Great review. Agree on most points. I disagree on the Waku vs Jun as protagonists part, however. I feel like Waku's premature death utilized a very intentional misdirection tactic in giving us someone with a lot of Main Character energy only to rip him away as a means of turning the narrative on its ear (The "False Protagonist" has also become a very popular tactic in contemporary writing, see; Game of Thrones, Goblin Slayer, Kingdom Hearts 2, Assassin's Creed 3.) It works a lot better in the manga because the stories there play out closer to an anthology, each battle allows each kid to star in the spotlight, and the manga even makes this super explicit with Jun pointing out "Each person is the main character in their own story." The anime fumbles this because, for some bizarre reason, it's disinterested in the kids despite them being the main event and the entire reason the story is worthwhile and impactful. As for Jun, in the manga, my only real issue is his turning point came so late with no indication he'd change, otherwise his arc was well done and well earned, and visiting the families of the late pilots (as well as bonding with Yoko Machi) was integral for his journey, plus visiting the pilot's families made for a nice mini "epilogue" of sorts... All except for Chizuru, which I agree, both the manga and anime really fail her. I'll also gently suggest the "closest" thing to a protagonist, in the manga at least, is Koyemshi (or arguably Tanaka,) because we get the most access to him, and he has the most dramatic change, which is why it's such a shame the anime reimagined him as your pretty average evil mascot.
Thanks for your comment! I understand your reasoning and I get the false protagonist, I just think that rather than doing that and going for the type of anthology type of show, the story would have benefitted way more by having waku as the single protagonist that helped everyone with their struggles. Instead we had some episodes with kids that were not particularly interesting. The show is still good but it's just those minor things that feel like a missed opportunity.
@@yostinanimereviews Well I meant more the manga, I think there's a ton of mistakes they made in the show where things didn't translate as well (including the anthology feel of the stories,) but I understand what you mean.
The story has an amazing premise but is a real let-down in both versions. Kids coping with their inevitable impending death opens a lot of dramatic possibilities that are largely ignored to focus on random adult character's petty BS. Most of the kids don't seem to care what's happening to them so it's hard for me to care, and those that do care mostly die early on. The anime trying to make things lighter than the manga compounded this, but i think it started stronger since we got to know the kids more before they got in the robot. The OP and EDs are amazing though.
I agree, aside from one or two kids most of their reactions to their own mortality was unrealistic, how can a 12-13 year old accept their death so easily, it's sad cuz it makes you think of how good this story could have been. I still jam to that uninstall part in the OP!
@@yostinanimereviews - it's especially odd that, in the anime, the parents who know what is going on don't seem to care that their kids are about to die, caring more about their careers or love-lives. The characters I end up liking the most are probably the ones I'm intended to like the least, because they're the only ones who react realistically to their impending death (Even if that reaction is ugly). I think the lite novel does a way better job than the show or manga, but it doesn't have the banging soundtrack of course. There's loads of good covers of Uninstall on youtube to jam to.
I think most of the parents didn't knew about this, in the anime the ones that knew were mostly anime original characters so the blame goes directly to the director and anime writers, on the manga it was only the general and Jun's mom so it's understandable that as army officers they thought about the greater good while still caring about their children. I do mention this in the video but I wish they showed more realistic reactions like waku's parents in the funeral.
@@yostinanimereviewsThe reactions of children in this story somewhat need to be suspended for a story to exist. If every kid was screaming and/or panicking over their own demise, they would’ve died at the beginning and no story would’ve taken place. Now, narratively, these children didn’t get to live the ideal life of regular children before the robot situation. One kid had to grow up because his dad was absent, therefore making him responsible for taking care of his siblings. Another felt that they were replaceable and less important because they were adopted and that them sacrificing themself was a means of returning the kindness their adoptive parents gave them. Another was taken advantage of by a trusted adult and impregnated. I don’t think I need to clarify anything more regarding her reactions to the circumstances. My point is that all of the children, except maybe the piano girl, had to endure the difficulties of life beforehand. They had to mature and adapt to such stressful situations that altered who they were to their grave. Unlike your average kid who has little to no responsibilities, these kids had so much more going on and it’s because of this that they were able to see with clarity what matters more than anything to each of them. Siblings, parents, friends, revenge all were clear to them consistently.
Thanks, i hard the anime was different, but i didn't really want to watch it to see how. A lot of the downsides you mentioned were interesting for me in the manga, i liked that there was no protagonist, and that the adults were trying to spare them from as much political bs as possible but failed just as much as they succeeded. I would agree about the teacher though, i wanted so badly for him to get killed, but i do see the point in letting him live. It definitely underlines the point of 'is this world worth saving, and are there people whose lives matter more than others'. I also liked how Dungbeetle talks about how his group were constantly fighting, showing that this group of kids was a big exception to the usual.
