Btooom!

If you're wondering whether you should watch BTOOOM! I'll ask you a few questions. If you answer yes, than this anime is for you. Are you looking for enjoyable anime with no great plot or twists? Some gore? A lot of fanservice? Go watch BTOOOM then! :D Basically, a lot of people got letters, asking if there's anyone that they dont want in their lives. And those people who were written, dissapeared. Now, they didn't vanish in thin air,they got transported to an island in the pacific, where they were forced to play a real life version of the game BTOOM!. As for the animation, it's not bad, but I must admit it bugged me on some occasions. Himiko's face looked... weird in certain cases, like her eyes weren't on the spot or something. Though, those scenes are rare, and the rest of the anime is pretty well animated, I must say. The sound, not much I can say about it, really. The opening is pretty mediocre; It's not bad, but it ain't Zankoku Na Tenshi No These either. I liked the ending slightly more. The voice acting is decent, though it could use some fixing on certain parts. The story is enjoyable. Nothing to twist your mind around though, but it's fast-paced and easy to comperhend. Though, the thing I hated was the cliffhanger endings between the episodes, and the respawning of the characters. The main character, Ryouta, got hit by one hit kill bombs... AROUND 10 TIMES. He somehow magically survives them all though, when everyone else turns into a dismembered pool (also, there's a guy who snuck a knife in his anus there or something, no idea how he got it when everyone else got only bombs). Not really representative, I must say. It has slight hints of romance flying through at times, and I enjoyed those bits. The ending is begging for season 2, but it's still nice. Now, for the characters. You have the main male protagonist, Ryouta, and the female protagonist Himiko. Now, what'll happen between them is obvious and I wont mention it, but it's really nice that they actually did something with it, not just leave it hanging. Now, for the character progression. It's not great, but it's decent. It's really obvious on certain parts, but hey, at least there is some. And, for my grand finale, the overview. Cheap entertainment, fanservice, mediocre plot and a lot of action make a decent combination, I must say. This anime, although not great, is pretty enjoyable, and I believe that most people will like it when watching. Please, leave your feedback if you have some, I'm still pretty new with writing reviews. Thanks for reading :D

A show with a lot of promise, BTOOM! does little to showcase that potential depth. BTOOM! features a slew of characters who were selected by those closest to them to participate in a game called BTOOM! It's a survival challenge, where the participants are armed with miniature explosives called BIMS (basically small bombs with varying effects) and then must kill the other players. Each player has a green gem imbedded in their hand. In order to get off the island, a player must gather 8 gems (seven including their own) and in order to get the gem, that player must first die. For the most part, the show follows a guy named Sakamoto, a NEET (not-in-education or work training), who endeavors to escape the island without killing. As the show goes on, Sakamoto meets other players, some who are willing to kill and others who aren't. The basic concept of 'kill or be killed' is nothing new, although I like the video game spin on it. The BIMS themselves are neat, making the battles more than just people shooting at each other. I originally wasn't impressed with them as the first few you see are just standard "time-delay" or "explosive" types. As the show goes on though, more complicated/powerful BIMS are introduced. This makes the confrontations MUCH more complicated and force the characters to think on their feet. I also really dig the idea that the people who have been forced into this game are being 'punished'. Sakamoto, as a jobless NEET, just plays the video game version of BTOOM! all the time. When his parents try to talk to him about getting a job, he flips out - and so his mother, at her wits end, chooses to just get rid of him. That is some hardcore stuff man. Ultimately, a situation like this really highlights a persons morals and beliefs and, as the audience, I find it very interesting to see people that flawed. No one is perfect and I think BTOOM! generally does a good job of showcasing this. Except in regard to our star, Sakamoto. When the show opens, it takes several episodes for Sakamoto to accept his situation. I know, part of this can be written off as shell shock. After all, who would believe that you were kidnapped and are now forced to kill people in order to survive? That's some weirdo crap man. But given that Sakamoto is #3 in Japan for the video game, I can't help but think that he should have acclimated a bit more quickly to the circumstances. During the first confrontation, he continually tries to talk down his opponent, fighting back only by accident really. Eventually, he does kind of find his footing, but he still decides NOT to kill - and I'm not sure why. Thinking back on the show, I see no reason why Sakamoto won't kill anyone else. He's shown to be cold and cruel to his mother during flashbacks and these people are nothing to him. Other than "killing is wrong and I'm morally above that", I don't see why Sakamoto is so unwilling. I don't believe that there is any time spent on explaining this - he just decides not to kill. I also find that Sakamoto feels very...plain...at the start of the show. I feel like he is literally just a stand in for the audience and so lacks any and all depth. Why doesn't he kill? Dunno. When he learns that people are chosen to participate in the game, he immediately realizes why he's there and chooses not to be a jerk anymore. When one of his fellows turns on him, he immediately realizes why - without talking to the other player - and vows to change. There is no learning, there is nothing to him. He just reacts and gets better and better because he's the Main Character. I almost feel like the show is a message to the NEET population of Japan - "Hey, you can be a better person, just stop playing video games and do something with your life! You might even be able to get a hot blonde with boobs! C'mon kids!" Otherwise, I like the job done with Sakamoto throughout the show. He ends up working with two other characters, which both benefits and comes back to bite him in the ass. But I feel like his relationships with these two was very well done. A bit one note, but the acting comes through and makes me believe in them. There are a few coincidences that line up too perfectly for me in terms of the plotting and that bugs the crap out of me. There are also, in my opinions, a few really dragged out parts of the show that I just wanted to move beyond. The first few episodes really take their time, explaining the cast members and the concept (which should have taken like five seconds), and just dragged. I really didn't find myself engaged until about the second half of the show. That said, BTOOOM! is a pretty good show. I don't think it's any amazing or ground breaking, but the characters are interesting, if a bit stiff at the beginning; the conflicts - both with BIMS and with people - are thought out and intriguing; and overall the execution isn't bad. A show worth watching, but nothing special.

*mild spoilers* The trouble with 12 episode anime not meant for school children is that they often go a bit too far to make it more “mature”. Which is exactly why I felt the rape scenes, sexual assault and abuses were completely unnecessary; they were included for shock value and judging by the positive reviews of how realistic this anime was, they worked. I’d have given the anime a solid 8 if not for the extremely annoying female MC. Blonde, blue eyes, big breasts and a chubby face – the animators thought it’d be enough to make men swoon over this sniveling piece of mess, but nah. The girl was a plot device who showed courage and instantly switched to becoming a damsel in distress whenever the plot required here to do so; there was no consistency in her character development. Also for an anime aiming to be realistic, blue irises 1/3 the size of your eyes and breasts 3/4th the size of your face don’t really make the cut. Nor does the fact that your breasts are so cushion-y that a bomb just happened to BOUNCE off them. Wow. Just, wow. Apart from that, my issue with the anime was how a lot of time was wasted on the flashbacks regarding that one high school friend (which didn’t add anything to the final arc) and the fatty’s (who tagged along with Sakamoto) hallucinations. The doctor too was given an inordinate amount of screen time while characters like the psychopathic boy (the most interesting character, in my opinion) was given very little screen time. And then there’re the other players – what happened to them? There were scores of people on board the plane and none of their stories were touched upon. I mean, you didn’t have to show them in depth but a 1-2 minute explanation for every 3-4 characters would have sufficed. A 10 second preview of who was left barely did them justice. Then there was the question of the disappearances of these people back in the real world – why didn’t we get to see the police involved and media creating a storm about so many people disappearing at the same time? Why were the games created in the first place and why did they have multiple rounds to them? Also, what’s up with the ending? It went completely over my head + it was too rushed. It was almost as if in the middle of animating the 12th episode, the animators were told,”Hey, we’ve run out of our budget so better end the series here”. A lot of people will defend it as being out of the box or some BS, but truth is that it was ill conceived. But I’ll give where credit is due. The dub VA for Sakamoto did an excellent job. Kudos. Second, despite people complaining about it, I actually found Sakamoto’s character development quite believable (even though his switch to a selfless good guy was a little too much to digest). The only issue I had was the fact that when he met the annoying blonde for the first time, he was tempted to rape her, which seemed VERY out of character for a NEET like him. I mean, you have to show his moral development but do you HAVE to do it by showing him as an almost rapist? Anyway, some of the maneuvers and battle moves between the participants were excellent, especially when cunning strategies were used. A lot of them made my jaw drop (which doesn’t happen very often). The music was pretty forgettable while the art did drop in quality from time to time. I expected better from Madhouse, to be honest. But it’s still worth a watch if you’re tired of watching 14 year olds as protagonists in probably 99% of the anime out there.

