Btooom! (Review)
Quick synopsis: In the blink of the mind’s eye, Ryouta Sakamoto suddenly finds himself transported from playing the hit Btoom! video game to being stranded on a mysterious island, equipped with a day’s worth of provisions, a bag of bombs, a strange crystal embedded in his left hand and a huge gaping hole in his memory. But it doesn’t take long to figure out what’s going on, especially after the first person Ryouta meets tries to kill him. Someone is attempting to recreate the ultra-violent Btoom! game in real life, and the island has been filled with an army of other unwilling players, each armed with one of the multiple variants of explosive weapons called BIM. Fortunately, Ryouta’s an ace Btoom! player, but this insane version of the game has no reset switch or second lives, and there’s only one way off the island: kill seven other people before they can kill you! Can Ryouta repurpose his game based skills fast enough to survive?
Personal thoughts: Wow. To be honest, this anime was pretty good and I kinda like it. It has the action and some form of thriller. This anime always reminds me of The Hunger Games or Battle Royale. It doesn’t had any humor and it is that kind of show that you can just see drama and explosion every time.
The Review:
Storyline & Plot: 7/10
One thing why I score it 7 is because the beginning part of the story aren’t explain in details. Now, I don’t read the manga so I know nothing of what’s going on in the manga series. But they should have at least explain briefly why the real life game Btoom was created for. But the plus side is their story of why they have landed themselves in this island were pretty well explain. Especially Himiko and that little boy who is apparently crazy. I also like how the story developed among each character, where they don’t trust each other or back stab each other and they soon found out about it. And settled it with a death fight.
Art & Character Design: 9/10
Very good. I like the art design and the explosive effect. Also, if you notice when the player throws a bomb. It enters into a slow motion mode like any real life action movie, which gives us an impression like “OMG! THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL!” or something like that, (especially, that bomb hits into Himiko boobies part). Moving on the character design, comparing the manga and the anime, I would prefer the anime design because it is more detail. Himiko boobies were well drawn and so does her entire body.
Entertainment & Execution: 8/10
Was it entertaining? You bet it was. Assuming you don’t read the manga and know nothing about the plot or what’s gonna happen next. It always give you a chilling feel whenever the main characters are walking in the jungle or anywhere else. And suddenly, a wild character pops up and started to fight not knowing whether some of the people with the main character will die or not. The feeling is like watching The Ring or Lost not knowing what happen next. Which is why I called it “Entertainment”. As for execution of the story, it was executed in a way such that viewers don’t get confused.
Music: 6/10
The opening was awesome. Superbly awesome. The ending title was average and with all that “boom boom” explosion. I can’t really hear or rather notice any BGM.
Overall: 7/10
The anime has potential, but there are also room for improvement. I still would like to have season 2 of Btoom!, since the last episode of the ending part tells me that the story is not finished yet. Overall, I like it and I would recommend people to watch it, if you are that kind of person who likes explosion or trap in an island that sort of plot. Oh yes, if you don’t like the plot or anything with the story. Then watch it, for the sake of that cute blonde Himiko. I kinda like her by the way.
