Reviews for Norn9

Hmmm...Did you read that synopsis for Norn9 ? If you didn't, read it and come back. ... Good? Ok. Now you can erase it from your mind because that synopsis is a lie. Did I ruin your hopes and dreams for this show yet? Edit 2021: This part was written when the synopsis only stated the story would be about Sorata which was a blatant lie. I see somebody on MAL now changed the synopsis so this joke doesn't work anymore, but I'm gonna keep it because I find myself funny! ;) Story - 4 I am serious, what the synopsis says is not even a quarter of what'sreally going on. If it would have indeed focused on the story from Sorata's eyes from episode 1 to the end, maybe we could have gotten a decent sci-fi story, but nope. The kid arrives around episode 3 or 4 and gets ignored for most of the show in favor for the romance, till when he was needed in the ending for whatever reason he was brought from the future for, which seriously, felt more like a need for emotional impact rather than anything else. And yes, I am fully aware this is an otome game adaptation and as such it's only normal to focus on the "otoge" fanservice more, but do I ask for the impossible when I expect a nice story with it too? (Excepting those that really have only romance as main point. ex: basic highschool otoges) Even having a bunch of people coping up with their supernatural powers would have been great! I'm not even asking for much.

The worst is that Norn9 has all the cards set to make a solid base for a good FF Type-0*coughs* fantasy/time-travelling story, it just didn't know how to stuff it all up in 12 episodes (13, if we count the summary episode too, which I question even the existence of; was it too hard to give it one more story-episode instead of a summary ? It really felt like they needed to be SURE we REALLY understood the plot, which made me fairly suspicious. Was it trying to tell me that the story is actually worth it enough to understand? That makes me feel even more sorry for the wasted potential, instead of feeling enlightened. It makes me feel like it was supposed to be so much more.)

Was it the fault of the 12 episodes being way too short for such a story? Personally, I don't think so. A good chunk of the fault goes to whoever directed/wrote this. Their choice to focus more on Kakeru and Sakura-...wait, what? Her name is not Sakura? Well, I don't care, Fire- bender Pink Missy? (I must have insulted all Fire Benders of the Avatar realm, ImsosorryZuko!) - only turned the show duller rather than help it. Why them? Why her? Why not Cool-Ojousama or Miss Kuudere which were by far more interesting? No. Why focusing so much on one pairing at all? The story could have completed itself so much better if it was told from 3 perspectives instead, which sounds like too much, but believe me, it is not, seeing the complexity of the story that they wanted to present here. Yet it all felt so...distant...and done for the heck of it. Chaotic. All over the place.

Plus, there's that deus ex machina 100% convenient and 100% foreseeable ending (for the main couple). I would have been ready to raise my rating for it if it wouldn't have turned out in such a foreseeable manner.

Characters - 3

God have mercy on my soul. Okay, no, that was an exaggeration, but God have mercy on my soul when it comes to Kakeru and ...*checks for her name properly now* Koharu! RIGHT. If any of you watched Kamigami no Asobi just please put Kakeru next to Apollon and then tell me what you think. Comparison done? Great! They're awfully similar, aren't they? Just that, while I could ...kinda...understand Apollon's pain to a greater extent (and I put emphasis on "kinda"), Kakeru just managed to make me want to hit myself. I could never manage to put my finger on him and the overall chaotic storytelling didn't really help me care either. No, I'll go even further. I've seen so many Kakeru's that I can't help but go cold when I'm able to realize all his issues from the first glance. It's just that simple.

It all goes so slow, but then so fast. All these characters seem to not care all that much, only to care later on for no apparent reason. Koharu was another one of those dull heroines that's there to just make the guys look better, always in need of saving, always in need of reassuring and not able to do anything without her man; and to top all that, she's selfish, because her happiness with Kakeru is more important than the whole world, and I don't care otome games need a happy ending. I do not even remotely agree and it simply frustrated me more. Rant over.

Fortunately, the other two heroines were really fun and if they were given a better chance, the anime wouldn't have been such a pile of mess (but unfortunately, they weren't). Mikoto was the strong-willed, sometimes rough girl, trying to find a path that fit her ideals, then there's Shiranui (who really looks like Echo from Pandora Hearts to me) who couldn't forgive herself for a sin she made in the past. Yeah, Koharu fitted into the main story better than the other two, but seeing how she's almost a blank sheet of paper, I would have went around it somehow...

