I actually started to write a review to this series, but during the ending scene (of season 1) I just threw away this idea, because it felt pointless.
You can either regard this series as a cinematographic highlight, well produced atmospheric eye-candy. Simply made for fans of the genres Virtual Reality / Games / Mystery / Thriller.
Or you can regard it as utter b*lls**t which makes no sense from every perspective and where nearly all characters act pretty unrealistic; vastly different from what we'd actually do in their situation.
Both descriptions make perfect sense. So it's actually more important who the audience is. Those who concentrate on the cinematographic aspects, who just want to enjoy the games and wait for some unexpected twists - they'll have damn fun with this piece, I promise. But those who try to look from a realistic perspective and always try to understand and comprehend each and everyone's behaviour - they'll have a real hard time starting with the third episode. And sadly I am one of them and I do regret this 'approach' by now. Because after all it's based on a manga, and you know what this sometimes means ;)
While I could easily list 30 or 40 logical errors in the plot or referring to individual's acting (which really is a lot), I prefer to point out the overwhelmingly great episodes 1 and 2. The empty Tōkyō was staged really well, the atmosphere was brilliant and the first game was pretty refreshening for someone who saw a lot of series centered on Virtual Reality and Games before. You definitely join in the excitement and wait for the next thing to happen, that's always a huge accomplishment. Further the acting of the cast was pretty good, and the death/blood effects were also quite insane.
So yeah, after I personally didn't enjoy the latter 6 episodes as much, I will most likely watch the upcoming second season and try to completely shut down my brain to enjoy that one to its fullest =D
You can either regard this series as a cinematographic highlight, well produced atmospheric eye-candy. Simply made for fans of the genres Virtual Reality / Games / Mystery / Thriller.
Or you can regard it as utter b*lls**t which makes no sense from every perspective and where nearly all characters act pretty unrealistic; vastly different from what we'd actually do in their situation.
Both descriptions make perfect sense. So it's actually more important who the audience is. Those who concentrate on the cinematographic aspects, who just want to enjoy the games and wait for some unexpected twists - they'll have damn fun with this piece, I promise. But those who try to look from a realistic perspective and always try to understand and comprehend each and everyone's behaviour - they'll have a real hard time starting with the third episode. And sadly I am one of them and I do regret this 'approach' by now. Because after all it's based on a manga, and you know what this sometimes means ;)
While I could easily list 30 or 40 logical errors in the plot or referring to individual's acting (which really is a lot), I prefer to point out the overwhelmingly great episodes 1 and 2. The empty Tōkyō was staged really well, the atmosphere was brilliant and the first game was pretty refreshening for someone who saw a lot of series centered on Virtual Reality and Games before. You definitely join in the excitement and wait for the next thing to happen, that's always a huge accomplishment. Further the acting of the cast was pretty good, and the death/blood effects were also quite insane.
So yeah, after I personally didn't enjoy the latter 6 episodes as much, I will most likely watch the upcoming second season and try to completely shut down my brain to enjoy that one to its fullest =D