Kuromuro is a 26 episode original mecha anime. The anime takes place in present day, following Shirahane Yukina. The thing is, Yukina’s mother works at a research centre in a fairly senior position, investigating an “artefact”. Despite its moniker, this artefact takes on the form of a giant robot, and along with a mysterious cube, it’s purpose cannot be gleaned from it. However, as the artifact is within Japan and of such importance to the world, the research centre is run by the United Nations and humanity has managed to use its technology to advance its own.
Fast forward to a certain day where other mysterious giant robots appear. These, however, are fully functional and malicious, destroying without a care. Human weapons does not have an effect. Yukina just happens to be at the research centre and manages to activate the cube, causing the appearance of Ouma Kennosuke Tokisada in the process. Together, they are able to pilot the artefact giant robot, which has weapons that are able to damage and destroy the malicious ones.
We later find out that Kennosuke seems to have been from the past, hundreds of years ago. The anime does a great job at keeping the intrigue going, slowly revealing each piece. It’s engaging and the pieces that slot into place makes sense and feels like they fit perfectly. Another engaging element is how Kennosuke is adapting to this world, given that technology and culture has advanced so much that it is unrecognizable to him. And through him, the viewer is able to theorize the timeline of events, and where the plot might be leading to.
The animation as per usual for P.A. Works is sharp and neat. While there will be scenes that are lacking in detail, the outlines are clean so that it still looks crisp and clear. The mecha, despite being animated using 3D models (which is typical for this type of object), are one of the better implementations. They don’t appear too stiff in its animation, and blend somewhat well to the other animation (whereas other mecha anime has these 3D models sticking out like a sore thumb).
The anime has an intriguing plot, as it is revealed that the enemy robots are coming from space. These aliens want something from Earth, and has been sending advance parties to scout. Only Japan, who has the only human possession of a similar type of robot, is able to repel the invaders. This is by far the most interesting part of the plot, although initial progress is slow and reveals can be underwhelming. The early parts of the anime tend to focus on Yukina, and the problems she’s facing under such pressure and expectations, compounded by familial issues.
The later part of the season then shows off the invaders, and their goal. While it never outright states what their objective is, the anime tends to provide you with a lot of hints to form your own suspicions. This allows it to subvert those expectations from time to time and keep the suspense ongoing. It likes to throw curveball after curveball at the protagonists. What is neat is that the story provides enough reasoning to justify why all this keeps happening to that particular location that the protagonists reside in, as it feels like pieces slotting into place each time this happens.
For all its positives, there are two particular characters who are annoying and dampen the enthusiasm. The first is the guy who has a crush on Yukina, and the other is his friend who sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong. The problem with these two is that they are idiotic, and their reckless behaviors endangers not only their lives but others. These are definitely cookie cutter characters that don’t add to the story. On the flip side, the various mecha designs are imaginative and unique. They may not look cool or amazing at first glance, but once they’re in action, they’ll change your mind.
The anime is consistent with its quality from the very first episode, however, the last few episodes pulls out all the guns. This was where all those teasers are finally collected together and resolved in a satisfying way. While the motivation behind the villains’ actions are somewhat bland and cliched, it makes up for it with how big the scope of the anime suddenly becomes. It expands to more than just Yukina and Kennosuke. With that said, it appears that the animators had to stretch the episode count, as there were definitely entire sections that felt like filler.
While the major plot arc was resolved with a few episodes to go, due to the scope expansion, you wonder how the anime will end. This is particularly since there is no sequel and so you can’t help but feel that the ending cannot be satisfying. It appears that way in the final episode, but manages to subvert your expectations and provide a satisfactory conclusion for the season. It packs quite an emotional punch at the end. There’s definitely a lot of potential for a sequel and it’s a shame that we don’t get to see what happens afterwards as the world is really interesting.
Overall, Kuromukuro is a surprisingly good anime. Go in without any expectations and it’ll quickly grab your attention with its scenario. The two protagonist, Yukina and Kennosuke, are likeable, although the same can’t be said for all the supporting characters. In the beginning, it blends mecha action with slice-of-life fairly well, before focusing on the origins of the mecha and rapidly escalates the situation right until the very end. It continues to keep you guessing at how it could end and still manages to provide a satisfying finish.
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