‘The new Hunger Games!’ they said. ‘The modern Battle Royale!’ they said. ‘If you liked Sword Art Online, you’ll love this!’ Etcetera, etcetera. Being a huge fan of the aforementioned media, you can imagine my excitement when I first came across Btooom!. Was my excitement justified? It had a significant amount of hype, normal people being dropped onto a mysterious island with a bag of bombs and told to fight for survival? I was pumped! Ultimately, I was let down. Let me stress, Btooom! isn’t a bad show, it’s decent, in fact. However, with all the hype, I just expected a much better anime than the one we got. Let’s break it down; The plot of Btooom! can be summed up pretty simply. Our protagonist, Ryo Sakamoto, wakes up on a mysterious island with a huge hole in his memory. After being attacked by a man armed with bombs, in a manner that is very similar to the online game Btooom!, he quickly realises he is in a real life version of the game that he is so proficient at. After that, we follow his life on the island, seeing if he can use his vast online skills when faced by the real situation. Like I said, the plot isn’t all that complicated, but there is huge potential in it. Potential that, in my opinion, is wasted. This series only has 12 episodes and it’s a classic case of an anime having to rush it’s pacing in order to cover enough of the manga. 12 more episodes and this show would’ve been a lot better. Pacing is the major issue, undoubtedly. Too slow at the beginning, Ryo took too long to accept his situation, and too fast towards the end. Another major theme of the plot was the idea that ‘people are awful’. It began to ask us questions about the true nature of humans, especially with the idea that each person on the island was sent there by a person that they’d hurt. This was undoubtedly one of the best aspects of the show, I loved it! But too much of a good thing and it gets boring and guess what happened! (it got boring) The character’s really drive this anime, as opposed to the basic plot. They’re varied and interesting, which makes it a shame that only Sakamoto and Himiko, the main female character, experience real development. The backstories are interesting in the main and the battles and subsequent clashes of values are the high points of Btooom!. Again, the show disappoints as the various antagonists and side characters are dispatched quickly and we are treated to more scenes of Himiko and Sakamoto awkwardly interacting. It’s no Katniss and Peeta that’s for sure. The backgrounds and character designs are nicely done. The art is solid, with the island’s features well animated and each character standing out. Truthfully, I liked the flashback scenes of Japan, nice animating there! The sound too, I have no major complaints. Opening is a bit generic but it fits and May’n singing the ED! Plus points! Unfortunately, like the rest of the show both things didn’t really stand out from the crowd and are good as opposed to groundbreaking. Mindless action is the best way to describe the events of the show, which is a real shame considering the potential the plot has. As someone who likes to be challenged or at least surprised by my action anime, Btooom! is a disappointment. If you have some spare time and want to watch something light and straightforward, this is for you. If you want to watch something fresh, unique and gripping, there are plenty of better shows out there. Maybe my expectations were too high but this show can be best summed up in one word. Boring.

If you're looking for another Sword Art Online or Mirai Nikki, I'm sorry to disappoint you but you will not find that here. Don't get me wrong though Btooom is great, its a level higher than most of the mediocrity out there, it just doesn't have the breathtaking action & art of SAO nor does it have heavy psychological trauma or unique characters like Yuno. If your still reading I'll assume your not looking for the above. The story was good but it had a lot more potential, you'd expect a 12 episode series to squeeze as much information into every episode as possible and the pacing would be uncomfortably fast but btooom just seemed to skim over the plot omitting anything unnecessary. Its definitely worth mentioning that there are some twists that make the story very interesting especially for those new to the survival genre but at the same time the story was very simplistic, I suppose this can be seen as good or bad but I prefer more complex. If your looking for something short and light then btooom is the anime for you. I have mixed feelings about the ending and it mostly depends on if there will be a sequel or not. IF there will be one then the ending was good and the set up for the next season is great. IF there will not be another season then the ending was completely anticlimatic. I still have my hopes up though. [ 8 | 10 ] I am a fan of color so I will try my best not to sound cynical. I loved the character designs on the two main characters they were executed very well, I also enjoyed the designs of some of the other characters because they were very natural. On the other hand I despised some of the facial expressions some of the characters made, after making that much effort to keep everything as "human" as possible so that we could relate to the characters and situations, it was disappointing that they had certain scenes where I would have had no idea how the character was feeling without some context, it was such a waste. The explosions and the fire that ensues were well drawn and I feel they had the appropriate color and weren't exaggerated as most other animes do. The art style is certainly befitting the story it was kept simple and definitely succeeded in matching the characters with they're personalities [ 8 | 10] After watching anime after anime you begin to become numb when it comes to the opening, but the opening of btoom stands out between episodes I was looking forward to listening to it again and I'd go as far as to say its mp3 material. The voice actors of each character did an AMAZING job at capturing each of their characters, you could not imagine any other voice befitting any of them. There was never any notable background music or noise and I think this was a blessing as it never affected any of the scenes. Sound effects were very good, everything was kept simple and there were no exaggerated super-loud explosions even planes in the sky were at the appropriate noise level it wouldn't be hard to think your inside the anime. [ 9 | 10 ] The characters are what really carried they anime and I think this is why everything was kept so simple, every character was given a back-story or a flashback of some sort so you knew exactly what kind of person they were, what they were capable of and there was great suspense when certain characters came into contact with each other you couldn't tell what was going to happen it was exciting. Every great story has a little romance in it Btooom is no exception and how our two MC's think, talk and act around one another is probably the highlight of the anime for me anyway. Our heroine Himiko is not your average gorgeous, well endowed highschool girl with blonde hair and blue eyes so don't be fooled. After learning of her back-story I really started to feel empathetic towards her and remember myself thinking people can be so cruel. I could safely say shes been through hell and how her character behaves/develops throughout the series is rewarding in its own right and contributes largely to my total score. Ryouta our protagonist is a little older than what most of us are used to I found this refreshing(If I ever come across anything like Shinji from Evangelion again......) a lot of users(myself included) can relate to him with ease. It then comes as no surprise that his character is a little predictable at times and there is an event that happens that almost made me hate me very early into the anime but I let it slide and seems he was behaving very out of character after looking back. [ 9 | 10 ] I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode but what really lowered the result was mainly because the cover and synopsis are slightly misleading I was expecting a lot more action and a lot more psychological moments, now they were present there just wasn't enough or it wasn't emphasized enough during the scene. Variety is the spice of life as they say and unfortunately there was about as much variety as there were types of bombs. In terms of plot it was like a harem without the harem at some points and if the characters weren't so great btooom would have been a failure. Its a great piece of work but it had a lot more potential and if they give us a sequel with a much larger budget I reckon it will be a must watch but sadly Btooom only delivers half the package. [ 8 | 10 ] Out of 10 Story:8 Art:8 Sound:9 Character:9 Enjoyment:8 Overall:8

