The Great Anime Marathon of 2020! #36 – #40: Let the Death Games Begin!

The most dangerous animal of all is, of course, man… which is why there are so many anime based on the idea of death games, it seems. Hollywood certainly has its fair share of movies that deal with the subject, but none of them compare to the absurdity that you tend to find with these titles.

The stakes are as small as simply your own life all the way up to the entire universe itself. That’s one hell of a wide range, but damn does it get even stranger than that!

The following is a spoiler-free list of anime I’ve seen this year in no particular order:

#36: BTOOOM!

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

We’re starting of simple again with an anime called “BTOOOM!” In-universe, it’s an online virtual reality game where you use bombs to defeat your opponents. However, when people from all walks of life are kidnapped and sent to an island to play a real life version of the game, the game tests the very sanity of everyone involved. How far does one have to go to survive and get off the island alive?

Going into this one, I wasn’t expecting much, but it was actually pretty fun for the most part. I liked the main character, Ryouta Sakamoto… aside from the one huge creeper moment he had (what the hell is it with the general obsession for panties?!) with the other main character, Himiko.

In his normal life, Ryouta’s a NEET. He sits around all day playing his online games, yelling at his mother and being a general waste of space. However, that doesn’t mean he’s a complete scumbag. Sometimes all it takes is to drop someone like him into a situation like this to bring the best out of them.

Ryouta’s interactions with everyone on the island are actually pretty enjoyable to watch. He’s an expert “BTOOOM!” player, but he’s not a psychopath and has empathy for the struggles of others around him… even a cowardly middle-aged man who would do anything to get back to his family.

It’s too bad that this series never continued because it was actually pretty good. I’ll have to read the manga some time and see if it went anywhere interesting after the anime ended.

#37: Fate/Zero

• Season 1 – 2: Complete series to date (dub)

For all these years, I’ve managed to somehow avoid the works of TYPE-MOON and the related media that was created from their visual novels. Now, here I am watching Fate/Zero… my first step into a larger, more confusing world with multiple branching timelines.

I gotta say, Fate/Zero is a pretty good starting point if you’re new to the series, since it’s pretty well done. I mean, I don’t know how popular it is with the diehard Fate/ fans, but for the newcomer, it felt easy to get into.

This was a death game where the stakes felt high and the lengths in which the players went to achieve victory stretched to the breaking-point. I mean, we’re talking all kinds of fucked up stuff… essentially, nothing was off limits, almost everyone in the series is a horrible person… I love it.

But more importantly, and this is going to royally piss off a lot of TYPE-MOON fans… I can’t stop calling Saber, “Alice”… as in the character from Sword Art Online: Alicization, which I watched many series before this in the marathon. I know, Saber has existed long before Alice, but I can’t stop, won’t stop, Alice for life.

#38: Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

• Season 1 – 2, including OVAs: Complete series to date (dub)

Then we get to the real beginning of the series, the moment where we switch from a death game of hardened adults to these little babbies and their little babbie problems. I make fun of it, but I did enjoy it, it’s a really good series. That said, I do place Fate/Zero above Fate/Stay Night.

So why didn’t I start with the 2006 Fate/Stay Night series? Because Unlimited Blade Works felt like it fit more in line with the style of Fate/Zero than the first anime release. I also know that there’s a third movie series version that focuses on the other path of the visual novel.

Yes, like many who stumble into the TYPE-MOON ocean of confusion, I’ve been coached and guided along the way. I did end up eventually watching the 2006 series after the lockdown ended and I plan to get my hands on more of the Fate/ series, but I’m going to take my time with that.

#39: Deadman Wonderland

• Season 1, including OVA: Complete series to date (dub)

This is where things take a turn for the stupid. Deadman Wonderland is… not good. I mean, I remember what it’s about, I remember what happened, I remember that it’s an anime about a death game of sorts… and I remember that I got bored watching it.

Nothing about this anime clicked with me and my time was wasted on it. That said, at the very least I got a contrast of the kind of death game anime that works and the kind that don’t… so that’s something, I guess.

#40: The Future Diary

• Season 1, including OVAs: Complete series to date (dub / OVAs: sub)

Firstly, I just want to say… The Future Diary is really good, excellent. It deserves that five out of five star rating because I think it is a really good anime. With that said… FUCK this anime, I never want to see it again, to hell with it!

Warning: From here on out, this entry contains spoilers for The Future Diary.

Yes, it’s that time again, the clock is on the wall and wherever the hands point, “RANT” is written there in big bold letters.

While I think this anime is really good, holy shit did I absolutely HATE the two main characters, Yukiteru Amano and Yuno Gasai. Why? Because they’re embroiled in one of the most abusive relationships I’ve seen in any anime and it pissed me the hell off how fucked up it all was.

The worst part is that the series actually EMBRACES the abusive relationship and almost tries to justify it as a good thing, especially with that OVA.

Every time Yuno was around, my skin crawled and every action she took made my skin crawl even more because Yukiteru would never have gotten anywhere without her.

He does need her to survive and that’s what makes it worse!

I was mentioning how everyone in Fate/Zero were the biggest assholes, but no way does that anime come close to how much of an asshole everyone in this anime can be.

I mean, there are some genuinely good and decent people in the series, but they don’t last… or end up being entirely ineffectual when it counts. It’s almost like this death game is built on making sure the biggest asshole in the universe is the one that wins.

I’ve ranted for a few paragraphs and I haven’t even said what this anime is about, but that doesn’t matter! The point is that I fucking hate stalker chicks and this anime fucked with my brain super hard on that level.

I wish there was a version of this anime where Yukiteru got with Nancy Drew… because fuck Yuno, she can go to hell.

I’m never watching that series ever again! I’m keeping it only to remind me never to watch it again! It’s fucking excellent, you should watch it so that you know never to watch it again.