High-Rise Invasion

So, I had 4 years to watch an anime series. To be honest I loved it from the first episode. This is a great anime with a mix of a ton of laughs and fight all rolled into one.

This anime is unexceptional in any way but is passable fare. Given the rules of this fantasy world, everything is consistent. The characters are engaging but somewhat shallow. Don't expect any backstory or explanation for why the characters find themselves in the situation that they find themselves. The pacing is consistent enough to keep you engaged but season one ends unsatisfactorily, just like it was just another episode with lots of action but little consistent direction. The music track is consistent with the anime quality which is a little lower than the Japanese norm. Still overall, a great time waster if there's nothing else on.... And the girls are cute. North Americans will be the most likely to find engagement as there a no plot challenges, requirements to think or reflect, and little drama, in spite of the carnage. Just good old fashioned action not requiring an explanation or reason for being.

The first 7-8 episodes felt like a video game tutorial. A lot of exposition and a lot of rules and world building. After that it transitions more towards character development and that is when the story gets going. This show is nothing special yet but it could become pretty good in the next couple of seasons. Worth a watch if you dont have anything else.

The show is overall mostly enjoyable to watch. It has some action and the animation as well as the voice cast are okay.

The story and the power levels are rather inconsistent though. Characters go from overwhelmingly powerful to very weak within a matter of seconds at times which then conveniently pushes the story into the desired direction. So it doesn't feel natural.

Also the main character seems to be strangely unaffected by the aspect of having to murder people which then means I can't see her as person.

Anyway this anime is the kind you watch once, probably enjoy it for what it is and then you most likely will quickly forget it even existed.

16 year old Yuri Honjo finds herself trapped in a world of high rise buildings connected via suspensions bridges with no access to the ground and hunted by sinister characters called Masks. Yuri must now try to survive this world by gathering allies, finding her brother, and unraveling the secrets behind this world.

The latest in Netflix's stable of original anime productions, High-Rise Invasion is an adaptation of the Manga series of the same name published from 2013-2019. I'm pleased to say the end result is an engrossing horror thriller with a rich hook that keeps viewer engagement throughout its run.

As the show begins we're very much in the same position as Yuri Honjo. We're trapped along side her in these tall skyscrapers that seem to serve no practical purpose with no idea where we are or why. It isn't long before Yuri is unfortunate enough to meet the denizens of this world consisting of not only people like her who are as confused and scared as she is, but also the "Masks" whose purpose isn't to kill people in this world but drive them to a mental and physical state where their targets want to kill themselves. It's a horrifying idea and makes the stakes feel as high as the altitude of the titular high rises. Along side the Masks, Yuri also comes into contact with people who were once normal but have embraced the savagery and brutality of this world leading to interesting moral dilemmas Yuri is put into where she must determine what she'll do to survive. Tying all these points together is a solid mystery where questions are answered every episode, but the answers often lead to even more questions. My one gripe was what I felt was a bit too much "fan service", but aside from that small point I enjoyed everything else.

High-Rise Invasion is a solid horror/mystery series where the brutal and savage violence is complemented by rich characters, a solid mystery, and interesting explorations on the price of survival. Highly recommended.