ClassicaLoid

As a classical musician, I was really thrilled with the premise of this anime. I was excited to see what kind of characterization would take place and how each composer's music would be adapted in a modern day context. With that said, I couldn't finish the first episode the first time around. I wasn't quite ready for the experience ClassicaLoid was trying to give me. We've got a rambunctious house full of maladjusted geniuses. There's a lot of fun, a lot of chaos, and a lot of music. Once you commit to the madness though, you're in for an interesting ride. The Story - 5; Without any spoilers, I must say that the story is a bit weak and takes a bit to unfold. I'm almost sure that the storyline intentionally takes a backseat to the comedic antics and absurdity that makes the backbone of this show. The last two episodes really floored me, honestly. You watch an anime like this for the experience, not the story. Art - 8; I really like the style and think it works well. Love how each character really has their own aesthetic. Beethoven is undoubtedly Beethoven. What's also nice is that the style remains consistent and there's little/no change in quality over the span of the series. Music - 6; Man, was I let down by some of the arrangements featured in this show. Instead of lamenting some of the weak music, I'll highlight what I did like. The arrangement of the "Alla Turca" from Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 into a "Thriller" mashup was borderline genius and hilarious. The story behind and presentation of "Fur Elise" was also hilarious. These two alone kinda overshadow some of the duds and really heightened the comedy for me. Characterization - 6; This is a tough part to talk about because it's probably my biggest gripe with the show. Some characters are done nicely, even if their antics get repetitive or annoying--namely Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. Some characters are too one-dimensional for my liking, though. I would've liked to see more out of Chopin, especially his friendship with Liszt. Schubert is basically thrown under the bus from his introductory episode until episode 21. It's a shame he was made to be not a whole lot more than a Beethoven fanboy, when he was quite a composer in his own right historically. It started to grate my nerves how lazy the script would get at times, with Schubert doing nothing more than agreeing with Beethoven or shouting "sempai" intermittently. There's a lot more content to explore with these characters and their musicality outside of odd quirks (like Beethoven wanting to create his own guitar...) wasn't explored a whole lot, which is disappointing, especially with the Musik they wield not having as much context without the whole notion that, hey, these men lived and died by their music. Overall - 6; Many enjoyable moments, but not an anime to be taken seriously or to go into with any expectations whatsoever. The first few episodes are slow, but as soon as you get the first inkling of an idea that this series might be as nuts as it is, you might be hooked.

Music is a universal language, but nobody understands Bach. Story: Famous composers have come to life (again) to do…something. The plot is very thin with this anime. There is an actual purpose for the creation of the Classicaloids, but it’s irrelevant for most of its run. Only within the last 2 or 3 episodes does something reminiscent of a plot happen, until then we are treated to a lot of episodic nonsense. I found the comedy to be very repetitive, it’s basically one of the Classicaloids acting like a total numbnut, causing a massive chaos or one of them gone missing and the others (for whatever reason) wanting them back. The introductory episodes in the beginning of the series were the best in my eyes, since the characters were still fresh by then and the interactions not stale yet. While many anime nowadays suffer from being only 1-cour, Classicaloid would have done so much better if it was, instead we get a heavily dragged out 2-cour anime that gets boring way too fast. 3/10 Art: It’s…colorful. That’s almost all the positive things I have to say about the art. The characters look somewhat clunky and unreal with those big borders around them. There are tons of off-model shots as well. The animation isn’t much to brag about either, only the times the Classicaloids use their powers look slightly appealing, but after a while these effects start to lose their charms. I sometimes got the feeling Studio Sunrise is trying to produce a Trigger show but they don’t know how to do that, but I have a wild imagination, so don’t take this as a fact. Bottom line, Classicaloid looks very cheap and lackluster and it doesn’t feel like the animation department was very ambitious with this show. 3/10 Sound: An anime about music should sound extraordinary good, shouldn’t it? Well, not really. Obviously, we get to hear a lot of classical compositions of the characters’ namesakes, but unfortunately they are mostly mediocre at best J-Pop mixes of said pieces. There are a few positive exceptions, like Mozart’s Turkish March remixed with Michael Jackson’s Thriller or the show’s version of Swan Lake, but most of them sound very lame. The voice acting is okay mostly, there’s nobody doing a bad job there. The opening song falls into the same category as the rest of the soundtrack while the endings are just reprises of songs used in the respective episode. I mean, it’s cool they use all those classic pieces at all (and possibly teach young viewers about their composers), but it could have been done so much better. 