The other guys...Welp, must not lie, I didn't particularly like anybody. Sure, there was Natsuhiko, Senri, Itsuki, Shukuri and Sakuya who are types that I usually tend to like, but in this case, I didn't really have much of a reason to just fawn over them.(*coughs* besides when Shukuri got the wolf ears *coughs*). Sure, they're all pretty guys and those that I mentioned actually have some sort of backstory and some thoughts of their own, but they didn't hit me as characters; too little, too little time. Some of them can barely even categorize as characters. They're just...there. And there's Ron. I really, REALLY think that Ron is an underrated character and the way the anime treats him is only obvious. There was always that type of mystery around him, but we never found out anything about him, he was just there when it was convenient, then disappeared when he was no longer needed. And I find that a shame because I was really interested in him, no matter how much some people that played the otome game tend to dislike him. (or so I hear)

Is this enough? ....No, you say? Oh right, I forgot the villain. Welp, he's not an original one and not even remotely unique in any way. We've seen his type of characters many times and done way better. By the time he came in, I just wanted it all to end.

Animation & OST - 6.5

I was pretty happy with the animation for the most part as well for the character designs though some of them are clearly overused, but it's ok, it's nothing particularly fancy. There are very brilliant and vibrant colors throughout the entirety of the show and the animation got particularly better in the last 2-3 episodes and all through the climax. I also remember some scenes of the dream episode and the flashbacks which were really pretty. Must be honest that some other parts were more flashy than actually good, though.

As for the OST, decent. I really loved the opening and ending themes and Aion's song was really pretty. Nothing outstanding though.

Conclusion - 4

Welp, could have went way better. Just a note though, I did not play the Norn9 otome game so I don't know how they deal with it there; I also make no parallels to the game and if I disliked the execution of the anime, it doesn't mean that I also dislike the otome game or Norn9 in its entirety. I really don't. I'm just salty about the potential that it had. Edit 2021: I played the otome game. It's one of the best otome games I've ever played 100% recommend!

Do I recommend it? I guess I do, but only to the people that already played the game or to people that just want to stare at some handsome bishies. Want a good story? Look somewhere else.

Rather than a review, this is more of a forewarning. Having played and thoroughly enjoyed the visual novel/ game version of this anime adaptation, I sort of began watching this show with the expectation that there would be a ton of missing content, and I could almost smell the disappointment and confusion of new viewers. A fact: the plot for Norn9 makes zero sense being told just once. From the get-go it has a complicated world and story line, with each characters' individual stories having huge effects on others'. Logistically it's pretty impossible to cram hours and hours and hours of character development and backstoryinto a measly 13 episodes. So what you end up with is a sort of commendable mish-mash of scenes from the directors/ writers desperate attempts to somehow get it all to work. To be honest I was expecting this anime to be a train wreck, but i was pleasantly surprised as it seemed like a some key plot elements were decently conveyed, and there was just enough random fluff, romance, and light humor to bring some balance.

I would recommend watching this anime if you've got time to kill. Expect to be casually entertained, something to lift your mood with. But, if you're looking for the expansive mystery, heartfelt romance and compelling sci fi fantasy setting- the anime adaptation isn't where you'll find it.

Story: 8/10 Even though the synopsis was part of the story but it didn't mainly focus in the story. The episodes fit together neatly into a continuous story, which I really enjoyed it. Art: 10/10 The art style in this anime is nice and relaxing even though it isn't the best I've. The color and affect are good and amazing. Sound: 10/10The sounds are actually good. The character voice actors fitting for the character they portrayed. And the soundtracks are the best one I ever heard. It really amazing and I love it. It goes together with the story plot.

Characters: 10/10

The characters look nice with that uniform in the wallpaper. They all have different personalities. It goes really well with the anime. I don't specifically dislike any characters in this anime at all.

Enjoyment: 10/10

I really love this anime so far. I hesitated when I saw the rating of this anime but turned out it's really good. I recommended for you. It all that bad as people thought. I definitely going to rewatch this anime again.

What else is there to say about Norn9 other than I found it to be the most boring anime of the Winter 2016 season. There is this grandiose plot that involves time and history, but it felt out there. I'm not sure if it was that I missed something, but the logic in this is just confusing and makes no sense. It also makes me wonder why everything is as it is. While I don't mind this concept, per se, what made it uninteresting (besides it's mind-boggling logic) is the rest of the story being mixed in. Whatever that wasn't about the overall plot is soboring to the point where I begin to doze off.

The characters are probably the worst thing about this show. These people are one of the blandest set of characters. It may look like they are showing chemistry, but it's horribly done. There is absolutely nothing about these people that make me care about them at all. Whatever would happen to them would not bother me one bit.

The animation was all right, having a mostly blue theme to it, but the plot and everything else is stopping me from being too positive about anything else.