-------------------SOME SPOILERS NONE PAST EPISODE 2----------------------- Jerked out of your everyday life only to be placed on an island with an 8 pack of grenades and a chip in your hand. Story : 9 This story revolves around Sakamoto, an avid Btooom! player. A game much similar to everyday shooters but with 1 major difference. Only grenades. He is jerked out of his everyday life only to find himself on an island hanging from a tree, with a bag slung over his back and a pack of grenades at his side. Oh and with no recollection of how he got there or what happened. Art: 8 The character art was very good, but I found that that they put more focus on the direct characters than the surroundings. When they would zoom out to watch a 'nade fly it would blend the background, merging the trees, not very noticeable but I'm a picky guy. Sound: 6 All of these points where just for the opening. "No Pain No Game" by Nano. This is an amazing song and the only reason that this got a 6. I can't remember a single OST from Btooom! and that in my eyes brought it down. Character: 10 This anime had amazing characters, each with their own back story and reason for being on the island. The main character Sakamoto is a stay at home 21 year old who is the top Btooom! player in Japan. After a visit to his local store he suddenly gets surrounded and blacks out, only to wake up on the island with no memory of what happened. Enjoyment: 9 This anime had great cliff hangers but once or twice made me very mad at how the story developed. Other than that I would wait every night for Btooom! to come out on realitylapse to watch. Overall : 9 Good anime, It had it's strong points and it also had it weak points. This is an anime for somebody who wants an action/fantasy anime with a well rounded male lead who has his good points and flaws. I strongly recommend that you watch it and hope that you enjoy it. :) - StellerScale

This is my first review and I'm not sure how to make one. (so all comments are welcome) Story (8): The storyline itself is good but not the way I really like it. In Betooom! Ryōta Sakamoto (main character) is pretty good with the bombs but never get any better at using them. (Almost never he used the Bombs) Most of the time he is running away and avoiding the bombs. In my opinion he should be less good at the beginning and get better over time. Art (8): I have not much to say about the art. I don't look at the details and stuff, I look more at how the characters are drawn. I don't dislike the way the characters are drawn but I have seen better. Sound (8) : I don't have much to say about sound either. In Btooom! it didn't sound wrong so I gave it an 8. (no real references) Character (7): Like I said by Story, He is good at the beginning and he never get any better. I would like to see him less good at the beginning and getting better over time. Enjoyment (7): At the end of each episode Btooom! didn't give me the feeling I should watch the next episode immediately, but that it could wait for a few more days. But once I started the episode it become enjoyable to watch. Overall (8): This isn't the worst season I've seen but it is also not the best. If you really like explosions and tactics Btooom! is something for you.

This is a solid underrated anime and for the quality, I was genuinely surprised and hooked over an 11 year old show. There is genuinely more trash that aires every season of anime that gets more recognition than this, I want to make clear that "trash" like this is to be appreciated. This isn't popular and won't ever be popular. If you like watching lower budget shows that are more niche and likely only put out to promote the manga ( like this one ). You will like this. If you have seen Tomodachi Game and liked that, this is a great recommendation. Some drawbacks in the show I would like to point out is that the pacing is just a tad fast, and the first episode isn't really all that exciting. The "virtual game" that is referenced a lot in the anime kind of takes me out of the show and feels a little forced or far fetched, but its not a deal breaker. Some side character backstories feel pretty on-the-spot as well. There's a lot of "coincidental" moments and I think comes off as bad writing, but that's kinda whatever. Just nitpicking. Character development is good, and flow of things just feels right. Something is always happening, not really a wasted episode in it's span of 12. Story is good for one season, but isn't a definite finish- even 11 years later.. no sign of a second season. So do not expect a conclusive ending, but it was a nice ending for one season. Gonna give it an 8/10. If you watch a lot of anime to kill- good or bad. This one is pretty solid.

It’s like Future Diary, only with all the good stuff ripped out. Using characters as plot device is hard. Do it once or twice and it’s okay. When everyone becomes a plot device, your story becomes hard to believe. A world where everyone is a plot device is less believable than a notebook that kills people. It doesn’t seem so bad at first. It’s dark and cruel, but this is a game where people are forced to kill each other. The first to die is boring as hell, but Future Diary‘s Third didn’t have a personality. He at least had an idea behind him. He was supposed to be a simple Unknown Danger. He has given a design that looks scary to make that convincing. His role was small and was the only plot device character. No such things happen in BTOOOM!. Everyone exists for two reasons. Their purpose is first to be terrible human beings, and the second is to die. It’s hilarious how everyone is terrible, but no one has a personality flaw. One guy is a rapist. Another is a cold-hearted killer. Another one is a con artist. They’re unpleasant, but not interesting.vlcsnap-2015-11-27-17h25m51s139 Such a dull edge The cruelty is so monochrome. These are not the crazies of Future Diary. No one in that anime was sadistic for sadism’s sake. When they had a cruel streak, they had reasons for it. It was also specific. Third just wanted to kill everyone. Reisuke cared about having a mother figure. Yomotsu had a retarded sense of justice. There was almost something comic about it. None of that exists in BTOOOM!. No one has an alternative moral system. No one’s sadism is understandable. A fat guy attempts rape and we get to see it graphically, yet we don’t know what’s behind him. The creators try to shock us with Himiko’s pain, but it’s only unpleasant to watch. More shocking would be if they made understand the rapist and his point of view. This way the viewer might find he shares some thoughts with him, which is both horrifying and meaningful. Some get a half-assed explanation, like abusive parents or a military past. These are just placeholders. The characters aren’t very different besides one being more sadistic. Both Tsubaki and Reisuke have a sad past, but it’s a different kind that transformed them differently. The creators miss the best part of the Death Game scenarios. The Death Game throws a bunch of characters in a situation that forces them to confront each other. It needs different personalities. The clash between them is what creates tension. Some explosions will never be as exciting as a blind crazy, a yandere and a misanthrope meeting in the same place. These personalities make us view these characters as human. We’ll care about them, understand them and have empathy for them. The deaths will be sadder because we’ll see a human who is like us fail, perhaps of his own undoing. That’s how tragedy works. Tragedy isn’t just making characters suffer but have them (and us) understand it. Characters just explode here. vlcsnap-2015-11-27-17h26m38s74 Random unimportant asshole If BTOOOM! chose the way of Saw it would’ve been better. It’s not a show of aestheticized violence. Such violence is overblown and disconnected from reality. It can be fun to see limbs being torn and people explode, but there’s no sense of fun here. The action scenes are tedious, consisting mainly of pointless inner monologues. The fact characters suffer is emphasized more than how fun it is to throw a bomb. Any momentum that a scene generates is immidiately smashed. There are a lot of inner monologues. It’s a wonder the series didn’t pull an Evangelion. They had enough for 3 episodes. Action scenes are about movement and set-pieces. Some dialogue can also help if the interaction is meaningful enough. Thoughts are static. No one has room for introspection during such scenes. You don’t have them running in your head in a video game, so in real life? It’s the stereotypical edgy anime that thinks violence, gore and suffering makes for something profound. It tries to something about how humans are cruel, but when everyone is cruel for no reason we it’s hard to believe that message. How can be believe humans are as cruel as the players when the strings behind them are so obvious? The symbol for caring and companionship is your typical harem protagonist, without the harem. Sakamoto has no personality whatsoever. He kind of cares about others, but why? He’s the main character because it’s easier to sympathize with him, rather than the rest of the meanies. More correctly, it’s safer to make him the main character. Following one of the bad guys would mean they’d have to to do more than be cruel for a while than die. Himiko isn’t much better. She’s an insutling portrait of the Clinging Woman. Everything Yuno satirized is in her. The parallels are so obvious, you have to wonder whether it’s a response. Both girls rely on their men, but differently. Yuno relies for psychological stability. She acts less to please the guy than to fulfill her own desire for love. Himiko exists for Sakamoto and no other reason. Her love isn’t related to personality. She’s a reward Sakamoto wins twice, first for being a great player and second because he’s saving her.vlcsnap-2015-11-27-17h28m47s108 For the glory of Satan She’s also an object of sexual gartification, both for characters and the viewer. She gets near-raped a few times, and these scenes are filled with nice shots that give you a clear picture of Himiko’s body. These are not the expressive flashbacks of Tsubaki. You might be able to catch a nice shot there, but they’re too expressive and short. The don’t emphasize just the sexual part of it but the pain. It made Tsubaki hateful of the world and everyone in it. It was her undoing, but she was portrayed as a tragic character. Himiko is turned into a silly tsundere who slowly learns to ‘trust men’, as if she should just get over it. The ending is also insutling. It’s the definition of ‘inconclusive’. This criticism has been brought up a lot, but many short shows have some arc that concludes. The grand story of Freezing isn’t over, but there is an arc that concludes which defines the two seasons. BTOOOM! just ends. It makes it all feel like an advertisement for the source material. There are tiny worldbuilding things that come off as moronic. There’s no sensible explanation why the game exists. Hints point toward the good old cliche of human experiments or evil corporations. The bombs also somehow can tell whether their owner is dead or not. Then again, I keep praising a show about diaries that predict the future. If the world doesn’t make too much sense but serves the purpose, it’s okay. If your story is full of holes, it’s a magnifying glass to how stupid your world is. At least the art style is nice. Since this is supposed to be deep, we get a realistic art style with no crazy ideas. The designers still managed to give everyone a distinct look. At least in that department, BTOOOM! has something to teach others. Even characters that appear for a few minutes get their own unique look. It’s too bad these designs weren’t used in a different, better anime. The OP ends with all the characters standing and looking towards the horizon. It reminded me of the first shot of Future Diary‘s ED. It summed up what made that one so good – a cast of crazies, which with flawed personalities that make them understandable even at their worst. BTOOOM! has no such empathy. It treats its characters like they’re from a video game. They exist to kill and die. The protagonist has as much character as a silent protagnsit. It’s amazing how bad it is. has almost everything I want in an anime, and wrecks it. 1.5 bombs out of 5

