K: Return of Kings - Why it's Not Worth Your Time

I occasionally watch anime.

By occasionally, I mean I have a watch list (most of which is suggested to me by friends and/or family) and I sometimes get around to watching some of what's on that.
So here's my thoughts on an anime that I watched only the first episode of - "K: Return of Kings". As you might guess by the title, I was not impressed. I was curious about this anime mostly because I'd seen it in several AMVs (Anime Music Videos - watching and collecting them is a favorite pastime) and thought it looked cool. So I put it down as a might-watch.

Well, let's start off with all the things I disliked about this anime from the first episode, and the first episode only.


1. Confusing plot
You don't generally want your viewers to have almost absolutely no idea about what's going on in the first episode of the series. That's when you want to explain things. And they do - but when I mean 'do', I mean they throw a couple darts in the plot's general direction and don't really care about where they land. You're left not really knowing what the deal is and where things are supposed to be going.

2. Confusing visuals
I am mostly referring here to the camera angles they choose. The first part of the episode is a big knock-down drag-out fight between two rival clans, and if you're motion sick I don't suggest watching it, as you may vomit. The cuts between scenes are also rapid and choppy.

3. Low-budget animation (it seems)
The animations for the characters are also seemingly choppy, as if the technology had gone back to those days in Disney where you had to hand-draw every movement. Heck, those days were probably smoother than the animation seen here. 0/10, get some CGI software or something.

4. Ridiculous fanservice
I've discussed how vital and important fanservice is to an anime, and how much I love it, and of course this anime has one female character that somehow manages to get shot (camerawise) in all the best angles for her...assets. Not to mention that her proportions are ridiculous past the point of insanity. Also chest physics, anime. Not going to lie, this character is the biggest reason I noped out after the first episode.


I will give credit to the anime for having a neat art style, and the concept (from what I could gather) was kind of interesting as well. There were too many problems, however, to overcome my urge to stop - and to be honest, I'm disappointed. It probably improves later on, but I doubt that some points (like 2 and 4) do.

So don't watch it.

You're welcome.