Anyone who has been watching anime for some time surely knows the famous animation studios Madhouse And MAP: Madhouse for various time series, such as Death Note and TRIGUN, while MAP for the recent anime adaptation of the latest season of Attack on Titan (among others). The name of these two studios is synonymous with quality, and the reason why many aficionados already kept an eye on Takt op. Destiny it is precisely due to the fact that it is the product born from their collaboration; in turn, the anime in question is part of a larger project created by DeNA And BANDAI NAMCO Arts, which we will see more developments over the years. Takt op. Destiny started this month and the premise of the story starts from a curious idea, albeit not particularly original.
The first episode opens by telling us the background: the fall of a dark meteorite caused the appearance of dangerous monsters, called D2, which wreak havoc on the entire planet. D2 are drawn to music, which is then banned to avoid their attacks, but the latter is also the only thing that can defeat them. In the past, to kill D2, music was used as a weapon by said girls Musicart, led by gods Conductor but, over the years, these figures have increasingly diminished. The story takes us to 2047, to America, and with the threat of D2 still present, music has remained banned, so much so that some people don’t even know what it is; the two protagonists are Takt, a Conductor, accompanied by Unmei, a Musicart who uses magical scores to defeat D2. Takt’s goal is to bring music back to the world, while Unmei’s is to destroy all D2s. Both begin a journey to New York.
The first episodes show that the focus of the anime is both on the music and on the battles: being the clash with the D2 inevitable, the fight scenes in the future will not be lacking, but how much the action component takes more or less weight compared to the role of music, will be to be seen with future episodes. Although at the beginning importance is given to the deepening of the characters, the risk that the anime turns into a typical action with battles scattered on the road is still to be taken into account, especially since the protagonists do not shine particularly.
In fact, at the moment, they seem to be quite stereotypical, with Takt having his obsession with music as his obsession, showing little interest in relating to others, while Unmei is the typical apathetic girl with the monotone voice referring to herself. as to an object, whose only interest is food (fortunately, there will be a particular focus on her in the second episode). It must be said that the probable arrival of a larger cast of characters could bring many more interactions, consequently the protagonists would have the possibility of an evolution that can move them away from the stereotypical figure that for now they cover. However, the dialogues and relationships between the characters work, so a push in the right direction would be enough to make them more real and less speckles.
Some interesting ideas could be offered by the “Symphonica”, a military organization based in New York, which deals with the defense of the population and the elimination of D2: the series leaves some clues about its “top secret” nature, so it would not surprise if it turns out to be a source of plot intrigue and speculation in the future, or if it hides an antagonist within it. As simple as they are, the conditions for a good story are there, but these are elements that have already been seen several times, thus making the plot and characters, for now, the only flaw of the series.
Speaking of the staff, the director of the anime, Yuuki Itou, did not produce particularly famous works, so his skills are almost an unknown, while the screenwriter, Kiyoko Yoshimura, has a good competence, even if not always particularly inspired, with works like The Legend of the Legendary Heroes and God of High School (here our review). As expected from a collaboration between MAPPA and Madhouse, visually the series offers above average animations, generally very fluid, to which value is added thanks to a dynamic direction especially during the fights, occasionally lightening even the most static moments. Particular attention to the naturalness of the movements is seen in the scenes in which the characters play, with close-ups on the hands and details on the instruments, making these the most immersive parts.
Being a music focused anime, it is necessary to talk about the soundtrack: composed by Yoshihiro Ike (DORORO, Tiger & Bunny), presents different songs both for orchestra and pop, a variety that makes even the simple moments of everyday life of the protagonists more pleasant, while in the fight scenes, instead of frenetic songs, classical music accompanies us more. The opening of the Supercell group is also excellent, it captures from the first listen and adapts very well to the general sound of the anime, also managing to keep the style that distinguishes the group recognizable.
The great merit of the anime is therefore the excellent music and animations, however, on the narrative side, it still lacks a bite that can keep viewers glued to the screen and the use of various clichés could make the vision heavy for those who have already seen many series. It should be remembered that Takt op. Destiny is a newly born cross-media project, which is starting to develop both as an anime and as a mobile video game; we can therefore expect an expansion of the characters and of the worldbuilding that goes beyond the current animated series, the purpose of which could be to bring us closer to a wider narrative universe.
What Takt op. Destiny? On the purely technical side, it is undoubtedly very good, and both worldbuilding and the basic idea have potential which, however, is not fully exploited. The series struggles to mesh at the beginning but, despite this, we are facing an ambitious project which, if appreciated, could be extended over the years to other media as well, so I would still recommend giving it a chance. You can follow Takt op. Destiny on Crunchyroll every Tuesday, and with the premium account you can have access to the episodes in advance!
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