Btooom! was an anime that I thought had a lot of potential. It is about a very highly ranked player in a computer game called Btooom! who gets trapped in side a real life game of Btooom!, where the only way to escape is to win by collecting chips, which are obtained from killing other players. The story mainly plays out on an island where the MC trys to figure out whats going on and get off the island. Story 9/10 (except for one really frustrating thing) The story was quite good. Well, at least the part of the story that was present. The show doesn't really have an ending. After watching it I felt as if I had just finished the first season and was really exciting to find out the rest of what would happen in the next season. There is currently no second season and I am not aware of one under production. I know that the anime did not cover all of the manga. Actually I am not sure if the manga is complete even so there may still be hope for a second season of Btooom! Art/animation 9/10 Nothing to complain about here overall good. Sound 10/10 Mainly just because of the opening song. It's done by Nano, and I love all of her songs. The ending is good as well. The soundtrack is solid. Characters 9/10 When watching the MC you sometimes get the Lelouch/Light Yagami feel because he is so good at the game, when you feel like he is in big trouble he pulls something out of his pocket and all is good. Enjoyment 9/10 The show is very thrilling and interesting to watch if you like action and dark mysterious plot lines. Overall 8/10 I would be tempted to give it 9/10 if it had a better ending but who knows... maybe a second season? In my opinion this is a show worth watching.

Battle Royale + Sword Art Online = Btooom! But i do believe that Btooom is much better than Sword Art Online. With that being said it's obvious that i think this show is way underrated. The story is pretty great. it's about a boy who's really addicted to a FPS game called Btooom! are now stranded in an island and must beat other people on the island in order to escape by using the game Btoom's technology.To put it simply, the story will put you on the edge of your seat as you will guess what will happen to each character because no one is safe. The art and sound is great.the animation is spot on. the panorama of the island was done quite well. The character's development was carried out perfectly. From being an irresponsible bastard to a caring samaritan. also, the bond between the main characters was developed quite well. so, overall i enjoy this particular anime. the action is great and choreographed well enough and not so over-the-top.so if you want a great survival action anime, you should give this one a try. i believe that you will not be disappointed. 9/10

Among the Winter 2012-13 anime list's gleaming gems is Btooom!, the seinen manga adaptation done by Madhouse Studios. Story: 6 The story is fairly decent with its battle royale format. The pacing never gets too slow or too fast, and feels "just right" for a 1 cour show. HOWEVER, the questions left unanswered at the end of the show begs for a second season, which Madhouse should get working on ASAP. Characters: 6 Just like any other battle royale out there, the cast is pervaded with a very interesting set of characters, including psychos, rapists, and badasses. However, only the main characters Ryouta and Himiko are the only ones that have extensive development, and even so, it is not much. Many questions are left up in the air with them and we, the viewers, can only wonder what the answers to these questions could be. While the final credits roll, they show glimpses of even MORE characters. I hope they get more depth added to them in season 2...if there is even going to be a season 2. Art: 9 Btooom!, I feel, is best enjoyed in HD. Madhouse is known for their amazing animation. The lighting effects are beautiful, the colors have a strong and vivid feel to them, and the background scenery is nothing short of amazing with its high attention to details. Their use of gradients in the animation also provides a more "realistic" depth to the art. There are a few hiccups here and there, but they do nothing to detract from the experience. Sound: 8 From the ambient music to the sounds to the explosions, the sounds are awesome. The music plays at just the right times and makes each scene stand out from the last, and those explosions could really pump you up. Enjoyment: 9 I typically enjoy all of Madhouse's stuff, and this is no exception. All of the combined attributes listed above has led me to give this an enjoyment rating of 9. Overall: 8 While not perfect and complete, Btooom! is definitely a great anime. It's amazing visuals, decent story, and interesting characters will keep you entertained for all 12 of its episodes, but take heed, you will thirst for more. I hope there will be a season 2, so all the questions left behind would be answered. But for now, all I can do is hope. Thank you for reading my review! Good day, and good night!

