Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Kaziki
This had so much potential, I was amazed by the first few episodes I couldn't believe this was a work by Kyoani when I was watching the first few episodes until I looked it up,
The characters were eccentric yet grounded and relatable, I didn't mind when it was kind of "invention of the week" type of thing for a few episodes, I didn't mind the BL bait, I didn't mind the generic romance but the more episodes you watch the more you realize this is indeed a work by Kyoani, and Kyoani always do what they do best, they recycle the same character writing and plot of their previous successful anime from the past, they did not improve past their 2010's level of writing because towards the second half all the characters become not even one dimensional but rather parodies of themselves especially Yos…
Read at the sourcezozozee
The animation is nothing short of stunning, with fluid action sequences and breathtakingly detailed backgrounds that bring its world to life. It's a true feast for the eyes in every single frame. The brilliant fusion of steampunk aesthetics— gears, airships, and steam— with a deeply sinister and ominous undercurrent creates a world that is as captivating as it is terrifying. You feel a constant sense of dread beneath the beautiful machinery.
Their personal struggles and intertwined storylines are compelling and emotionally resonant, making you deeply invested in their journey. They aren't just pawns in a plot; their motivations feel real and drive the narrative forward. But the character that I was most intrigued by has to be the show's antagonist, Yosuke. He is a genuinely intriguing fig…
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
Man, you have no idea how much I wanted to enjoy this show. Look, historical fiction has always been one of my personal favorite anime genres. So many of my favorite anime of all time are historical fiction stories, whether they be adaptations of Western children's books or manga/light novels. Sparks of Tomorrow's premise alone sounded really interesting to me, and with this being a KyoAni project finally seeing the light of day after that awful arson attack, why wouldn't I want it and the staff behind it to succeed? I'll repeat this until the day I die, I NEVER go into something wanting to hate it. I really wanted to enjoy Sparks of Tomorrow, as it has all the ingredients for what could have been something good. Not perfect, but fairly nice if it played its cards right. However, in light…
Read at the sourceJonnay
Sparks of Tomorrow is an anime series from the globohomo streaming service Netflix.
Every single male character alludes to homosexuality in one way or another, either by looking and/or acting effeminately or by making decisions that only make sense from the perspective of a homosexual.
Here's a list of all the male characters ranked from the least to the most gay:
Kihachi - The protagonist
Is afraid of the dark and will bitch and moan about it every chance he gets.
Dresses up as a woman and dances with another guy.
Despite being a show about gays, the protagonist is somehow the least gay of them all - mainly because he is the only one to display a genuine interest in the opposite sex.
Sakon & Ukon - The couple
These are two minor characters who serve no other purpose than being an open…
Read at the sourcemarioink508
Completed - 6.00
It’s not often a Kyoto Animation series ends up feeling this disappointing and inconsistent—yet here we are with Sparks of Tomorrow. That’s a hard thing to say, given how long I’ve been looking forward to it—its early episodes alone, unpolished as they were in pacing, still carried the kind of refreshing character expression KyoAni is known for, promising something worth sticking around for. Though, even with its compelling world and premise, Sparks of Tomorrow turned out to be one of Summer 2026’s weakest entries. You never quite know what’s going to happen, and it’s not the tense, deliberate kind of unknown either—instead, everything in this series is constantly competing for the spotlight, with no clear priority. It lacks, almost entirely, any coherent shape, steadily…
Read at the sourceDollacarti
A beautiful idea with a creative story that... unfortunately, ends up disappointing due to the plot.
"Sparks of Nowhere" or "Seiroku's Harem" would be more fitting titles, but one is capable of enjoying the work anyway, anyhow.
STORY: 5/10 — A unique concept that surprises the viewer right from the start! Everything is incredible in the early episodes, and every new detail holds promise—you get the feeling the story is about to take off at any moment... but it never does. The series promises a lot but delivers little; the closer you get to the end, the more the narrative feels stagnant. There are no BIG revelations at all and only a single plot line is presented. By the time the anime concludes, that spark of electricity hasn't actually taken the characters anywhere; aside from the bonds…
Read at the sourceSSJester
Looking around, I conclude that Kihachi and Yosuke managed to bring Seiroku's dream to life. We live in the era of electricity, which never ceases to delight us with new wonders. But seriously, the anime Sparks of Tomorrow is a pretty standard journey to a dream story. And thanks to the diverse characters, we can see the different paths people can choose.
Personally, I liked this anime. The visuals are very beautiful, and the cute or goofy faces added a special charm to this art style. As for the plot, chances are you've seen stories like this more than once, so if you're looking for something brand new, this anime is hardly for you. But for me personally, the small dose of absurdity in both the story and the animation of this title made me give it an 8 instead of a 7.
