BNA

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL ActionBNA ZERO: Massara ni Narenai Kemono-tachi
MANGA ActionBNA

REVIEWS

• 

  CobaltoNoBlu

  90/100
  TRIGGER delivers a unique world that keeps you intrigued enough to bypass its narrative flaws.

  BNA was a show that I had minimal expectations of going into. This was my first Trigger show, and although I had heard mixed reviews about many of its shows, I had never actually seen one.

  The first thing that stood out to me was the art and tone of the show. Although set in a modern day-near future setting, I felt like I was watching some 80's vapor-wave aesthetic take up my screen. The bright colors and contrasts were a delight to watch and the setting was something I fell in love with. I will say that the art style definitely detracted from some of the more somber tones in the show and de-escalated some of the more tense scenes, however, a small detail I enjoyed was how at the end of episode 11 the ending animation was converted to grayscale, matching the tone of how the episode ended.

  BNA is a 12 episode straight shot show and I think one if it's biggest flaws was creating such a unique world that needed a lot of time and exposition to flesh out. Beastmen add an entire history to the world that we are unaware of and only learn small snippets of throughout the show. There are obviously very heated political overtones and problems that we only know the surface of. We know that Animacity was created 10 years before our story takes place and that it was groundbreaking in terms of beastmen rights but other than that we have very little info on what came before. With a world this deep it is important that we are able to learn a lot to better immerse ourselves in what the characters might be experiencing but the sheer length of the show prevents that. That being said, there is a silver lining...

  Michiru Kagemori is our protagonist, a human who suddenly transformed into a beastman and escaped to Animacity so she could live without fear of persecution. One of the reasons I like our protagonist so much is because she, like the viewer, is very new to the world of beastman. She has no idea about the culture or what her role is but she keeps throwing herself in like the human she is. Her curiosity and recklessness are the few things that stayed the same after her transformation and is what affects many of the characters throughout the story. Now I’m not going to lie and say she is perfect. Her personality does drag on in some parts and becomes annoying and her ability to control her "powers" without much effort is a little much although I don't really think the power or strength of these characters really matters in the long run. Michiru, like the viewer, is just trying to figure out what’s going on and what she can do in this strange world. It's the reason I like her as the focus instead of our silver knight, Shirou Oogami. Shirou is probably one of the more intriguing parts of this show as his development is the most stubborn. I loved the chemistry between Michiru and Shirou; it felt like a father and daughter who kept constantly bickering and that seemed to really get to Shirou in the end. Their chemistry is what drove the plot forward and kept the story engaging as you never knew what was going to happen with those two. Despite this, there are still some things that can't be overlooked.

  As previously stated, this is a 12 episode show and that being said the pacing for this world was not and is not perfect. The first 6 episodes serve as an introduction to the show’s world and sets up many of the major plot points and mysteries. The back half of the series is a rundown of the major stuff in a fast pace 4 episode marathon that keeps you glued to the screen. Is it perfect? No. I found myself lost trying to remember certain people at times and some details were lost but damn did I enjoy it. In defense of this, however, I will say that the series was released in two segments, the first 6 episodes and then the last. This is where it stands out to me. Vinland Saga did something similar, releasing the first three episodes at once as they serve as an introduction for the world and sets up the story. I really like this decision as I found myself itching to learn what would happen in that month I couldn't watch it. The excitement when I got the notification that the last half of the series was out was electric. This show knows how to keep you engaged, in more ways than one.

  The animation was consistent and well polished and many of the dynamic action shots were polished. Looking at the animation cast, it's only to be expected of these hard hitters. I loved the uniqueness of the shots and how they were able to use the animation to showcase the strength that was being displayed in every fight. More than the animation, though, I loved the music. The soundtrack for this show is already amazing, but the opening number by the voice actress of Michiru and the Ending song by Shin Sakiura and AAAMYYY were songs that resonated throughout the series and matched the vibe of the show.

  As some final thoughts, I don't think this show is a masterpiece or is perfect. I do think that it really fits itself. Our main character is a kid and so there is a lot of mischief thrown around and having the finale revolve around a live show did seem a little odd considering the stakes. However, it's these unique factors that make the show enjoyable and fun to watch. Sure it isn't the most practical but this show has never been that. It's over the top and doesn't need to lie about it.

  "Hey! Are You. Ready to Go?”

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• 

  mimicodots

  74/100
  Pretty comma underwhelming. Amazing visuals married to an amazingly bland plot.

  As expected of the team at Studio Trigger the character designs are distinctive, and the animation dynamic. I couldn't think of a single issue with the visuals. The background work is gorgeous, and the various color pallets the show uses are always pleasant to look at.

  Overall art consistency is pretty high.

  The soundtrack is a strong 9, only dragged down by the fact that songs get reused incredibly often. In the case of the ED ''Night Running'' (which may just be my fav ED from this year) it appears as an insert track so often that it's become a sort of running gag.

  I understand ''Night Running's'' use as a callback to nostalgic times Michiru and Nazuna shared as humans, but they really pushed how much mileage they could get out of it.