SOME spoilers BTOOOM! in a nut shell is about a weak protagonist knob who plays online RPG games such as, you guessed the obvious, BTOOOM!. Now for the story, BTOOOM! is an online game where.. wait.. what? Oh yea they never told us what that game was about. So he plays vidjuh gamez. Then one day his mom finally got tired of his lazy slob lifestyle and some grey area level nonsense happened. I think the kid got kidnapped and taken to an island where he fights to death to save himself for the enjoyment of some loan loon. I believe they also broadcast this live in Japan with the audience thinking it is some simulation survival reality show. The kid quickly & CONVENIENTLY meets up with this big chesty female character. She, like everyone else on this island, was kidnapped to fight on the island TO DEATH. For the most part she despises all male including the protagonist,(I''ll get to why later); and instead of helping she spends most of the show being a nuisance for her own self entitlement. Oh yea, instead of being a badass and killing all the other "players" the kid chickens out when it comes to the female lead because BOOBS. So for the majority of their time on the island they try to kill and collect these gems inserted into other players wrist. They are to collect a certain amount to advance and eventually get off the island. These gems also have abilities to track other players who are using them to do the same thing, kind of like a radar. Some silly thing about how they can cancel each other out, like a typical shounen plot devise "our powers are equal!" yada yada. Any shounen fan should know what I mean. The plot had a boring theme of survival of the fittest and abandoned on an island to survive for a reality show. It was suppose to teach the "victims" who were kidnapped to become better people. Because, well the show hinted at it, were selected by people who knew them. In other words, their "close mates" were tired of their crap and decided to teach them a lesson. But instead, much like this review, the plot got off topic and became more of a wow factor series instead of focusing on character development and overall themes. Story 3/10 The art was actually, for a MADHOUSE anime, very bland. Very simple. Nothing like their previous works in Metropolis, RedLine, Kaiba, Paprika or Akira. And many more. It is 1 of the very few simple stylistic titles MH has adapted. Even the explosions and the background scenery felt uninteresting to the point where I didn't even pay much attention to it. Just reading the subtitles, where in others like Kaiba, I would take my time to appreciate the atmosphere. It is sad to see MadHouse adapt such a terrible show and new fans will be deterred from their former, better titles. I really hope that's not the case and this review helps those reading learn of their previous works. OFF TOPIC. Art 6/10 Oh ho, here is arguably the worst part of the show. The characterization. I'll come out bold and say way too many conveniences. The characters are typical average nobodies with nothing going and down on their luck. "Oh, fans will relate it is a dark time in the world yada yada." Nope. Didn't feel any sympathy for any of the characters. Except the fat man. He has a family back home. Family first people. The protagonist, like I said earlier is a low life loser NEET "fans will relate" SHUT UP. I'm a neet and this guy makes me feel like a God. Low life loser who does nothing but play online rpg games where he meets the female lead who plays the same game as him. They are apparently the king and queen of the game or some nonsense and have a wedding. Online RPG life is really quite sad when you think about it. Anyway, the male lead quit school and did nothing but sit around and threaten his mother. The female lead actually had a traumatic experience with the highschool rape crew, is what I'll call them. I won't spoil, but it is nasty and pretty sad. This is actually a growing issue not just in Japan, but all over the world. So real world references aside, the rest of the characters were in the same boat or just ex cons of some fashion. Though they may have relatable backstories for the audience, those didn't make up for the sloppy present tense whilst on the island. Their characterization derives souly on wow factor for the entire show. Characters 5/10 Overall I never once felt connected with the series. The themes were rehashed survival island and drove off of shock factor. Much like The Walking Dead there is no substance presented in present tense. Just hyped shock appeal for the masses to go "oh my gurd I feel so bad for X and X. Oh no, look out!" It is like an old horror flick that pops up and makes a ruckus and then dies down and nobody, but fans of the genre remember it. Nothing experimental nor original was presented here and nothing memorable to go by. Notice I didn't even name the characters. That's how much appeal this show has. None. Overall enjoyment 3/10

If you liked the concept of SAO but HATED the execution then look no further, this is the anime for you. After watching almost every single 8+ scored anime on MAL, I decided it was time to broaden my horizons and hit the 7's. After watching this anime, it occured to me that I can't let reviews let me decide what I like, but rather have to decide on my own... even if it means one day watching the 6's. Story: 8 The story doesn't start off too original, MC is a basement dweller who's really good at a certain video game (title). However where I feel this story shines is its combat system and survival aspect and how the players were forced into this game. Players are ONLY given grenades rather than over-dramatic swords and guns. While you may not agree with it, once you watch it, you'll realize how much more of an intense atmosphere it gives this anime. It also gives it a layer of strategy that you would never see in a sword/gun game which makes the strategies THAT much more enjoyable. The conflicts in this show are actually very believable and it outlines human nature so incredibly well. And although a bit rushed, the romance in this anime was done very well; at least MUCH more so some other romance animes out there. Art: 9 I'm never really that picky on art but in this anime I found it pretty attractive. The colors were very vibrant, the backgrounds looked great, the character designs were really nice as well. They weren't too "out there" but were realistic enough where you'd be able to distinguish the main characters and other cast apart. Sound: Some really neat OST's were played in this anime. They were always played in perfect situations and often got me on the edge of my seat. Voice acting was pretty good but Ryouta's voice sounded kind of strange, almost as if it was a native Japanese speaker when he said certain words like "Btooom". Character: Although one of the weakest points in the show, the flaws in each other characters are made up for in the other ones. I really feel like Ryouta and Himiko were "whole" when they were together, alone they never worked that well. Himiko is one of the less annoying female leads you'll see in an anime. Although she can be dramatic, it's for good reason; she was nearly raped twice during the show and grew a bad androphobia. Her fear is what drives her resolve, and although at times it's noble the other times it just seems unnecessary. Enjoyment: This is the first anime I finished in a whole day without a break. Don't be shy by the score, watch the anime and see for yourself if you like it, I learned not to do that after watching this anime. Overall: It was a great anime. Like I said; if you like the SAO concept but hated the anime itself, watch this. It's a much more mature and intense version of it, and in my opinion is much better.

I've spent thousands of hours on games. So naturally explosives, battle royale... I was drawn in. I'm also a girl, that has been through similar feelings the leading female character has. So I "understand" a lot of things about this anime differently and it may strongly affect my opinion and review. So this hits home for me, hard. I had a lot of mixed up feelings while watching this, and I also almost cried. I'm also a fan of "survival" type animes and series, so my review is also partly based on my opinion that's somewhat formed before I started watching. Although, a lot of the events during the story surprised me. I'm giving the story a rating of 6, since the idea of a sort of battle royale isn't original. However, I enjoyed the story as I like these type of concepts. The bombs were a fun idea, and offer a certain type of diversity. There was emotion in the story, even if it sometimes felt like it wasn't there all the way. The art gets an 8, because I liked it. The animation was fluid, to me, but I often don't judge an anime by art. It's rare for me to decide NOT to watch something because the art isn't nice. Sound gets 9, I could often hear the feelings behind the words even if I was not looking at the screen the entire time. And the effects were nice, but my laptop's speakers are horrible, which has to be taken into account. And I loved both of the OPs. Catchy, fitting tracks. Characters. 8. This section is going to be severely influenced by my personal feelings, and I'm not looking to offend anybody. A lot of the people may say there is no character development, which straight up angers me. Mostly, because they say that Himiko is a completely bitchy/shallow character that always needs help. If you even for a moment considered why, perhaps you would understand better how she felt. Oh, except you won't because not everyone gets to experience what she did. And I'm happy that everyone doesn't have to. But in my opinion she had a right to be a scared, straight-up ass that doesn't trust anyone for the entire time. I also think the main protagonist, while he is kind and naive to start with, DOES grow, even if it is painfully slow. The characters were interesting enough for me, and I hoped for the whole duration of the anime the main two nerds get together! My heart sank every time Himiko turned Sakamoto away. The other characters could have been better introduced, but was there truly a need for that? I'm not entirely sure. Would have liked to know more, but there wasn't a need. If there is season two I hope all the survivors get more attention. Overall, I could recommend this anime, but not for everyone. And I wish there were just one more episode or so, because I really wanted to know what happens. I agree with many that it's really left for guessing and hoping what happens next even if you can make strong guesses.

