Welcome to Kura, an organization that investigates crime using the Mizuhanome system which senses the
drive to kill. Sakaido is a brilliant detective and pilot of the Mizuhanome. To solve a case, he
enters the world of the killer's unconscious mind: the id well. In the shadows of brutal and puzzling
cases lurks John Walker, the Serial Killer Creator. Where will Sakaido's pursuit lead?
(Source: Funimation)
Entertain me for just a few paragraphs. Imagine you have a box. The box is fairly small, and you don’t have the space to fit a lot of things into it. Despite that, you have a bunch of different colored building blocks that you’d like to pack up in said box. Your inner child takes over. At the start, you start building a tiny world piece by piece. You have an idea of how the world should look like so you start grabbing a piece and fitting it where it would fit best, creating a bunch of incomplete structures. The incomplete world intrigues you, as the way you have placed them in the box, gives you many possibilities of giving the world a different shape each time you place everything differently inside the box, with every new piece added giving even more possibilities. You keep changing the shape of the world, to get a grasp of what you should be doing next. Each time you look at the world, you experience an entirely different scenario which brings you some satisfaction and fulfillment over what you have given shape to. Over time, you keep thinking of different structures that could reshape your world and make it more complex, and you need more and more pieces to create them, so you keep adding said pieces. Each time, the world you build simply becomes more, and you find each scenario more satisfying than the last. “Hey, you’re starting to run out of space.” You were having a lot of fun doing this, but at last, you need to come up with a solution to fit everything together. All of the buildings you have created and the shape of the world you have at the moment, is now an obstacle to the goal you have started with: to place every single building block in the box. So, while not trying to break any of the structures you have created, you start adding the remaining pieces within the box. You keep adding each piece, and in no time whatsoever, you are done. And would you look at that, every piece fit perfectly, as soon as you stacked them together. There’s no more space left for anything. Quickly, you are disappointed by a realization. There’s no remnant of the world you have created. The only remaining shape is this cube made out of different colored building blocks. This whole metaphor is how I view the execution of the show. Lets stop speaking metaphorically for a while. This show explores a tool that creates and stores the unconscious data from a killer’s mind tied to any of the murders they have committed. The way in which it stores this data is messy, and in order to uncover what happened, you need someone that can interpret this data through their deduction skills and being able to explore the world. In this manner, this tool can be used to explore their unconscious in order to reveal key details about their identity, the methods with which these murders were executed, the motivation behind them, their location and even other information that at first sight might seem trivial. However, said tool, while insanely useful, is a mystery within itself. It seems to only allow only people that have committed murders to use it and browse through its database of worlds. Not just anyone can enter it. These worlds also all have some constant elements, which seem to tie them together. While it is definitely a murder mystery, these mysteries are subservient to figuring out how this tool works, as this is what the show focuses on presenting. On that end, the show starts off great. Something that it does very skillfully from the very beginning is establishing how the world works, and presenting only as much information as the viewer needs to strike a balance between understanding the world they are looking at and leave enough room for questions for the viewer to continue asking “How does this work?”. It seemed like from the start, the world had a clear idea under what rules it was operating, and any time that you would think that something doesn’t really add up, the show was completely ready to affirm that your question was correct to ask, and that you deserve a proper answer for asking it. It knew exactly how to present enough information to keep you intrigued and still understand the natural flow of things within itself. As the show progressed, it kept shaking things up through presenting more and more about the system they are using to catch these criminals works, as well as some questions to keep you thinking. A large part of the success of its early execution is due to it figuring out very early, exactly how everything fits together. How does it do what I have described in the previous paragraph exactly? Well, I’ll let you know how the first episode starts, but fair warning, the more information you have of what exactly unfolds in each episode prior to watching the show, the lesser your experience will be. I have given you plenty of information for what I’ll say in this paragraph to not matter at this point, but continue to read this paragraph at your own risk, because it still might influence your first impression. The first thing you witness, is a guy waking up in a bed to see that his body is breaking into pieces as he screams terrified out of his fucking mind. Confused as to who he is and how he can be alive while his body is broken into pieces, he starts piecing himself together, both mind and body, and notice that while his body is broken apart, every piece is still connected, and he can fuse them back together or separate them to extend his reach. Still, he’s still missing part of his arm so he cannot be completely whole. He noticed that everything around him is the same, with the entire world also being broken into pieces. Random buildings and parts of the world simply keep floating around him. At some point he notices he is not alone, as he sees the legs of a girl, in a room right above him, so he uses the wonky physics of that world to get to that girl. Once he does, he sees that she is just a corpse that has been recently murdered, but that is enough information for him to cause him to realize a bunch of information about the situation. Her name is Kaeru, and his name is Sakaido, and the reason he was placed in that world is to solve the mystery of her murder. Immediately afterwards, it is revealed that a team is supervising this entire thing, and extracting data from Sakaido’s deep dive into this world, in order to obtain information tied to a murder that has occurred in reality, that parallels that one. And then we go on exploring. There’s a very specific reason I think this introduction works really well, and that is the fact that show knows how to exploit the fact that you lack so much information about it. The show could’ve very easily revealed first the role of the tool they use and how it works, and then show you the scenario described. While that sounds just like I am stating the obvious since the show’s genre is Mystery, the reason I am pointing this out is because the show didn’t choose to focus on supporting you in solving the mystery alongside it and maybe perhaps solving it before it has a chance to do so. You’re forced to keep up with the show. It would’ve been sufficient to just show you all the information you need, strictly focusing on the mystery behind how the current victim died. It instead tried to present the mystery in a way, where you are directly experiencing the confusion of not having the information required to properly understanding this situation. This achieves two things. The fact that the outlandish