Unfortunately, I c…
Read at the sourceSakusSaku
If I had to give this review a title, it would be: "Good Animation, Interesting Basic Premise, but Poorly Executed."
This series is a clear example to me that an anime can have good animation and great OSTs, but if the narrative structure and basic coherence aren't there, it simply doesn't work for me.
The way this series operates is strange and often grotesque, and it never really managed to inspire much in me. In my eyes, the characters and their development lack narrative consistency. This anime simply cannot be taken seriously.
Out of everything I watched this Summer 2026 season, this was the worst anime for me in terms of overall experience.
I managed to stay motivated until the end mainly because I didn't want to leave a friend alone to suffer through it, and also because I wante…
Read at the sourceSigmar-Unberogen
Biggest disappointment of the season.
When it comes to the positives, animation is literally the only thing that comes to mind.
Nothing else stands out. Not even OST (with the exception of OP/ED maybe).
When it comes to the story, we have: One dimensional, irritating characters. Cartoonish, obnoxious antagonist. One of the laziest writing in a while - Coincidence after coincidence to drive the plot forward (like stumbling upon a random person who happens to know MC's brother; or suddenly tripping and unlocking a secret touch-panel on the wall!!!). Obsession with male butt, shoved in your face as fanservice for some reason. Forgettable, filler episodes. 0 romance, unless gay. Decisions and events that make absolutely zero sense but happen anyways.
Not to mention, author of the source ma…
Read at the sourceVanVeleca
My first thought upon finishing this was "That's it? That was just a bunch of empty sakuga!"
It looks good, that's it.
It could've been more, but then it delivers such a massively disappointing end that makes everything from before feel so useless, and it's not done on purpose or anything, the ending is supposed to be hopeful but it left me with despair.
What. The fuck. Was that ending???
I don't like making spoilery reviews so I won't go into too deep detail, but oh my god seriously that last episode was some straight BULLSHIT that just left a bitter taste in my mouth. It's like- constant build up and then it just drops the ball right on your foot.
If you decide to watch this, genuinely turn your brain off and just enjoy the visuals. It's a much better watch this way. In fact, chan…
Read at the sourcesoraand
i enjoyed so much and we need 3 more seasons it was so cute i love the animation and the voice acting and they are so cute i loved everything<3 SEASON 2 PLEASEEEEEEEEEE
Very unique story very unique animation and people hating but I DONT CARE i love this half raw animation makes me feel so happy! i binged the first 10 episodes and been waiting every sunday for a new episode to come out and it never made me feel disappointed. I know for sure they can improve in the second season so pleaseeee make it happen
also can this website finally get a damn update why must i type a damn essay I JUST WANNA WRITE I BRIEF REVIEW FOR OTHERS AND MYSELF! just like i dont wanna be reading a 2 pages review why cant i damn write just a yes its worth it and good and u should totally watch it type of review "…
Read at the sourcescarykitty84
Keeping this short...
This anime looks and feels amazing, but it just lacks a compelling story. Other than how beautiful everything is there's nothing really that special about it. The entire tension of the plot is that there's just one rich dickhead who's screwing everything up for everyone around him by being a complete psychopath because he can't get over his friend's (or maybe love interest's if we're being real here) death. Like honestly this whole storyline could have been solved by a few good therapy sessions.
Which kind of sucks because everything about this show other than the actual storyline is really really well done. Everything audio/visual is superb, the characters feel real and the voice acting is great... it really feels like a big budget cinematic extravaganza, but in th…
Read at the sourceIoremIpsum12
The first thing that deserves appreciation about this series is the animation. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, and the way the animators depict the backgrounds in this series is seriously impressive.
Now, let’s get into the really bad part of this anime: the story.
Honestly, I don't have a problem with the homo bait they’re doing as long as they can actually make the story good. We can see this with Hibike! Euphonium—they managed to turn that into an incredible series despite all the yuri bait. But that doesn't happen here.
At first, I thought this was going to be a series where the MC and the antagonist would clash over their ideas about bringing the electrical age to Japan. But what we actually got was a bunch of stupid drama.
They make the setting feel like electricity is bare…
Read at the sourceCaptainKenshiro
On one hand, this anime is a passion project, since its production started around the arson that Kyoto Animation suffered back in 2019, so the fact alone that it was recovered and exists is inspirational and something to be kinda glad about. On the other hand, KyoAni is likely not the appropriate studio to be in charge of the adaptation. Look up some opinions from source readers and you’ll find that they changed aspects and order of events of the story, details in characterization, and added lgbt bait that goes nowhere as their usual trademark.
