Level E

All Level E did was trolling but damn it I enjoyed all 13 episodes, some more so than others. The fact that I enjoyed the trolling kinda tells you that this show is good at what it does which is bringing you shounen comedy. I appreciate that and honestly we need more shows like this and less that of Rio or Dog Days.

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Don't let the title deceived you. The seemingly average, nothing special title of Level E was just one of it's way of trolling. It makes you skeptical of the content, especially when you read the synopsis. Yukitaka is definitely just a supporting character and not the protagonist, like the first episode suggested. All that plot I wrote in that first impression post was misleading. I only got to know this when I watch the second episode. The trolling continued until the very last minute of the show and I took pleasure in it.

The story has no central point and it lacks complexity however it was cleverly written to give sometimes quite an unexpected twist on that simple stories, employing witty humor that caught you by surprise as well as flavoring it with various genres such as thriller/suspense, romance and of course comedy.

Now lets get on with the characters. The show would have phailed miserable if it's not for the characters who give such vibrant colors to this premise but you only needs to know one important character which is Prince Baka, or as I called him Ki, who is the highly intelligent alien protagonist and seems to outwit everyone with his mischievous agendas and games just to keep himself from getting bored. He is the thread or the anchor that holds the story together. Yes, the story pretty much evolve around this jerk. There is only one person, or more correctly an alien who managed to outwit him. If I reveal that character, it would be too big of a spoiler so you just have to watch it till the end to find out.

I am not familiar with the manga from Yoshihiro Togashi so I dunno how true it was to the original work. Having said that but thanks to the anime blogsphere I came to learn that Studio Peirrot has did an excellent job with the adaptation. It used strong visuals, detailed character designs, streamlined narrative, and witty dialogues to make it more suitable for TV viewers of today. They experimented and they have succeed. If you phailed to appreciate this, then you are missing out.

The studio has also cast the right seiyuus for the characters and the cast is HUGE! It goes to show that this project got quite a budget hence why they can experiment. The seiyuus delivered their punchlines naturally whenever it was needed which is important in a comedy show like this one. This is the second time I see Daisuke Namikawa works his magic (the other one through Yondamesu yo, Azazel-san) as Ki. He, Yoshimasa Hosoya (as Yukitaka) and Takehito Koyasu (as Kraft) deserved special mention for their excellent job. They not only bring those characters to life but they also make them one of the most recognizable characters in recent memory. You can say that they completed each other.

(c) kaden

Just like the characters, the OP and ED are very memorable too, especially the OP: Cold Finger Girl by Kuriyama Chiaki (famous for Kill Bill). The animation in the OP have that Men In Black vibe to it which is awesome. Like I said, memorable and one of the best OP I've heard in recent time. It is up tempo and sets the right attitude for the episodes. The ED is a classic JRock by ViVid that kinda completed the whole premise. Having said that, there is nothing special with the background music that is worth mentioning.



The randomness of plot twists and the lack of central direction might throw you off your track but that would be your loss. To sum-up, the ingredients that made Level E so entertaining are the right combination of witty comedy, strong visuals and charming characters. If you can learn to appreciate that you will eventually agree with me that this show is definitely not your average comedy anime. It gives me hope and satisfaction knowing that amidst the inclination of stupid fanservice and moe oriented anime, I can still rely on some of the production house to bring me something clever and funny at the same time without over do it with slapstick jokes.

art & animation 9/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 9/10

Posted in: daisuke namikawa, Level E, review, Studio Peirrot, yoshimasa hosoya, yuu kobayashi