This wasn't a case where I hoped the show would get better. I was hesitant to even watch this after doing research, yet I gave it the benefit of the doubt. In the end, there's no doubt I will never watch this again.

At first I thought this going to be boring. but as I am, I finished. and as I went through, I realized after every episode it was getting better and better. I don't regret going through the anime, and I doubt you will either. the storyline itself had me question the anime. I was pretty interesting, considering the many plot twists. probably the one thing about the anime that kept me watching. the art style used for the anime isn't the best I've seen. but it isn't necessarily bad. the affect for the powers were amazing! as well as the backgrounds. the character drawingswere the only thing that threw me off a bit. but don't let this concern you. overall its a good anime.

as for the music, its probably the most amazing soundtrack I've heard in any anime. it goes so well with the anime. its almost perfect for it. it fits with every twist and turn that comes in the plot.

now for the characters. different personalities and stories that go well with the story. the characters are the important part, considering the make up the story. without them this anime wouldn't be amazing anymore. the many characters for this anime fit perfectly with the plot to make it what it is. Senri being my favourite. but don't get me wrong, the characters will leave you watching the show in a day.

overall, this anime was pretty good. you definitely won't regret watching. hopefully till the end.

Hello there, ^^ I watched until episode 9 but then my patience drop to the ground. Adoptions from Visual Novels, especially Otome-Games are more or less the same. The female main-character is 'weak', teary and credulous. Koharu is exaggerated like this. The story is okay, but long-winded and foreseeable. The tension is often really short and not that special. Unfortunatly the story is facile, also the characters and whose past. Short: Not a good anime. I like and watch other animes, which are adaptions from VN, but not one anime, was like that horrible including the main-character. But -> Watch it, and build your own opinion! (:

Norn9 is a series with two distinct personalities. On the one hand it's a very shoujo styled drama with lots of time spent focusing on romance and the relationships of all the main characters. In this regard the show is solid which is to be expected given the show is an adaption of a visual novel. Now while some of the drama that unfolds is melodramatic and similarly unoriginal it is at least compelling. Or to me it was, I was never bored with this aspect of the show. Now on the other hand Norn9 is also a sci-fi drama, the setting is aboard the'ship' Norn is visually very interesting helped alot by the solid visuals in the show. But the Sci-Fi plot is the weaker side of the series and what ultimately for me at least held it back. This is because for most of the shows 12 episodes beyond the location of the Norn itself not very much time is given to explaining just what on earth is going on. We are presented with somewhat of a mystery and yet we are given very few clues for at least half the show and while the layers do eventually begin to unwrap it takes too long in doing so. Once it has though you'd be forgiven for not caring as the show rarely seems to either, the same could definitely be said for the characters also.

I would argue that the shows visual novel roots are to blame here, in a visual novel the characters are the story and are notorious for dolling out their plots slowly in favor of character development. Also much like a visual novel tends to do once the show decides it's Sci-Fi time it really goes for it, it's actually quite jarring how bait and switch it is. We go from light romance melodrama to full on Science Fiction with a bunch of ideas being thrown out at you and it becomes very hard to keep up at times.

For me Norn9 is a show with bags of potential that was just poorly handled. I like the setting, the characters while typical of their otome Visual Novel roots are likable and interesting and and the Sci-Fi plot, while again somewhat typical of the genre is still quite ambitious and interesting but ultimately the two sides of this show just don't blend well enough to be satisfactory. They are both fighting against each other and neither have really enough time to breath in just 12 episodes.

So finally I would like to say that if the synopsis strikes your fancy then give the show a try but just hold expectations in check becauses chances are the show will struggle to meet them.

I think this is a really underrated anime. Yes, it was hard to follow at first and as with most stories that have too many characters not enough was explained. However, it really did keep me on my toes about what the hell was going on and for the most part it reminded me a lot of final fantasy. I didn't read any background into the game before watching this, which to my awesome surprise had music created by the famous final fantasy composer. I love FF so this was perfect for me. Honestly, I was just looking to watch a reverse harem (turns outit really wasn't) romance anime at first and most of the time these have little meaning in them. I could spend days analyzing everything about this story such as the meaning behind their chosen powers, war, love, individuality, friendship, beliefs, etc. It's these themes that make the anime special. Plus the music is AWESOME. I wish it had more eps to dive deeper into the stories of the other characters and as with most anime the ending left me with a WTF, but like eh okay...I guess so. ultimately, i was still satisfied with a really good watch. I give this a 9 because of the story and the deeper meanings behind each theme in the story.