First: What happens when you take the best of Hunter X Hunter, The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, SAO, Mirai Nikki, and some Death Note-like tactics and put them in a blender? BTOOOM! Your blender explodes with awesomeness (ok, no more lame puns). Second: Is it possible to cram 50 chapters' worth of plot in just 12 episodes and do it well? I can't believe it but this series proved it, it's like a miracle. Kudos to Madhouse for this gem. If you like ANY of the works I mentioned above, you must definitely watch this show. *This review might feel vague in some parts to avoid spoilers.* STORY 8/10 This is an interesting take on survival games. It may not seem original from this review, trust me, it is. You have your typical battle royale hunting game in a contemporary setting, with basically only one rule: collect chips from other people in a remote island similar to the tag-hunting game in the 4th phase of the Hunter's exam. This game is a bit more extreme in that killing is enforced, similar to other works. As expected, you will see a lot of strategic alliances and betrayals. What sets this show apart from similar works is that there are characters of any age and they are only given bombs to fight. The different types of bombs and their limited quantity ensures the strategy element is always present. This leads to a cool metagame because the characters have to figure out how the different bombs work by trial and error (in some ways like the hidden rules of the Death Note), as they are only given basic information on each one. The one with more knowledge obviously has the advantage. This leads to some parts that may feel like asspulls, but they are explained in more detail in the manga. This is one of the few weaknesses, but it is to be expected since they adapted 50 chapters in just 12 episodes. But rest assured, this is no Tokyo Ghoul where you need the manga like a manual to make sense of it. The BTOOOM! manga uses big panels constantly, so the chapters feel short in general. The anime took out most of the filler chapters, changed a few things, and re-arranged others for the better. As a result, the pacing is exhilarating but everything feels logical. Just like it would be expected, it feels like the characters rarely have any time to rest. On the downside, the anime does not cover the whole manga (there isn't enough material yet), but the studio stopped at the best possible point to end the season. You can pick up the manga right after watching the series, though. At the time of writing there are 77 chapters and the series is entering its final arc, so here's hoping for another anime season to conclude the story. There is a romantic subplot that is well done and not forced (at least in my opinion), although at first it relies on a coincidence a bit implausible... well, that's just my opinion. My only warning, though, is that contrary to the Hunger Games, which has a big focus on romance, this series is a seinen, so you won't have romance all the time; in fact, expect some crude scenes here and there. Just in case, I have to mention there is a rape scene and an attempted rape scene that take place fairly early in the story. They're not that graphic and serve to develop a character, but you are already warned. They're more graphic in the manga, though. Justified or cheap shock value? That's up to you. ART (8/10) The art is really nicel, as expected of Madhouse. The art style is consistent with the manga and with the studio's most famous works. The animation is good enough and the camera angles often enhance the action. It clearly doesn't have the same budget as Death Note or Highschool of the Dead, but it is really fitting for the setting. And you will see a lot of good explosions, given the story. SOUND (7/10) The sound effects get the job done. The music gets the atmosphere right but the tunes aren't particularly memorable. I'd say this is a good thing since in a survival game it can be distracting if the music has too much presence. I think there aren't any insert songs at all. The seiyuus fit their roles very well, this is to be expected since there are some famous names involved. CHARACTERS (9/10) In a survival game, at least half of the enjoyment comes from the characters. And the big question is, how can you to relate to them if deaths are certain to come? Well, this show manages to make you care about them, they feel real. On the surface, the main character doesn't have any redeeming qualities, he’s a dislikable character overall. But once he's forced into the survival game and you stop screaming “Yeah, serves you well, dumbass!” he goes through a ton of development and you will root for him. One of the other main characters, Himiko, first comes across as an excuse for fan service, but her dark past reveals her to be much more complex and you want to hug her for more than just two big reasons. While supporting characters are given a good amount of character development and they feel deep, the author tried too hard to give some of them redeeming qualities in the form of Naruto-like flashbacks (don't worry, these aren't long). One particular example is a kid that is deranged from the start (deranged like Yuno, just not yandere) and no matter how many flashbacks they throw at you, he still makes you shit your pants… and also want to kill him. Don't get me wrong, though, not all characters are like him. Finally, a few characters are underdeveloped because they become relevant much later in the manga, so they almost feel like cameos. ENJOYMENT (8/10) I marathoned this in two days, but only because I just wanted to check the first episode before going to sleep, and in the end I went to sleep after watching 8 episodes. That should say something about this show. The plot twists never stop coming and the characters have to stay on their toes all the time, given that they have to survive not only the fights with other players but also the natural dangers on the island, all while securing food for themselves and staying as mentally stable as possible. The bomb metagame keeps the survival deathmatch strong all the way through. OVERALL (8/10) This is a must watch for any fan of survival games, period. At the very least, you will have something new to compare to your favorite flavor of hunting. The only downside is the open ending, which kinda sucks unless you read the manga. I'm actually considering to give this series a 9, maybe a rewatch would help. tl;dr Good balance of deep characters and action, some fan service and also gore. Good pacing. Very faithful to the original manga, which you can pick up immediately after. Go watch it.

Story: BTOOM uses the same ‘zero to hero’ formula as Sword Art Online. Basically, you start with an unemployed, decent-looking nerd whose only significant talent is video games, and then thrust him into a situation where his gamer skills translate into badassery and sex appeal. As uninspired as this premise is, it’s still forgivable because it’s a necessary part of the death match genre set up. In this case, the protagonist is a highly-ranked player in the bomb-throwing FPS game, BTOOM, who suddenly wakes up on an island where he needs to play this game for real with a bunch of psychos, civilians and a buxom gamer girl. The strategy of the death match revolves around deception and utilizing whatever unique bomb-types you’ve collected. At its core, BTOOM is one gigantic orgy of male fantasy. I say that out deep, self-reflection rather than judgment :). In this universe, a sedentary gamer can turn into a great athlete overnight, large-breasted women swoon over high online rankings, potential male competition is dichotomized into either ugly creeps or beta-males, and most importantly, the people behind online female avatars are not lecherous pedophiles but hot chicks. Now is there anything inherently wrong with a fantasy world like that? I say no. And BTOOM is a fine experience as long as one just enjoys the ride. Expect action, explosions, a few plot twists and plenty of undulating breasts. It’s the Big Mac of survival anime, empty calories but still delicious. Pros: -The Main. I liked the main character because he neither perfect nor completely useless. As meager a request like that might be, male anime protagonists tend to fall into one of these two categories more often than they should--Kirito (I'm going to make several more references to that monstrosity SAO). I felt like he was a decent mix of pragmatism and idealism for this type of anime. -Flashbacks. The flashbacks were good and didn’t feel like filler. Say what you will about their content but I felt they provided some much-needed context to grasp the psyches of the different contestants—even if those psyches were very one-track. I could have actually used more background but I appreciate what I got. Cons: - Inconsistency. The hallmark of a lazy anime is inconsistency. Inconsistency can manifest as anything from abrupt changes in characters' personalities, to convenient lapses in game rules, to illogical fluctuations in individual strength. In BTOOM’s case, it was the strength of those fucking bombs. Depending on the circumstance (and the protagonist’s needs) the blast strengths ranged from firecracker to cruise missile. Let me ask you this, if a time bomb lands 3 feet away from the protagonist’s feet, is he in danger? Would he have to think of a clever way to escape or could he just absorb the blast and shake it off? Answer: It depends which episode. In BTOOM there's no way to tell if and when a bomb is within lethal range of someone. This is inconsistency. -Blame. Anyone who has siblings knows what it’s like to get wrongfully blamed for breaking something. The normal reaction is to either vigorously protest or take the punishment and later punch the sibling who didn’t step up. What a normal person DOESN’T do is rationalize/internalize the punishment and feel guilty for something he/she didn't do. No spoilers here but there is a lot of misplaced blame that makes it very hard for me to follow, let alone sympathize with, certain characters. These are glitches in storytelling. -Women. Women are not too complex in BTOOM. This comes as no surprise for an anime like this, and I’ll direct you back up to my introduction. However, while I get what they were trying to build, I think this would have been a much more satisfying romance and believable story if the female characters had more depth. For example, they try to explore the subject of rape but it just comes off as comically clumsy. Then there’s Hitomi. I swear, half the time I wanted to slap some spine into that girl. It got annoying. Admittedly though, it sort of evened out because I spent the other half of the time hypnotized by those bouncing... so where are we now, art? Art: The art is good but not great. SAO blows BTOOM away in this area, it’s not even close. However, BTOOM is still very watchable and is x10 more satisfying. Sound: Nothing memorable. I didn’t care for the songs. I will say that after recently watching Mirai Nikki and Eureka Seven I was happy to get a male protagonist who had gone through puberty. Characters: Some people really bash the characters in BTOOM for being brainless or too shallow. I actually disagree. While they certainly pander to the ‘damsel in distress’ theme a lot, I found the characters to be pretty interesting. They are all damaged and flawed in their own way. This concept is actually woven into the plot. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the male protagonist was at least moderately reflective and perceptive, certainly more than his doofus, goody-goody SAO counterpart, Kirito. Hitomi was harder for me to like but if you see her personality (you’ll know what I’m talking about) as a pathology to be pitied rather than a plot device to be celebrated, she becomes bearable. So basically lower your standards with her lol. The other characters are fine. They are generally diverse and many are very ruthless and twisted. Overall: I liked it a lot. Perfect cure for boredom on a rainy Monday afternoon. One more thing. This is an ongoing anime that focuses on the first 50 chapters of the manga. So *hint* *hint* this Anime does not cover the complete adventure. Gore/Violence: Not gratuitous but it does earn its 17+ rating. This is a death match where people kill each other. Love/Romance: Well it's either about two flawed characters exploring love or a lucky nerd with the hots for an emotionally vacuous trope. Take your pick. I prefer the former. Sex/Nudity: A lot of fan service but not to the point where it ruins the anime.

