Masaaki Yuasa's Kaiba (2008) Anime Review
Summary
Kaiba is the story of a young man who loses all his memories and wakes up in a strange world. Memories can be digitized and transferred, people who live above everyone else can live far longer by getting newer and younger bodies, as well as getting rid of all their bad memories and implanting new good ones.
Kaiba goes on a journey throughout the galaxy, and for the first half of the show you are largely learning about the world and how it operates. The latter half starts to delve into Kaiba's actual history, and the real plot of the story kicks off.
Unique Animations
If there is something I have noticed about Yuasa's work, is none of it looks like anything else out there. At first glance, it would be easy to call the animation here cheap, because a lot of the models don't have a lot of details even when taking into account the time it came out. That said, to see it in motion is another thing entirely. Everything in this show has a very fluid look to it. Action is very fun and intense as a result, and pretty much no scene in the show looks bad.
It's kind of the reason I am not using images in this review, because just seeing still of Kaiba makes the show look very unimpressive. Not the only time I can point out something like this, Mad World on the Wii was an entirely different beast in action than screenshots could ever show.
Scenes can feel a bit rushed
There are times when scenes just seem to come at a rapid pace, and it feels like something is missing. An example is when Kaiba is warned someone is coming for him, and suddenly the next scene he is in a fight, with the guy who just warned him to fight against Kaiba. There wasn't a moment where you got a sudden reveal to Kaiba this guy was turning on him, even though the audience already knew that. There are several times this happens.
While I think by and large how quickly the show goes is very much to its advantage, there is a constant flow of action and emotion, and most times you don't notice how quickly everything is going by. That said, as mentioned above, there are times the show suffers a little for it.
Interesting World
I like the idea of a world where memories can be bought and sold. You get to see all kinds of ways this premise impacts the world around them. There is an entire group of people revolting against the very idea of being able to defy death and change bodies, people desperately trying to buy bodies for their parents, and all kinds of things. This is such a fleshed-out idea and world, you could easily see all kinds of stories taking place outside of the one presented in Kaiba.
A Simple, but Effective Story
The actual plot doesn't start to kick in until the second half, and to many details would spoil the show for you. And I don't feel like doing that, so I'll speak as vague as I can get away with here. Effectively, a lot of the story revolves around the connection Kaiba has to the person you see in his locket and the relationship they had before Kaiba lost their memories. Because of the nature of how memories work and what you can do with them, there are a lot of questions being asked about what is real and what is fake. As well as the effects the body one inhabits can affect their mind.
I won't say it is the most unique premise, but it's done wonderfully. They give you enough time to understand how the world works, you know enough about them to care, and the characters all have fantastic chemistry together. It can feel like certain things that happen come out of nowhere, it's not perfect by any stretch, but it's easy to overlook the problems I do have because it's all so charming and interesting.
Overall
Kaiba has a lot of interesting ideas and story beats paired up with some fast-paced action and a unique art and animation style that keeps it looking different from anything else out there. It's easy to get into and care about everyone, and the show has a lot of fun playing with the ideas. It's a treat to watch, and I recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit left of center.