OP Sequence

OP: 「TERMINATED」 by 茅原実里 (Chihara Minori)
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼

「境界線前の整列者達」 (Kyoukaisen Mae no Seiretsu Monotachi)
“Those Standing Before the Boundary Line”

I came into this expecting to be overwhelmed with jargon and not knowing just who or what I should be paying attention to. While the lure for me was originally a disgustingly deep story that’s supposed to be impossible to adapt, I’m not quite sure if I’ll need that to keep watching this show. If you didn’t notice, they spent a grand total of about a minute on the backstory and packed in a ton of action and character introduction into the other twenty five.

For a first episode, I was not disappointed. If you were listening closely, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were able to pick out a handful (if not more) seiyuu. With such a strong cast comprised of not only Fukuyama Jun, Chihara Minori, Ono Daisuke, and Shiraishi Ryoko but a dozen more popular names; it’s almost like listening to a symphony. I’m sure that everything would have been just as exciting with lesser known seiyuu but having top notch voices really amps things up.

At the same time, the quality of the animation and the art style are so detailed and pretty that even if there are drops throughout the season, the bar has been set so high that even half-assing it would look great. From the intricate spell circles (or would technology circles suit it better?) to the huge variances in everyone’s outfits, it’s refreshing to know that each character got some thought put into them judging by how unique their outfits are.

However, the biggest thing for me was the integration of technology into a more traditional style city. While there are fancy bridges and holographic screens flying around everywhere I love how the buildings themselves still have that traditional feel to them.

In terms of the episode itself, I guess we’ll just have to wait till next week before things really get kicked into gear. The story dealing with the warring factions trying to re-live history was briefly touched upon during the ending sequence, but there are still so many questions that haven’t been answered. Who is this Aoi Toori and just what importance does he serve? What does this his confession have anything to do with the state of his peers? If this is Horizon, why does everyone believe she’s dead?

In the mean time, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon doesn’t disappoint. Starting strong with an awesome chase/fight scene paired up with just a hint of what the story is hiding to really make you start drooling for more, I’m excited to follow along and discover what this show has to offer.

 

85 Comments

  1. i have yet to watch it, biggest reason being that alot off people who’ve watched it said it was boring. i’ll get my own opinion later though then we’ll see if i follow the show

    Alcren
    1. And out of alot of people that you mentioned, i dare say half of them who watched the show don’t even know/undestand the show, hence the negative comments. Don’t always “listen” to those comments/reviews and avoid those shows, because you will never know it may just turn out to suit your taste. Always at least try them out yourself to see if they are really worth your time or not.

      Omega
      1. What is there to understand. I don’t see what’s so complicated about this show that some people can’t understand. I didn’t like this episode but I’ll give it a chance.

        dxb_blackwolf
    1. I don’t know why hadena looks bad for other people
      but they actually did a good job subbing it

      but if you don’t really want you can wait for other group to sub it
      probably tomorrow

      ricz
      1. Commie (just TAN sub with minor mods) > The Anime Network = Horrible Sub > Hadena

        Supposedly Hadena’s translator has the Japanese novels now so maybe it will be better? To be honest, they all have various amounts of mistakes though.

        Thank god the next part coming up should be much easier to translate, so we might actually see timely sub that is somewhat accurate.

        Moocow
  2. The story really seems deep enough to rise my interest. I love complex stories that more than a season to ne fully explain so i think this is my kind of series. I haven´t read the original light novels, but base in I´ve heard they are anything but light, at least 900-800 pages per novel! That´s insane, no wonder everyone in Japan said that this is imposible to adapt; nevertheless, this episode left me with my hopes really high.

    haseo0408
    1. I really liked the story until Aoi Toori appeared. It was an exciting action sequence until he showed up and derailed what they had going. Going up and groping the teachers tits (censored) was just stupid. Hopefully his presence in the series gets better.

