Movies / Animé and Toons

Needless Collection 1

By Chris Zimmerman
March 17, 2011 - 00:24

It’s a common theme in Japan to throw as much at your audience as possible without having to worry about things making sense. After all, if the audience is having fun, is having a cohesive plot really necessary? With a series such as Needless, style and action are what’s important; everything else comes second.
Needless was released in Japan back in 2009. Originally based on a manga, the series was produced by Madhouse and has since gone on to air a total of 24 episodes before the license of US distribution was snatched up by Sentai Filmworks.

Needless is set in every desolate world you could imagine. The world is wrecked as a result of a nuclear heavy WWIII and society is far from what it once was. Still, the little survivors there are scrounge together their efforts and rebuild. Meanwhile, Tokyo is reduced to a hole in the earth and those who inhabit it discover a mutation that turns them into super powered beings dubbed Needless.

From the chaos rises an organization called Simeon run by a group of Needless. Cruz Schild and his sister are in the midst of battling it when things turn ugly. Cruz is the sole survivor and Simeon is determined to rectify that. Fortunately, he runs across a priest named Blade who takes it upon himself to protect the boy.

Blade is anything but your average priest. He’s shredded with muscles, has an attitude, and is a Needless that can copy the powers of other Needless. He’s accompanied by Eve and scientist, and they all spend their time shooting the breeze in a rundown church. When Simeon begins sending agent after agent after Cruz, the group kicks it into high gear and throws down.

That’s pretty much the plot in a nutshell. Simeon sends a Needless after Cruz, Blade or Eve show up and save the day. The series is pretty heavy on fighting and thankfully, it handles that area well, with kinetic battle sequences and lots of flare.

The biggest weakness anchoring the show down is the animation. Madhouse has proven time and again it is capable of better work than what is demonstrated here. It looks rushed lacks fluidity.

Needless isn’t a series that has to make sense. The action will get it by just fine. The problem is the animation, which does hamper the overall quality of the show. That said, there’s enough stylistic action and off the wall craziness to distract from its production issues.

B

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12