[TV Series] Spiral

[Akihiko Yamamoto Hozagaki]

Type: TV Series - 25 Episodes

Genre: Mystery/Crime Solving

Plot synopsis: Ayumu Narumi is the main character if this series. His brother mysteriously disappears without leaving a trace, but only told Ayumu something about the Blade Children. Ever since that event two years ago, Ayumu has been determined to find more out about the Blade Children. He then meets a girl named Hiyono Yuizaki, who plays an important role in finding the Blade Children.
Throughout the series, Ayumu is put through games that risk his life. However, Ayumu has outstanding wisdom, courage, and luck (they say those three words constantly in the series). He only tries to prove that he can be better than his brother.

Story (10/10):

Though sounding cliched, it's actually a very intricate and unique plot. It's not too complicated to follow, and always leaves you guessing. I found that it drawed me in from the very beginning. Unlike most mystery, you don't see many animes about kids trying to find out who they are. It's intense, and I think any fan of mystery will be totally entranced.

Characters (9/10):

They're all very different in their own ways. Ayumu and Hiyono don't get along at first, and they never really do. There's nothing more boring that characters that all get along like a family. You can really feel the character's emotions too. It's easy to understand what their thinking, though. They can be a bit predictable at times.

Art/animation (10/10):

This is based on personal opinion of course, but I think the art is gorgeous. I tend to be lax on the art, since I'm amazed by almost any anime. The animation is clean, except one scene with a guy playing the piano, but that's hard to animate. I think the only thing that annoyed me was the fact that they repeated a background when someone was driving, and they used that same background in a different episode. I'm just nit-picky though.

Voice acting, music (8/10) -

Meh, it was okay. Let's just say I've heard better. The music was dull, except for a bit of piano playing. Ayumu's voice was a bit... over-exagerated, I think. Most of the voice actors were dull. However, it did have one of my favorite voice actors, Greg Ayres. It also featured Sonny Strait.

Overall (9/10):

It's a really nice anime. I recommend it for any mystery fan, anime fan or not. It can really be enjoyed by any age, and it has nice visuals. It wasn't what I expected, but I still enjoyed it very much.

Screenshots:



Pengin-san's Recommendations for Fans of "Spiral":

-Case Closed
-D.N.Angel

[Peppermint Hearts]

The only reason I didn't rate this series a full 10 is that they didn't have enough episodes to complete the series properly, it only ran about 25 or so episodes, they should have made 52 because it was still an excellent series. CHARACTERS: 10 especially the adorable and funny Hiyono. STORIES: 10, it was quite fascinating and interesting to watch. ART: 8 OVERALL: 9, due to the lack of episodes as mentioned above.