You’ll enjoy this anime if: (1) You just started watching anime and you haven’t watch some of the best animes (2) You are approx. 12-18 yrs old ( but you could still watching it your older but I doubt it would suit your taste) (3) You’re a romantic and you love to watch romantic anime with many bishounens I would recommend it if you fit one of the conditions I stated above and these are the reasons why: STORY: 7 During the first 1-6 episodes the pacing was too slow but such pace was not even enough to introduce each character well; then,it suddenly became too fast paced. If you hate romanticscenes this show is not for you because this anime would throw cheesy lines and romantic scenes one after the other whenever an opportunity arises. Don’t expect any action! The fight scene which I was waiting for at the end was trash! It seems like they ended it for the sake of ending the plot.

ART: 9

Although I’ve seen other anime with better art, the characters and the background were drawn well. Honestly, you may even watch it more for the art rather than for the plot.

SOUND: 4

I’ve watched animes with better sountrack that could send chills down my spine (ex. Guilty Crown, Star Driver).

CHARACTER: 6

I assumed from the start that all of the characters were placed there for a reason since the art and the synopsis gives off an impression that by the end of the anime all of their purpose will be revealed and will fit each other like a puzzle but I was disappointed. Some characters were simply placed there for the sake of completing the passenger count. Aside from the 3 couples formed in the anime, the rest were extras. There was no character development for the others and most of them are only there when the scene calls for their abilities. The main couple was also a generic pairing. Why does the main heroine, who possesses far better and stronger power than the male lead, always need to be saved? Why can’t she save herself when she’s capable of doing it? I think, the other couples are far more interesting but they did not get enough screen time.

ENJOYMENT: 7

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the anime. There are many plot twist and you may even get hooked because of your curiosity.

OVERALL: 6

This is a good anime. Maybe I got disappointed because I raised my expectation too high after reading the synopsis.

SIMPLE TIP: Just don’t expect too much. The story is not as deep as it appears to be in the beginning.

I really enjoyed Norn9. It was an interesting concept that I hadn't seen before. I was originally drawn into this series because it was in the romance genre and had a really good looking art style which I would have to say is visually stunning which always left a good impression going into the anime. All of the characters were interesting in their own way and the many romances within the story allowed me to be engaged in more than one story simultaneously. Each romance also came with good progression and really helped with the romance atmosphere of the series. I did think that there was somevagueness with some of the characters motivations but it didn't effect my overall enjoyment of the series.

I really liked the main character Koharu as she's a great character and has been given a good backstory to further develop the relationships between characters. This followed by the amazing art style created one of my favourite characters from anime.

The soundtrack was absolutely amazing and really helped the setting of the series being unforgettable. It also helped for individual scenes and creating certain emotions dependent on that particular scene which I haven't seen a soundtrack like that in a long while.

Overall I would have to say this series is definitely worth a watch not only because of its visual appeal but also its main characters being that lovable you'll want to support them till the end.

The synopsis needs to be rewritten. I'm a bit of a sucker for shojo stuff and I knew what to expect going into this when it aired. Overall, it is pretty enjoyable. The art is great and the animation is clear. 3dcgi don't mix well with 2d in my opinion, but the way it was done in this show makes it worth it. The prop designs aren't totally unique, but then again not many are these days. The feeling of the art brings you into the world of the show. The theme songs relate well to the feel of the show, too. And *cough* myyanaginagi is heavily involved in va and song so that was another reason I watched.

-///-

The characters are kind of standard, nothing seriously special about them. Personally the heroine is a bit annoying but her cuteness balances it out for me a little.

At some point, interest starts to fade but towards the end everything picks up again. The main ideas of the show makes it interesting and keeps you wanting to see the plot through to the end. And nothing wrong with a little romance on the side.

*and there's my first review. a lot of my ratings are high: I watch what I enjoy and for that reason I enjoy watching them :) *

Ok, so before I watched this anime I checked the reviews first and was kinda disappointed. I watched 2 episodes first and thought that it was ok.. after a week, I decided to continue it and as soon as I finished episode 3! I COULDNT STOP! ITS SOO HYPE! many reveals! Secrets! And plot twist!! I was overwhelmed because i had low expectations! But it’s actually really nice and worth it to watch! One of the best anime’s honestly. It’s not one of those anime’s where like mid way you get bored cause there’s nothing new and nothing really happens in the story! But here!It’s like an emotional roller coaster!! You’re going to get attached to the characters! And hate some.... I definitely recommend it!! Of course it’s not in the same level as those popular anime’s... but it’s better than most.. I find it better than diabolik lovers. Diabolik lovers is like all about romance.. flirting and stuff but nothing really happens in most episodes (sorry! I might be wrong!) but for norn9... the story progresses and you get more hyped each episode! And makes you just want to continue it!

