Review of Big Order (TV)
I hate to write two scathing reviews in a row, but as it turned out Big Order just happened to end before any of the other shows I was going to review. I was almost certain that Big Order would win the feces-coated award for worst anime of the spring 2016 season, but as it turns out another show airing snatched it away. More on that one later... So, what is Big Order? The original Big Order manga started publishing on September 26, 2011 and is currently ongoing. The series itself was actually created by none other than Sakae Esuno, the original creator of Mirai Nikki!As it turns out, it's very similar to his other creation. The first anime adaptation of this story actually was the OVA that aired on October 3, 2015 and was produced by Lantis and the Asread studio. That entry however didn't quite catch as much attention as the 10-episode TV series that I'm reviewing. This entry is 10 episodes long and aired during the Spring 2016 season. Its notoriety has risen significantly as the show has gone on, baffling viewers with its nonsensical story and insulting plot choices. So, how does Big Order fare?
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Story:
Well, it certainly doesn't shine in the writing department. Big Order is the story of Eiji Hoshimiya and his desire to save his sister. Also he and other people have super powers called "Orders" that allow them to do whatever is most convenient to the plot at that moment. The Orders themselves are one of the bigger problems for this show. For starters, the concept is completely uninspired. Orders themselves basically are just super powers, and the way they interact with each other is confusing and nonsensical. There are Orders that reverse certain realities, Orders that make other people do whatever the user wants, Orders that heal any injuries, and you should be able to tell where this is going by now. With powers that are that grand and overpowered, the way they're used is just stupid. Eiji's power allows him to dominate anything within a certain vicinity, and it's established that he can manipulate air pressure. If this is true, he can manipulate hydrogen and oxygen, meaning he can apparently manipulate any element, at the very least nonmetals. What's stopping him utilizing the carbon and nitrogen in the air and poisoning people around him? He could pretty much choke out anyone who gets in his way, but the only time he ever does something like this is stop a missile. Eiji's and other character's failure to maximize the potential of their powers creates TONS of plot holes like that and emphasize the lazy writing in general.
Speaking of lazy writing, the plot twists towards the end of the show really got on my nerves. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to include tons of plot twists at the end of a show. Why is that? Because inevitably you're going to have to force in tons of exposition to explain how the twists are possible, which goes against the rules of writing a story. You want your story to feature the culmination of everything you've built up at the climax, with a lot of conflict resolution and not a lot of explaining things. And that's exactly the problem here. The amount of exposition in the last 2 episodes essentially kills the pacing of the show all in one swoop. While Big Order appeared to be building towards something, it ends up just writing itself into a corner that it has to spend the entire conclusion explaining itself out of. Also, none of these plot twists really change anything. Most of them are due to someone's memory being altered, and I shouldn't need to tell you how overdone and irritating the memory change trope is.
Lastly, there's the insulting story choices. The main reason my score is so low for Big Order is how little the writers respect the intelligence of the audience. There are far too many instances of inappropriate fanservice and nonsensical story choices that no rational human being would accept.
Story/writing gets a 1/10.
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Art/animation:
I actually really like the art and animation, believe it or not. The art style in particular caught my eye and was the reason I initially started watching it, and I can honestly say that it's the lone bright spot in Big Order. While the character designs aren't very interesting, the overall visual style of Big Order does set it apart and the animation looks pretty solid outside of the 3-D animation that's occasionally used. Overall, not bad.
Art/animation gets a 7/10.
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Sound:
The sound department for me is a big "meh". The sound design and voice acting are passable, and the soundtrack is pretty alright. Ultimately though, the music didn't have a large influence on the show as a whole so I'm inclined to not worry too much about the quality of the music. However, the opening theme ("Disorder" by Yui) is awesome. Using that was a great choice.
Sound gets a 5/10.
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Characters:
As far as characters go, they certainly don't help the effort. Eiji himself is pretty much unlikable and uninteresting, while his character motivation is unbelievably shallow. Rin Kurenai is listed as the other main character, but I have to thoroughly disagree with this. She isn't developed nearly enough nor is she interesting enough to justify her top billing. With regards to the supporting cast, there's no one that sticks out as memorable outside of Sena, who is only memorable due to the weird plot twist that involves her and the bizarre relationship she has with her brother Eiji.
The characters get a 2/10.
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Enjoyment:
I don't grade for enjoyment. Instead, I'll substitute it with this:
Why you should watch:
Believe it or not, I do think Big Order is worth watching. It could certainly be argued that, due to the nonsensical and sheer stupidity of the plot, it crosses into the realm of "so bad it's good." If you and some friends want a shitty anime that you can laugh at and shit all over, Big Order can certainly satisfy.
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And that's Big Order. The story is insulting and full of plot holes and stupid story choices, the characters are shallow and uninteresting, and as a whole the entire thing just sucks.
My final rating for Big Order is a 2/10. Watch if you want a bad show you can laugh at, otherwise avoid it.