Monday, July 6, 2015

Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront)

THIS. It's one of those Anime that uses different perspectives and small short stories to build up its setting and develop the unique characters that dwell in it. IN SHORT IT'S AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD WATCH IT. Okay, synopsis first:

Hell Salem's Lot, once called New York City, is a city where humans and otherworldly creatures coexist; a rift connecting it to another dimension opens up trapping humans and entities from it in a barrier. What comes with the city's peculiar situation is everyday crime enticed with madness and magic, and now someone wants to destroy the barrier to unleash the city's horrors, and only a team of special humans can stop them.

So even after ripping off some synopses from other sites, it's still confusing but here's the catch: if you like anime like Baccano, or Durarara this anime has the same sort of feel. Using short stories from different characters' perspectives builds up the setting, Hellsalem's lot, while providing progress of the main plot and development of each unique character.

The anime provides distinct personalities for each and every character, with intriguing backstories relevant to the main storyline. Having each story center around different characters' perspectives makes you see more of Hell Salem's lot while familiarizing yourself with every person involved. It also shows how they interact with other characters and the madness/crazy vibe of the city itself.

The protagonists are members of 'Libra' (symbolizing a scale, balance), a secret organization fighting crime in the shadows, maintaining order in the city, and preventing it from falling into chaos. Leonardo Watch, hoping to find a cure for his sister's blindness, comes to the city and joins Libra. In the anime, he's the closest person you could call a 'main character', as his power is essential to penetrating the bubble wrapped around the city. He lacks fighting abilities making him lackluster in action scenes, but is involved in the major plot points of the story.

I'm expecting a lot from the season finale (june 11 or 12) which is in 5 days, because they took 2 weeks to plan it and apparently they "can't fit it in a 30-minute episode". Kekkai Sensen is a great anime, and I wholly recommend everyone to watch it.

P.S. The OP and ED song is also certainly one of the best summer

Comments very much appreciated :)