This review contains spoilers. Proceed at your own discretion.

I think there is a lot of wasted potential with this one. Generally, I do like Ganbatte-shows, because they are about hard work and passion, and succeeding at something even if the odds aren’t good. Kizuna Allele, in addition, is also an anime about VTubers, and that opens up interesting topics as well regarding the internet, internet culture, and how it feels like to slip into a role because that’s what a lot of VTubers seemingly do. I personally don’t watch VTubers, therefore I was interested in diving a bit into the topic via a potentially interesting story and charming characters because I don’t have the investment to watch these hours-long streams.

And Kizuna no Allele… sometimes does cover some of that. With Miracle as the protagonist, we see the charm of Vtubing, the possibilities within the digital space and why someone would be interested in becoming a Vtuber, and how it is to inspire people or be inspired (arguably the main topic of the series). It also covers with Marumaru how it feels like to not be seen, to struggle to put your foot forward and how unsatisfying it can be. When it dealt with topics like that, and even if it’s often blunt and not brilliantly done, it worked for me, because these concepts and feelings resonated with me and I was able to fill in a lot of blanks myself. As an artist, quite a few things said in this show hit kinda home. The character cast, as it is, is also not bad - Although Riz is just there and not nearly as explored as Chris, Noelle and Quan. But the characters are likable, especially Chris grew fast on me and I enjoyed her interactions with Miracle. Chris herself is a bit of a phenomenon though, enjoyed her presence in every scene.

But well, as I hinted before, this show wasted a lot of potential. The setting is already odd - Why is the premise that the characters are in a fictional academy which is pure wish-fulfillment (I mean free meals, AI assistant, exclusively Vtuber classes, no relatives…), erasing pretty much the real-life portion of being a Vtuber? It’s so odd and made the anime overall a lot less interesting. It also shows that they had less to work with because the topics explored here are rather few - There are some which worked for me, they could’ve done so much more with a show about Vtubers. But well, at least we got NFT advertisements. That’s a win, right? (Just to be clear I’m being sarcastic here.)

For a show which talks a lot about the endless possibilities it’s also mostly rather uninspired - Even the songs which seem to be the selling point because we get at least one live performance each episode are only few, and at some point, there was only one song melody which was played pretty much all the time and the only thing which changed are the lyrics. And be it the live performance stage or the hangout spots of our protagonists, they are always the same. The last episode was the only episode to switch things up in that regard.

But the biggest issue is the script and the storytelling - It’s not good. I was pretty okay with blunt delivery regarding the topics because I was able to add depth to them through my own feelings and experiences, but the writing also fails in other areas. Towards the end, every episode had to introduce a new conflict which was not only terribly predictable in how it will be solved but also wasn’t emotionally effective either, because the script and storytelling failed to convey why the characters are so upset and why it hurts them so much. The show just tells you that they are upset, but just from getting told that you can’t just magically emphasize with them or relate to their struggles. The dialogue is also often just awkward, making the cast seem like cardboard tropes. And that works for comedy, but outside of that it just makes the show seem badly written.

Production-wise it also didn’t get a particularly favorable treatment - Animation is very limited and the overall aesthetic is plain. However, I do like the character designs.

To sum up, Kizuna no Allele was a pretty nice watch when it resonated with me, apart from that it was either boring or pretty mediocre. It’s a pity how much potential was wasted here.