I preffer the anime since it has a better ending and clousure (except for the master minds part) instead of having a cope out at the end like in the manga, is like yeah the cycle continues and it dosent really have any merit if you are just gonna say "yeah we are doing it again and this new kids will suffer". At least the anime went somewhere with it
Not read the manga, but I know it was different. I was expecting a bit of a meta bad ending to the anime, objects and vehicles didn’t look like our world besides it being animated of course. When I thought of that I had a feeling that Jun would lose the fight and that parallel world would be erased, I felt like although he would have fought he would have funbled the fight after snapping from everything that he had done and happened to him. As cheesy as it sounds the ending could have left the viewer with trepidation that our real world may be next…
I agree, both manga and anime endings had some flaws specially the anime with so many plot holes, it had a lot of potential but I mean japanese media and bad endings name a better duo.
did they ever explain in the anime why they had to fight? i know their universe got destroyed if they lost, but who forced them to fight and who destroys the universe when they lose?
Yeah dung beetle explains everything just like in the manga, in the anime they even show what happens when the world is destroyed, and they show some people in white shirts as the masterminds but they never really explain who they are.
The way I wish this story was remade and rewritten because the plot is amazing and dark while also being really heroic, it's such an amazing concept but the execution did not do it justice. Even though it was done kind of bad, the plot alone was so memorable I still think about it, imagine if they were able to do this properly. I wish.
I heard the director did an interview and the reason he changed the ending was because after talking with the author he didn't like where the story was going.
I've watched the anime and read the manga and I can tell you sometimes I want to go back to anime. Yes, there are plot glitches, but thanks to the strong soundtrack and a kind of good ending, I felt better. After this anime, I want to live.
For sure each story has its charms, I personally liked the manga better but both options are valid and I agree the OST is one of it's strongest points. Thanks for sharing!
Im kinda glad Waku went first. It was this shows way of poking fun at stupid shonen traits. "Sorry your endless optimism doesnt belong here"
In a way it was also going against the trope of main protagonist, basically telling us there is no protagonist, all will die
Imagine Simon the digger piloting Zearth
Manga was too good and dark, the anime director couldn't hanlde it and made his own version
Also jun become the beetle in the end of manga
Great review. Agree on most points. I disagree on the Waku vs Jun as protagonists part, however. I feel like Waku's premature death utilized a very intentional misdirection tactic in giving us someone with a lot of Main Character energy only to rip him away as a means of turning the narrative on its ear (The "False Protagonist" has also become a very popular tactic in contemporary writing, see; Game of Thrones, Goblin Slayer, Kingdom Hearts 2, Assassin's Creed 3.) It works a lot better in the manga because the stories there play out closer to an anthology, each battle allows each kid to star in the spotlight, and the manga even makes this super explicit with Jun pointing out "Each person is the main character in their own story." The anime fumbles this because, for some bizarre reason, it's disinterested in the kids despite them being the main event and the entire reason the story is worthwhile and impactful.
As for Jun, in the manga, my only real issue is his turning point came so late with no indication he'd change, otherwise his arc was well done and well earned, and visiting the families of the late pilots (as well as bonding with Yoko Machi) was integral for his journey, plus visiting the pilot's families made for a nice mini "epilogue" of sorts... All except for Chizuru, which I agree, both the manga and anime really fail her.
I'll also gently suggest the "closest" thing to a protagonist, in the manga at least, is Koyemshi (or arguably Tanaka,) because we get the most access to him, and he has the most dramatic change, which is why it's such a shame the anime reimagined him as your pretty average evil mascot.
Thanks for your comment!
I understand your reasoning and I get the false protagonist, I just think that rather than doing that and going for the type of anthology type of show, the story would have benefitted way more by having waku as the single protagonist that helped everyone with their struggles.
Instead we had some episodes with kids that were not particularly interesting. The show is still good but it's just those minor things that feel like a missed opportunity.
@@yostinanimereviews Well I meant more the manga, I think there's a ton of mistakes they made in the show where things didn't translate as well (including the anthology feel of the stories,) but I understand what you mean.
The story has an amazing premise but is a real let-down in both versions. Kids coping with their inevitable impending death opens a lot of dramatic possibilities that are largely ignored to focus on random adult character's petty BS. Most of the kids don't seem to care what's happening to them so it's hard for me to care, and those that do care mostly die early on. The anime trying to make things lighter than the manga compounded this, but i think it started stronger since we got to know the kids more before they got in the robot. The OP and EDs are amazing though.
I agree, aside from one or two kids most of their reactions to their own mortality was unrealistic, how can a 12-13 year old accept their death so easily, it's sad cuz it makes you think of how good this story could have been. I still jam to that uninstall part in the OP!