3 love stories under the guise of reverse harem?, this could almost be interesting...ALMOST. As LA said at the start of this review, it looks like a reverse harem but is really 3 love stories in reality. The 3 love stories vary depending on your anime stereotypes and some are either too cliched or underdeveloped in many ways. Let's look at LA's favourite character Mikoto Kuga voiced by ''Ayahi Takagaki'' relationship with Sakuya Nijou voiced by ''Mitsuki Saiga'', as Sakuya has a "protector" status on Mikoto and they are actually childhood friends, however as much as this anime plays around with this kind of relationship,it's cliched and repetitive especially on Sakuya's part of being overly protective, thus Mikoto was LA's favourite character as she had the voice of reason and leadership in the Norn ship.

The next relationship is probably the most level-headed developed one, Nanami Shiranui voiced by ''Asami Seto'' and Akito Shukuri voiced by ''Noria Sugiyama'' as they at first were polar opposites but their development seems the most functional and less annoying by the end of it, not to mention making Akito a straight up tsundere with Nanami being the deadpan is somewhat a nice relationship dynamic.

Finally the MOST annoying an done of the core focus of this anime relationship of Koharu voiced by ''Ayumi Fujimura'' and Kakeru Yuiga voiced by ''Yuki Kaji'' as Koharu has "female protagonist in an anime otome game adaptation syndrome" along with her incessant dialogue of having "Kakeru" was rather annoying, yes this relationship develops immensely but all the way through it's cheesy and annoying throughout, we see these three relationship throughout the bulk of anime and considering there were only one of the three relationships LA liked, this could end badly if not for the B plot coming in making this anime a little bit tolerable. Ohh before LA forgets, the rest of the 6 guys in the main cast are nothing but support characters or a "plot catalyst".

The B plot answers what LA questioned about these characters and the floating world of Norn LA was saying earlier and that was a least tolerable due to how these relationships work into this B plot, however with the one core exception being Koharu and Kakeru's annoying puppy-love relationship driving the entire B Plot along. The B Plot by all means helped the plot but it came rather late.

This anime has terrible pacing issues, as much as they do character development for these relationships which is a plus, it's excruciatingly slow for the first half of the series with most of the cast members loafing around until a plotline demands that certain characters do certain things and once the B plot picks up, they RUSH it to no end as well as rush 2 relationships plotlines and put the major focus on Kakeru and Koharu's relationship which once again annoyed LA.

The animation by Kinema Citrus is actually very decent, crisp character designs to heck beautiful background work, even some of the battles and short-winded as they are does look decent on the eyes with the bigger battle set pieces for LA seeing that Kinema Citrus didn't slack.

The ending well LA will keep it short, it ended almost abruptly TOO well, like EVERY PLOTLINE was resolved too perfectly.

Norn9: Norn+Nonet DOES have potential as 3 loves stories, however is bogged down by terrible pacing issues, doing multiple plotlines at the same time, half the cast that were nothing but support characters and just bringing in filler episodes where it REALLY wasn't needed for any, heck LA will say as annoying as Kakeru and Koharu's relationship is, it was plot-driven and tied into the B Plot so that least was enough for LA to carry on watching it, but with all the faults LA said it's "tolerable" at best, it could have some sense of structure if the plot and characters were just THIS bloated with ideas.

"Keep it simple" could have easily made this anime better. This anime isn't an outright clusterfuck of rushed ideas, it was definitely close to it, however if it wasn't for some semblance of focus from the B Plot and some characters/character relationship LA liked throughout this anime, it could have been much worse.

I went back to this to understand why I gave it such a low rating when I first watched it, since I usually remember details about shows even when they're bad. But BOY was my past self right about this show. One might argue that it's only expected of something based on an otome, but I'd disagree. There are mediocre shows based on otomes, sure, but this goes beyond that: it's plain bad. A couple of episodes brought all the suppressed memories back, and after a while I had to skip parts of the show because I couldn't bear to watch them again. I canassure you, unless you're here for the bishies, you won't go far with this.

What is this show about? I'd like to know as well, because it completely lacks focus. It tries its best to be character driven, as expected of an otome, but it fails miserably as all the characters are generic and have essentially no depth. The writing is painfully poor. Some scenes dragged for way too long, yet towards the end they realized they managed time horribly, and rushed everything, inevitably resulting into a horrible mess. But even then, as the viewer, you probably won't care enough to try and understand what's going on, in fact if you have any self respect you'll probably skip through it or drop it altogether and go watch something actually good. The ending is predictable and overdone, just your usual happily ever after. Not much else to say.