  Aside from that admittedly petty nitpick, each song is incredibly evocative and fits the scene it's used in. Possible contender for 2020 Anime OST.

  Despite the fact that we spend a large amount of time with Michiru, it doesn't feel like she got any character development past episode 3 (excluding the Nazuna flashback scenes) I honesty couldn't tell you what I've learned about her. She misses home. She's stubborn. She wants to be human again. BNA's cast is likeable, but lacks depth.

  Michiru's characterization is incredibly thin, to the point of approaching cliche

  Much like Promare, BNA suffers from having a cliche plot with thinly veiled allegories for racism. In fact, I don't think it would be reductive to say the two series are plagued by the very same sets of issues.

  While it isn't incompetent by any stretch, the narrative of BNA is by far it's weakest component. If you've ever watched a social commentary on [racial issues] you won't be impressed by the plot here. As long as you pay attention you should be able to sniff out plot twists with ease.

  Perhaps the most disappointing criticism I could throw at BNA is that for all the time it spent on beast-men conflict, the show doesn't have anything interesting to say about it's themes. ''Racism is bad, let's just try to understand each other.''

  To put it bluntly, the narrative comes across as uninspired

  BNA is at it's best when focusing on being pure spectacle / fun as opposed to it's own plot. Episode 5 (in which Michiru plays softball) was easily the strongest episodes in the entire show. After realizing mid episode it was story-boarded by the legendary Hiroyuki Imaishi, I suppose that's not a surprise.

  The staff at Trigger have mastered the art of using limited animation for visual comedy

  BNA managed to win over a lot of good will from me early through it's run, however like several other Trigger series fails to deliver a cathartic ending. For all the criticism I have against this show, I don't actually dislike it in the slightest, I just wish that the writing was tightened up a bit.

  Compared to it's older sisters Kill La Kill and LWA, BNA it doesn't manage to live up to the hype. However, in spite of it's flaws BNA is a fun show worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the studio behind it.

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• 

  zilla1

  70/100
  Typical Trigger, nothing more and nothing less.

  Alright alright. When I first took a glance at BNA, I felt that it was going to be something pretty cool and awesome. Well, was I wrong, or was I right? I’d say neither. BNA is a show that shows the darker side of the world if beastmen really existed.

  Firstly, I was pretty shocked to find out that BNA was 12 episodes instead of 24. The setting and everything made it feel like it would have lasted a lot longer than what it actually is. The world-building and everything made you have an easy understanding of what is going on with their world and I honestly appreciate that they used several episodes for that. The story is extremely simple and straightforward, with some things still left unexplained, such as how does Michiru has all these incredibly supernatural powers, even in a supernatural world. I personally enjoyed this show a lot, how you could have never dreamed of such a city being existent in our world. And that the balance between the comedy and the seriousness was of good standards. That dark feeling along with Slice of Life being the jam on top of it created that urban fantasy type of feeling.

  Even though the story was shown in a straight-forward and simple way as it chooses not to be sophisticated, however, those final few episodes in my honest opinion wasn’t able to push out a darker feeling than I expected it to release. Like I said, Slice of Life is the jam, don’t forget what you’re eating is still the bread. I feel that a darker final few episodes, even if the resolution is still the same, would have impacted many more audiences, myself included.

  Another thing that got me started on BNA was the pretty unique art style. Nowadays most modern anime (especially isekais) tend to adapt with that pretty generic art style which I don’t mean to be an elitist or anything, I don’t appreciate much. So having this unique curvy, joyful, and dynamic art style is definitely a plus in the art department. As for animation, I don’t have much to say, it’s Trigger. They've always been gorgeous when it comes to their style of animation. If they fail in animation, it’s the same as saying KyoAni produces the shitty art—which in contrast, produces the most eye-candy art you'll ever imagine.

  As for sound goes, I was pretty satisfied. Actually, I was more than satisfied, I was pretty impressed. The OSTs, OP & ED, all had that urban modern society taste imbued into them, along with a bit of a futuristic kind of feeling as well. This led me to really enjoy them and rock to the beat, although that is more of a subjective thing. One OST that impacted me was that song Michiru and Nazuna sang together, it reminded me of how special friends were, and yeah. That’s literally all.

  The character development for the characters I would say wasn’t the most substantial, but it’s decent for a 12 episode series. Especially Oogami, his character development, backstory, and everything was really well-done and Trigger deserves a thumbs up for that. Michiru like what Nazuna always tells her hasn’t changed much. Well, I suppose that is pretty realistic, humans don’t change much over such a short period of time do they, especially for somebody as stubborn as Michiru. But the characters overall were really enjoyable and I had a really fun time watching them. (Especially my little precious bear Jackie)

  Overall, I had loads of fun watching BNA, although story-wise it was not even close to what I had wanted, but I got something else that I didn’t ask for: Fun character interaction. Honestly, I’m satisfied with just that. So, you interested in BNA? Sure, go ahead, but don’t expect some crazy complicated storyline that even the great Hououin Kyouma can’t figure out. ;)

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