Ah, Blade and Soul, how I love these three words. It is one of the best journeys I have ever had in online games and I will never forget it in my life. Have you played in that game yet, you have? Then I am sure that you will understand me. Blade and Soul is the game, where I read every single dialogue, every single quest, I know everything about that game. (Almost). And when I found out that one of my most favorite games ever had an anime adaptation, I could not even think about anything else; the only thought in my head was to watch it and to do it as soon as possible. However, my bliss was destroyed after two episodes of this wonderful anime called Blade and Soul. So, let us discuss the storyline.

Blade and Soul (블레이드 앤 소울) is an anime adaptation of the game with the same name that began airing in April 2014. Hiroshi Hamasaki and Hiroshi Takeuchi directed the anime at studio Gonzo from scripts written by Atsuhiro Tomioka. The anime’s storyline revolves around a female swordsman named Alka, who travels to find Jin Valel, a demon-like woman, who has the power to kill any living being, who also killed Alka’s master Hon. Alka heads on a journey to become stronger and to take her revenge. Will she be able to find and kill Jin Valel, or, perhaps, the woman she wants to kill is too strong even for her? Find out the answer now!

While the storyline sounds average, it still has too many flaws to be even average: it is bad, it is so bad that you should never watch it, if you are a fan of the game. The main problem with it is that it has too many plot holes: so many things are not explained, so many questions are left unanswered, and the most important thing is that it is unfinished. I understand well that the anime is suffering because it cannot reveal anything about the game. (There is a chance that some people will not play in Blade and Soul, if they find all answers to their questions in that anime). I understand that the budget of this anime created some limitations for this anime, I understand it. But I do not understand only one thing, why would someone spend their money on something that is that bad? Why not make the creators of the game promote Blade and Soul and make a very good anime adaptation? They might not want to do that? Then, what is the purpose of creating this adaptation? I do not understand it.

The animation and the music are the only two decent things about that anime. The animation is fine: character designs are okay and the anime has a nice range of colors, too. The anime sometimes uses CGI effects, which will make your eyes bleed. All in all, the animation is not great, but it is watchable, at least. The sound is also average. The whole soundtrack, as well as the voice acting, are dull and unremarkable. Nothing to comment on, to be honest; it is bad.

The characters are bad too. The villains are your overpowered guys that wear some weird stuff, but it is not the main thing. The problem here is that they do not make sense. What I mean is that in the game the trio of villains did make sense, here; however, they are the dullest villains I have ever seen in my life: Ga Gante is even unable to speak. But it is not the worst part about that anime, the worst part about it is the main protagonist of this series, Alka. I would compare her personality with a bacterium, but I guess that even a bacterium is smarter than Alka. Do not get me wrong, she does receive development in this anime and she will evolve into “slightly better than average character.” Not only Alka, but also her friends and other characters are just dull and do not make sense at all. A good example for this will be the fact that there are people that want to kill her, but they do not understand whether they want to do it, or not. All in all, the characters are another flaw of this anime, which make it that bad.

All in all, if you have never played in the game, I still do not want to recommend you this show. I cannot name you even one good thing about this show, because even the animation is sometimes bad, no, it is very bad. If you have an enemy; however, and if you hate that person, you can recommend them this anime. It will work, I promise you! Think twice before watching Blade and Soul! Respect yourself and your free time!

Story: 4.
Animation: 6.
OST: 5.
Characters: 1.
Enjoyment: 6.
Overall: (4+6+5+1+6)/5= 4, 4.