√ Talentless Nana - Series Review

Alternative Title: Munou na Nana

↓ Spoilers Ahead ↓

「 A quote from this series 」

"I'm a cat person. I don't need another dog."

「 The Review 」

Synopsis

A class of students with supernatural abilities, found themselves being targeted by an unknown enemy.

Story

The anime had a great intro for a series, it started like just a common comedy to somehow begin with joyous reactions from the viewers. But, as the episode turned to its climax... it then became darker and darker.

And for making me ponder what the F just happened at the end of it, this absolutely got my attention.

To simplify what's going on... this was like a case where (innocent) mutants from X-Men were being killed by someone who didn't know the truth and was only being used. Thus, giving this anime its unique feature -- the protagonist can also be seen as an antagonist.

The last three episodes of this anime had left a mark on me...

Episode 11 was the only one that didn't get a perfect score in this review. It was because the ending wasn't that compelling compared to the rest. But what made this episode great, was the battle of wit between Nana and Kyouya.

The best episode was episode 12. It didn't have a twist relating to a crime, but the ending showed Nana finally doubting the committee that sent her because of Michiru's past. It had everything it needed to show Nana that Michiru was someone who actually uses her talent to help people -- not kills them.

And episode 13 was, well, a cliffhanger! Like seriously, but now, I'm so eager to watch the next season.

Characters

We have the Talented students, aka those who have special powers. And Nana, a normal human, in other words, a Talentless.

Nana was the first female main character I knew, who can also be classified as the 'bad guy.' And that I think, made her set apart from other MCs. (If I'm wrong, and you know any character who's similar to her, do notify me in the comments below.)

As someone who's playing a dual personality, she really did play her role well. Thus, making her a good killer.

Amongst the rest of the class, I found Nanao Nakajima to be the most powerful. I know Kyouya can recover fast, but if he didn't know Nanao's talent, and he touched him, his ability will be nullified. Nanao, can then just kill him with a mere knife.

Regarding those two, I can't help but be reminded of two Marvel characters who have the same skills as them:

Kyouya's ability was similar to Wolverine's fast healing/recovery. And Nanao's nullify power was akin to Leech, aka Jimmy.

Michiru Inukai on the other hand was the hero of the show. No, she didn't do any heroic stuff like fighting and such. But, she did make Nana question everything, including the death of her parents, and the Potential Kill Count information given to her.

It was thanks to her, Nana started to question things, and will now seek the truth.

Writing / Storyboarding

Now, this was where the anime excelled. The animation was just average, overall the art was quite unimaginative... but for the script, I can say they poured everything they could squeeze from their minds into it.

Making a thriller anime can be really tricky, especially nowadays, a lot of people were tired of predictable outcomes.

Thankfully the team behind this was aware of that, and they made sure to keep us viewers guessing, and be surprised.

To summarize things up, this quote tells exactly what this anime was doing:

"A clever magician always fails at the start of a show to misdirect the audience."

There will be a few things you thought you already knew, but as the episode ends, more clues and questions will surface, and you'll just found yourself bewildered.

An example was episode 7, in the beginning of it I thought it was such a letdown because at first, it looked like the writing was weak. In the end, all my early criticisms backfired on me, as the things I thought were wrong, were actually something that was already planned for a shocking revelation.

Lastly, this anime has a weird rumor:

And that's always good. =)

Artwork / Animation

I sensed a limited budget here, especially when it came to episode 9. While Jin Tachibana was telling Nana what happened five years ago, the flashback scene could have been animated for a much better glimpse of the war between the Talenteds. However, the anime only gave us still shots...

And the character designs were, to be honest, quite bland. Except for one, I think Michiru's design will be the most memorable.

Kyouya Onodera looks like Gintoki Sakata from Gintama, while Nana Hiiragi's like a grown-up, spy/killer version of Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Music / Sound

The end of episode 3 and the part where Yuuka was talking about Shinji in episode 6 had good background music with vocals.

And finally, the ending song Bakemono to Yobarete by Chiai Fujikawa was a great emotional, rock song, with splendid lyrics.

Episode Ratings

1 - Talentless - 5
2 - Time Traveler - 5
3 - Talented vs. Talentless - 5
4 - Healing - 5
5 - Talented vs. Talentless Part 2 - 5
6 - Necromancer - 5
7 - Necromancer Part 2 - 5
8 - Talented vs. Talentless Part 3 - 5
9 - Survival of the Fittest - 5
10 - The Invisible Blade - 5
11 - The Invisible Blade Part 2 - 4
12 - The Invisible Blade Part 3 - 5
13 - Revival - 5

PS: The shogi piece Nana stepped on in episode 12 was a pawn. A definite sign for her to think she's just being manipulated.

「 Series Rating 」

An otaku since the mid-90's. I consider Evangelion as the most influential anime. My favorite classic films are Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.