The art is fine, but nothing outstanding. The character designs are generic as can be, much like their personalities, but I swear I have seen all of these characters in plenty of other anime, and chances are, you have too. As for the backgrounds, they're fine, but sometimes the colors are somewhat washed out, which shouldn't be the case in a fantasy/romance anime that *tries* to set the lovey-dovey mood it does. The only thing that saves it is that they will occasionally include a scene that's pleasant to the eye, and the opening fits into that.

The soundtrack is okay, in fact I quite like the opening, and to be honest they did do music right. You can find a few pieces here and there that are nice. They're not anything memorable, but you don't want to cut your ears off when they're playing, I'd actually argue that they're quite pleasant.

Now here comes the worst part: the characters. I couldn't care for a single one of them, because they're literally characters you'll find in every otome ever, done badly. There's the perfect dude with no flaws that gets to your nerves, the tragic siblings, the serious quiet guy, the cute one etc. The MC is generic so that "you can relate", but how can you relate to a character with no common sense that is unable to make any choice for herself, and whose only trait is being into that guy. The other two girls are walking stereotypes of anime girls, overdone as everything in this show. As for character development, don't even ask. It's not like that was unexpected though. They can't even do the basics in this, you can't expect character development. The saddest thing is, this was supposed to be chatacter focused. If they couldn't do the story right, they should at least have tried to make the characters stand out, have some depth, some development, something. But it seems we're asking for too much here.

As you can probably tell, I didn't enjoy this show the tiniest bit. Its only redeeming quality is its music, yet I can easily go listen to that without losing braincells over watching 12 episodes of this atrocity. I believe this show is objectively bad, because it did everything wrong in terms of its story and characters alike.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Maybe, MAYBE to those bishie loving fangirls with too much time on their hands, but even then you'll probably find it mediocre at best. There are many shows in the genre that are leagues above Norn9. Even though there is no shame in enjoying the things you do, Norn included, you have to agree that from a strictly objective standpoint, this anime is not even close to being the best one out there. If you truly have as much time in your hands as to watch this, go ahead, but otherwise maybe save your time and go watch something better.

Norn9: Norn+Nonet tries to stand out against the anime harem competition by being a science fiction drama nested with not one, but three different reverse harems and love stories. Each person possesses special powers, while each group possesses unique relationships with one another. On paper, it's really intriguing. Sadly, it wasn't able to fulfill these ideas with great execution. With just twelve episodes, Norn9 suffers from poor pacing. With a conspiracy and harem crammed together, the characters' chemistries weren't able to be satisfying or understandable. For instance, the rushed writing made certain plot twists feels unfulfilling because there wasn't enough foreshadowing to justify the reveal. Thecharacters also suffered from the pacing because for a drama they ended up portrayed as archetypes. The story itself is also very slow with little to no actual time travelling as the premise suggested.

The production is fine from artwork to animation. The OST is fine.

Norn9 is an anime with pretty cool ideas, but not enough time or wit to execute those ideas in a meaningful way.

Like the top review says, the summary is extremely misleading. That being covered, below are my thoughts after painfully going through the entire series. Also, I have only watched the show and not played the game. I was extremely confused by the ending since it made no logical sense and the storyline was basically crammed in the last few episodes. The girl stops the bad guy from being selfish....just to be equally selfish! It was mind-baffling since her selfishness wasn't for a greater cause. I also hated the ending for multiple reasons: 1. The ending events occur because she falls in love with a person shehas only known for a brief period of time >.> NO DEVELOPMENT = NO SYMPATHY from me

2. The girl is stupid (has like the IQ of a bird, though the birds in this show are smarter than her), has no substantial thoughts and doesn't think for herself or for the world, makes no logical decisions, only acts based on other's commands or suggestions, and mainly acts based on how she's "feeling" or "what her heart tells her."

Now for my rant - WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

I'm so confused as to why Resetting one last time was a bad idea. They should have just done it - like who cares, it just your useless life for mankind's survival. You're not that important!

Also, you don't want to Reset because you're afraid of a life without a guy you literally met at most a month ago?!

1. You're going to forget him so it's not like it matters.

2. You're used to being alone and I bet you killed your family with your power so it shouldn't be a big deal for you to start over with knowing no one or if you died.

3. If you never had substantial thoughts in your head before the Reset, keep it that way and don't think that your thoughts are important.

Stupid, stupid girl! How in the hell did you survive by yourself for all those years?! Ugh, the mc is so frustrating! Do you not understand everyone is going to die one day anyway?! Why does it matter when you die, if it's going to happen? So what if you die before your time? It's not like you have company in death - everyone is going to die by themselves.