4/10 Characters: The composers are portrayed as exaggerations of the originals. Mozart for example is a carefree, childish ladies man, Tchaikovsky is a grumpy alcoholic and so on. This may get old really fast (and it does), but it’s not that much of a problem. I was much more horrified by the sheer amount of dickery they evince towards each other and even more towards Kanae. That poor girl is forced to let them stay at her house, she does all the housework, cleans, cooks, washes, and all they ever do is make her life as miserable as possible. The same goes for Sousuke, who is basically a humanoid parasite. Maybe the show would have been more enjoyable if it had more likeable characters. 3/10 Enjoyment: There are tons of anime that should be 2-cours or more, but are forced to squeeze themselves into 12 or 13 episodes. Classicaloid is the exact opposite. At least half of the episodes were screaming “FILLER!” into my face, provided one beliefs that this show has an actual ongoing story. Classicaloid CAN be funny at times, but these times are so rare, that it just bored me most of the time. I mean, just look at how lackluster this review is. It didn’t hurt to watch and I didn’t want to end my life or anything, but if I had another chance, I would choose not to watch it again. Maybe you will enjoy it much more, who knows, humor is subjective after all. 3/10 Overall: 3.2/10

This anime is made by sunrise the same studio who make gintama and gundam. This anime is really underrated im watching this thanks to some highlited reviews that give score 9&8. If u're fan of comedy well u will not be disappointed dont be fooled by music genre or classical music story plot! No its not focused on classical music at all! Idk why this anime get only 6,5. Firstly the art is amazing 10/10 for some reason I feel nostalgic when see this anime art. the art is like that you see on epic adventure fantasy anime like letter bee,gosick for example but at the same time it have a modern style too like sad anime anohana or ano natsu de matteru. Its like blend of both of it and its like an art for epic anime. But the art style is rarely used these days and you will see the hint of gintama in this anime. The way they make the jokes,characters, and even how the characters grinning are similar. Story 10/10 I thought that this will be some serious music anime with little comedy but the comedy are so funny and whacky the first 2 min watching this u will already laughing or grinning at least. And this anime should have slice of life genre it have heartwarming story. it doesnt constantly tell about music but the characters life,pasts,family and friends too. The good news is we got 25 eps of it! So you will have quite long journey to the whacky comedy world, heartwarming slice of life story plot and some music. I can say that this anime is an undiscovered gem.

classicaloid is so UNDERRATED. I WILL TELL YOU! the accuracy of this anime is impeccable and i love it so much. im so happy to see a series depicting these historic musicians as the psychotic bastards they were. classicaloid is lacking a bit in story but I think it makes up in comedy, BUT I also think you have to be a specific sort of person to enjoy classicaloids humor. I will now go in depth STORY- 6 The story for this season lacks any meaningful development for a VERY long time. This is because there's no real villainy/obstacle, sure you have the evil mega corp Bach and his underlings but throughout the season he's more neutral than anything. If you asked me I couldn't name a single REAL threatening thing he did the entire time. With the concept this anime has you would think they would do more with it, but they do not. I mean you have clones of these figures and they don't do anything but make fart jokes and never pay their rent. To be fair, the story gets miles better in season 2 but thats not relevant right now. The story in this season just consists of the classicaloids messing around and getting into trouble because their bumbling idiots, while land lord Kanae has constant mental breakdowns after asking her tenants to be productive members of society for the 8th episode. I'm just going to be a little spoilery so don't read if you havent finished but,, I think Beethoven and Mozart shutting down Bach in trying to let EVERYONE have musik was pretty awful. Like why can't people have musik? If everyone has musik then everyone can share their experiences with the people around them. Like the thing is Mozart and Beethoven didn't shut it down because "Oh, it might be used for evil." They shut it down because "NO! Music is special!!" Like.. WTF does that even mean?? Yes Music is special so why not share it with others?? It just didn't make sense at all and was very selfish of Mozart and Beethoven to do. ART- 9 GOOD ART!! The main characters have thick lines that no one else does, their designs greatly contrast those around them, overall the art has miles of personality in it. When they use their musik it does feeling like