Despite belonging to the reduced group of their works that aren’t about cute girls doing cute things with Munto, Full Metal Panic and Violet Evergarden, KyoAni still gave Sparks of Tomorrow their usual flavor. For what’s supposed to be an alternati…
Read at the sourceOmochikaeReee
Kyoto Animation's first anime original in years has a disjointed plot, but strong characters elevated by the stunning and skilled production you would expect from the landmark studio.
Story: The anime took about seven years to come together, and there was difficulty working out how to encapsulate the director’s ideas. You can feel this, because while most animes settle into a routine scenario progression (even long running animes having arcs), Sparks of Tomorrow left me constantly feeling like we were being re-introduced to a new set up, only for it to be replaced after two episodes. This gave the series a feeling of being disjointed that I think would be maximized if every episode was watched subsequently. Yet this doesn’t make the anime a total disaster of ideas starting and stopping,…
Read at the sourceabystoma2
Eureka Evrika is an interesting beast. We already don’t get much steampunk anime, and this one manages to make itself even more distinct by making the steampunk society per se an antagonistic force – something the protagonist is actively trying to beat, get rid off and replace by electricity. And I have to say, I quite enjoy this take on the genre.
KyoAni manages to bring its classic anime antics to the modern age. Despite being new anime with obviously new animation, it still feels like welcoming back an old friend. Not something in particular, but the general feeling is like watching 2013-esque series again. Anyway, let’s get to the particulars of the series itself.
Beyond the already mentioned creative use of steampunk setting, you will quickly notice two distinct parts of the visual…
Read at the sourceChamin99
(Spanish review on my list)
It’s not what I expected, but it’s not too bad either...
There are LOTS of plot holes; the protagonist is a genius who pulls inventions out of thin air with no logic other than "plot convenience." The antagonist’s actions don't align with his goals, there seems to be no government or broader society paying attention to the chaos unfolding, and the steam technology makes no sense. Despite all that, the story is entertaining, and every now and then, the visuals are spectacular.
I thought "electricity" would be banned for socio-economic reasons, and that the story would follow the protagonist defying the law and finding other enthusiasts of this world-changing science.
But no—electricity just never takes off, for no apparent reason, even though practical, demons…
Read at the sourceZNoteTaku
As the midnight watchtower tolls
Over rooftop, street and dome
The triumph of a human being ascending
In the dreaming of a mortal man
Leonardo steels himself
Takes one last breath
And leaps…
~excerpt, Charles Anthony Silvestri, “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine”
There has always been a part of Kyoto Animation’s consistency that, while thoroughly admirable in that they can create piece after piece of enthralling media, I find myself somewhat resenting. The studio’s identity has often been built around a particular sense of slice-of-life both in terms of what the studio will touch and, more significantly, what their departures would look like. It’s easy to point to things like *Violet Evergarden*, *Hyouka*, or the recently completed *Hibike! Euphonium*, and assume that it will be a dra…
Read at the sourceStark700
It may have taken over 8 years but Sparks of Tomorrow made its long anticipated debut in the Summer of 2026. After the tragic arson attack in 2020, the project was in unknown territory before being reannounced. Here we are, 8 years later, and we are once again graced with Kyoto Animation's work in a rich body of its anime history.
Taking place in Kyoto in the year of 1907, Sparks of Tomorrow builds on its drama in a historical fiction setting, with an alternate timeline. With its rich lore, the show had great potential with its main premise that follows the dreams of two protagonists - Kihachi Sakamoto and Inako Momokawa. Kihachi's belief in the 'coming age of electricity' sparks a curiousity in Inako. The two build a bond and seek to find the mysterious Electrical Catalog, a book with co…
Read at the sourceSkyBlue1012
KYOTO ANIMATION PROVES ONCE AGAIN WHY THEY’RE CONSIDERED THE GOAT WHEN IT COMES TO ANIMATION QUALITY
The visuals are striking, colorful, and flashy. I especially love the scenes where the art style transitions into a dreamy future where the whole world is using the main character’s electrical invention.
There are also so many memeable faces in this anime. Yousuke’s ultra creepy face is probably my favorite. It’s disturbing and hilarious at the same time.
Suzu the ninja is easily the best girl in the series.
The opening song is great too. I really appreciate the fact that they made eight different opening visuals. Creating different animations for every episode takes a lot of time and budget, so I have to respect KyoAni for putting in that extra effort.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t…
Read at the source