      Karmafan
  3. I really did not expect to like this as much as I did. I really enjoyed the cyber-fantasy setting in this one, it hit just the right mixture, and along with the soundtrack made it really come all together for me. I also enjoy how it’s not taking itself too seriously, but not to the extent that it becomes absurd… Or perhaps this IS way too absurb, but so much so that I stopped caring and enjoyed the ride anyways. The same is true with the plot: it’s complicated, sure, but so much so that I, once again, stopped caring and enjoyed the ride. The characters are zany and there are so many of them, it’s easy to find one you like. I’m glad my expectations for this series have been flipped on their heads.

    I really want the OST when it comes out.

    MrMartini
  4. Really liked what I saw here. The animators did an awesome job in that whole chase scene, hopefully they can keep the quality throughout the series. I lol’d at the main character, kinda like him… he just showed up out of NOWHERE, shows his eroge, gropes his teacher then busts out a confession lmao. Also there are two kinds of breasts in this show… GINORMOUS or really flat..

    Love that poring-like creature too <3

    Nhelraios
  5. lol Aoi wins the competition when he “attacked” sensei’s oppai! he’s such a pervert with his little eroge then does what he does next! Sensei wins with her kick to send Aoi flying haha I supposed he deserved that. can’t wait for the next episode!

    Rayyy
      1. does wild informed guesses equate to a spoiler?
        Anyway they did say, or at least his sister said it as a reply when he said “apologize to horizon” Anyway look at current horizon’s full name. deficiently a robot’s name

        deafvader
  6. The action scenes were not bad at all though parts of it were silly. Talking to a AI for half a minute before firing your bow is pretty much a suicidal move.

    There 1 big obvious problem that the show will have to solve. How do you run such a massive cast in ways that would be memorable. I don’t even remember their names and only call them by general look, eg sword sensei, lance girl, dark and light witches, boxer, ninja guy, white robot, bow miko, old man, restaurant sweeper, guy with feather shoulders. Think i missed a few. Possibly they might be used as fodder, so no characterisation needed.

    Other than that, throughout the entire chase, i was thinking it would be cool for the main protaganist to show up already at the end point and beat the sensei who really made the entire lot (barring feathered shoulders) look useless <- bad first impression on their competence level

    Zaku Fan
  7. Somehow I am already turned off with this enormous amounts of hair and breasts.
    Seriously, SOMEBODY give the japanese women bigger breasts, so the men won’t have to compensate the lack in all their mangas and animes anymore.

    dunkelblau
  8. This was rather interesting, felt like a second episode or something during the chase. The groping with the glaring censorship was totally unexpected for me (the groping, not the censorship XD). I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention to notice the hints. I’ll probably continue to watch this, just hoping it won’t end up being totally confusing (like that penguin show, though in a totally different way). It doesn’t look as bad as rumored, but this was just the first episode…

    x
  9. Lots of boin. No complaints. Story may be semi-convoluted but hopefully dumb down from the novel. Lelouch/Fukuyama’s character just irks me with his abnormally long and thin smirk, but his voice right now reminds me more of Watanuki in happy mode. I’m hoping he evil laughs at some point cuz I love Leopard/Fukuyama’s evil laugh.

    xcswmboy
  10. i find the enormous breasts to be so distracting that it kills the show…
    besides that, the art is clean and well drawn but the setting is very confusing at the moment. i’ll give it a few more weeks to see how it does, but if it keeps up at this pace then it will prove that unadapatable theory correct =(

    sto
  11. Not sure what to think of this show right now. Non-humans, giant robots, magitek, and flying city ships? Oh and boobies, can never go wrong with that. They said this was impossible to adapt and I can see it. The setting seems to be huge, and there are so many characters that I got a headache keeping track of all of them. I’m afraid it might get that it will eventually be to convoluted.

    The action is pretty good though, and I like the visuals and the interfaces they use to fight. Certainly gives a cool edge to the fight effects. I also like the protagonist, the fact that he is shameless pervert with a smug smile puts he away from “generic harem wuss” archetype. That’s a huge plus for me.

    Looks like I’m interested enough to keep watching.

    fragb85
  12. the lure for me was originally a disgustingly deep story that’s supposed to be impossible to adapt.