world you are presented feels like an enigma so you are motivated to understand how it works and the fact that the viewer instantly is aware of the fact that there are a lot of things they have yet to know, so that will cause them to pay close attention to all events that unfold. It’s a very efficient way to hook someone in. And that’s how things keep unfolding and being presented to you… …Until a certain point. What caused the show to be really solid so far and hooking me in so aggressively, was the fact that since its start, it knew exactly what building blocks it was using, and I was only allowed a glimpse of the box each time the world got a new piece added to its structure. And this happened because it figured integrally prior to even being presented what the world is and how it operates. But while this has helped it greatly at the start… it completely betrays the show at the end. You see, because it was so determined about showing the viewer exactly what it is, eventually it realizes that it will run out of time, so the show had a choice. Present as much of the information as fast as possible at the risk of doing it sloppily, but the viewer will have a full picture of what exactly they have watched, or risk to never show the genius behind its execution and this world to remain forever foreign to its audience. It has chosen the former. So, after that certain point, instead of being presented information so you can understand what happens next, you will be presented information so that things can happen next. You’re presented with a high volume of ideas and details about the world that, if given enough time to be executed properly, they might’ve been interesting to witness, but at the pace they are presented, as things get close to the end, they start feeling convenient and only there so that the remaining events can unfold. These ideas aren’t particularly unheard of, so just having a lot of elements going on within the story isn’t enough to lift the show to be of high quality. None of the information we are revealed is earned. They have very little to no setup, and is presented to us just so that things can keep moving along. Which is not at all how the show did things until a few episodes ago. There’s no reason to be curious any longer, and that makes the events to be witnessed… without any worth. The highest merit of the show was the way in which it conveyed information. Which it has chosen to discard in order to reveal everything about itself. I don’t understand that decision, since this very show has made me realize how important and how much more depth something can have, because you know that some details are missing. Withholding information is a great tool, a tool I have noticed the show using. And it could’ve kept using until the very end, at the risk of the world feeling foreign, but also keeping a lot of depth and mystery still inside it. It wouldn’t have lost any intrigue. The problem is, this was a sci-fi mystery. The world feeling foreign, is something entirely warranted. If the show didn’t have enough time to reveal everything about itself, it shouldn’t have, and instead it could’ve used its remaining time, to create an even bigger mystery, while answering the questions it still had some time for. I get that it is difficult to pull an ending of the sort, but that doesn’t change that it didn’t have time to execute all of the ideas it had, so as a result, it cheapened all of them. It wasn’t enough to place every single block inside the box. If some blocks were outside of the box, the lack of the remaining pieces could’ve given what’s inside it a different shape, and made the viewers view the content very differently. And who knows, if the box would’ve gotten bigger, every single piece outside the box could’ve been arranged inside it to give any shape and structure wanted by the creators. I'm afraid that when it comes to this show, this is the driving force behind it. I could speak about the characters, but the roles of the characters are strictly subservient in creating the mystery, and giving any details away would mean giving you information that could cheapen your experience. I can mention that the characters for not seeming to have much individuality or depth, aside from the closest character to a protagonist. All of them are there to serve a purpose and are a narrative tool to make that world work. Do not get me wrong, I believe them lacking depth and individuality is perfectly fine for this story, but the characters are not what you will watch ID Invaded for. The animation is also not particularly stellar in some places, but given the general pace of the show, the design of the scenario it creates more than makes up for that and the fact that is keys you in on the important details without much effort. The sound design however is solid, with some solid tracks that really build intrigue and suspense quite well. I personally really liked the protagonist's voice actor. He has this very distinct growly voice that really fits the character, and is a pleasure for me to listen to. The last thing I want to say prior to concluding is regarding an overarching theme. Or rather, the fact that it is difficult to grasp any. When I think about what was the point for ID Invaded's story, the answer I can come up with is to present its world and the ideas behind it. But if you ask me exactly what it is that the story tried to convey, that's very difficult. You see, there is some moral high ground to the story, and that is to not be a victim of your own circumstances and to not play a role just because it was given to you. You should always have personal agency and aspire to do so, without letting your impulses and what you are not conscious of, drive you forward. But I am not really sure any of this is earned, since by the end of the story, none of the characters really achieve that. They spout it, yes, but they definitely do not achieve it because they have been victims to the aforementioned things and suddenly no longer seem to believe that is a factor in their life. There isn't really anything that I have taken away from this story, and I believe that's also to blame of the high volume of ideas that were presented by the end, and the fact that none of them were given any value. To conclude, I think the decision to watch this series is best left up to how interested you are in what I have said so far about it. The first half of ID Invaded has a solid execution in presenting the world and all of its mysteries quite well. I consider that they were worth watching for me at least. But the fact that towards the end it fails to give a proper pay off might sour the experience for you if you do end up watching it. So it becomes a question of outcome versus process. Do you enjoy the series for the overall product it is, and as a result you'd only look at the cube the show builds inside the box? Or do you appreciate each of its elements separately, and can enjoy experiencing each scenario that was built in the box prior to it becoming a cube. If it's the latter, I think you can enjoy the series as it is. I certainly was entertained by it despite falling in the latter category. But if you're in the former category, I'm afraid that your experience might be cheapened, as it's one of those trends with anime that keep happening. They start off strong and are able to hook you in, but botch it as time goes on as they didn't know what they intended to be. ID Invaded knew what it wanted to be, but it had no idea how to get there in such a short amount of time, so at the very least that is to be appreciated. Still, the following hold true. ID Invaded was ambitious and entertaining. And due to its ambition, it failed in some aspects, but I appreciate its ambition regardless and that's enough to consider it a worthwhile watch for myself.