And we're back to Madhouse. That anime company that I seem to have so many ups and downs with. Which makes it really difficult to predict what I'm going to think of their works without watching them. Although I suppose that's only natural given how prolific they are. This is Btooom! an anime based on a manga by Inoue Jun'ya. One thing worth noting is that the anime has a dozen episodes while the manga is ongoing. Which indicates that there may be another season, or that the anime stops at a certain point in the manga and isn't going to go further or possibly that the anime tells a much shorter story. Let's examine Btooom! and find out which it is. The story follows a young man named Sakamoto Ryouta, a neet who finds himself strapped to a parachute on an island with no memory of how he arrived. He finds a pouch filled with bombs in with his belongings and quickly learns that he's on an island where he's expected to fight a bunch of other people to the death using bombs. Luckily for him, the scenario is based off of the game, Btooom which he's an expert at. Wait, a group of people is taken to an island against their will and told to kill each other? That scenario seems to be popping up quite a bit in recent media. To be fair, Btooom does have fairly unique execution. Unlike most works with the same basic premise, the characters aren't forced by their captors to play the game. They're encouraged to with the promise of being sent home if they can kill enough people, but they generally rely on their prisoners own worst instincts to make the game work. It actually makes for a pretty interesting conflict. Another factor I like is the way that the "players" were chosen. Let's just say that none of them are there by chance and it leads to some interesting backstory elements. That being said, there are some issues with the story. One is that it over-uses flashbacks, many of which end up being pointless since the information conveyed in them is revealed more naturally in the main narrative. There are also some continuity issues, most prominently in the last episode in which one character receives a rather nasty injury resulting in an inability to walk well only to have that same character standing up without any support and with no difficulty in one of the last few scenes. Another thing that bothers me is the sheer level of coincidence involved in the plot. There are two people on the island closely connected to Ryouta solely for the sake of plot convenience and, while their back-stories do give them a reason to be there, it seems suspect that a neet would coincidentally have that many connections in that scenario. Now, the series does end on a cliffhanger which indicates that there could very well be another season. Some people might be annoyed by that but, frankly, I think that the pacing is really strong overall and that they pick a really good spot to end in which you get quite a bit of resolution which results in Btooom having a sense of completion even though there's clearly still more to go. I will warn you that there are some disturbing scenes involving both gruesome imagery and sexual assault and, while these scenes aren't poorly done or handled disrespectfully, they may be triggering to some people. Now we move on to the characters. Btooom is one of those anime that has a clear distinction between the primary characters and the secondary. Since the primary characters get quite a bit of development and backstory while the secondary characters are largely two dimensional. However, a lot of that is clearly the result of time constraints. After all, this is only a twelve episode series and they clearly setup the possibility for future development for a lot of them, so I'm not going to complain about it too much. One thing that does hurt the characters, however is the character of Kousuke Kira. He's one of those antagonistic characters who you're supposed to feel sorry for because he has a tragic backstory. Which I hate. It's a lazy way of trying to make the audience sympathise with a sociopath without giving them any qualities that are actually sympathetic. It's a cheap, over-used and emotionally manipulative tactic that really needs to go away. Fortunately, he's a relatively minor character and the main cast is really strong. Ryouta, Himiko and Taira are all well developed characters who develop very realistically over the course of the narrative. They all have faults, but are also basically good people. Which makes them both sympathetic and realistic. The romantic elements between Himiko and Ryouta are really well handled, leading to some genuinely heart warming moments and giving both of them some of their best character moments. The art in this is excellent. The island is vibrant and teeming with life. The various buildings and backdrops have well done textures and look fairly realistic. I also like the fact that they don't make the explosions or gore over the top and ridiculous. My only complaint about the art is that there's some fan-service, although there's not a whole lot and it tends to be kept pretty tame. The voice acting is good, although not great. The actors all do fairly well, with the possible exception of Nakamura Yuuichi who, likely as a result of the direction, doesn't bother emoting. Fukami Rica does a superb job, in spite of having a small role. Both Mimori Suzuko and Hongo Kanata also do really well. The music is okay. It's not bad, but it's not good either. The yuri factor is a 1/10. The female characters barely even interact with each other in this. Except for one episode that's largely composed of flashbacks. Btooom certainly has more good qualities than bad. The story is solid with a lot of strong elements and the major characters are really well handled. Now, you probably won't like it if you're sick of the premise or if you're going to be triggered by the more disturbing content. However, if you think that the premise has merit when done well and you can handle some disturbing content, I think you'll find it an enjoyable experience. Personally, I'm going to give it an 8/10. While it has some flaws, there's nothing that drags it down too much. Next week I'll be doing something a bit different. An entire week of film reviews, starting with Kara no Kyoukai 2.

