YOUR FORMA
a review by marioink508
a review by marioink508
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An intriguing humanoid partnership at the heart of its best cases — but the series’ vague lore and sluggish setup keep the first half under a cloud of confusion.
Story - 7/10 'YOUR FORMA' is another entry into the crime investigation space, and while it does have a good structure and engaging arc towards the end of the season, the initial episodes fall flat due to the mediocre execution regarding the introduction into the world. This series follows this decently complex humanoid 'amicus' system which is vaguely explained in the initial episodes, which makes for a hard time into solving the functions by yourself. The investigation aspect sort of things is less convoluted, yet still not explained and left for interpretation for the most part of the first half. That is by far the issue that had the most amount of confusion... this world uses many technologies as well as complex concepts that lack an introduction, as well as words that just don't have a real meaning in the initial episodes due to the show's introductory where it feels like you are trying to decipher a foreign language, while also trying to piece together the world for a better understanding.Structure wise the series is decently simple, it follows multiple cases across a single season, which is fine, yet the initial crime investigations feel cluttered as well as underwhelming. That's because of the previous issue regarding the convoluted introduction as well as the basis of those cases being simple and predictable with no redeeming moments. I did assume this was a choice to make the world introduction at first, and that might be the case, yet even so, it does not manage to achieve much outside of an important character element regarding Harold.
The second half is where this series manages to pick up the pace and expand the complexity of the investigations, with the world being figures out by this point, the series becomes more legible and a lot easier to follow. This half presents two major cases, which cut into each other really well and also make for a rewarding experience compared to the previous ones. These investigations cover important moments that tie in with Harold's past as well as Bigga's. Mostly focusing on Harold's side of things, it manages to connect the previous important elements we learned about during the initial episodes, making for a great arc that has both complexion and an unexpected factor. The emotional depth around this 'final' investigation is really well done and achieves what the rest of the series couldn't...
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Characters - 7.7/10 Echika and Harold are the leads in this series, a gifted female investigator that has previous bad experiences around 'amicus' robots as well as a slight dislike towards them, and Harold, a specific specially crafted humanoid 'amicus', a character that I found really impressive across the board. Starting of with his JP VA, it is perfect... he portrayed really well the feeling of a robot, with the short pauses, the slightly robotize voice while still having that human touch, and also the moments where he does lose his temper and slips into a more human behavior, everything regarding his voicing during this series was genuinely well executed. Outside of this voice, this character has real depth behind, depth that is heavily explored during the second half of the season, a traumatic background which builds greatly into the emotional depth that this show provides in the later times. He is a really intelligent humanoid, as most 'amicus' are, yet his human side of things brought out an impressive amount of detail that elevated his character to becoming something special for this series.On the other side there is Echika, while I did enjoy seeing through her eyes around this series, she is a lot less defined as a character. She is a lot simpler as a person, not having many great qualities to get her into a higher position. She is a gifted individual, making for the appearance of the 'dive' sequences, which are great, but when it comes to being an investigator she never really gets that good... most of the times Harold is already two steps ahead and she falls behind really easily. There is also the fact that she just is not anywhere near as intelligent which is fair, yet what purpose does she actually serve in the end? she is mostly a bystander accompanying Harold.
There are also some side characters worth mentioning, like Bigga, who was a decent person overall, she made for a pivotal moment in the series but that's about it, her personality is sweet but that's not really anything to drag by in this series. And there is Sozon, the person that had the most implications in Harold's flashbacks, a human that realistically shaped most of Harold and an great investigator from what we got to see of him.
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Visuals - 7.2/10 The visuals for 'YOUR FORMA' are not one of the main priorities from what it seems. For an investigation series, it does fit the vibe to have a more dull color palette and keep the animation more discrete. But I feel like this series doesn't really try to make it's animation look good either. They do make the gore scenes look damn good, but I feel like that might be more on the way the direction for the series is. A lot of buildings and environment feel quite simple. In this series we do switch from a country to another multiple times, which I feel like should be shown better, many times if it wasn't for the context, I would not be able to realize that the city was changed. And that is on the lack of environmental detail. But outside of that the animation is fine. It works and it's not bad to the point that it hinders my experience, I just wish it focused more on backgrounds that matter, and didn't have such a monochromatic palette.The only exception to this dull world, would be the 'dive' sequences, which don't happen often, but when they do the abstract art around looks really good and fluid. It also uses more vibrant colors making for some stunning visuals. Unfortunately, there are not many of those moments which does make this quite an old / lost in time looking series, despite it's sci-fi world elements, like it's holograms and futuristic technology, making for a disjointed art style in comparison with the narrative.
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Closing Notes This series was a pretty decent entry into the mystery genre, it made for some good investigations towards the end, achieving both emotional depth and complexity, but as a whole series, the introduction does hinder the core values of this show quite a lot, making for a convoluted experience overfilled with complexity. And while this does clear up after some time, it does irreparable damage to the series. The characters are for the most parts decent with some standout exception. The same applies for the animation as well. There are just a lot more better choices in the genre that manage to achieve what 'YOUR FORMA' is trying to, and they do it better, which leaves this series to be just another crime investigation anime with a low amount of redeeming qualities. Enjoyment Level - 7.9/10 Favorite Character - Harold Lucraft Favorite Episode - Episode 12 ‘Manifestation of the Nightmare’
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