    Well, how deep is the story? Well here’s a little quote from the animesuki forum :

    “looks like the “prologue” finally ended after the third volume”

    Synchronicity
    1. You gotta keep in mind that anime’s are adaptations from their source material. Using Usagi Drop as an example: It’s timeline followed the manga’s very closely but had things switched around, lengthened, or cut to make it work right for an anime.

      I don’t know how convoluted this story will end up being, but with how things currently stand I’m excited because of the potential that’s there.

  13. The first episode seemed like a lot of fun- but the cast is HUGE!!! I’m actually more worried about how they’re going to deal with developing such a large and varied cast even before we get to the issue of the complex plot. If you can’t properly develop a cast of characters that your audiences will care about, then in most cases your plot is moot…

    Zen
    1. One possible way they could go about reconciling the huge (and apparently soon to grow exponentially, according to Divine) cast is by incorporating character development into the plot. What I mean is this: They should craft the story in such a way that many characters get a chance to play major roles, and through that they are fleshed out and developed. Two dead birds with a single stone…

      …of course, the feasibility of this storytelling technique will depend very much on the source material (which I must confess that I know very little of); whether the original plot in the books actually involved the story’s many characters in a proactive manner. If the books failed to do this, then this strategy is dead in the water because there simply isn’t any basis to develop all the characters simultaneous to plot progression.

      Another less likely possible adaptation strategy involves shifting focus towards the two main characters, or several major/more popular ones. It isn’t beyond imagination that the writers for the anime might rework the story to center around the leads, or around several important characters, for the sake of better character development, and a simpler plot- the anime need not be 100% true to the books, after all, this is an adaptation.

      But by going down this particular avenue, the producers will expose themselves to the danger of butchering the story- basically obtaining more robust characters and simplicity at the cost of what made the story great.

      A hybrid of the two above strategies would involve focusing on characters who are of proactive significance to the plot, who can be easily developed over the course of the main story, thereby avoiding unnecessary detours which would detract from plot integrity, and avoiding weak characters where it counts the most; i.e. choosing to develop a major villain or a rival over developing some dude who is always present in all the battles, but never does anything more important than fight.

      There are of course a myriad of different possibilities besides those which I have mentioned here, but I do believe that I have covered several of the easiest ways through which the creators of this show might attempt to reconcile the enormous cast and the complex plot. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. In any case, we’ll probably know how good/bad a job the folks over at Sunrise have done at adapting this story by the end of the first season…

      Zen
  14. I don’t know why but everyone just assumes the Vocaloid is Horizon. She’s P-01 and I think she’ll be introduced in the next episode. It’s much easier to memorize the characters if your think of them as rpg chars. The naked pink guy and the blob are like healers. Notice how after the first two guys got knocked out, the strategist said “Char A, Char B, go heal Char C, and D.” Basically you have the Warriors, Tanks, Ninja/assasins, archers, mages, and healers. And theres a couple of merchants/carriers type. The main character is known for being useless but…probably has some hidden power

    stuff
  15. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere by Minoru Kawakami(dengeki bunko)

    Vol.1 (1-A) 541pp
    Vol.2 (1-B) 769pp
    Vol.3 (2-A) 903pp
    Vol. 4 (2-B) 1,151pp (yes, over 1000 pages)
    Vol. 5 (3-A) 735pp
    Vol. 6 (3-B) 831pp
    Vol. 7 (3-C) 895pp
    Vol. 8 (4-A) 671pp

    gosix
    1. So… 3 arcs for 7 volumes. Looks like covering up to 4 is about all they can do. maybe up to volume 3 with a cliffhanger ending for season 2…. this just sounds so scary. or maybe volume 1 only =(

      deafvader
  16. Am I the only one who loathed this episode?

    I mean seriously, it felt like nothing more than a cynical attempt to appeal to every otaku fetish known to man, all wrapped up in a story that’s stupidly convoluted and filled to the brim with tired old tropes that have been tossed in a blender together just to hide the fact that it is totally without substance.

    It’s true that I am NOT the target audience for this show, but I was expecting it to be at least somewhat fun, and instead I got something that managed to bore AND offend me. Needless to say, I’m almost certainly going to drop this.

