Anime Review: Listeners

Listeners

Studio: MAPPA

Sci-Fi

Streaming on Funimation

Music is gone. In the world of Listeners, music has completely ceased to exist. Echo is a physical laborer who finds a girl buried in a construction site.  Interestingly enough, the girl he finds has an audio input jack in her body. People like her are called players, and they are known for bringing music into the world. Unfortunately, players have been banned from the town Echo lives in because they tend to bring some kind of calamity with them. Ironically, they are the only ones who can fight the earless, monsters that ravage towns.

There is a lot going on and its hard to describe the series, but this episode works out well. The pacing is solid and at no point will a reader feel too confused. A large amount of information thrown at the viewer is presented nicely, making this an enjoyable episode to watch. The series embraces its science fiction, using monsters, the power of music, and even mechas. It’s an episode that’s as enjoyable as it is wild. This is a show that you will have to watch to truly get a grasp of what it actually is.

The episode is full of style, which is accented by its bright art style. The characters are detailed and cute. The style allows for the characters to be full of expression, making Listeners a joy to look at. The animation is crisp, even during the action scenes with tons going on. The character designs are wonderful, with both an innocent and rock and roll vibe to them.

Speaking of rock and roll, this anime is like the genre personified, especially during the second half. Frantic rock beats play as the amnesiac battles the earless. I’ll admit that its a bit strange to have music playing during scenes where music apparently doesn’t exist, but the viewer will just need to suspend their disbelief.

Listeners is off to a great start with this episode. Despite this being a full episode, the solid pacing allows for this to be easy to digest. Fans of charming action series with a hint of rock and roll will want to check this series out.