing, especially coming from BONES which is one of the production studios I respect(along with Production…
Read at the sourceSplitter
Xam'd: Lost Memories starts with gorgeous visuals and a great score, a staple of any good Bones anime, but Eureka Seven this is not. Rather Xam'd feels so confident in itself that it forgets how to tell its story, and what the viewer is left with is a hodgepodge of plot devices, sudden character and relationship development, and twists that run on no backing whatsoever except that we didn't see it coming. There's only two judgments that can be made from Xam'd: Either it was planned as a 50 episode series or they made it up as they went along.
These aren't judgments I make lightly either. Characterization is a huge point to be made here. So focused this anime started with its characters with enigmatic pasts and unspecified mysterious connections, but some of these pasts aren't even explain…
Read at the sourceBarnacleBlister
In order to watch this show, just sit back and take in the visuals. Don't concern yourself with the plot or characters otherwise you'll have nothing to hold onto.
This is a tremendously creative series set in an intriguing world with beautiful animation. Unfortunately, nothing about the story or characters even comes close to matching the show's outward beauty.
This isn't a boring show; it constantly shows the viewer new locations, characters, confrontations. Locales include a pleasant island community, Himalayanesque mountains, and much more sumptuous scenery. Character designs are all equally creative from the military uniforms to the Zanbani's rag-tag crew to the various culture's depicted. "Xam'd" also earns points from me for some of the most creative monster designs I seen. Every…
Read at the sourceyumedarling
What a disappointment. I expected a lot out of this show as it was done by BONES but it definitely falls apart at a certain point in the series.
There were a lot of things that were done well in the show. The animation was quite beautiful and remained at a high quality all throughout. The music worked although they repeated some themes one too many times. The OP is pretty nice although I think others are better. The concepts they introduced in the first half of the series were quite interesting as well.
But a ton of problems arose as the series went on. The characterization was shallow, and this was surprising coming from BONES. Even at the end of the series, it's hard to sympathize with any of the main characters. The presentation was dramatic without being able to create any drama bec…
Read at the sourcekurisui
I was very excited to see Xam'd, Bones is my all time animation studio and I was looking forward to something amazing.
The Animation was some of the best I have seen for a very long time, and did not disappoint.
The story on the other hand I have a hard time liking, there was a enough substance to keep me watching till the end, but after it was over, and the initial flare from the ending had left me (as quickly as it had arrived) I realized I was deeply dissatisfied with the whole thing. It felt like the most of the anime was very nice story related filler, with no substance, adding very little to the characters, even though if felt like it was trying to. The ending left with little to no closure. There was a mixture of happiness, sadness, confusion, and a deep sense of being cheated out…
Read at the sourceagentsmith
As many people have already said, this anime is produced by the same people who brought you Eureka 7. Keep that in mind if you plan on watching this anime.
First off, check out the OP. Holy jebus it's sweet. Catches you instantly, and gets you all excited for what looks (judging from the animation quality) an awesome show. In some respects, this is a let down. While the animation is superb, the soundtrack is hauntingly good, and the characters are generally quite fleshed out (just enough info for you to find them interesting)... the story is near random. This anime seems confused as to what it's trying to say. On the one hand, we are basically following Akiyuki on his journey becoming a Xam'd, which is done quite well in terms of painting a comprehensive picture of the trials he endures.…
Read at the sourcedbaranyi
Well, "Bounen no Xamdou", aka "Xam'd Lost Memories", aka "Why the F**k Do We Need a Story?" has finally finished. In one sense I must admit that the final episode was consistent with the rest of the anime; and I mean that in the most damning sense because the entire series was without substance. Let me be a bit clearer - the original TV ending to "EVA" was significantly more imaginative, original and meaningful when compared to the ending of Xamdou.
I don't really care how much effort and money was spent on the animation - Xamdou failed terribly as a story. We were never given any inkling of why there was a war, why there were competing apocalyptical forces at work, what the "Emperor" was, why the audience was supposed to empathize with terrorists, and worst of all, why so many characters…
Read at the source