Duel Masters LOST: Tsuioku no Suishou (original) (raw)

Alright, I'm an amateur reviewer (my first time writing one to be exact). So if you finish reading what I've wrote and think its objectively bad, don't hop on my nuts about it. I should also add that this review is only for the first episode. I doubt I will edit it until the end of the anime, if I even do that. But in any case this review should still hopefully help you decide whether or not this anime is worth watching. Now onto the review!

Duel Masters LOST: Tsuioku no Suishou falls into the category of strategy-based card game anime. Veterans can sniff... it out from a mile away, though I suppose it wouldn't be as evident to some in the first episode alone. Duel Masters is indeed a 2vs2 trading card game that appears to have gotten [yet another] anime adaptation. From here, I'll go ahead and break this review down into the four parts I consider when judging an anime, bringing us to the guts of this review.

*warning* first episode spoilers ahead. If you care about that, don't read beyond this point.

Plot:

Honestly, it's incredibly average, but still upper rank average so to speak. It's a huge mash-up of stale tropes. To start, MC has your anime-exclusive classic case of amnesia for whatever fcking reason. And his suppressed PTSD is clearly triggered by anything that has anything to due with the aforementioned card game. He has his own place, a job, goes to HS, and has a friend group, among of which is a girl who is apparently famous and clearly has a crush on MC. And ofc the MC is 101% oblivious of the fact. MC is clearly cracked at aforementioned card game, though his deck is missing a card (most def a plot point). Some bullies are encountered later in the ep, but surprise surprise, MC is somehow physically cracked as well and kicks their a$$es, saving his admirer from them. But don't worry I guess, because the bullies literally die to monsters like 5 mins later, and I don't even feel like explaining how tf that happened. Oh, and lets not forget about the blue haired chick who murks two people in some dark alley at the start of the ep, who then almost gets hit by a train towards the end of the ep, only to transfer into MC's classroom, walk straight to up his a$$, and remind him of their promise [which he forgot bc of amnesia] to get married lmao. BUT, mixed into everything mentioned above is a certain air of mystery that I suppose this episode managed to convey, to the point of me awaiting the next episode.

Characters:

Not much to write, as I've never considered myself a judge of character design. What I can say though is that in this anime and like many others, if the character's hair color is anything other than some shade of brown or black, that are most definitely important to the plot. Following that, I do indeed take interest in idol girl (totally not because I'm a sucker for romance), blue haired murderer, and MC. To early to say whether their personalities are flat or not. But for now I'll give them a pass, though I doubt any of them will be especially remarkable by the end of the anime.

Art:

The art is decent, as I'd expect from JC. Staff, nowadays at least. Most certainly nothing to write home about, but not bad either. The color pallet is pleasing to the eye, and none of character's faces (yes I consider this art) are especially annoying to look at. BUT BE WARNED! There is some rather obvious CG used, specifically for the monsters, large groups of people, and vehicles that appear in specific but not-so-important scenes. But it isn't annoying so to say, as they strategically deploy it. The backgrounds look pretty good as well.

Animation:

Yep this gets its own section. The character movement is actually pretty fluid/dynamic at times. No freeze frames, at least not yet. The one fight scene we see this ep was actually alright. Easy to follow the moves with the eye. Not the best movement/choreography, but I'd never complain about what I saw.

Summary:

In short, the plot is packed full of classic tropes that you'd usually be tired of seeing by now, but the air of mystery still managed to hook me. It's too early to judge the characters for now, but I doubt anything interesting will come of their development. And no I don't count the resolve of amnesia as development. The art is good, even with the obvious use of CG in some scenes, though nothing to go crazy about (talking to haters and lovers alike). And the animation is good as well, sharing the same opinion I gave to the art. I predict this series will be nothing more or less of average upon its ending. Won't stop me from watching the next episode and the ones to follow though, unless they do something stupid with the plot.

Oh yeah, feel free to replace anywhere you see "mystery" with not having any idea wtf is going on as you see fit lol.