Among Us x Shounen
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No matter who you are, there's something for everyone in this show. Powers, drama, murder, it has it all. And better yet, it''s set up like among us with shounen aspects which makes it all the more worth watching. If you'd like to explore this tongue-twister of a series blind, feel free to skip to the
Tl:Dr. Otherwise, let us dive into this interesting story.
Twisted Wonder
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Munou na Nana follows Nana, a girl sent to an island full of "talented" kids with the task to kill them but she has to do it all undetected. Talenteds come in all shapes and sizes and their powers could do almost everything, but all with a price. Nana is also tasked with playing the role of a talented as to stay under the radar and out of the suspicions of her peers. She comes across and your normal, happy-go-lucky girl but is hiding her skilled prowess and cunning skills of deception which she uses to achieve her goal but everything that glitters ain't gold.
The Talented and The Talentless Imposter
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At first glance, all characters remind you of popular shounen anime like MHA, One Piece, Fairy Tail, etc. All the way down to their powers and mannerisms, there's no shortage of similarities between this and them. Especially since most of the side characters are just that- side characters. But, I will say, Nana's whole role in this story throws a plot twist unlike anything seen in most shounen or even any other genre. Her aforementioned prowess makes her character flourish and to see how brilliantly she was written could almost bring tears to your eyes. To see her interact with each character to lure them into a trap or to throw them off her scent is phenomenal and reminds you of playing Among Us. A game of cat and mouse, survival of the fittest but the predator is supposedly weaker than the prey which just makes Nana and the talenteds so interesting. Unfortunately, the character development that we see within Nana is definitely a slow burn, making it harder to piece it all together until the very end but that's something a possible season two could fix and expand on; especially with the evolution of her character and the organization who sent her.
Dark Tones Make a Decent Thriller
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In some of the recent seasonal anime, the animation has either been really good or really bad. So where does this show fall? things that make a good horror/psychological/thriller anime are dark colors, dark tones and messages, and of course- murder.
Munou na Nana is a prime example of what it is like to show these elements and present them well enough for the animation to be considered good. While this is not the best of these genres that I'm sure most people have seen, it is really good and does better than most anime that attempt to do the same thing. Every moment in the show is greatly accompanied with the appropriate colors and tones for the situation and while it doesn't necessarily add to the characters actions to make you scared or afraid, it still adds to the effect of the story and makes for a decent show to watch overall.
Tl;Dr
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I really enjoyed this show. Every episode had a different plot twist with both more questions and answers that added to the interest of the story. I really enjoyed the antics of Nana and Kyoya, the constant back and forth they had was fun to watch and the way things ended make for a possible second season arising. This was a really good series and while it does have many troupes that can turn people off, I encourage you to just keep going, keep watching and it will surprise you. Take the show for what it is, Among Us at its core with drama and shounen tendencies. Enjoy the ride!
~8.5/10
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Aaannnnd we're done! I hope you enjoyed this one, this was a series I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I do but I hope it gave you some insight. Thank you for reading and I hope you consider checking out my other
reviews.