Only this first paragraph is really a review, the rest is musings about thoughts I have on the show. A very cool show with an interesting concept and some cool execution. 3 episodes toward the middle of the show made the whole thing worth watching, and the rest was pretty good as well. The music is great, the animation is a little wonky at times, especially on some of the faces, but the wells are interesting scenery and for the most part the show looks great. The plot and mystery are thrilling and kept me hooked, so much so that I watched the entire thing in a single 7 hour binge. I fizzle out of interest with a lot of shows, but this one held on to me from the beginning. There were a few things in the beginning that I found a little ridiculous and I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending, but all in all it's a good show. I would recommend this show to any fan of sci-fi detective series or movies, as well as people who want to watch some mystery and maybe even shed some tears along the way. Only spoilers from here on. A few things in the beginning that made me incredulous mostly happened in the Gravedigger case. The whole idea of love and intent to kill being crossed seemed dubious at best and a bullet going through a pre-drilled hole in someone's head was completely ridiculous. Also having the Gravedigger happen to be at the copy cat, happen to be a drill hole victim, and happen to be spotted by Houndomachi is all very convenient. The middle: Narihisago in the second level id well was by far my favorite point in the series. The bittersweetness of him seeing his family again while convincing himself that this fake world was truly reality hit hard. The appearance of Kiki also deepened the mystery. When I was first watching it, I was hoping that her ESP was merely a part of id well and not the true mechanism of the show in reality. Although the basic principle of picking up intent to kill particles and building a map of the subconscious is pretty fantastical, I was hoping that it wouldn't lean on something purely supernatural. Also made the Minority Report similarities even more apparent. Fukuda's part in the story here is also very interesting. His arithmomania is revealed which ties together the hole in his head, his ineptitude as a pilot, and serves to further the plot. The end: In the end, it is revealed that the chief is secretly John Walker, which isn't really that surprising since they had cut the list of suspects to people working at the Kura and in these types of movies it is almost always the old director. The reveal of his evil schemes and intentions was disappointing to me, but not show ruining. He claims to have done what he did out of his own sense of justice, but it isn't explained all that well. I was expecting a Minority Report esque ending where he created serial killers to justify the existence of his department, which I think could've been interesting. It is also unexplained if he actually used a cockpit to link Kiki to the serial killers or how that process works. Kiki turns out to be a powerful esper with some sort of telepathic ability that allows her to project her dreams on others as well as have people visit her dreams. In the show, serial killers come to her dreams every night and kill her, encouraged and aided by John Walker. However, it isn't really explained how the serial killers get linked to her mind. Couldn't theoretically anyone be projected into her dream? Narihisago visits her dream. Does everyone in the area have the same dream, but not notice? Earlier in the show when speculating about the identity of John Walker, the Wellside operators throw out that John Walker is manipulating the unconscious of the serial killers using a prototype of the machine. In the end, he is encouraging serial killers to act of their impulse in a shared dream with an esper. I'm not really sure if that's the same thing, but it seemed odd to me. Another problem I have is why does Momoki act so weird once arrested. He knows that he isn't John Walker unless he thinks perhaps he is but only unconsciously. But then he is also adamant that the pilots should be extracted and that the scenario is a trap. That situation was confusing. Another issue I had was with the death of Narihisago's family. The Challenger seems perplexed with the information that he would kill a 14 year old, and based on who the Challenger is, it does seem confusing. The Challenger is a man who wants to hit and wants to be hit. He's challenged a sumo wrestler and an mma fighter. Somehow he got his hands on Kiki, which if he plans to kill her seems like it would pretty directly interfere with Walker's plans. Challenging Kiki doesn't fit with his other known kills, but that can be attributed to a desire to actually fight her after fighting her in his dreams, which is alluded to when Kiki says that he is the type who also wants to be hit and feel it, which doesn't happen in the dream. But why would he kill Muku? And why would he do it in Narihisago's house as opposed to the arena beneath his house? Without explanation, the Challenger killing Muku seems very random and doesn't really fit. Houndomachi identifies that each of the killers have a specific way of killing that has a chance of getting the killer caught. I was hoping that it would be revealed that John Walker put the Challenger up to the task of killing Muku with the intention of turning Narihisago into a serial killer that kills serial killers as a way to wrap up Walker's own method of killing, which would be to make people do things that would eventually lead to them being killed, in this case serial killing. The serial killers are afraid of John Walker in their unconsciousness, but it isn't really developed why they would be afraid. Unless the unconsciousness is fearful of what Walker is turning them into, but that isn't entirely satisfying. I think John Walker could've been taken in a different direction that would've been more satisfying or could have been explained better. He is one of the main mysteries of the show and the reveal of who he is isn't entirely unexpected and his motivations aren't particularly intriguing nor does the whole situation actually make much sense. If they had gone a different route with him perhaps using a more sensitive version of the device that picks up intent to kill to identify potential killers and then somehow using cockpits and the well tech to manipulate their unconsciousnesses I think that would have been more interesting. I think in this version of the story Kiki isn't an esper. Instead, she could be someone from John Walker's past that he killed that he then shares with serial killers or perhaps she is John Walker himself. Maybe she convinces the serial killers to kill her when she is in their unconsciousness which unlocks their ability to kill. The person who convinced them to do it is lost in the unconscious, but the memory of her corpse remains. I think something like that could've been more intriguing and then it also doesn't have to rely on the mostly unexplained ESP of one girl. The timeline is also a little confusing. Two and a half years ago, the Challenger killed Narihisago's daughter and captured Kiki. In reality, before he was apprehended, Narihisago's wife committed suicide. The investigation eventually learns who the Challenger is and Narihisago kills him to get revenge. Kiki is found in the basement, so apparently she has been in there a while at this point because she was in there before Muku was killed. Kinda confusing. Kiki is then at the hospital, and this is all before the founding of Kura. The doctor is then at the hospital with Kiki working on the well technology prototype, but before Kiki was in the hospital Walker influenced the challenger to become a serial killer, so he must have had some sort of version of the well tech earlier. Very perplexing. Although I have questions and the show didn't go in some of the directions I wanted, it was very entertaining and gripping. Because it was so gripping I've been thinking about it a lot, and that's probably a reason that I have developed so many questions about it. Sadly, I think many of my questions don't have answers that can be found within the show.