your eyes are bleeding(depending on who uses it) but the actual musik designs are very great!! I love their transformations and I love how they show the exaggeration of the characters personalities through what their wearing. For example the way they show Liszts femininity and over exaggerate Beethovens passion through his leather jacket, and show Chopins degeneracy through his tracksuit. OR hell its not even an exaggeration sometimes, like they made Bach wear a disco oriented getup when he's written maybe like one or two jazzy pieces. The arts just great overall it really suits the characters personalities and makes you question your own state of mind, I love it. SOUND-9 AMAZING!!!!!! Okay actually half the tracks are a miss but the other half are genius. The music is usually made by this rock band thats not very good so most of the miss tracks come from them. but they are not all bad. As a show about music most of the music are remixes of classical songs, and wow.. I haven't heard such good remixes like how they took the Turkish March and mixed it with Thriller that was brilliant. They absolutely nailed Chopins remixes by using vocaloid, really shows how much of a loser he is!! Whoever did Tchaikos remixes also did them well they are bangers. The Intro theme is really good too, I like how they actually didn't use vocals, (Thank god.) and instead used mostly classicaloid instruemnts. It nods to the period the animes actually based on and lets you focus more on the animation in the beginning. Now the missed themes come from Mozart, Beethoven, and Liszt. The voice actors/singers were doing their best but honestly if they had just not done singing their themes would have been just fine. Like wow, I would've given this a 20 if all of Liszts themes DIDNT HAVE SINGING. WHY DID THEY ADD SINGING?? HIS PIANO PIECES DO NOT EVEN INCLUDE SINGING!!!!!!!!!! CHARACTERS-9 There is a lack in development and drive to the lives these characters live. And lack of flashbacks for certain characters such as Chopin, Liszt, and others. And I'm talking about like, little or NO development. All other cast has their moments but even those are short lived, and often times they make their moments more dramatic then needed to be. But that I feel is overshadowed by their gimmicks and eccentric personalities. I just love things that are ridiculous and their characters are so ridiculous enough that the lack of flashbacks Isn't a deal breaker for me. I enjoy the clones of these figures making a name for themselves, because after all these ARENT the real composers their just clones. I wish they expanded more on that, it would've been nice if the characters thought more about what it meant just being clones. But anyway wow the characters, absolute maniacs. It really shows how undignified most composers were in their personal lives and this show makes them human by showing us that. Of course Schubert and a couple other characters aren't exactly accurate, but Liszt, Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven are wildly similar to their real life counterparts. Mozart will always be insane. But anyway, Bach had a good character and I think he was a good Neutral Villian. I think this show needed a stronger Villian character, but Bach in general had a nice motivation for doing what he wanted to do. Tchaiko and Bada being paired together against their will I think was very funny, and good for contrast of character. ENJOYMENT-10 This is gonna be my favorite anime for a while just because of how entertaining it is. Like the gags do get repetitive sometimes but when you finish the anime it really becomes nostalgic. This isn't the anime to watch if your looking for meaningful story, but it is the anime to watch if your looking for laughs and the memory to look back on it and be like.. Yeah, that was pretty ridiculous. I've rewatched it like twice. Overall I give it a 10 just because I think this anime deserves a better score. My real rating would be an 8. But anyway, this really does pander to a small group of people. If you think of composers to be dignified people who were very formal your not going to like this anime. If you wanted MALE anime Liszt, you are NOT going to like this anime but I suggest you stick around for season 2 to see him for 2 minutes. Just lower your expectations before watching.. Please. This isn't a really general public anime, but you can still enjoy it without know thing references!! It's funny either way.

Classicaloids is. A lot to take in. It's not good, BUT it's fun. It's extremely fun, and the colors, sounds, and characters are all enjoyable, even if the story is just off the wall unusual. Classicaloids is, in short, about the clones? Reborn versions? Of classical composers like Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, ect. Living in the modern era with their creators(?) daughter in a huge mansion. They are all bubbly, fun, colorful, and completely different from one another, finding their happiness in daily life while also occasionally turning into classical music-themed magical girls and boys. It's not a great anime, it's not even in my top ten, but I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I couldn't bear to give it a score below 7. If you want an anime that's colorful, fun, and musical, i'd highly suggest it.

