Review of Amnesia

P R E M I S E To begin with, Amnesia is an anime adaption to the otome game series of the same name. I love fantasy stories that include cards and their symbols, Wonderland-esque appeal, and the surreal feeling of wonder and mystery. However, having it come from an otome game, you must expect that the anime won't have the heroine romantically paired with any of the number of guys featured. Anime adaptions to otome games also normally have a "main guy" that is more leaned towards him, and there is one in this anime as well. A few years ago, I was obsessed withreverse harems because I loved the designs and art most of the time. Plot-wise, they're usually not very good, but great seiyuus are attracted to reverse-harem anime like they're magnets. The OP and EDs are a lot of the time top-notch. If looked at in this light, Amnesia fits into the typical reverse harem you'll find and expect. I've watched this anime twice, the second time dubbed, and I'll have to say that the dubbed version is better because the protagonist has more of a realistic personality.

S H O R T C O M I N G S
What I dislike about the Amnesia series as a whole is the heroine. Yes, the heroine. For one thing, she doesn't even have a name, and the whole time the supporting characters don't mention her name once. Not in the anime, and not in the games. It's absolutely ridiculous - and on top of that, "Heroine" has a personality equivalent to a wall. Well, maybe you'd expect that, considering that she's lost her memory in the beginning. But she's just nonsensical - how? Whatever she's whisked into, she just GOES with it. She doesn't resist to a single thing, seemingly, and doesn't question things like she should. Granted, in the English dub, her personality is slightly more bearable, as she almost is a different person with the lines she says and the questions she actually asks. However, I love the Japanese voices for the guys, so neither version is perfect, unfortunately. The animation is also choppy, something that can be expected from a reverse harem. The guys aren't very appealing to me, except for two of them, and sadly 12 episodes isn't enough to get me attached, as Heroine moves onto another world before I can get to know each guy better (you'll understand what I mean better if you watch it). Though, I'm very used to this by now.

P R O S
As for practically every other reverse harem, the art is visually appealing. The OP and ED are very fitting and nice too; it feeds you with a dose of mystery, like you're immersing yourself, and it gets you into the mood enough to put up with the crap afterwards. Perhaps if you're used to otome game anime adaptions, Amnesia wouldn't be that disappointing story-wise, as it's rather interesting. It's not set in a school, and it's like fantasy fell onto reality. The color choices are colorful, and the character designs are detailed and beautiful.

C L O S U R E
I apologize if I sounded like I was ranting in the "shortcomings," but I forgot to mention something else about Amnesia that could go in that section. Plot-wise, it took me two rounds of watching this series for me to truly understand what was happening. The first time... I don't think I understood a thing of what was happening. It was the second time - and it had to be in dub - then did I comprehend that whenever the Heroine died she was transported to a parallel world and such, which explained the changes in situation and some characters' personalities. Don't worry, that's not really a spoiler; it's better if you have that knowledge before watching if you plan to.

Story: 6/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Character: 4/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 31/50 ~ 62% ~ 6/10