The reason I decided to watch ID:Invaded was because of it's soundtrack. It completely hooked me, and so after several hours of listening to the music, I finally started watching the anime. My first impression was this: the animation is stunning, the mystery is intoxicating, and this world is completely new and unfamiliar. I was excited to see where the show would go from there, and how the characters would grow, but it didn't seem to move forward much. I will begin to discuss some major plot points that will spoil the show. Read below at your own risk. Sure, we had our field specialist Hondomachi go from an innocent character to a cunning and cold murderer, but I would hardly count that as character growth since it seemed like the sudden growth was caused by nothing. It was like, she was caught by the perforator and then she decided to grow up and become the cunning character she is. The only other character with any real growth is Sakaido, or Akihito Narihisago, the only reason I'm giving this show 6/10 and not 3/10 is because of Narihisago. As a detective, it's been implied that he often focused more on his work rather than his family. When his daughter falls victim to the challenger, and his wife commits suicide, Narihisago realises how he took the time with his family for granted. Eaten up by guilt and anger, he finds and kills the challenger... then ends up imprisoned. Interesting, right? Why is a police officer going to jail for killing a murderer? They never explained why, it was almost like they expected us to know why. Okay, fine. Later on however, Narihisago kills the challenger in Kiki Asukai's Id well, and it was classified as self-defence, here are the differences between those two occurences: Narihisago had no proof for the challenger being who he is when he was in Asukai's Id, his daughter was not a victim to the challenger yet, he invited the challenger to a physical fight, he got injured during the fight. Does his inviting the challenger to the fight and getting injured justify how he killed the challenger any more than when he shot him after his daughter's death? No! Moving on from this point, the death of Narihisago's family takes a huge toll on him, and he ends up working for the Kura as a "brilliant detective" and that ruins his mental health even more. When he enters Kiki Asukai's well, we see him go back to his old life, doing all the things he regretted not doing before, while still denying reality. We see him heal, grow, and become a different person from the man who drove serial killers to suicide. Other than Hondomachi and Narihisago, there are no characters with any real personality, I did not relate to them, I do not care about them, they just seem pitiful and bland. One might ask "but what about Tamotsu Fukuda?" (if they remembered his name, that is), and the answer is this: he is not pitiful or boring, he is just poorly written. A serial killer who drills holes in other people's heads, because he drilled a hole in his own head, because the world feels incomplete, and because he has arithmomania. How does this follow exactly? I do not know. Nobody needs to know, it's just a nice little backstory to make us sympathise with a serial killer, and to give him an advantage to other characters so he can become Hondomachi's knight in shining armor! Now, what about Kiki Asukai, if she's so important, how can she be so bland? Well it's because Kiki Asukai is not Kiki Asukai. She's a damsel in distress, with so much power she cannot handle. She's Lucy from Elfen Lied, mixed with the archetype of the damsel in distress, fitting for an anime that is so focused on Freud's theory of Id, but it is to be expected that a story that puts so much focus on a character must personalise that character, because archetypes do not have personality. Kiki Asukai is barely a character, even the scene where she leaves the Mizuhanome is so heavily influenced on Elfen Lied's Lucy. Of course, it is more than acceptable to be influenced, this is not plagiarism, but the fact that they did not try to be creative in how Kiki Asukai was walking outside the Mizuhanome and made it so that she was reacting exactly the way Lucy was, means the show has no originality whatsoever when it comes to Kiki Asukai. To conclude, the music is amazing, the animation is impressive, the idea is great, but the execution was one character away from being an absolute failure.
~~~_Review en español con y sin spoilers._~~~ __Sin spoilers:__ ID:Invaded te sorprende desde el capítulo uno, presentando a un gran protagonista y una trama atrapante. Los conceptos de ciencia ficción si bien son confusos, son muy originales y la mayoría nunca los había visto en otra historia. El protagonista tiene una historia muy conmovedora y bien desarrollada, realmente aporta mucho a la trama. El resto de personajes, sacando a Hondoumachi y Fukuda, pasan bastante desapercibidos, pero creo que igualmente cumplen bien su rol en la historia. Todos los asesinos seriales que van apareciendo durante la serie son realmente divertidos de ver y no caen en simples personajes de relleno hasta que el protagonista enfrente al antagonista principal. Y hablando del antagonista principal, es lo más flojo de la serie, realmente no entendes sus motivos, y justifica todo al final diciendo _"Es mi propio sentido de la justicia"_, como si estuviera tratando de darle una explicación más profunda a sus acciones pero la verdad que no. La banda sonora es sublime, de las mejores que escuche, a veces me desconcentraba de la trama por quedarme perdido en las canciones de fondo. El opening esta bastante bien y el ending es maravilloso. En fin, para tener solo 13 capítulos, tiene una calidad impresionante, un _must-watch_ definitivo que no lleva más de 5 horas de vista. __Con spoilers:__ ~!Ahora hablando libremente, el anime tiene conceptos super interesantes, todo lo de meterse en el subconsciente de asesinos seriales para sacar pistas de sus respectivos paraderos es realmente divertido de ver, sobre todo cuando el protagonista es el CHAD de Narihisago, que verlo resolver los misterios lo hace aún más divertido. Y no es un chad porque si, tiene una historia detrás impresionante, el capítulo 10 realmente te deja roto, una parte mía sigue queriendo que nunca se haya encontrado con Hondoumachi y se quede en ese mundo ficticio pero feliz. Volviendo al antagonista, otra cosa que me molesta mucho es que también te das cuenta desde el principio su verdadera identidad, no importa si arrestan a Momoki, quien es el verdadero John Walker es muy obvio. En cuanto al plot de Kaeru o Asukai Kiki, si bien te llega a conmover y sentís empatía por ella, tampoco es que expliquen mucho el porqué de sus poderes, ¿Nació así? ¿Fue obra de las investigaciones del científico ese? ¿Cómo la encontraron? También creo que falto un poco de historia sobre Momoki, porque se obsesionó tanto con salvarla? Simplemente porque es un buen policía? En fin, todo lo relacionado a Asukai y John Walker deja más preguntas que respuestas, al final lo bueno es ver a Narihisago, Hondoumachi, Fukuda y Momoki deteniéndolos. Que por cierto, todos mis respetos a Fukuda, realmente es un personaje muy bien construido, una pena su sacrificio pero creo que es lo que realmente lo termina de consagrar.!~ ~~~__Puntuaciones finales:__ Historia: 9/10 Lore: 8/10 Protagonista: 9/10 Personajes: 8/10 Animación: 7/10 Banda Sonora: 10/10 Openings/Endings: 8/10 Apreciación personal: 8/10~~~