(this is my first review, please don't bully) well, this sure was a ride,and one that i enjoyed a lot! Story 8/10: Kanae is a young girl who just inherited her grandmother's house, but for some reason, Beethoven and Mozart are living there. no, they aren't the actual Beethoven and Mozart, they are classicaloids, artificial humans created in order to "create the perfect instrument" and have the power of musik, a magical girl-ish power that happens when they have strong feelings. Yes, this is a mess, but one that i enjoyed a lot! the show follows a mostly episodic format with one and another that creates an actual story, the comedy is splendid but really ridiculous and childish at times, to enjoy this anime you need to be chill and don't take it that seriously Art 7/10: Those bright and colorful colors were what got me here in first place, everything is so colorful and bright it hurts my ayes(and i love it), the drawing style in general is super cartoony and goes really well with the show in general. the animation is ok, it gets better when the "musik" scenes happen, but none than that is just fine. Sound 9/10: i must say i'm not an expert in music, but this show's OST is one of my favourites of all time. All the songs( except from the opening, that is a really nice instrumental piece) are sampled versions of classical music mixed with pop-ish sounds and lyrics that are most of the time way deeper than what you expect. Voice acting is good too, nothing else i can say. Characters 7/10: they could be deep...could. All the characters are just exaggerated versions of their real life counterparts, Beethoven is an impulsive dude who gets obsessed over things easily, Mozart a care-free pervert, Schubert a gentleman obsessed with his senpai and so the lists goes on. i loved every single character in the series, but i think they deserved a lot more of development(we don't see any development for Schubert until episode 21 for example) Enjoyment 9/10: As i said, this was a ride i enjoyed a lot. i haven't laughed that much with an anime since nichijou, and it made me feel happy! when i saw that lot of negative comments i thought i wouldn't enjoy this, but man i did. Sit down, relax and enjoy classicaloid, even if it's ridiculous and surrealist, just fall in love with the musik. Overall rating: 8, nothing near perfection but enjoyable nonetheless

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) When I was in high school, prepping for my college-entrance exams, I would sometimes listen to classical music. I read online somewhere that it could calm one’s nerves and increase thinking capacity. Wanting every edge available to me, I made it a point to play these pieces when the opportunity arose. Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492” was usually my go-to choice for its rising-and-falling notes. I don’t listen to a whole lot of classical music nowadays; metal has instead trounced everything else. But, as ClassicaLoid depicts, metal and many other motifs go together with the classics more so than one may initially believe. STORY Kanae is a typical high-school girl who happens to be the caretaker of her family’s spacious mansion. A mansion that also houses the so-called ClassicaLoids, reincarnations of extremely famous composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and so on. However, these now-modern geniuses bring both mischief and craziness through their quirks and their abilities, leaving Kanae, her childhood friend Sousuke, and everyone else to deal with one ClassicaLoid situation after another. As almost exclusively a comedy, ClassicaLoid attempts to tickle its audience’s funny bone not with a feathery quill but rather a conductor’s baton, filling the air with musical romps and lots of other noises. While it has its crescendos, the anime unfortunately has its diminuendos, too. One of the show’s biggest strengths comes through in its weirdness. For it can get very strange. A mother and her son fart in the other’s direction for some bonding time. A merleopon statue takes the form of a censored-out penis. Fried tangerines replace heads and give way to creepy flower monsters. At one point, everyone except Hasshie the bird and Pad-kun the device turns into a fish. Aliens terrorize the Earth until they hear the blissful tones of all Eight Sounds in unison. In other words, ClassicaLoid hits many different spots on the randomized map, going wherever it so desires to achieve laughter. This random nature doesn’t always seem to align with the anime’s goals, however. Liszt’s “girls’ day out” and Beethes worrying about creating the perfect cup of coffee using exactly sixty beans has very little to do with the classical, instrumental, and musical motifs that the anime so regularly follows. Indeed, their Musik applies to pretty much anything, meaning these elements aren’t so much a driving force for the comedy as they are an excuse for the anime to do whatever it wants without regard. That’s being too harsh, though. In fact, ClassicaLoid not strictly sticking with music-centric jokes and funnies is precisely the point of the premise. These ClassicaLoids are the modernized versions