Moonrise

Man, it's way too hectic, shaky, confused and jumbled.

The animations, drawings, effects and story are actually great and I really, really hoped that something really good was coming.

But apart from the sometimes funny elements, the very nice, different characters and the great setting, at some point I was just annoyed by the chaotic narrative style. And by the hectic, shaky, wild, and bad fighting scenes.

Once again, someone hasn't understood how to build a narrative. And I can only recommend everyone to take a look at Arcane, Frieren or even Apothecary Diaries by comparison. A world of difference, albeit in very different settings, but that doesn't change how you should approach a story.

I'm now on episode 4 and as it hasn't got any better up to this point, I assume that it will stay that way.

If not, I will adjust my rating of 6 points up or down accordingly after the series is finished.

This series has so much potential! It's a real shame.

With several months left until the end of the year, I'm not afraid to say that this is the animated product that has disappointed me the most, without a doubt.

Netflix's promotion was disastrous from every perspective, but I still didn't expect what I found in "Moonrise." A priori, it had everything to be a success. Wit Studio (which, needless to say, hasn't gotten it right since "Attack on Titan," with the exception of "Spy x Family") guaranteed excellent animation.

If you looked at the directors and people involved, you could see titles like "Full Metal Alchemist," for example.

However, none of this was reflected in this product. The 18 episodes released in one go, as is Netflix's trademark, coupled with the scant promotion, was a difficult combination to swallow. But if you add a poor script and even worse editing, you knew this was destined for failure.

We have inexplicable time jumps throughout the series. Furthermore, we have a group of main characters with confusing developments, strange motivations, and even more difficult-to-understand connections. More characters are added as the episodes go by, and we don't know who they are, forgettable like the rest.

But we also have an important secondary character who dies in episode 3 and has little or no relevance to the others, to the point that we didn't see anything on camera; he's completely inconsequential. A main character doesn't die until the last episode, and it's completely anticlimactic. The deaths in this war are never felt, and that, in my opinion, is a huge failure.

If you look at the pace of the first seven episodes and then compare it with the rest of the series, you'll realize something's strange; the difference in quality is noticeable! If we analyze IMDB, we realize that there are people who participate in this series right up to episode 7. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so!

They sweeten the deal with incredible animation, especially in the fights and dynamic sequences, but we don't get a single explanation as to why things happen. What are the SEEDs? Who is SEED 3? What is the L-Zone? Why can it terraform? Nothing makes any sense in this series.

I could go on about all the vices found in 18 episodes, but that's not the point.

Unfortunately, this series, which was highly anticipated and had everything to succeed, ends up being the worst animated product of the year, by far. No animation can save a bad story...

I binged all of Moonrise on release and it went from ok, I guess, to the second half being borderline white noise. It all boiled down to the rule of cool and the magic of friendship. Tow Ubukata originally wrote the now-releasing hard sci-fi books before the director asked to rewrite them into Science Fantasy Shounen Action slob to make it "more marketable." OVA quality action can´t matter if the plot doesn´t matter and the characters wear plot armor. Especially if endless robots and masked Stormtroopers are the enemy. Or techno slime. The hell. Who knows who is to be blamed but Ubukata´s shows are rarely this bland. Bye Bye, Earth ain´t good but it´s never boring. The time jumping is the single worst idea, besides the Moon Blobs or the Mother Brain AI uprising or the love triangle that goes nowhere or the fake politics or the lack of a developed cast. Democracy > AI or monarchy and who needs a proper ending if the plot never gets going to begin with? War bad, friendship gud. Wow, so deep and this is the studio's 2nd AoT wannabe after the even worse Iron Fortress. Let it go, Wit. Whatever/10, so a 5.

I can´t see anyone talking about this by next month. 7 years in the making. 7 years! Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune (6/10) and Make My Day (7/10) are both better and shorter. Who remembers them though? Both only 2023 releases. Netflix is where sci-fi goes to die.

Story goes nowhere and it takes a long long long time to ramble around. It just seems to meander with nowhere to go. I'm now in the middle of the 6th Episode and I just want it to be better! It is so painfully average.

If you just like colorful animated graphics, and you do not need a plot, a story, or any kind of interesting narrative, fine. This is your kind of jam. But, if you are like me, and you would LOVE for the whole world to know about great anime, Frieren, Samurai Champloo, Demon Slayer, Dan Dan, Hell's Paradise, or My Hero Academia.... this Moonrise is NOT it.

Don't try to talk friends or family into watching this series if they are not really die-hard anime fans. All it will do is affirm that anime is a waste of time, adds nothing, and is only enjoyed by burnouts. Really, it is so boring and awful, cannot believe anyone at Netflix thought it should be green-lighted.

There are so many jumps!!! Confusing all around; nothing tells you that a year has gone by or how the characters got to be where they are. We get some visions of the past but leave you on a cliffhanger with no explanation. Barely/Briefly explains what is going on, so if you miss it you're confused trying to go back and understand. Whole thing felt so rushed. They don't talk about the SEED enough so you only really get a glimpse of why.

I really wanted to like this anime because it's a sci-fi, action show, but too many holes for me and too rushed. Definitely could've been a 10/10 anime, just needed more back story.