Phi Brain particularly caught my interest with its crafty style of blending puzzles (which I am so-so at), mathematics (which I am okay at) and logic and analytical thought processes at very high speeds (which I enjoy dissecting later on at more comfortable ones). Whereas most anime merely just give the viewer questions and thoughts about how the series is turning out, I think Phi Brain lets your
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Phi Brain particularly caught my interest with its crafty style of blending puzzles (which I am so-so at), mathematics (which I am okay at) and logic and analytical thought processes at very high speeds (which I enjoy dissecting later on at more comfortable ones). Whereas most anime merely just give the viewer questions and thoughts about how the series is turning out, I think Phi Brain lets your own interest in it determine how it will be for you. I originally found the first episode a bit hard to swallow, it was complex, dead ended me with the advanced concepts hardly being explained yet somehow miraculously being performed, and it ended on an a sour note. It was only a day or two after watching the initial episode did I return to the series, and it really sparked something in me.
Whereas the other reviewer said that it was lacking in explanation (which I agree with), and that the main character was crass and highly unlikable, I believe the opposite for his second point. I've gone into a series gawking at how unlikeable a character can be, only to later grow attached to them (and not in the love-to-hate way either). It is a complex character development which takes place throughout the events of Phi Brain Season 1, culminating in Kaito's stubbornness to cause harm to Rook even in the event that he might die in the process of saving him. Where I agree that Kaito is crass and arrogant at best, and impossible and scornful at worst, he is still supposed to be a human being. I believe that Season 2 really captures the human element the best, and projects it onto Kaito through his companions.
I believe that the injection of the human element into the series also shows the intense risks associated with becoming too focused on one concept (like Kaito's mind on puzzles when nearing the Phi Brain state) and the mental distress that can result from not properly socializing with others during key developmental stages (Kaito and Rook). While the support characters are a little flimsy at first, their development curtails with the major events of the story as it progresses onwards. I think that it is a notable feat when you can think about a series with latent romantic trappings (Kaito and Nonoha, which I really hope they figure out), a desire to consider all of the characters within it, and an increased interest to investigate the topic of its narrative.
I wouldn't say that there is a learning curve associated with this series, but hopefully you become further interested in mathematics, puzzles, the brilliance of the human mind, the frailty of the human psyche, the compassion of others and how it shapes a person, and finally how even insurmountable odds are far more conquerable with the right group of people on the sidelines cheering you on. It makes me hope that everything works out for the characters, imagine what life would be like if I were as good at puzzles, laugh at the totally implausible shadow puzzle agency run by a teenager, and think about just how the writers came up with the ideas throughout.
I recommend anyone to give it a try, and even if you don't like it the first time, try to let it grow on you. They often say that the things which stay with you the most don't always pique your fancy the first time. There's something to be said of a series that you need to let ruminate, and even try investigating. It's enthralling.
- Delirium
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