This an edited review since the DB wanted my very cheesy version of the Black Eyed Pea's of "BOOM, BOOM, POW" in which was I modified for this anime removed......man I've spend 3 days making that. Bueno, what we have is an action packed anime in which it's theme was very similar to that form the movie "Hunger Games" which I've watched from a pirated DVD. Which is a game of survival which only those who wouldn't hesitate to play dirty would survived, though It's a bit cheesy to use hurling explosives called "BIMs" as a weapon, in fact to called such game a FPS would be an understatement, co'z them character's whether in a game or in a real life or death struggle don't shoot their opponent with there so called BIMs instead they throw it a an opponent and it goes KABOOM!!! This anime focus on man's desperation to survive in which he or she will do anything to do so, it also features players who were compose of everyday people that we love to hate e.g: Ryōta Sakamoto- an arrogant NEET which every parent wants to kick outta the house. Himiko- an unfortunate scapegoat. Kiyoshi Taira- a boss every employee wants to kill. Kōsuke Kira- he represent every delinquent or rascal that every law abiding citizen who would wanna give a spanking. Masashi Miyamoto- info states that he's a war veteran, but he also represents a typical niegborhood thoughie whom we wish should be in jail. Nobutaka Oda- a typical asshole. Masahito Date- a no good doctor who shouldn't even be a doctor at all. Hidemi Kinoshita- a typical everyday bitch. Yoshihisa Kira- a dad from hell who should probably stay in hell. Sōichi Natsume - a defense lawyer in which one would wish that nobody should be defending them criminals. Mitsuo Akechi- basically he represent every typical sexual predator whose dick should have been cut-off. The mentioned character's really does give once such impact that one would feel that hate for those character's. However, every show should have a protagonist and that's where Ryōta Sakamoto fills the gap, here he's a top BTOOM player who dreams of getting a job at Tyrannos the very game developer which the protagonist was playing, this is where the fate comes in, remember when they say "Be careful of what you wish for or you just might get it" kind of thing? Well, he got what he wanted but not exactly what he expect it, where his life is now on the line, Himiko fills in as the love interest whom her character was interesting, co'z she's kinda like this wild animal in which needed to be tamed and it so happens that her distrust in men was been tamed by Ryota's sincerity. But it was a bit disappointing that Taira had become an opponent.... for a while since he has gone loco and committed Seppuku of sorts. But the real star of this anime is the blood and gore and the desperation's that we see in this anime. My rating for each of this anime's category: Story, character, enjoyment and overall: Good 7. Ok, so the way the killing was done is off, but seeing how the character's have to survive from each other compensates for such short comings and the character's are well represented by the very scums that one loves to hate, so overall it's all good. Art: Fair 6. The only thing attractive here is Himiko, in which it would have been nice if there will be some nice fanservice of her. Sound: Poor 3. I guess I just hate both the opening and closing theme.

A person being forced into a game of death and having to cope with the moral dilemma of killing others sounds like it could make for a fairly compelling psychological story, but Btooom! managed to turn that concept into a shitshow instead. Btooom! tried to deal with ideas of trust, morality, and despair with this plot synopsis, but it ultimately squandered its potential. The first episode showed promise, as Ryota's NEET life and unhealthy, otaku-like obsession with the game is immediately shown in a negative light as opposed to being glorified, and it gives us a taste of Ryota's moral dilemma to come when he kills one of the "players" of the death game in self-defense. However, a setup like this isn't difficult to achieve, and problems begin to arise quickly. Firstly, the plot often lacks suspense and tension. The game, despite trying to add variety with different kinds of bombs, is very simplistic, which is problematic when the show tries to focus on tactics. For example: the main characters are under assault by an enemy, who is using a homing bomb that detonates only when it reaches its target. A character who isn't being targeted intercepts the bomb and disables it, then decides to take the next bomb while protecting the original target. Given the situation, you'd think the assailant would now switch gears and switch targets. I came to this obvious conclusion almost instantaneously, but the show has the main character figure it out in an overly dramatic, Death Note-esque manner, absolutely shocking the other characters present. There were times in which the tactics were a bit more interesting, such as one case in which wind was used to the characters' advantage (and it was noted that this was a difference between the game "Btooom!" and the real version), but these moments are few and far between. On top of the boring tactics, the two main characters are protected by an unbelievable amount of plot armor that sucks the tension out of many moments. Expect scenes in which one of them dramatically reveal that they either "threw the bomb away at the very last second" or "jumped into a hole in the ground in the nick of time." One time a girl was saved because the bomb bounced off her boobs. Sometimes the show won't even bother with that. A bomb might be thrown near a character and the character will simply fly back when it explodes, emerging unscathed in the aftermath. It's hard to take the show seriously as a result, especially when there are other ludicrous aspects lumped in that make things feel more silly than dire – Komodo dragons, anyone? How about Ryota's twisted smile when it looks like he's about to break and sacrifice someone, when two seconds later he manages to come up with a plan to save everyone (how edgy)? Speaking of edge, Btooom! falls into the trap of taking an attempt at depth and turning it into (what has become quite the buzzword among anime fans) "edginess," a word that has come to be defined as something that occurs when a story tries too hard to be dark or deep and fails, potentially coming off as unintentionally funny, campy, or in-your-face. The show often portrays the majority of humans to be very corrupt, which serves as a plot device for characterization or a contrast to the main characters, but the problem is that this "all people (or just men in Himiko's case; more on that later) are kinda scum" trope is too overused. Granted, an island full of psychopaths may not be too out of place given the premise, but many of these people were thrown into the game for being dicks, not psychos. The show's presentation of the idea feels hamfisted rather than meaningful with all these "edgy" killers and rapists coupled together with funny shots of sadistic smiles and lifeless faces and other overdone instances of creepy, freaky nonsense, all of which contribute to the "edginess." This kind of presentation makes it feel as though Btooom! is beating the viewer over his/her head with its themes and messages. The characters are arguably the show's biggest weakness. Ryota's character feels contradictory. On one hand, he is the chivalrous heroic type who is unbelievably kind and wants to save everyone, but on the other hand, he is portrayed (in flashbacks) to be a complete asshole who cares only for his game and has no issue with shouting at and even physically hurting his mother and stepfather – this, incidentally, is why Ryota got thrown into the game. A rocky relationship with one's parents compared to others can be understandable, but the contrast here in particular is too great to be believable. Ryota did act more amicable among classmates when he went to school, but this was before he became the obsessive NEET that we now know him to be; he is also shown to be acting very polite with representatives from the company that made "Btooom!", but it's only natural that he would suck up when he's trying to get a job doing something related to the only thing he cares about. As such, there's nothing in Ryota's flashbacks that could hint at his nature in the death game, or vice versa. It isn't as though one should expect Ryota to be a heartless killer in the game, but had he shown more of his bad personality in that setting, there could have been actual progression in his character from asshole to nice guy as he learns the value of having a friend he can trust and protect by meeting Taira (the person he partners up with in-game) and Himiko, thereby redeeming himself for what he did to get thrown into the game in the first place. Instead, Ryota is left inconsistent and bland. There's actually a scene at the end in which Ryota says that he shouldn't have looked down on people so much and should've learned about the value of caring for others besides himself, but this only fits with his flashback character – it goes contrary to the Ryota we see on the island who was nice and caring all along. It's like the author had the right idea at the start, but wanted to make Ryota more likable at the same time by making him nicer on the island, and so we're left with this confusing character. Himiko doesn't fare much better. In a strange backstory in which her friends wish the worst upon her (i.e. elect her to be thrown into the death game) because she ran away and "betrayed" them while they got raped (that selfish bitch ran to go get the cops...!), we learn that Himiko is very distrustful of men, and a similar experience on the island solidifies her belief that men are scum. She showed potential to be a strong female protagonist here, but the show wastes no time in turning her into a damsel in distress who soon becomes entirely dependent on Ryota, a trope that should've been avoided. Learning that not all men are so bad is one thing, but the presentation of Himiko's character is something else altogether. The portrayal of her character is even worse when examining all of these rapey scenes that Himiko is thrown into, which seem to be presented in a fanservicey way; they give off the impression that the animators are also trying to flaunt Himiko's body at the audience for sexual appeal, which is very out of place and awkward (there's a problem when you're not sure if a scene is supposed to be appalling or erotic). The side characters mostly serve to present various psychological aspects of being thrown into death games. One character, Taira, puts his trust in Ryota on the island, but when the he's left alone several times after being injured, his mental stability begins to falter. There's this woman who trusts a man she loves (who, by the way, had already betrayed her once before), and was betrayed later when he took her chip. There's another guy who used to know Ryota from school, and he was used as a device for Ryota's characterization at the end. The concept isn't bad, but they all end up as one-note characters who are forgettable, although the dynamic between Ryota and Taira was sometimes decent, especially with the two of them expressing their fear…