of their old-school counterparts. Watching them try to find the correct ingredient for jet-black gyoza or fail to do the simplest of chores makes for a silly contrast that helps with the anime’s comedic angle. Otherwise, the anime does focus on the Musik, providing the audience with one new colorful performance nearly once every episode. Mozart’s “Symphony No. 25 in G Minor – K. 183.” Chopin’s “Nocturne No. 2.” Liszt’s “Liebesträume No. 3.” While they get reused occasionally, the show makes a clear effort to pack in as many of these famous pieces as it can muster. In doing so, more comedy comes forth through the very crux of these compositions. For example, in episode four, Schubert performs “Lullaby” whenever he gets particularly excited, infantilizing those around him. Then, in the very next episode, Beethes performs his “Piano Concerto 5 in E Minor.” It also goes by the title “Emperor Concerto” which, coincidentally enough, summons emperor penguins to do his bidding. And all the way down into episode nineteen, Tchaiko’s “Swan Lake” forces the residents of Kanae’s mansion to romantically pair up so that a bunch of “swans” can whisk them away. Simultaneously, ClassicaLoid has other, smaller jokes to fill the space between everything else. As Beethes plays his “Violin Sonata No. 9” (or “Kreutzer”), Pad-kun dons a Victorian-era wig to match the occasion. Or how, during Sousuke’s torturous “Boku Futsuu,” the eyes on Motes’ eel costume X themselves out as he “dies” from the aural pain. These smaller moments and details keep the comedy going even when the focus lies elsewhere. Beneath the comedy, a looming subplot exists, tying many of the episodes and their events together. It involves Bach, the “evil” ruler of a production company, and his plot for something grander. Unfortunately, it never really gains much focus, it doesn’t affect the characters to any worthwhile degree, and it ultimately doesn’t matter when his device breaks down (twice). ClassicaLoid also includes touchy-feely snippets. Kanae’s grandmother’s influence on her from the first episode brings a twinge of drama. And background scenes, like Kanae’s father saving Beethes and Motes from the facility that created them, offer minute explanations as to how this whole shebang came about. They slightly balance out the heavy amount of comedy and provide a better foundation for the plot, but these elements are either too infrequent or too unimportant to impact the anime, getting in the way of the comedy that ClassicaLoid creates. This combined weak subplot with weaker plot elements isn’t the best means for the show to get across its larger message, but at least it tries for something. Near the end of the season, Bach’s plan of normalizing music isn’t seen as beneficial but rather detrimental. Kanae describes such a musically averaged world as “lonely.” That “special music for special days” is only so because music isn’t everywhere. As her mini flashback depicts, the events her and the other characters went through are dear memories. Memories that, like music, are precious precisely because they represent one’s own experiences. Again, a nice sentiment. But, with the story steeped in ridiculousness, the anime makes it tough to walk away from this story with anything else besides Musik and comedy in mind. ART & ANIMATION ClassicaLoid has a bit of an interesting style thanks to some specific artistic choices. A lot of the intrigue comes from the characters’ designs. They generally stick out from their surroundings due to thick outlines and loud outfits. Quirky colors and classical inspiration further their outspoken looks. For example, Beethes’ has his signature frazzled, white hair, but he wears a black leather jacket, contrasting his colors and highlighting his rocker gusto. Motes goes all pink with a big pillow-like hat and a tied sweater. In comparison, Schubert’s circular frames, mustard coat, and knee-high socks with brown pants hearken back to his era. Liszt’s orange eyes with embroidered-light-green dress, Bach’s disco attire with famous wig, and Chopin’s purple cape and long-silvered clothes continue ClassicaLoid’s nifty trend. Most notably, the Musik performances make a concerted effort to be as involved and as spontaneous and as weird as possible. Mozart will cause machines to literally dance in humanoid fashion. Bąda’s ritualistic sun both hypnotizes her fans and melts Tchaiko alive. Schubert spits fire, turning everyone into living graffiti which in turn pays homage to the classic PaRappa the Rapper video-game series. These segments go wherever they want to, introducing a lot of variety in the visuals. Moreover, they also increase the level of detail, highlighting the importance of the performances. Literal musical notes float through the air. Colors explode. Movement abounds. Entire settings morph. Altogether, these performances are some of the best moments in the show thanks to their involved, fantastical direction In general, though, ClassicaLoid doesn’t wow too much. The inside of Kanae’s mansion and the brief glimpses of the local city aren’t rife with pizzazz. Actual animation also remains barley passable whenever the char…