I may discuss spoilers , so if you haven't watched the show, don't read the review. Here I go. 1. Plot- I believe the premise is unique and great. Kinda felt like inception and minority report mixed in with anime- but had its whole different vibe. I really liked that. The plot is a Sci-fi mystery with fairly well written mysteries. However I will say that the mysteries were pretty simple (which was kind of dissapointing)- but they were still engaging. The pacing was fine, and the show was laid out in a way that everything in the end, came together and lined up. It was very satisfying. However there is a certain plot reveal which is important to the story- which I just guessed right away. I didn't know how it would come to be or play out- but I just instinctively knew that, which was kind of disappointing and further proved that mystery writing in parts of this series was fairly simplistic and not that well written or though of. Also there were few dumps of exposition- which made me feel overwhelmed but overall I didn't mind them. 2. Characters- As in most crime/thriller/mystery dramas the characters weren't that great or complex. And lot of them, weren't developed and were just kind of there. However the main leads- while being fairly troupey were still interesting. The Perforator was not as developed but the show did barely enough for me to gain an interest him- and to be able to understand his actions, however I will say that he was not the ''most in-depth characters'' I've ever seen. Hondomachi had a jarring personality shift- which couldn't equate to development for me- but still her overall character was nice and I was invested in her. Sakaido or Narihisago, while being your typical hard boiled cop, was the most interesting peice in the series for me. His whole personality was explored in a subtle manner- I could feel his actions- and I felt that as a MC derived from a troupe- he didn't feel like that and was overall a compelling lead to follow- whose character was explored effectively. Other characters including Kaeru just worked in the favour of the series. In short the cast of characters weren't as memorable or the most deep characters, but were still interesting enough and compelling to follow. 3. Worldbuilding- The anime was decent at explaining how its world works and expanding upon it. However the inner workings of the system this anime is focused on, could've been much better explained. Also as I mentioned earlier the anime liked to drop sudden expositions as reveals, which too overwhelmed the viewer. 4. Art and Music- The anime has a killer OST. The opening, the ending and all the songs which played at the important scenes in this anime. Fucking awesome. set the mood and the complimented the scene. The Art while very minimalistic was great. The character designs are well made as well. And the imagination of the person who made this is commendable. Since the guy managed to capture a dream like state through the use of art. Every single ID well had unique worlds, which had a dreamy feel and were creatively made. 5. Themes- I will say one thing, I struggled to find a consistent theme in this anime. Every show seems to have an overarching theme, as for ID Invaded- I couldn't really find any one. However, most of the episodes had a theme of their own and they were presented in a neat way. Episode 10, was about accepting reality and coming to terms with it and the series killed that part (in a good way) and nearly managed to tear me up- few times. Final Verdict- Now that I look back at this show from a more "critical lens", I find it a tad simplistic. The plot writing was simplistic, certain twists were predictable. The worldbuilding wasn't as dense or explained in depth as Ghost in the shell and the characters fell more into the interesting but forgettable category. But the show was really engrossing- it had an atmosphere which I felt was not seen in anime nowadays. It was cinematic at times. When it shined it truly did. The plot while being simple and fairly linear was still engrossing and I was invested in it and wanted to see where the show was going. And the end was satisfying as everything lined up. All in all- don't expect a Ghost in the Shell, but what you will get is a simple but excellently written thriller with sci-fi elements, being put to use cinematically and intelligently. A simplistic show which will give you enough about its world and characters, hook you up and offer you something refreshing and very enjoyable. I went in with zero idea and no expectations and I was pleasantly surprised Thus my final score 85/100
>__Sigmund Freud proponía que la psique del ser humano se dividía en 3 partes principales: el Yo, el Superyó y el Id. Ahora bien, este último se considera está presente desde nuestro nacimiento, representando nada más y nada menos que los impulsos primarios, aquellos que están más allá del inconsciente y que, como animales que somos, luchan constantemente por salir, demostrando nuestras verdaderas pasiones y deseos, exponiéndonos ante nuestra propia locura y quizá, convirtiéndonos en monstruos, en mentes criminales que solo pueden morar en un lugar... ID: Invaded __ ~~~img(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iV66WCt0fqY/X3czM1mZB-I/AAAAAAAACJ8/sKrcmivAXL0slw-OaoexPmtWkCRXUjy1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/ezgif.com-gif-maker%2B%252812%2529.gif)~~~ Abres los ojos y lo primero que haces es entrar en pánico. Una breve mirada basta para saberlo: Estas dividido en pedazos. Tu primer reacción, la más natural, es gritar, preguntarte si estás muerto. Pero logras calmarte y te das cuenta de que no lo estas y que tu cuerpo desmembrado puede unirse. Una mano, el brazo entero y luego un pie, poco a poco logras "unirte". Ahora comienzas a explorar y frente a ti, un escenario que es desconcertante, sin sentido, pero que por alguna razón, parece encajar. No recuerdas quién eres. Pronto observas un cuerpo y tratas de llegar hasta él. Entonces te encuentras con el cadáver de una chica apuñalada. No la conoces y sin embargo, sabes su nombre: Kaeru. Y al saber su nombre recuerdas el tuyo. Eres Sakaido, y más importante aún, eres el brillante detective, y tu deber es seguir las pistas tras un asesinato... Así son las primeras lineas de ID: Invaded, y bien podrían ser las más representativas de toda la serie y su esencia; frente a nosotros, está el gran detective y cómo podemos ver, estamos en un espacio onírico perteneciente a un "pozo" que es como se define al espacio virtual en el que los detectives se introducen con el fin de resolver casos difíciles y así descubrir al culpable. Sin embargo, existe una peculiaridad: solo pueden visitar los pozos aquellos que hayan asesinado, lo cual significa que el gran detective, que por cierto en realidad se llama Akihito, es un agente caído en desgracia y que, tras cierto incidente, se