I don't usually write about anime, for some reason I just wanted to write a few words on it
mostly to take my mind away from other things and because this anime is kind of underrated
no one really talks about it anyway because what is a blue reflection?🤔
Keep in mind this post is written as of episode 22 I think I have seen more than enough to write
a post about it, funny thing last week I was playing Arise and for a moment I was like hey a new
episode is out but my mind instantly went nah and then I had to watch two eps the next week.💀
This actually worked in my favor but you know that feel when you can't be arsed to watch it weekly.
They truly got me though cuz I was interested in how it would tie to the games... sigh
Pro's
- The characters.
Con's
- Literally everything else.
Needless to say since i'm discussing the series as a whole so there are some light spoilers.
Blue Reflection Ray is an anime that is set in the same universe as the game blue reflection.
At first I was really excited they were gonna do more with this IP! cuz I really did wonder
what if there were more magical girls? afterall I was disappointed Saiki wasn't one
cuz that one promo art could make it seem like she was more involved.
Well its like they read my mind cuz BRR and the upcoming game do have more than 3 magical girls
uh I guess this was a careful what you ask for since you just might get it.😂
In this story there are reflectors who protect peoples feelings... from a group of
other magical girls who try to gather people and free them of unnecessary emotion.
Needless to say this leads to a lot of drama... some of it is like are we doing the right thing?
maybe its better to not have any emotions. Maybe now its easy to see why this series drags
most of the important plot points take a while to get revealed or make any sense because of this.
Honestly I went in here with relatively low expectations which is probably what kept me going
and I don't see any problem with this type of plot at all and I think its good or can be good
its just that the presentation/execution and production values don't really help.
What I liked about the anime was mostly the characters, Ruka, Niina and Momo
were among my favorites especially Niina! Hiori is... to be desired, later on in the series
I did like seeing Mio's perspective of things. Perhaps too little too late for some people.
Ryoka and Amiru were also good but for some weird reason their dynamic
reminded me of some other yuri series maybe it was the shot from the second opening.
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| Strawberry panic anyone? no? just me... ok. |
than in the original game atleast. Though while I did like Ruka and her desire to connect
to others both her and Hiori were kinda one note throughout the majority of the series
but I got to admit they make a good pair. I did enjoy some of the more light-hearted scenes
when there wasn't much going on those were relaxing but sometimes it really did seem
no one had any idea what was going on or knew what to do, Saiki Yuri makes an appearance
as well but even she couldn't do much, I was constantly wondering why
or where was Hinako... well obviously not in this anime series.
This anime has 24 eps, at first that seemed good but MAN this anime can really drag on it took 22 eps
before we finally got perspective on Shino and well it was quite something and not what
I expected, in fact it was disturbing! I knew from Niina the backgrounds could get painful but BRR
was mostly light-hearted and Shino's past, not only did it made me sad it actually made me want to vomit. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't even make sense how its possible but I guess
her mom had money to shut people up. Ugh just thinking about it makes me sick.
The animation is.... well kinda bland, it has its charms in terms of design like
I do love the magical girl outfits and all! Hiori does look cute.
I also like the psychedelic backgrounds but outside of the OP's don't expect
good animation or anything as the overall budget was really low.
The art style grew on me but there were some moment were it couldn't stay consistent
at times it would be good/passable then at other times it would be below average.
This anime was also very static with little animation, they'd stall frames for as long as they can.
I did like the first OP and both ed's are okay... the second OP is alright too.
BGM wasn't that memorable or good as the original game which was a bummer
though I did like some piano arrangements or that one upbeat theme during SoL scenes.
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| Best girl. |
Why did I keep watching this? honestly I just really wanted to see how this was
tied to the original game and its upcoming sequel second light.
They got me with that alright but I think I am a masochist for coming back every week....😅
all's fair considering I am also not watching much else besides vanitas no carte.
This show really dragged and they know just how to get a person to continue watching.😒
Unless someone had enough of it that is... and considering the overall pacing and presentation
of this show I am not surprised if people got bored enough to drop it and gave up.
It can get emotional but a lot of things can kind of feel flat, maybe its due to the lack
of animation budget... but after 22 episodes I can no longer just drop it so i'll finish it fair and square.
This anime is basically a giant advertisement for blue reflection second light, there will
be some recurring characters but this show doesn't do much to stand out it only drags.😓
It being an advertisement becomes obvious how it took almost 12 eps for info about second light
to start coming out. At this point we still knew very little in the grand scheme of things
which doesn't help if people get bored and do drop it. I don't remember BR ever
being that popular, (the original game I mean) so I can understand
why not even this anime took off, let alone the next game. Speaking of second light
it does look interesting however I am worried about so many characters having amnesia
as its a trope that if not done right, can be more of an annoyance atleast some of the
other gameplay elements are looking like it'll have more volume/content than the original.
Uh.. back to talking about this anime:
It also uses some themes from other magical girl series and yea when you go and
do that but not have the budget for it you get Blue Reflection Ray
what really hurts is how a scene that would otherwise be good is ruined by poor execution
I feel bad for the voice actors and other staff tbh cuz they really seemed to try
so when it did work it would be good but they just didn't have the budget to do better.
The television ratings were so bad they had to cancel the blurays, idk what that says.
If anything maybe this is enough to give it that tiny cult following who just appreciates it for what it is
but yea reading some comments on ep 23 most are glad the suffering is over next week.
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| Me watching this anime every week hoping for the best. |
have some time to kill before the game comes out its a nice way to pass some time
and get to know some of the characters like Hiori, Mio and Uta but that's literally it.
It would also depend on if you'd like slow-paced anime that pay off later down the line...
Starting to sound like an apologist but i'm not gonna make it sound better than I think it is.
Like it can be worth a watch if you like the genre of magical girls with a bit of drama
to keep things interesting and don't care for the production values but if you
didn't like Blue Reflection or are interested in its world then there might not be much here
cuz I think if you remove that aspect of the upcoming game there's not much point to this
other than some of the character pairings. Which is IMO the best part of the series.
I think lots of anime watchers just aren't interesting in a work that acts as a gap closer between two
games with lingo they don't get. Anyway that's my 50cents on BRR.... its very understandable
why there is barely any interest in this show when this anime looks like a potato a charming one at that.
I add because I don't want you to take the potato thing too negatively.....
I want to like this anime and blue reflection in general more but... the series itself is not helping
much, once more this really is just hype material and/or a gap closer between games.
Its sad when I am also watching Vanitas and Hamefura/Black Company but those animes especially Vanitas were much more enjoyable to watch while BRR just doesn't compare in terms of quality...
the only thing that kept me from dropping this show was its cast and interest in how it ties with the games but trying to watch this was at times suffering.
03-10-2021 Edit: After watching last two episodes, my opinion hasn't changed much
however I will add here that this series does have a satisfying conclusion and
even the production values were a little better in the final epsiodes.
It might not be much but yea... this series is okay as hype material for second light.
Okay that is enough... I may have repeated myself so my babbles on BRR will end here
that is if you live in the EU or funimation if in the NA.
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