    Indigo_Fire
    1. No sir you are not the only one. I have the same exact impression. Other than pretty graphics, this show did everything I look to avoid in anime. I really have no idea how you’re supposed to take this plot seriously.

      VyseLegend
    2. I’m with you, Indigo_Fire. This was so messy, unfocused and needlessly convoluted, it bordered on amateurish. If some people say these books are impossible to adapt, this first episode did nothing to prove them wrong.

      Kurofune
    3. Agreed that this was a messy episode. They tried to do too much and ended up with an incoherent introduction. It also doesn’t help that nothing makes sense right now.

      Hopefully a pacing issue… Otherwise I am disappoint…

      ..But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the action scenes xD

      Hrmmm
  17. Can’t wait for more Toori. He oozes charisma every second he’s on screen.

    I was pretty ‘meh’ about everything else. They tried to cram too much in, and I’m sure most of these characters aren’t going to develop into well-rounded ones in 13 episodes. Some of them I liked (the teacher), some of them I didn’t (the pretentious girl that changes her name).
    It has my interest piqued, so let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint.

    Aisu
  18. Well, i just saw Ep 1. Men, many “Chicks” with big Muscles, that even Men Top Athletes will Envy. Why they have bigger Muscles then mens? No, not Cheat Area. Legs. And, yes.. Boobies Parade

    Germanguy
  19. Wow, my expectations just went through the roof. Incredible first episode, particularly the animation. I think Aoi will become one of my favorite main characters. I love his “I don’t give a shit about anything”-ish attitude. I mean how often does a main character grope his own teacher so nonchalantly, not giving two shits about the obvious consequences?

    HenDarou
  20. I really like the teacher, I just find her to be very adorable. Plus she has no nose is weird but make her look very cute. Then you got the main char big sis, huge knockesr but funny attitude, wonder why the main need to grab the teacher boob when his sis has such enormous one near him.
    Overall the story and plot is confusing as well and I have no clue whats going on, but I still enjoy the show alot for its char design, fight scene, and humor, the plot will come in later episodes no need to rush it.

    mike
  21. I’ll watch it because the plot sounds interesting. Not too happy about the BOOBIES character designs though. I feel like this show could be super good, or end up being cheesy and too much fanservice.

  22. Remember Haruhi? Episode 1 does not always indicate the quality of the anime.
    Do yourself a favor and just enjoy it. See you in chatting about episode 2. Then let’s continue back here [ehhhh…]

    acolyte
  23. I really hope the first ep was just a troll ep just like with The Legend of the Legendary Heroes a while ago since it was plain sh*t. Especially the animation. The Eroge has such a great art. The anime is almost an insult.
    About the rest I dont even want to talk.

    Flytaggart
  24. This episode actually got my attention. There is a lack of plot explanation, but it did a good job of introducing the characters. While I’m not fond of their character designs, I find the variety appealing – the female characters were more noticable, but then you get a couple of interesting male characters. I also like how it introduced everyone’s fighting style and that they actually tactics – my personal favorite was when those three guys tag-teamed against their teacher, and when she cut her hair to confuse the homing arrow.

    But I think what interests me most is the main character. His stint to cut class in order to buy an eroge aside, I’m more interested in another thing he said – He’s going to go against the entire world? His motives seem to be related to Horizon, from the sound of it. Either way, he’s been portrayed as some kind of idiot thus far, but then you hear someone like that declare as something as serious as that. There’s definitely more to him than what he seems like.

    I think this anime gives a lot of bad impressions – heck, I initially thought it was going to be a harem type, but it looks like this guy’s pretty much comitted to Horizon. I’m definitely interested in seeing how this plot unfolds.

    Ryua
    1. Me, too. Skip classes and then play “mr. Cool” in front of the teacher, grab her Boobies for points? But She already won/arrived. So he get 0 Points and the Kick of Doom. Well lets see, if he is more then All Talk. He is so “ubba” that he needs these Strings not to fall 🙂 (on his Jacket)

      Germanguy

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