convirtió en asesino, razón por la cual ahora ayuda con este tipo de casos. Es así que a lo largo de la serie, veremos cómo es que nuestro protagonista se introduce en distintos pozos para tratar de detener a un asesino serial cuyo modus operandi, se basa en hacer que sus víctimas maten a otras personas... ~~~img(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PJEdZRxRbMM/X3c00QSPgcI/AAAAAAAACKw/KcWIN0JDGfEKbRLg1wjGeTwCUIBXZfLIwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h183/5%25282%2529.png)~~~ ~~~ __Holmes y su rompecabezas__~~~ Y he aquí el punto más innovador de la obra: el uso de un espacio mental como escenario para la resolución de casos. Porque estos espacios son los que detonan la habilidad del gran detective y compañía, potenciando el juego de rompecabezas y haciendo que el espectador se adentre al caso desde el primer minuto, tratando de juntar las piezas y observar los detalles, pero sin revelar nada en absoluto. Ojo que esto no siempre va a gustar y puede que se vuelva pesado en algunos momentos pero definitivamente permite reflejar los casos de tal manera que la verdadera cuestión es el porqué se hacen las cosas. Y eso lo vemos a través de los 3 detectives que acudirán a los pozos conforme avance la serie, analizando los misterios desde distintas perspectivas, lo cual ayudará a Sakaido a descubrir la verdad. Esto también permite la narración a 2 vías, pues mientras que en la realidad vemos como acontecen los casos "individuales", en los pozos se logra diseccionar los mismos, construyendo de a poco el trasfondo de la obra y del protagonista. Así mismo, el uso de estos espacios oníricos, sirven para unir el eje de la serie: La psicología detrás de sus individuos. ~~~__¿Subconsciente? O quizá...__~~~ ID: Invaded, pese a ser una serie basada en la resolución de misterios, tiene su eje principal en la exploración psicológica del individuo, haciendo énfasis en los detonantes y las intenciones de los "villanos" en cada uno de los pozos. Desde el 1er caso "Jigsaw" hasta la resolución final, cada personaje se sustenta bajo aquello que los mueve a cometer delitos, siendo el principal, el hilo conductor de Akihito. Y es aquí donde la serie juega su mejor carta, al presentarnos la cuestión sobre si realmente es nuestro subconsciente tratando de obrar el mal, o si en algún momento pasa a ser nuestra parte pensante la que lo desea. Y Akihito es la clara batalla entre ambos extremos: por un lado tiene el impulso de cobrar venganza por lo que le sucedió a su familia, pero por otro también tenemos el momento en que el mismo decide acabar con todo, aun a expensas de las consecuencias que sabe que tendrá. Es decir, es su deseo interno contra su parte racional, o por el contrario, es su mente trabajando bajo la excusa de dicho deseo? ~~~img(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BQoRGS2Qngs/X3c3eepxmEI/AAAAAAAACL0/FPpew4ntYBQdMR1-in0VwLD4l_22CWhCgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h95/1%25281%2529.png)~~~ Y esto es algo con lo que se enfrenta durante varios momentos de la trama tanto en los pozos como mediante flashbacks de su pasado, siempre teniendo como eje a una persona: Kaeru, la victima omnipresente y a la cual siempre trata de salvar con el fin de buscar su propia salvación. Esto lo lleva a enfrentar a sus propios demonios, teniendo su propia catarsis ya hacia el final de la serie, logrando así, abrazar su presente y dejar ir las culpas del pasado. Y lo mismo ocurre con otros personajes, siendo principalmente Hondomachi y Momoki, pues mientras que la primera enfrenta el dilema de ser libre pero querer ir a los pozos, el segundo es la última amarra de Akihito a la realidad, siendo atormentado por ello y por la forma en que se vio implicado en la desgracia de su amigo y su posterior uso como "gran detective". Así, tenemos a aquella que quiere ir a la verdad y a aquel que busca escapar de ella... Pese a todo, la serie peca en la forma de llevar su narrativa, pues creo que, pese a tener uno de los mejores desarrollos de historia, de lograr una adecuada evolución en sus personajes y de tener bien utilizados sus conceptos, falla al momento de la resolución. Con esto me refiero a que, ID: Invaded se toma su tiempo para presentar sus casos y los principios tras ellos, pero la resolución a los mismos a veces carece de peso dramático; así mismo, pese a que todos los caminos argumentativos conducen a su final, este se desarrolla de forma apresurada, teniendo un desenlace sin mucho impacto y cuyo villano no da en ningún momento la impresión de tener un trasfondo de importancia (como si lo hace y muy bien, el villano de Psycho Pass por ejemplo). Esto quizá se hubiese mejorado con un par de episodios más, pues al final se siente que 13 episodios son pocos para concluir todo al mismo ritmo y profundidad de su inicio. ~~~img(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C3A4onYnVRs/X3c4AGHbpPI/AAAAAAAACME/YAuvHCTR4Q0lYTHAiIpMDLLCGOurDh3QgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h458/image.png)~~~ La animación es otro de los pilares sobre los que se sustenta la obra, principalmente en su apartado de diseño de escenarios, pero primero, el diseño de personajes. Cortesía de __ Atsushi Ikariya__ estamos ante un trabajo bien cuidado y que sobresale por la estética única de la que dota a los rostros de las personas, manteniendo un trazo fino pero un poco esquinado y usando de contrapunto un dibujo de ojos más ovalado. Esto sin duda potencia el juego de miradas y expresiones de los personajes (principalmente de Sakaido) al momento de analizar los misterios y enfrentar situaciones traumáticas. Así mismo destaca el vestuario de los 3 detectives principales, con un estilo bien definido en cada uno, siendo el de Hondomachi un pequeño guiño a Sherlock Holmes. Sin embargo y como ya mencioné, los escenarios son lo más destacable de la serie, principalmente el primer pozo, pues se trata de un mundo lleno de estructuras hechas cual vista explosionada, resultando en piezas de rompecabezas perfectas para la labor del protagonista. Por así decirlo, es como estar viendo la película "Inception" pero en animación, pues de igual manera, el espacio onírico que maneja la serie no respeta las leyes de la física (mayormente). El resto de los pozos también tienen un diseño destacable, teniendo escenarios tan variados como el desierto o la construcción en llamas que visita Sakaido. En definitiva una de las animaciones en CGI mejor logradas del año. ~~~img(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f8wgh64NM0g/X3c3juxjQYI/AAAAAAAACL4/Gte6U5KCzG03s2Ke4NXTI9ZqWhDc0ZZzgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h181/ezgif.com-gif-maker%2B%25287%2529.gif)~~~ En cuanto al aspecto sonoro, a cargo de la unidad de compositores U/S, estamos ante piezas con un gran abanico de escalas, teniendo algunas llenas de potencia como la sobresaliente "Butterfly" de Miyavi, con su omnipresente bajo, o la genial "Samurai 45" del mismo artista; mientras que otras son piezas instrumentales llenas de tristeza y nostalgia, tal es el caso de "Memories of Love" de Hiroshi Suenami & soundbreakers, o el piano de "Behind me Far away". Sus piezas principales por otro lado, también logran mantener la atmosfera de la serie, siendo el OP el tema “Mister Fixer” interpretado por Soucon, una pieza llena de potencia y que cuenta con un asombroso visual, sirviendo para preparar al espectador sobre lo que está a punto de ver; por otro lado, el ED es "Other Side”, interpretado por Miyavi y con un marcado estilo... ------------------------------------------------ _ID: Invaded es una propuesta llena de intriga y que explota directamente en nuestra mente, regalándonos en el proceso casos llenos de carga psicológica que nos envuelven desde el primer momento. Así mismo, sus personajes sostienen y logran llevar a buen término la serie, retándonos a conectar los puntos dentro del extraordinario universo onírico que plantea la serie gracias a su gran animación y al mismo tiempo mostrándonos de lo que nuestro subconsciente es capaz de hacer... en pocas palabras, ID: Invaded es todo un viaje directo a la psique humana_ >__Más contenido en mi blog https://13fotogramas.blogspot.com/__
