Ajin is the second time Polygon Pictures got Netflix on it's production committee but just like Sidonia it's all CG again which already kills off some interested parties which is weird seeing as the manga is rather popular. This series as it is now is pretty much a cross promotion: the first half of the series, with a little less content, ran in cinemas as a limited release (https://trakt.tv/movies/ajin-demi-human-compel-2015) with the content of the second half of the TV series premiering in May as Part 2 (https://trakt.tv/movies/ajin-demi-human-collision-2016). The final arc of the anime will stay exclusive to it's cinema release only. If you're wondering what route you should pick I'd say watch this and then the final movie. They're not that self contained that you need the "movie" experience.
As previously mentioned this is all CG and that is fine by me. There are still issues but I actually enjoyed watching it a lot more than reading. The story isn't really a standout and has enough violence in it to sell the seinen but it's still worth pointing out that just after a single volume the original writer left for another series of his and left the work to his artist who then took over both roles and that isn't a bad thing as it only improved. As of now we're pretty much at a Death Note-esque duel between the protagonist and the antagonist which is sort of enjoyable considering they're both immortal and can utilize some interesting strategies.
Review by ner0BlockedParent2019-04-03T22:14:18Z
I liked the animation despite it heavily relying on CGI effects, it's nice and fluid even though it takes a bit to adapt to.
As for the story/plot, I found it somewhat underwhelming and felt the need to fast-forward some tedious moments. Honestly, the main baddie , Sato-san, is very boring throughout both seasons. And although it had potential for a 3rd season, the ending of the 2nd season clearly showed you that it was planned to continue into a 3rd one by following the exact same formula and focusing on the exact same enemy as S1 and S2 - it was doomed to fail even if it wasn't canceled beforehand.
Another thing that I took issue with, which is related to the ending of S2; Ajins are immortal beings, but somewhere along the show it is implied that they aren't actually immortal in the sense that if you cut away one of their limbs it grows back... the logic that follows is that if you cut an Ajin's head then the head that grows back into the body will have a blank brain with different neural composition, and thus won't be the same person/ego. In the ending of S2, Sato-san, "the baddie", is decapitated and then... he remembers everything and retains his self, contradicting the entire idea created by himself that decapitation was the equivalent of death for an Ajin; it's stupid that the threat loomed for the entire show and is thrown out the window at the last minute of S2. Anyway, I guess that there's still the looming threat of a plastic bag over an Ajin's head, quite literally.