Initial Impressions: BTOOOM! / ブトゥーム!

Posted by DarrenW & MedusaS
October 16, 2012

(Information provided by DarrenW)

BTOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The title of the anime I will be reviewing today! (Alt Title: ブトゥーム!)

Yes, WHY "BTOOOM!" as a title? Well, because we're dealing with bombs in this anime!

The countdown begins when we meet our main character, Ryoko Sakamoto, who is a 22 year old male, who has no job nor lifestyle, except for one; gaming.

Yes, he spends all day playing his favourite game. What game? You guessed it, "BTOOOM!". A tactical rpg arena fighting game, BTOOOM! is a game where players are only allowed to use a variety of bombs to eliminate their opponents, where after defeating them, they gain reputation and gain ranks.

And this is where Ryoko comes in. One of the best players in the world, he manages to make it into the top 10 ranks, after winning 20 consecutive matches.

That's all fine and dandy, but he has become so obsessed with the game that he has neglected any connections he has to the real world.

Suddenly, his normal routine (sitting in his gaming seat playing BTOOOM!) is abruptly halted, and he wakes up, hanging from parachute caught in a tree in a tropical rainforest.

Ryoko Sakamoto

WHAT?

Ryoko realised that he had been hit in the head, quite badly at that, and has lost some of his memory, including how he got there.

Finding no way out, he suddenly finds some form of civilization, but the guy simply throws a small beeping object at him.

What is it? Is it... A BOMB!! WHAT??!!!

Yea, so he has been sucked into playing BTOOOM! "REAL-LIFE EDITION", where players now play with their own bodies, and blow each other up to smithereens, in an attempt to survive and win the game.

Peace & Quiet & Death

Some rationale behind how they ended up playing the game: It is rumoured that the company which created BTOOOM! paid 100, 000 yen, (1, 500 SGD, 1, 250 USD) to people who would indicate to them who they wanted to be removed off the face of the Earth. Hence, it is most likely the players here have formed some sort of hate between society, and have been selected for removal.

Well... That's it really. That's the main development of the anime. There are a lot of other stuff but we will not tell you guys! (Spoilers)

DarrenW

Personally, I like games that feature RPGs, because I, quite some time ago, was an avid MMORPG player. But of course, this doesn't really count, because it's actually just some guys with bombs in their bags.

It has a similar style to Sword Art Online, but in SAO, the game becomes reality. In BTOOOM!, reality becomes the game. (Gameception!)

But of course, I find this anime particularly outstanding because there isn;t only one theme running which is the survival, kill or be killed theme, but the reason why they were playing the real BTOOOM!. Somehow, one way or another, they have been rejects of society, and the rationale behind it is compelling. This is not unusual. Rather, it is common in society. We do have people like this, and some of the stories shown do happen in real life.

But for now, that seems a lot of expectations are in for this anime. So I do hope it becomes awesome! XD

Another thing I WOULD like to say is that BTOOOM! has the most BADASS OPENING that I have seen so far. I mean, seriously, the music used simply gives off eargasms. (Of course, I hear PSYCHO-PASS has a very good one as well, watching soon!) What is the song? Well, its "No pain, No Game" by nano (Single is available)

Main Female Protagonist.

MedusaS

AWESOME START. The plot looks like its been well planned, not a minute wasted.

The transition used is good. It explains why the players are here and what sort of feelings they have when they go into battle.

A lot of gore / blood going on when some players are killed. Meh, I've seen worse.

The idea of having a game integrated into real life has brings to light some REAL THINGS TO BE AFRAID OF. For eg, if you play a game on your computer, you don't really give a shit because you're not going to die if you get hit by monsters or other players! But the game comes to you and it becomes your life, it isn't so simple anymore.

Something like SAO actually... But military style! (With fat guys and weird people...)

I like BTOOOM! because it has an original plot and structure (Except for that RAPE SCENE).

The OP is AWESOME. I LIKE THAT SOUND. I mean C'MON, drums, electric guitar, synthesizers AND piano?

BTOOOM! better not disappoint me!

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BTOOOM! is an Autumn 2012 anime, and will have 12 episodes. It is produced by MADHouse, and is currently at episode 2. It is being fansubbed by Commie and FFF. It also available on Crunchyroll on Simulcast.


DarrenW
MedusaS
Edited by FayeA