This is why I hate people who think with their hearts only and think that they'll find their one true love aka the reason behind their reason to live. People like you are the reason why history repeats itself and humans don't progress philosophically.

Before even telling what I think of Norn9, I want to make clear that this anime is based on a videogame, it means that it can almost be considered as part of a genre of its own: these kind of anime are often a bit bumbling, they may skip some passages that could make the story clearer, they frequently have plain characters, and for some reasons the animation is always on point. With this being said, I can tell you I didn't expect much from this show; whilst the plot seemed very interesting, I knew that this type of anime is almost always plain. Nevertheless, Ican say I enjoyed it.

Sure, it has some of the features I wrote up there, such as some little plot holes, not too deep characters, and a complicated story, but considering the overall, it was as if the story took over the whole show, captivating entirely the public's attention, making it forget about all the little issues seen mostly in the first episodes.

The story itself is brilliant, indeed perfect for a game, but too big for a 12 episode anime (one of the main reasons these shows all have a low score).

I'll be honest, after watching Norn9 I had to look for some more information, to add some missing details and understand better what happened, but it's also true that the most important thing the anime shows (the reset) is unexpectedly well explained.

In conclusion I believe that this anime compared to the other game based ones is a bit better, maybe not a masterpiece but neither trash. :)

Oh Norn... the anime I had good expectations about from the synopsis but ended falling so... short... This is not actually a review. It's more like a rant/advise for those who haven't watched this yet. Please notice I know nothing about the source material. About this anime... BE WARNED! For me, this is NOT a bad anime, it's just.. disappointing or at least very anti-climatic. I will not focus on the art/animation because I actually liked that and at least THAT didn't disappoint me. Started as interesting... setting the stage for character introductions and the world of the series but then it quickly tried to stretch too much intocharacter development/backgrounds while the main storyline got left way behind schedule for almost half (if not for more than half) of the series and then... the shovel push!

By the time I was getting frustrated because of too much character background (but still not enough to contextualize the whole thing) and no focus on the main storyline (which for me was like the most promising aspect of this series)... Said storyline just got so rushed in the final episodes and therefore ended up being very lacking that it felt to me that the studio making this took a shovel and threw whatever they could fathom from the source material to try to make up for it by the end of the series... for focusing way too much on romance side!

And even the romance in this series ended up being way too rushed which also didn't help, in spite of it being like 70% of the whole plot...

If this didn't end up being so rushed on almost all aspects, especially the plot or lack-thereof, I actually would have given this a 7.

For me albeit anti-climatic and therefore disappointing at the end... I found this anime entertaining and for that I gave it a 6 and not a 5 or less, since for me "entertaining" is better than "average".

I ended up giving a 6 since I recognize that this series had potential if only they didn't make the mistake of rushing everything and focusing on the (heh) romance.

I watched Norn9: Norn+Nonet, which is an anime adaptation of an otome game. Here are my thoughts: Cheap animation. Visually, the anime appears low budget and sloppy. Sometimes the background setting looks good, but the character animations themselves are consistently poor. Art style and colour palette are also fairly bland. Character designs are okay. There are occasionally some scenes where the visuals are nice, but the anime is very inconsistent, and on average weak, in this regard. Fantastic soundtrack. Truly exceptional. I actually started listening to the OST long before I watched the anime itself. I even put it on my portable music device. It has someamazing tracks. The OST is by Kevin Penkin, who more recently made the wonderful Made in Abyss soundtrack. Voice acting is okay -- the three lead female characters all do a good job.

Interesting sort-of-steampunk sci-fi setting with sky ships and things of that nature. Very little is explained but it's still lightyears better than your typical school environment.

The main character, for lack of a better phrase, is a complete autist. She is very awkward, shy, naive, and has zero social skills. Some people might find this tiresome but I thought it was kind of endearing. I'm so used to seeing males as the socially unskilled character that it's refreshing to have a female lead character fill that role. Actually there was a general trend within the entire cast of the female characters being introverted or strange in some way, whereas the male characters were comparatively more normal. Otome media typically focus on one main female character, but in Norn9 there were multiple female characters each of whom had their own character arc; I quite liked this aspect of the show, although I think a longer runtime was needed to comfortably accommodate each character arc.

Both the plot as a whole and the scene-by-scene drama felt ham-fisted to me. This is a common quality among VN adaptations. It's not necessarily a bad thing; it can be enjoyable as long as you expect it. That said, from early in the series it felt like a ton of plot strings and individual character arcs were introduced at once, and this made the viewing experience somewhat perplexing, particularly during the earlier episodes. Similarly, although character development is implemented frequently, it's not enough to compensate for such a large cast of characters, most of whom were introduced early in the series. However, character development among the core main characters was handled alright.

