07-Ghost Review - 75/100
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To be honest, until a week ago I still wasn’t quite sure how to review this series. I mean, there obviously was something wrong with it, but I just couldn’t put my finger to exactly what. Nevertheless, with the final two episodes (which were very exciting, by the way), I finally know where this series went wrong, and why it went from a very promising series to just… boredom.
Imagine yourself as the villain: you’re placed high in the military. A certain kid escapes your clutches, and this kid happens to hold the evil godmode powers of doom, and it is vital to get these powers back, so you are assigned this task. You’ve got a number of competent henchmen and you youself also are an experienced commander. It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a plan to capture a 14-year old boy, right?
Well, this guy here sits on a chair for more than 20 episodes, looks evil and hardly does anything, and the plans that he does carry out hardly can be called the most effective ways to get to his objectives. In a lot of series, a good villain can really make a series, and really, Ayanami would have made an excellent villain if this guy actually stood up and DID SOMETHING.
the major problem with 07-Ghost is that it drags. Horribly. The plot here could have been carried out in one quarter of the time it actually used. So in the process, the lead characters have to find ways to keep them busy. Sometimes this is meaningful, but often it’s just way too angsty, melodramatic and shallow. Not really worth the investment of 25 episodes.
Which is a bloody shame, because this show definitely has some right ingredients. The direction during the action scenes is actually quite good: with an excellent soundtrack it knows how to entertain by pushing the right buttons at the same time. The series is full of creative shots and camera-angles, and the animation also hardly has any distorted faces. This is exactly why I was excited about this series: it sounded like an epic premise, but in the end the creators could have done so much more with this premise.
This series takes place in a church for the most part, so there is a unique religious feel about this series, so it’s really a bit of a shame of this wasted potential. Unfortunately, it’s really typical of the director: he did the same one to Hatenkou Yuugi, ruining it by an abysmal pacing. This guy really knows how direct technically: he knows how to make things exciting. However, in terms of content and especially pacing he still has a lot to learn. The best episodes in this series really ended up being episode 1 and 24. That has to say something.
| Storytelling: | 7/10 |
| Characters: | 7/10 |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 |
| Setting: | 8/10 |
hmm, as for me, it was probably the exact opposite. I found the first part incredibly boring, and only got through it because the character designs were exactly like in Kyou Kara Maou; bishonen riding on motorcycles who double as priests? Angstangstangst? It was too much like Saiyuki all over again.
But it turned awesome sometimes around when they revealed Frau was Zehel - after that each episode was a delight. Teito’s angst was suddenly justified and very realistic (you don’t get over your bff dieing that fast) and Hakuren was the perfect character to support Teito. Maybe also because we got the sense of ’something more’ - I love it when they involve gods and other such beings with the main character. Hakuren was the perfect character to support Teito.
More importantly than Teito gaining realism was that Frau and his two side-kicks suddenly got interesting - moving them on from nice guy at day, leather-clad hero by night to something that wasn’t quite meant to be a nice guy in the first place, but fits perfectly in the setting. Labrador is the only character of his type I actually like. My score will be much higher simply because I adore how they handled the ghosts (especially technically).
But I agree that they hideously undercharacterised the villains; I’ve been wondering (haven’t seen #25 yet) whether the Fuuma look-alike Ayanami’s pet is one of the 7 ghosts; it would fit. It’s pretty much clear that Ayanami is one (either way, he knew about the three at the church - there were few ways he could have moved and he tried them all.). It might be the fault of the manga it was adaptaded from, since it runs much longer than the anime does.
Comment by Anca — September 22, 2009 @ 19:43
Agreed with psgels on most part of it.Ayanami should’ve been dangerous,and moreover,both fearsome and hatred villain.The manga’s plot paced much more faster than this one; Mikage’s death even occured in volume 1 …
I dropped this at the point where they did 3 filler episodes over and over again…
So,like always,manga version is better than anime.A very rare exception is Bokurano (both manga and anime are equally awesome) ,Ga Rei (manga is ok,but anime was much better),and Vampire Knight (manga definitely shoujo angst over and over)….
Comment by mds — September 22, 2009 @ 20:08
That’s probably because nothing has happened in the manga yet where Teito is directly facing Ayanami since there’s a lot of politics involved that aren’t in the anime.
Comment by Khan — September 23, 2009 @ 4:45
I to think it’s a real shame for the series. The pacing really ruined everything, they did put too much unnecesery stuff.
Although the main problem is that 25 episodes is too short and they filled the time up with useless fillers. The manga has a faster pace, but it does things much more logically. Also the story is still unfolding…- I don’t wish to spoil anything for anybody, so I won’t say too much - Teito slowly moves on from the church and things happen after that. Slowly everything becomes clear.
