Hand Shakers

Hand Shakers looks like it was probably an attempt at an impressive project, even though it does not work very well. I am going to start with what is quite obvious right off the bat, and that is the animation. For fans of classic animation, this is going to seem terrible and unwatchable in places. The combination of 3D and 2D is bad (for example, the way the chains look). The movement of the characters also often looks fake and too computerized, and I am not going to even mention Ms. President's breasts movement. One thing is good, though, and that is the detailed and elaborate backgrounds. Some things like the view of the medical room, the snapshots of various buildings and plants are impressive, intricate, and sometimes even breathtaking. Likewise, the shots of some of the gadgets like the car engine or the Vital Signs Monitor are a joy to watch, and I marveled at how much detail the animators went into. The way they used color and how the medical room transforms with the fish, is visually fascinating. That said, I am torn on the animation; there are aspects of it that I would call awful and then those that I think are nice and polished. I had a similar problem with the soundtrack; there were parts where I wondered if I was listening to the music to some stupid PC game, and on the other hand, I quite liked the theme tune. For all the interesting and terrible things that caught my attention, it ultimately has a narrative that was not at all engaging. I immediately thought of the anime series Future Diary based on the preview I read that the characters were going to be fighting over who gets to be God (or rather more like who is going to earn the right to confront God). From what I saw in the first episode, I got the impression that I was not far from the truth. The problem is that the narrative is told in a rather chaotic way. The characters were not really very engaging, and the sadomasochistic couple was probably the last straw for me, which is why I finally decided not to waste any more time on it. Furthermore, the anime's authors' attempt to make the first episode as action-packed, sexy, and cool as possible is so incredible that I found it misses the mark and comes across as almost ridiculous at times. Conclusion: in terms of expression, it probably deserves my attention, although, in terms of content, I did not enjoy it, quite the opposite. Dropped after the first episode and unrated, although I would probably give it at least one star if only for the beautiful backgrounds. (11/01/2017)