~~~img220(https://i.ibb.co/YkvQcYk/WakingUp.gif) ~~~ __~~~Introduction~~~ __ ~~~Id Invaded is a sci fi detective mystery in similar veins to psycho pass with more of an inception like premise of diving into the id (the part of the mind in which innate instinctive impulses and primary processes are manifest.) wells of serial killers trying to piece together the mystery from info in their wells and with that initial premise out of the way I'll get started with the review. ~~~__~~~REVIEW~~~ __ ---- ~~~Plot~~~ ~~~ID Invaded has to have one of the most coolest initial premises with a great hook episode to boot when I first heard of the show back in winter 2020 it seemed cool but I never checked it out because I totally thought it was gonna be one of those shows were the premise is all it has going for it and it would fail to execute it in a meaningful way. Let me tell you something ~~~ ~~~img220(https://media.tenor.com/images/343e34f679dbb18cfc6c07e846884ee0/tenor.gif) ~~~ ~~~Episode 1 starts off with all the right vibes it shows off the initial world where in for as well as the characters in a non exposition information dumping manner simply allowing you to pick the details out which is fitting since it aligns with the main character a brilliant detective having no idea who is or why he's in this world as far as intro episodes its top tier. I will say a that the plot structure of a lot of these detective drama's are similarly structured like psycho pass with 2 episode arcs revolved around specific cases with their own specific ID worlds that the brilliant detective __Sakaido__ must manuever ~~and also not die~~ in the ID world so that the main cast can gleam more info about the killer and his whereabouts which makes for some really interesting episodes as well as piecing the psychology of the killer through the rules of their world ~~~ ------------ ~~~Story~~~ ~~~the story is hard to summarize in bits that matter especially when it comes to detective mystery shows which are meant to be enjoyed a-splendor by its first time viewers but essentially most of the story is focused on Sakaido or at least the person inhabiting the persona of Sakaido after forgetting everything once hopping into the ID in which he then dons the persona of a brilliant detective. Sakaido or as we know him by his real name by the end of the first episode as __narihisago akihito__ is a former detective the show sprinkles an ample amount of intrigue around akihitos past and his personality which differs quite a bit from the persona he dons in the ID world as Sakaido which gives us a look into perhaps who he used to be before whatever event turned him into the bitter and deteriorated person he's become chasing criminals relentlessly like a mad man you really get the sense of a person who hates sitting in his own mind and explains why he willingly chooses to escape into the worlds of serial killers where he can return to who he was and forget everything that happened in his past. I really got attached to his character as the show progressed it started as intrigue and developed to an emotional attachment and empathy its hard to write how much it really spoke to me. the side characters act as side characters do in these types of series similar to psycho pass 2-3 get some good development and spotlight and the rest are more support role based which logically works into the show although I could argue that Psycho Pass had more characterization with its side characters but I never once found it a problem in this show. ~~~ ----- __~~~FINAL STATEMENT ~~~__ ~~~ID Invaded managed to be a mind melting and fascinating show the sci-fi mystery premise really hooks and has you on the edge the twists are well foreshadowed and build of a established logical world this show was thrilling to watch and its sad that I won't. see a show as weird and out there as well as so amazingly structured for a decent time I'd say some negatives to the show is the concept in it of itself being less grounded in science or at least possible science than something like Ghost in the Shell or Psycho Pass where its a fully realized sci-fi world that had a believable basis for a premise another thing that might turn off some people is the amount of dialogue in this show its not an intellectual thing just know that it can sometime overflow with that I highly fucking recommend this show 95/100 ~~~ ~~~img220(https://64.media.tumblr.com/47797d11f911278ae4da548c68254569/fd66dd69ba626d4d-f8/s500x750/0ba7a60bbf3cc09b176463e58a1602efe9e469a9.gifv)~~~
Id:Invaded is one of Winter 2020's most debatable anime. The reason? Id:Invaded is not the typical police anime. It's a fascinating, thrilling and poetic mysterious journey. I'm calling it a journey because it feels like one; even if it's a fast-paced one cour anime. This surprisingly integrated show throws the watcher deep into the abyss of ingenious writer Otarou Maijou's thoughts. What made me personally distinguish this anime is that every episode was full; so full, that it felt like 35-40 minutes long. And trust me, it never got boring! This is all due to the famous director Ei Aoki and Studio NAZ, who made it possible to expose such a huge pile of thoughts in just 13 episodes. The story is about a fictional world, where criminals' minds connect in a unique way. The Mizuhanome system, only launched when used by a person who has killed at least once in his life, makes it possible for this detective to dive into an enigmatic world, created by another criminal's subconscious. While observing the detective's trip, the police staff finds clues, making the case's solution easier to reach. One of the strongest parts of the anime is the psychological one. Mainly emphasizing in emotionally traumatized people's points of view, or even psychopaths, Otarou Maijou presents the - sometimes small - gap between righteousness and sinfulness, right and wrong, success and failure. He creates an emotional rollercoaster, mostly led by the main protagonist, Narihisago, but other characters too, like the famous Kaeru-chan (no spoilers for her true identity). This rollercoaster is so successful because the character