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[R1 DVD art]
AKA: アムネシア
Genre: Reverse-Harem Mystery
Length: Television series, 12 episodes, 24 minutes each
Distributor: Currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
Content Rating: 13+ (Physical and Emotional Violence)
Related Series: N/A
Also Recommended: Fruits Basket, Steins;Gate, Arcana Famiglia.
Notes: Originally a Visual Novel of the same name by Idea Factory.
Rating:

Amnesia

Synopsis

This story takes place in a fictional town, in a fictional country, in a fictional world. One morning, a young lady awakens to find that she has lost all her memories prior to that morning. Her life, her relationships, her very name—all gone. All that's left is a cell phone with numbers and names she doesn't recognize and Orion, a young boy that only she appears to be able to see. With Orion's guidance, she struggles to make sense of herself, a boyfriend she doesn't know and the thousand and one little things that make up a daily life. But with no memories left, the only alternative is to forge new ones, even if that means leaving old loves behind.

(Source: Sentai Filmworks)


Review

Hurray, another visual novel adaptation to review! That might sound like sarcasm but it honestly isn’t. Visual novel adaptations offer perhaps one of the widest ranges of quality available of all the different types of adaptation that regularly grace the industry and I always get a little bit excited to find out how butt-clenchingly awful or mindblowingly brilliant each new adaptation will be. By the way, if you’re interested, Amnesia falls squarely into the former. Amnesia is utterly atrocious.

In retrospect, it is somewhat ironic yet somehow appropriate that the “heroine” of Amnesia (a series adapted from a game meant for girls) would be one of the most cringe worthy representations of a woman or girl in modern media. Seriously, this girl is passive, weak-willed, stupid and blander than a wallpaper paste sandwich. To call this girl a wallflower is an overstatement of her charisma, she is more like moss growing in the cracks or some fungus growing on the dead remains of my viewing pleasure. She is bullied, led along, killed repeatedly (makes sense in context) throughout the show and never takes any proactive measure to protect herself even when she should have known better. It is painful to watch.

But yes, this girl (no name is ever given) is our reverse-harem lead and so there must inevitably be a group astonishingly diverse yet surprisingly generic boys to call her harem. If that is what you were thinking then you would be correct. The worst thing about it is that they barely give me any material to make fun of... I mean, comment on because they are so lacking in character. There is a rebellious one, an overprotective one, a smart one, a suave one and so on; that is about it.

What I can comment on is how stupid they all look. Every character has a single constant costume and they are all universally ridiculous. With double dog collars, endless straps and the trite colour coding, it looks more like she is dating a particularly silly j-rock band rather than a disparate group of young men. In fact, one of the show’s many, many problems is that the visual design of the characters is completely at odds with the background and setting. Other shows where characters are dressed ridiculously make sure to either have context for their character’s dress or a style or motif that is uniform amongst the characters and setting but here we just have these strange people who dress like idiots for no rhyme or reason. It would be annoying even if they were characters worth thinking or talking about. Aside from stupid designs the series is decently drawn and animated, nothing to write home about, and the music unobtrusive aside from the surprisingly enjoyable OP and ED.

What I can say in this show’s favour is that the central mystery of what has happened and is happening to the girl is reasonably engaging even if the characters around the story are eye-rollingly dull. The plotting was interesting enough that I didn’t find this a torture to watch compared to some more boring or offensive shows like Yosuga no Sora or Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi but before any of you take that as a recommendation let me drop a soft spoiler: it is not worth the payoff. One of the worst experiences you would have if you, for some reason, chose to watch this show is the realisation, when all is revealed, that nearly everything that happens in the show is irrelevant to the central mystery! Seriously, it is all filler! All the crap you will have to put up with is entirely pointless.

SO yeah, not the worst series I’ve ever watched but that doesn’t stop it from being an atrocious affront to good television. Terrible characters, stupid designs and a pointless plot - do yourself a favour and take a cue from this show’s “heroine”, Amnesia is better best forgotten.

How many ways can I say this show sucks... I forget.Aiden Foote

Recommended Audience: Our “Heroine” takes more than her fair share of abuse in this show. It is a bit disturbing for kids though none of you should be watching this anyway.



Version(s) Viewed: Digital stream from Crunchyroll, Japanese with English subtitles.
Review Status: Full (12/12)
Amnesia © 2013 IF・DF/「AMNESIA」製作委員会
 
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