Review of K

K, also known as, The K-Project, is a show produced by a no name studio that goes by the name GoHands. They have produced nothing but mediocrities prior to this show, which I wouldn't consider to be a god-scend, but far from "Shit" or "below average" Art & Animation - 9/10 I honestly don't even think I need to explain this one. The show looks gorgeous, easily the best looking show that I've ever seen (YES, I HAVE SEEN THE FATE SERIES). The colors are very outlandish, the animation is very fluid, and the shots, OH MY GOD THE SHOTS! Sadly past episode 4, I can't recall 1single perspective shot. But the perspective shots through the first part of the series were really cool, and helped to immerse me into the world. Don't really have to explain anything here. Even the CGI vehicles looked fantastic.

Sound - 9/10

My lord this show sounds phenomenal. With the exception of a few voice actors, the dub is absolutely fantastic. Characters have strong emotion, and while some lines sound cheesy, nothing sounds out of place. The OST is fantastic. Only once can I recall the OST not fitting the mood of the show, and that was during the second episode's fight scene between Kuro and Yata. The soundtrack is a mixture of techno, pop, rap, and ambience, all which sound very unique, and memorable.

Story - 4/10

I'm going to split the story section up into two parts, because this show is exactly like Shingeki no Bahamut in terms of how the downhill slide occurs.

Part 1 (Episodes 1 - 7)

The show is very fun. Fight scenes are very sparse, and the show is just...FUN XD The show starts with our main hero, Yashiro Isana, being supposedly framed for the murder of one of a rival gang, the Red Clan (AKA. HOMRA). While being pursued by them, Yashiro is also threatened to be killed by a man who goes by the name of Kuro, the Black Dog. Eventually, Kuro finds his chill, and remembers that he is to judge Yashiro, as he is to be the next leader of the colorless clan. (Sounds like Durarara, huh?:lol:).

The first 4 episodes are just action, a little bit of world building, and dumb fun. Yashiro is trying to solve the mystery while living with his cat who has now transformed into a human, and Kuro. These episodes are the highlight of the show, as it never takes itself seriously. It's just action with very entertaining character interactions. These first 4 episodes also throw out alot of mysteries, that are explained in later episodes.

Part 2 (Episode 8-13)

Just like Bahamut, the second half of K takes itself waaaay too seriously, and ends up becoming very confusing and incomprehensible. Tons of science dialogue and info-dumping is thrown out, which makes scenes very hard to understand. I actually had to go to a wiki at the end of the series due to being so baffled. I understood the gist of stuff, but not the explanations.

The ending is very controversial, but because I started this show on 5.10.15 and ended it on 5.17.15, the movie is available to me, and soon the second season will be available for me as well, starting in October in 2015. The movie picks off from where the show ends, leaving me nothing to complain about at this time. However, this does not excuse the execution of the ending. A death was very anticlimactic is what I'll say. As soon as the character walks in, they're killed 3 seconds later. But to put it simply, the show dives heavily into a type of plot which revolves around the relationships of many characters, but sadly none of those characters can be fully expanded on due to time constraints.

One thing that I would like to talk about is the structure. Just like Baccano, K will often bring up questions, and then connect everything else later. It also has a story which is told from 3 main perspectives. There's the Red Clan, the Blue Clan aka. the police (of sorts, kek), and Yashiro and crew. The show does a great job of bringing things together, but never fully explores things that it tries to connect. The pacing also feels rushed trough flashbacks, once again, due to the lack of episodes, which is probably the biggest flaw concerning the issue.

I don't think Studio GoHands thought that K-Project would be successful, so instead of throwing out a fleshed out show, what we got was a ton of good ideas, that never get fully explored, or dived into. The story isn't too bad overall, but it becomes too serious for its own good, and as a result, goes from an above average, fun show, to a messy, below average battle shounen of sorts.

Characters 4/10

The characters in K all have a great sense of personality. There's the hot-headed Yata, who is very likeable for his sheer loyalty to the Red Clan's leader, Mikoto. The kings just seem so bad-ass, and the main cast of characters are very likeable. HOWEVER, no character develops, and by no, I mean not even 1. Sure these characters are easy to care for, but without any development due to their actions, the actions seem useless. I'd have to say the best character in the show was by far Mikoto, however he was never really explored. He seems to have had a dark past, but that's never explained of course, DUE TO STUPID EPISODE CONSTRAINTS! JESUS, WHY COULDN'T THIS BE 25 EPISODES!? XD

Ahem, back to Mikoto, yeah...right...

Mikoto is the only character that seems to have a motivation. He and the blue king, Reishi Munakata. It is often stated that the two have had been friends previously, but as I've said time and time again in this review, the relationships was never explained. More great potential, wasted. Just like Izaya and Shizuo from Durarara!!, these 2 characters really made the show special; but unlike Durarara!! which gave us a backstory on its rivalry, The K-Project leaves the characters' backstory a mystery. Hopefully, this is all explained in season 2, however it won't be anywhere near as relevant or as impactful as it would be in season 1.

Overall fun characters, but they have no depth, motivations, or development...of course beyond Mikoto and Reishi.

Value - 5/10

I've heard a ton of people say that no one will remember this series; but the animation alone is very much enough to make this series remembered for years to come. However, in terms of rewatch value, this show has little to none. There isn't a ton of fighting despite the amazing budget given to the show, meaning that you can't just go back and watch the series for the fights without lounging through the exposition once again. If you're able to do that however, props to you, but I personally don't plan on rewatching this series anytime soon. Rather, I'll just search up the fights on YouTube.

Enjoyment - 7/10

I loved this show...until it began to expose its own flaws to a far greater degree than I would've ever imagined that it would. Even then however, I still enjoyed the show, enough that I would recommend it to anyone, just because of how bad-ass everything was :smile:

Final Verdict - 6.33/10

K is a very fun and entertaining show, the struggles once it gets to episode 8, as you realize that they wasted too much time on attempting to connect you to the characters, rather than actually delving into their stories. The presentation is the best that I've seen in anime, period. The characters are very fun and bad-ass, but overall lack depth or development.

I would recommend K to anyone looking for an action series, or people that are looking forward to something good in the fall, as this is receiving a second season then. I hope you found this review helpful