Romance is a strong aspect of the show, despite it sometimes being as ham-fisted as everything else. Most episodes have at least one decent romantic scene. There are also multiple romantic pairings that are developed, which is something I enjoy in romance-focused series. The use of multiple different couples among a unique set of characters creates variety in terms of character interaction and the chemistry of the romance itself. This anime really delivered on the romance front, in my opinion. It frequently made me feel warm fuzzies within myself while viewing.

My overall rating: 7/10

I enjoyed watching it, but it would have been much better if it wasn't so unpolished. It was good, however there was still a lot of unrealized potential. Norn9 does romance really well, has an amazing soundtrack and a unique setting. However, it also has serious direction problems.

I really want to rate this higher but I can't ignore the fact that I spent a considerable amount of the viewing time feeling confused about what was happening. I'm not sure if the intended audience for the anime was someone already acquainted with the VN. Apparently the VN is way longer and more elaborate than the content of this adaptation. I have not read the VN and my critique does not apply to the VN. I would like to read it though, and then rewatch this anime with a better understanding of the story. I wish the anime itself was much longer because there is clearly so much more to the story than was included in this single cour. In fact, trying to adapt the VN into a mere 12 episodes is probably a major cause of this anime's problems. Someone truly interested in this franchise is probably better off reading the VN before watching the anime.

I would only recommend watching this to someone who enjoys shoujo-ish romance, or to someone interested in seeing an otome story implemented in a sci-fi setting. However, even if this anime doesn't appeal to you, the soundtrack itself is worth a listen. Kevin Penkin is very talented.

I'd also really like to read the manga associated with this.

My favourite character was Nanami.

I've played and finished the game that the anime was based on, this being said, the review will be more of a comparison type of thing. Not as a standalone anime review but rather a mixture. First of all, the story is a bit derailed so to say, since I'm speaking from game to anime. In the game, you're actually the 3 heroines, Koharu, Mikoto and Nanami. The second part is this was based on a Visual Novel so you have the various routes, good and bad endings. Keep that in mind, because they can't cover all the male characters into the anime, so they've basicallystuck to their main pairing for the anime. You won't notice this much in the anime as a standalone though.

Story, small minor changes happens so that the story line can be made, I might have said it was derailed but nonetheless, there is a story line, you just need to patch it here and there a lot in the game. The anime pretty much compact everything so it's a nutshell, less brain-work.

Art/animation, I have nothing to say, the only thing that might have tripped me off is how they decided to execute their "powers", the game showed it a bit differently but otherwise as a standalone factor, you wouldn't noticed that.

Sound, it was pretty similar to the game but of course, the anime has more time duration so there's more tracks. I think it suits the scenes so it gets my thumbs up. Either way, I'd say it's very pretty and touching. I think I'm being a bit prejudice but either way, as a standalone factor, it does work well.

[Update: Going through the entire anime soundtracks and not just relying on listening from the anime itself, it's very good, majestic and yet very pretty.]

Character, this was lowest part of all, in the game & anime, they made a very quick sum up for each of the characters except maybe some (in game) but the anime skipped this out. You really wouldn't get why the story happened until the end of the anime, and it's still pretty shady because of this. This also ties in with my "Story" rating factor, I wanted to give the story rating to a 7 but the characters did drag it down to a 6, for these reasons.

Koharu's part, they messed it up in the first episode. And in the end, Kakeru goes all Spider-man for her. I can go on with this and the way Ron just did that toss..., the physics were defied (game kept the physic logic intact). So this was a bad part of the anime. And the pairings were really bad, despite the main pairing, it mainly focused on Koharu and somewhat of Nanami, barely Mikoto. So much for 3 heroines in the anime, more like 2/3 (lol).

Enjoyment, I did enjoy it out of anticipating for the anime when I finished the game, but I did have quite the "wtf in a bad way" moments.

Overall...yes, long story short, if you've played the game, this might be a real trainwreck but, IT DID do a better job than the other otome anime adaptions, just better but not great. But gamers, let's keep this in mind, the visual novel WAS beyond the length of a simple one cour anime, so ease up on the full cannon materials here, it's not possible.

As a standalone anime, this is definitely watchable, if you haven't played the game, it's definitely passable, you won't really have a struggle at all.

I stand by what I've said and my overall is definitely a 7, with my review as a combination of the game and the anime, and somewhat prejudice view.