[DreamSword]

Hope vs. Despair

or

How a Show Made for Children is Better Done than a Show for Adults

It certainly has been an interesting time for me in terms of the media I've consumed over the past month. The two main shows being Kamen Rider Wizard, of which I came out enjoying despite its shortcomings, and of course, Blassreiter, which had potential but ultimately fell very, very short.

To me this was interesting, because both of these shows have messages they wish to spread about life and how to go about it, but take entirely opposite approaches to it in just about every way. Add onto that that what few people I've actually seen talk about the shows in question have to say about them, and I really felt the need to do a bit of a deeper compare and contrast between said shows.

In short, most of what I've read from others about Wizard has been pretty negative, stating that the show is bland and forgettable, whereas the few people who have seen Blassreiter seem to sing praises about the show being gritty and realistic.

So, let's take a look, and by the end, I'll be sure to give you my idea about which show I feel is not only better, but seems to have a much better handling of its themes, its ideas, and is just overall a better way to spend your time in 2021. To that end, let's start with the absolute face value of any show...

Action and Visual Flair

Now, I'm in no way saying Blassreiter's' visuals are out and out bad. For their time, the CGI models do their part in getting across what they need to, and the animation itself is for the most part competently done. However, exactly how these visuals are utilized is rather lackluster. Almost every fight scene ends in about 30 seconds, the character designs, while nice, are almost never shown off in any spectacular way, and even if you accept that the fights are meant to be swift, they're very rarely ever stylish to compensate.

Meanwhile contrast Wizard, where even nearly 10 years later, the set design, the spell effects, and the overall direction of the production still holds up. Almost every fight is well choreographed and has a distinct visual flair to keep the viewer engaged, and despite the somewhat dated CG monsters, they're still utilized in a way that makes you believe they fit into the universe of Wizard as a whole.

I was bored of most of the action scenes in Blassreiter. I never became tired of the conflicts in Wizard.

Music and Atmosphere

With Blassreiter, all I can even remember about its score is a few piano strings being strung here and there. And not even very effectively. Meanwhile, it attempts to have an atmosphere of dread all throughout the story, but fails to deliver due to all of its other shortcomings ontop of not having any sort of consistent direction.

Meanwhile with Wizard, I never forget its own use of the piano cover of "Life is Showtime" during somber moments. It also knows just how to direct a scene and what performances the actors need to give in order to carry the emotions and world building required to suck the viewer in and get them to want to see more.

Oh, and it also has this.

I rest my case.

Characters

All throughout its run, Blassreiter has this idea in its head that death automatically makes for good drama, and thus nearly every character it introduces is treated as nothing more than cannon fodder. Heck, some characters are introduced just for the explicit purpose of dying in some tragic way. Very little attempt is actually given to giving anyone a character arc, or a backstory, or a two-dimensional personality. No, Blassreiter is instead more concerned with preaching philosophy to its audience, and as such characters end up inconsistent, boring, and doing things so out of character that they barely even have a "character" to begin with.

Meanwhile with Wizard, it knows the strength of focusing on a core cast of characters with a circulating cast of side characters for introducing new stories and aspects of the core cast's' personalities and backstories. Nearly every character is consistently written, has an enjoyable and well-rounded personality, and an actual arc with which they follow all throughout the show's' run. Sure, some characters are redundant, but even so, I could see what the show was aiming for and hey, they went for it, mostly with success.

Plot, Messages, and Themes

Blassreiter is a show that likes to pretend that its plot holds gravitas; thinking that preaching a nihilistic viewpoint on life, religion, and people as a whole automatically makes it smarter than the average anime. And you know, while I personally don't agree, fine. If that's your angle, then I expect you to atleast be able to argue your case effectively.

Blassreiter, however, does not. There are so many times where the show seems to double back on itself, or tries to pretend that certain events in what is essentially a shallow war plot didn't happen, or to re-double back and keep showing support in favor of doom and gloom. It honestly feels like none of the four writers who worked on this show(Itano, Urobuchi, Kobayasi, and Ota) could ever actually come to a consensus on what exactly this should should be other than "A Kamen Rider show FOR ADULTS!!!"

Even when the show is consistent about its preaching of nihilism, it never bothers to actually examine any of the various angles of the concept, the consequences of such a mindset, or even how it could be seen as an advantage over those who believe otherwise. It is very single-minded in that respect. The only thing that really remains consistent is that death is glorified, and life is not.

Wizard's' overarching theme is Hope, and moving forward with your life regardless of what setbacks you might experience. While it could be easy to have an equally single-minded viewpoint like Blassreiter does, Wizard actually does a fairly good job at examining the idea of hope from various angles, and just how far people will go to preserve their hope in life.

From people valuing objects that others would find cheap or useless, to grand ideas of the future that might never come to pass, to just how far people can fall when their hope is taken away, Wizard goes all in on showing just why hope is important in everyday life, and that even if it's something others would see as minor, if something keeps you going, you should cherish it.

Whereas Blassreiter can't be anything other than blunt, Wizard, while not exactly a subtle show, does do a great job in terms of symbolism and allegory. For example, the way that Phantoms arise, by a person being driven to such despair that they die and are therein literally replaced by their inner demons, can be seen not just literally, but also as a metaphor for suicide. This in turn reinforces another message Wizard has, in that sometimes, the biggest thing someone needs is another person who genuinely cares about and believes in them. Something very true to life, I've found.

In short, Blassreiter tells you to wallow in your own misery, whereas Wizard encourages you to overcome your self doubt, and fight for a better day.

Overall

In the end, I ended up giving Wizard a 4/6. Is it by any means perfect? No, but it emphasizes quality over quantity and does alot of rather smart things, ontop of simply being a rather entertaining watch in its own right.

But with Blassreiter? As tempted as I am to give it a 1, there were still a handful of aspects I did like about it, and it's such a shame that writers who are often celebrated ended up turning out something that frankly, I can't exactly endorse anyone watch, especially given the times we currently live in. As such, I end this off by giving Blassreiter a 2/6. It's not the worst show I've ever seen, but oh my goodness do I never want to experience it again.