***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Venus Versus Virus. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Sumire Takahana (voiced by Minori Chihara) is like most middle school students. She enjoys spending time with her friends. Daydreams in class. And fawns over her super-secret not so secret crush. She even has a part job at a small novelty shop called Venus Vanguard.
This quaint little boutique sells Gothic style dresses. As well as a variety of trinkets and charms. To the outside observer, it’s nothing more than your average hole in the wall. But if you can understand their brochure, the real purpose comes to light.
Venus Vanguard hunts down and eliminates frightening entities known as Viruses. And they're led by Lucia Nahashi (voiced by Ayahi Takagaki).
Sumire can see Viruses, but when compared to Lucia, she seems useless. Yet she accompanies Lucia on every mission. That's because whenever Sumire can go into Berserk Mode. Becoming a living anti-Virus. While in this state, she is unable to control herself. And is incapable of distinguishing friend from foe.
Working together, Sumire and Lucia have dedicated themselves to destroying all Viruses.
Series Positives
For what it’s worth, Venus Versus Virus did a good job at being tolerable. You can watch a majority of this show without being completely disinterested.
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| Sumire |
This series will leave a bad after taste. But there are anime that are horrid throughout. It comes down to personal preference. Would you rather take a small shot to the shin every half hour for the next six hours? Or get a solid one time punch to the face?
Berserk Sumire
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| Lucia |
Sumire was an average character at best. There was nothing that made her stand out from. She played her role out as you would imagine. Even her berserk form's been done so many times.
It’s not so much that I liked Sumire having a Berserk Mode. It’s more of me liking all characters with a Berserk Mood. Being able to flip a switch and you're this unstoppable force is a power I've always wished I could have.
Having this character type opens the door for a ton of fun and creative possibilities. But it’s not a slam dunk, works-every-time plot point. Any tension can become insignificant when someone can turn God mode on and solve any problem. But when a story's not...good, there's no reason not to exploit it for all it’s worth. Venus Versus Virus did that.
Another thing about Berserk Mode, it knocked overconfident villains down a few pegs. This was the one thing I did enjoy about this show.
Character Development
No one was memorable. But when compared to the rest of the show, the character development was okay.
Berserk Sumire was fun. Yet seeing her develop confidence and skills was also enjoyable. Again, you’ve seen this play out before, but that doesn’t mean it was bad.
Lucia was my favorite character. She had a calmness about her that supported the entire series. It was rewarding to see her struggle with her inner demons because it humanized her. A character needs to make the audience believe they could actually exist.
I can’t say these were the greatest of characters. Except I liked them enough to expect some kind of resolution.
Series Negatives
Venus Versus Virus set the entire tone in the first episode. There would be no surprises. No tricks. No element to distinguish itself from being anything worthwhile.
The Story
The story was okay. And I mean that in the most dejected way possible.
There was nothing new. Do I expect every anime to be different? Of course not. That’s unreasonable. But when I say there was nothing new, there was nothing. Cookie cutter characters. A predictable plot. And not even a single gimmick that could be described as unique.
That said, it was still okay. Average doesn’t mean bad. It means average. But if it weren't for this review, Venus Versus Virus would be the kind of anime I'd forget about within a week.
At least that would've been the case if it weren't for the last f@#$ing episode.
The Finale *Warning: There WILL Be Spoilers*
Can a single episode make or break an entire series? YES!
Do you know what else one episode can do? It can take an already weak show, bring it out back, beat it mercilessly, and leave it lying in a pile of its own filth.
I F#$%ING HATED THIS ENDING!
This was the most broken, nonsensical, unfinished concluding episode to anime I've seen. Everything got dumped into the last thirty minutes of this show. Without any rhyme or reason.
I'm about to start throwing out spoilers because I don’t know how else to explain this utter rage. So if you care (you shouldn’t care) about the ending to Venus Versus Virus, please skip to the end.
The problem started in episode one. The first scene was a face-off between Sumire and Lucia. This turned out to be the climax. And I hate myself for using that word.
Jump to the end of episode eleven. Sumire got kidnapped by the bad guy. Why? I don’t know. Some BS excuse about Sumire not ready to be awakened.
You'd think Lucia would spend every waking moment trying to get Sumire back. Maybe she did. Regardless Sumire remained captive for an entire year. A year you don't see. This meant everyone Sumire had ever known or cared about had no memory of her. Because that makes sense (it doesn’t). The only exception to this was, of course, Lucia.
Lucia did discover Sumire’s location in an abandoned church. When she got there, Sumire awakens. And because of some tricky by the bad guy, is in full Berserk Mode with every intention of killing Lucia. "Why," you ask? Well, the opening showed Sumire and Lucia in a fight. Thus the story needed to make this happen...somehow.
During their fight, the bad guy got taken out. Not by Sumire or Lucia, but he’s gone now. There was no effort put into this event. Despite him being the biggest threat of the series. With him out of the way, Lucia would save Sumire at all cost.
It was all leading to this. The final charge. Sumire barrels forward at full speed. Lucia holds her ground. Faster, faster, the tension rising. Here it comes. The moment that would save this train wreck of a closer. Sumire right on top of Lucia. They're about to make contact and then…end credits.
WHAT!
This show dragged along for twelve God damn episodes. With nothing more than a mediocre plot. Barely passable characters. An overused premise. And it had the nerve not to have an ending!
This right here is an example of a series shattering moment. Granted the show wasn't all that good, to begin with. But any positive was undone with this God awful mess.
Final Thoughts
A series needs to be judged as a whole. Yes, the ending was beyond horrible, but what of the rest.
Up until the final episode, Venus Versus Virus was...harmless. The story was average. The characters got the job done. There were things to enjoy. This show deserves credit for doing at least that.
In the end, though, there's nothing at the end of this road. No payoff or justification that warrants sitting through the monotony. Odds are, the thing people will remember about Venus Versus Virus is the opening song.
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