@@yostinanimereviews - it's especially odd that, in the anime, the parents who know what is going on don't seem to care that their kids are about to die, caring more about their careers or love-lives.
The characters I end up liking the most are probably the ones I'm intended to like the least, because they're the only ones who react realistically to their impending death (Even if that reaction is ugly).
I think the lite novel does a way better job than the show or manga, but it doesn't have the banging soundtrack of course. There's loads of good covers of Uninstall on youtube to jam to.
I think most of the parents didn't knew about this, in the anime the ones that knew were mostly anime original characters so the blame goes directly to the director and anime writers, on the manga it was only the general and Jun's mom so it's understandable that as army officers they thought about the greater good while still caring about their children. I do mention this in the video but I wish they showed more realistic reactions like waku's parents in the funeral.
@@yostinanimereviewsThe reactions of children in this story somewhat need to be suspended for a story to exist. If every kid was screaming and/or panicking over their own demise, they would’ve died at the beginning and no story would’ve taken place.
Now, narratively, these children didn’t get to live the ideal life of regular children before the robot situation. One kid had to grow up because his dad was absent, therefore making him responsible for taking care of his siblings. Another felt that they were replaceable and less important because they were adopted and that them sacrificing themself was a means of returning the kindness their adoptive parents gave them. Another was taken advantage of by a trusted adult and impregnated. I don’t think I need to clarify anything more regarding her reactions to the circumstances.
My point is that all of the children, except maybe the piano girl, had to endure the difficulties of life beforehand. They had to mature and adapt to such stressful situations that altered who they were to their grave. Unlike your average kid who has little to no responsibilities, these kids had so much more going on and it’s because of this that they were able to see with clarity what matters more than anything to each of them. Siblings, parents, friends, revenge all were clear to them consistently.
Thanks, i hard the anime was different, but i didn't really want to watch it to see how. A lot of the downsides you mentioned were interesting for me in the manga, i liked that there was no protagonist, and that the adults were trying to spare them from as much political bs as possible but failed just as much as they succeeded. I would agree about the teacher though, i wanted so badly for him to get killed, but i do see the point in letting him live. It definitely underlines the point of 'is this world worth saving, and are there people whose lives matter more than others'. I also liked how Dungbeetle talks about how his group were constantly fighting, showing that this group of kids was a big exception to the usual.
I preffer the anime since it has a better ending and clousure (except for the master minds part) instead of having a cope out at the end like in the manga, is like yeah the cycle continues and it dosent really have any merit if you are just gonna say "yeah we are doing it again and this new kids will suffer". At least the anime went somewhere with it
Yeah I can agree with that, both don't really have a perfect ending it's just the preferences of closure against a more consistent overall story.
@@yostinanimereviews totally agree, Bokurano is what the reader/audience wants it to be ^^
In other words, you entirely missed the point of the mangas story and ending so you chose the ruined anime’s version to cope better. Gotcha.
Not read the manga, but I know it was different. I was expecting a bit of a meta bad ending to the anime, objects and vehicles didn’t look like our world besides it being animated of course. When I thought of that I had a feeling that Jun would lose the fight and that parallel world would be erased, I felt like although he would have fought he would have funbled the fight after snapping from everything that he had done and happened to him. As cheesy as it sounds the ending could have left the viewer with trepidation that our real world may be next…
I agree, both manga and anime endings had some flaws specially the anime with so many plot holes, it had a lot of potential but I mean japanese media and bad endings name a better duo.
did they ever explain in the anime why they had to fight? i know their universe got destroyed if they lost, but who forced them to fight and who destroys the universe when they lose?
Yeah dung beetle explains everything just like in the manga, in the anime they even show what happens when the world is destroyed, and they show some people in white shirts as the masterminds but they never really explain who they are.
The way I wish this story was remade and rewritten because the plot is amazing and dark while also being really heroic, it's such an amazing concept but the execution did not do it justice. Even though it was done kind of bad, the plot alone was so memorable I still think about it, imagine if they were able to do this properly. I wish.
I assume that the divergences in the adaptation was a matter of copyrights or because the manga was still in progress.
I heard the director did an interview and the reason he changed the ending was because after talking with the author he didn't like where the story was going.
I've watched the anime and read the manga and I can tell you sometimes I want to go back to anime. Yes, there are plot glitches, but thanks to the strong soundtrack and a kind of good ending, I felt better. After this anime, I want to live.
For sure each story has its charms, I personally liked the manga better but both options are valid and I agree the OST is one of it's strongest points. Thanks for sharing!
The plot of "Masters" looks like a copy of "Ancestral Race" from Evangelion
niceluuuu!