Spring 2021 Anime: The World Ends with You The Animation

Synopsis

Neku awakens in the middle of Shibuya’s bustling Scramble Crossing with no memory of how he got there. Little does he know he’s been transported to an alternate plane of existence known as the Underground (UG). Now an unwilling participant in the mysterious “Reapers’ Game”, Neku must partner up with a girl named Shiki in order to survive. Together, they complete missions and defeat monsters known as “Noise” as they gradually uncover the true nature of this twisted Game. (Source: official site)

Comments

Videtra Reynaldi (The Indonesian Anime Times)

One thing I immediately notice (and appreciate) while watching the premiere of The World Ends with You The Animation (henceforth called TWEWY the Animation) is the art direction; they make sure the visuals of the anime closely resembles the original game, and it clearly shows throughout the entire episode. This is further elevated by the cityscapes showing ads for brands actually featured in the original game, such as Pavo Real, Jupiter of the Monkey, and Lapin Angelique to name a few.

TWEWY the Animation also pays its respect to the stellar original video game soundtrack, by including It’s So Wonderful at the beginning of the episode and Calling for this episode’s opening theme song, two of the (arguably) most iconic tracks from the game. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Takeharu Ishimoto, the composer for the original TWEWY game returns to work on the music for the anime as well. Though, currently, it’s undecided whether Calling will continue to be the opening theme song for upcoming episodes after the recent case involving ALI’s drummer, which led to the replaced opening theme song.

Unfortunately, TWEWY the Animation suffers from a glaring issue something most video game anime adaptations have: the pacing of the story progression. There are some elements in the game that is omitted in the anime. While these omissions don’t affect the outline of the main story, it affected the general pacing of the episode, giving an impression it felt “rushed” towards the audience. It could also do a little bit more work on the combat scenes involving Neku and Shiki.

As a fan who has played the original game, it’s a fun experience going through the story once more in a different medium and appreciating the easter eggs shown in the anime, but for those who haven’t played the game/doesn’t have a single clue what TWEWY is, then this show might be hard to follow due to pacing and a lot of specific jargons introduced in the first episode. Fans of the game might want to check it out since TWEWY the Animation serves as a prequel to the upcoming NEO: The World Ends with You video game, indicating that there might be story differences between the anime and the original game.

The World Ends with You The Animation is currently streaming on Ani-One Asia.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times