development is on point, as it should be. For example, we get to meet Narihisago as time goes by, as he enters other criminals' wells, as he encounters reality's hardships. Is Narihisago really a criminal? Does he want to save people, or does he hate humanity? Many questions like these pop up in the watcher's minds since the beginning of the series. Episodes 9 and 10 are the climax of his character development and he shows all of his true colours. Aside from the main character, a good development is seen in most of the "main" side characters, so if the watcher understands what messages the author wants to pass, they will definitely be satisfied with what they're watching. But like I mentioned before, mr. Maijou's thoughts are deep, poetic and sometimes hard to comprehend; as a result, they act like a double-edged sword. Many may like his concept, while many will dislike Id:Invaded - it's up to you whether you'll keep up! As many years have passed since I first came across the Japanese culture, I've never stopped getting impressed by how well they can use their sources of influence; it does not always work, but this time it surely did. Many pieces of work that made an impact on the story can be detected. Yasutaka Tsutsui's sci-fi thriller novel "Paprika", with the addition of some details only found in Christopher Nolan's famous movie "Inception", "Drill hole in my brain", which is actually Maijo's fiction, TV series "Bones" and probably more which I can't identify. Some people claim that Id:Invaded is similar to Psycho-Pass, but I disagree. Psycho-Pass author Gen Urobuchi's ideas and execution differ a lot from Maijo's, while I agree that the psychological and sci-fi sides show similarities and apply to a similar audience. Last but not least, the artistic side of this unusual anime has to be mentioned, especially the OST. If you're a fan of the famous guitarist and singer Miyavi and still haven't watched Id:Invaded, the first thing you should do is go for it. The studio chose wisely to feature the - as far as I'm concerned - best songs from his 2019 album, "No sleep till Tokyo". The ending song ("Other Side") fits perfectly to leave a dynamic and emotional vibe after an episode is done, while the songs "Samurai 45" and "Butterfly" are once inserted in a clever way to hype up the audience. Aside from Miyavi, a tearjerker insert song titled "Memories of love" by Hiroshi Suenami was the perfect fit to the specific scene it was played in, so I congratulate Studio NAZ and Ei Aoki for their perfect selections of music. A summary is not needed, since I expressed everything I had to share with all of you reading right now. It's my first review ever, so feel free to text me what you didn't like about it (from the aspect of writing, not my opinions). Likewise, I'm willing to privately discuss anything that would be a spoiler with those who have watched the anime and disagree with me. Thank you for reading!
Pues la verdad me gustó: es un anime que capta los intereses de una persona como yo fácilmente, pues soy fan de la ciencia ficción y me gusta bastante la psicología en general (sin llegar a lo pretencioso). Me gusta la idea del anime, la cuál creo que está MUY FUERTEMENTE inspirada en la película Minority Report. Los personajes me parecen medianamente carismáticos y la obra está cargada de plots realmente bien armados y con una buena cantidad de recursos (hasta que llega el final al menos). Considero que la obra superficialmente cumple. Al principio de la obra, creí que esta trataba de cómo nos puede afectar esconder lo importante en contraste con la teoría psicoanalítica, tal fue mi sorpresa cuando me di cuenta que después empezó a tirar por otro lado, haciendo sentir (sustancialmente) muy desperdiciado a cada uno de los primeros capítulos y siendo estos de cuestionable importancia, pues lo único que se podía extraer de los casos era cómo el inconsciente se representaba en un sujeto "anormal" para la sociedad. Conforme los personajes se iban adentrando en la trama, me di cuenta que tal concepto del "inconsciente" era utilizado de forma random y que establecía un abuso por todas las situaciones donde se lo menciona, haciendo del escenario en dónde los personajes principales interactúan (el pozo id) un escenario dónde estos pueden interactuar sin límites. Conforme la obra se acerca a su final se muestran cada vez más fallos en lo que a sus reglas e historia respecta. Desde mitad de serie pensé que hablaría sobre "a veces necesitamos perder algo para sentirnos completos" pues el protagonista necesita entender la falta de su familia, la otra y el loco de los números perdieron algo en su cabeza que les da ese lugar en la historia y para meterte al escenario realmente importante de la obra es necesario perder todo con lo que venís arrastrando, solo así uno puede ser un excelente detective (que según mi interpretación, sería una persona completa, pues sus recuerdos no eran sustanciales en ese escenario, solo el caso), sonaba lógico esto y no me decantaba por otra cosa que la obra quisiese decir. Curiosamente la obra nunca se decanta por ignorar esto y no lo expande, lo que constituye relegar un mensaje a la ambigüedad (algo que no permitiría). Ya hablamos del escenario, ¿Qué decir de los personajes? El tema nunca se expande, los personajes tampoco, es cómo que siguen siendo los mismos de no ser por el protagonista, cuyo único logro es superar la muerte de su familia y sentirse más cómodo dónde estaba, cuyo progreso pudo ser observado y no existe un trato de tema cómo para que se opte por esa decisión, sencillamente no es creíble y no expande en cómo lo hizo exactamente, lo que significa no expandir la temática del personaje. Los cambios de los otros personajes son más de lo mismo, además de que estos no parecen realmente útiles para la obra, pues no se encargan de representar ninguna perspectiva ni de generar un conflicto que sea realmente importante para la obra... Ni siquiera el antagonista lo hizo! Que parecía que iba a dar vuelta la perspectiva sobre la justicia y la interpretación humana o algo así (que no sé a que venía el caso, pero mejor que nada tal vez era). Se trata de un personaje que resulta demasiado poco relevante para la obra por el cómo halló su fin... Y para ser el foco del misterio y de TODA LA SERIE pues su participación resulta bastante decepcionante. El tema recursos... La serie es un completo desastre en lo que respecta a cómo optimiza sus recursos y tiempo en pantalla, sencillamente pierde mucho tiempo alargando el misterio, pues es sabido que el factor misterio es algo que vende. No veo necesidad de que este ocupe tanto tiempo en pantalla, pudiendo invertir este tiempo en algo mucho más útil o tomando el camino de la teoría psicoanalítica en lugar de nada. A su vez, muchos elementos cómo la enorme parte de personajes secundarios o todo el escenario de los primeros capítulos no halla una conclusión en la obra ni resultan trascendentes más que para conectar una sucesión de hechos. En conclusión, creo que ID:INVADED es una obra muy interesante a nivel superficial porque tiene historias interesante e impredecibles, pero nada tiene que aportar más allá de esto.