As for Ayanami, he is much more of a villain in the manga - he does actually get out of his chair, he doesn’t use weak Kor to do his work (they do what they do naturally), and his plans mostly worked. He even does some things in person.
It’s really a shame. The manga for me at least is interesting, but they should have put more though into the anime.
Comment by Iza — September 23, 2009 @ 13:14
I also feel the show dragged but still had some gems that made you want to hang in there. Beautiful to look at, appealing characters (especially when Teito got less emo), intriguing storyline (once it got going). Also, just wanted to say I really enjoy this blog. It’s kinda cool to read another’s opinion on the episodes I watch (Phantom, 007-Ghost, Aoi Hana, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Guin Saga).
Comment by 3mapletrees — September 23, 2009 @ 22:13
I haven’t seen 07 Ghost, but I was, however, searching for a new Anime to pick up. The animation in Anime is one of the things I look for most, and this animation looks beautiful. Judging by your review, you think it’s slow, but Code Geass started out the same for a while, and I quite enjoyed that.
I’ll give this a go, and see what I think. If I like it, I’ll be sure to come back and say so!
Comment by English Dubbed Anime — September 24, 2009 @ 7:58
Its returning next year, still dissapointing final episode and the pacings been so slow I almost dropped it three times.
Comment by WatcherZero — September 25, 2009 @ 9:10
The best part of this anime was at the end of episode 23 when Teito finally sees Ayanami and it’s playing that music.
I agree with much of the above; the biggest problem with this show is that there was about zero character development for the bad guys like Ayanami and a few of his more interesting looking henchmen and also little development of the world they live in. Instead, they waste all the time sitting around doing nothing in a church, which, okay, may be an interesting setting, but it gets boring seeing that same setting for literally 24 episodes.
A lot of the development of the setting that does happen is very passive and there are many episodes spent doing things which essentially amount to nothing, like all those early ones where they face a new kor each time.
I have no clue what the manga is like but it seems like the anime is missing out on a lot of things that I’d certainly hope are there.
Comment by oppy — September 28, 2009 @ 10:38
Even though it was slow paced, I still loved it. The manga was too fast for me, that I had to go back a couple of times, and yet I still didn’t get it. The anime was practically faithful to it IMO. The only part that I thought was dragging was when Mikage warned Teito not to get near him.
Comment by Happy!! — July 6, 2010 @ 5:13
Please don’t hate me for saying this, but I LOVED this anime to bits! Everything about it was just awesome to me (especially the soundtrack! Irish anime music FTW!!!) and it really hooked me like a fish on a fishing line. Plus I also noticed something. We all notice that the 07-Ghost military academy uniforms look like the ones in Code Geass, but here’s the thing: the manga actually started in 2005, and Code Geass didn’t exist until late 2006, so I’m thinking the latter has the most unoriginal clothes designs. I know, just my opinion. I loved it to bits, but it’s ranked #14 on my list (behind Haibane Renmei and even A Little Princess). I am kinda sad that the villains didn’t get much development (especially Konatsu, but I like him! He’s too cute to be a villain!!), but hey do villains EVER get any development for that matter? But this doesn’t stop me from loving it. Plus, Teito’s practically a boy version of ME!! But I respect your opinions so I won’t push anything. I loved it a lot, and I’m trying to get my friend Emmy into this since she loves pervs (Frau) and pretty boys in general.
Comment by Firechick — July 12, 2010 @ 0:27
i kind of agree with you, but since i continued reading the manga, i kind of don’t. XD
SPOILER (:
In the manga, ayanami goes much more badass, and he actually injures castor pretty badly. T.T
END OF SPOILER. :P
i loved all the charectars, and i especially loved how they made the villains so…likeable-y evil. if that makes sense. XD
Comment by Medha — December 18, 2010 @ 12:54
Yes 07- ghost might be a bit slow in the first couple of episodes but the anime gets better and interesting with each episode. A lot of characters get added later and more exploration into Teito`s past makes it watchable. Also one of the major bishops of the church turning out to be a spy and along with exploration into Frau`s past makes the series really interesting. The clash of the imperial military with the church is a really interesting theme and the complications and development of the main characters such as the bishops adds a bit of realism to the anime. The anime ended beautifully on a really interesting note with Teito leaving with Frau to know more about his past, leaves wanting for more. The season 1 ended rather abruptly and suddenly. I wish the Studio Deen looks forward towards making season 2 of the anime for the earnest fans of 07- ghost. The manga is great and there is enough manga material for a season 2 of the anime.
Comment by ria — September 5, 2011 @ 15:34
Thanks for the review! Finally saw ep1 and didn’t think much of it.
Comment by Cedric — October 11, 2011 @ 9:33