What’s it about? When Sumeragi Yuito was a child the Other Suppression Force (OSF) saved him from being killed by a strange organism called “Others.” Yuito wanted to show his gratitude, so he decided to join the OSF in order to protect people from the Others’ deadly attacks. Despite surviving the OSF’s intensive training program, Yuito realizes he doesn’t know much about the Others and the inner workings of the OSF, so he slowly begins to question everything he thought he knew about the system.
Scarlet Nexus is an adaptation of a recent popular video game that came out in June of 2021 and was developed by BANDAI NAMCO Studios and Tose. Video games haven’t always had the greatest luck when it comes to adapting them into live action movies or an animated series, but with the success of Castlevania, it set the precedent that video games can have good adaptations. It seems that Scarlet Nexus is a fairly popular game, but as of this review, the premiere is basically “ok.”
Yuito is a standard protagonist who wants to protect people using his own strength and doesn’t want to rely on the political power of his powerful family. Surprisingly, Scarlet Nexus is similar to My Hero Academia in the sense that the OSF are seen as heroes and celebrities. This is why it’s unsettling to see Yuito’s life be so openly discussed and criticized by major news networks without any consideration for the fact he just recently graduated. He hasn’t even started working yet and already his life is under a lot of scrutiny. If My Hero Academia has taught us anything, it’s that hero-based systems are flawed and will eventually fall apart.
Aside from that Yuito isn’t really a compelling character, but his memories about his savior do open up a layer of mystery that could be interesting for his character development. This episode primarily introduced all the main characters, but almost all of them feel like archetypes I’m used to seeing in a high school anime (I mean you have the hyper best friend, the childhood friend, the shy new friend, etc.) None of them really stood out except for Randall Kasane, who keeps having strange dreams that seem like “otherly” beings are trying to reach out to her.
The video game elements are in full display when explaining that each individual has different psionic powers and how the Struggle Arms System (SAS) helps them work together as a team. At first it can be a bit confusing since it’s a lot of information, but for now it seems secondary and it’s more focused on Yuito building camaraderie with his new teammates.
The action sequences are a bit stiff, but overall they look good and I expect the fight sequences to get better so I can’t be too judgemental based on this premier. The designs of the “Others” amuses me greatly. One minute they look like literal monsters, the next bouquets of flowers with legs are running around (I….guess it’s a thing of nightmares).
I don’t have deep thoughts about this one folks. It looks like it’ll be an okay series and if you are a fan of action, then you might check this out. I’m curious what fans of the video game think of this premier, so if you are a fan of the video game, share your thoughts down below.
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