Novelty
There is definitely an American film influence here in the first half, and I think that creates some uniqueness. The second half, though, is pure murder mystery weirdness. The writer, Kazutaka Kodaka, will invariably always get high marks for novelty. The guy just lives to take broad concepts and drive a stake in them with murder and dark humor.
Plot
Akudama Drive is effectively the anime equivalent of a heist movie, which eventually transforms into Danganronpa. The first half of the series is very much a normie series, which could appeal to a non-anime crowd. At about the mid-point, the series quickly takes a dive into the deep end and becomes the equivalent of a slasher film. Frankly, I could have done with more of the former and less of the latter, or at least provide a smoother shift. The canard works better in gaming, where the play is self paced. Does the story resolve satisfactorily? That really depends on if you think V for Vendetta’s broad ending message was satisfactory enough.
Design
Everything is bright and flashy, yet cyberpunk here. Banners and sleek writing predominates pretty much everywhere here. It kind of reminds me of Persona 4 Golden, in a way. In terms of movie comparisons, think Blade Runner. Points for the colors and general mystique of the art. I also appreciate that the world design is distinctive and completely willing to break out of the modern design ethos.
Characters
A couple points off for some of the character designs and personalities feeling extremely derivative, specifically Cutthroat feeling a little too similar to Danganronpa’s Nagito Komaeda. No complaints otherwise.
If you like shows that take a wild turn or that have “kill ‘em all” elements, this may be for you.
