h my, where do I even start? This anime… was something else. Some parts were enjoyable and even thrilling, but most were in need of improvement. Here is my spoiler-free review!

Introduction

Qualidea Code is about a post-apocalyptic Japan that was attacked by creatures called Unknown. The majority of adults were killed off, but, in order to protect future generations, the government forced the world’s children into deep sleep. When the children (now teenagers) awoke many years later, they had strange powers called “World” and most of civilization was gone. Using their powers, the children fight against the Unknown and help administrate the new military system that was created by the remaining adults. However, the attacks from the enemy escalate and many unanswered mysteries arise. As they fight, the children realize that their system may be corrupt.

This concept sounds entertaining by itself, but it is also one of the problems with this show. There are so many anime where creatures attack, a large portion of the population or world are destroyed, and then the youth need to save the world. Some recent examples are Attack On Titan, Seraph of The End, Black Bullet, Unlimited Fafnir, Ange Vierge, etc. There are too many to name. I am not sure why this is such a popular scenario in anime, but it appears once again in Qualidea Code. It isn’t a bad concept, but it’s getting old. I want to point out that this anime does have a certain twist to it, which makes things interesting, but the many flaws of the anime eclipse the show’s positive elements. The thing, in my opinion, that hurt this show so much was…

Characters and Their Tropes

Firstly, I need to discuss the protagonist. In anime, there are a lot of main characters that start out as insensitive tool and then slowly develop compassion or other positive character traits. But Suzaku Ichiya was on a whole other level. To put it simply, he was deplorable. He was arrogant, rude, and reckless. Basically a jerkass. Even after he went through some character development and realized he was being too pretentious, he still isn’t a very likable character. At one point, he kind of drifts out of the spotlight and I honestly completely forgot about him for a while. That’s how forgettable he is as a character.

The other characters are definitely better than Ichiya, but they are all full of overdone character tropes or stereotypes. Some of the characters are really great, but the anime doesn’t portray them in depth, and their tropes kind of make them one-dimensional characters.

Here are the other main characters and their tropes–

Utaru Canaria, Ichiya’s childhood friend, is a complete dojikko, a very clumsy and air-headed girl. She is very sweet and supportive, but is basically portrayed as an idiot.She is always tripping, getting lost, and just being a klutz. She is the only person that Ichiya cares about.

Next, there’s Chigusa Kasumi and Chigusa Asuha- two siblings. Both are lazy and don’t want to do extra work, although they quite skilled. They also have some SisCon and BroCon tropes. Kasumi, the older brother, has a sister complex, where he is overprotective of Asuha, his younger sister. Asuha knows about her brother’s protective issue and plays along to mess with Kasumi, acting like a girl who loves and looks up to oniichan.

Then we have Tenkawa Maihime. She can be an airhead at times, but she isn’t as bad as Canaria. However, her most prominent trope is that she is extremely overpowered. Most of the characters are unrealistically strong or skilled, but Maihime is just ridiculous. She destroys an entire bridge with one blast, and takes on hundreds of enemies at once by herself. 

Rindo Hotaru is Maihime’s right hand woman. She is another overly powerful character and honestly the physics used in her attacks are laughably unrealistic.  Hotaru and Maihime are childhood friends and that found each other after being separated. Hotaru seems to have kind of a yuri crush for Hotaru, but unfortunately it doesn’t get any further than some subtext.

These two characters were the best in my opinion. They were the only reason I continued to watch the show.

There may be more tropes or stereotypes that I missed. If you can think of any, comment below!

The Story

As I mentioned earlier, the twist in the story was very interesting, but it was overshadowed by all the series’ writing issues. In the first half of the series, the battle scenes were dragged out. Other times the characters had long, pointless conversations that didn’t contribute much to the story. There was also a swimsuit episode (which I can’t really complain about), but it didn’t contribute much to the plot. Instead of such long battles or unnecessary scenes, I would have focused more on the plot. There were parts that included some background information and character development. However, since I didn’t like Ichiya at all, the emotional scenes with him didn’t mean a lot to me. They felt over-exaggerated, melodramatic, and prolonged; I just couldn’t take him seriously. I don’t feel the same way about the other characters’ development, which seemed more realistic, believable, and to the point. But maybe this is just my bias against Ichiya. On the other hand, I really would have liked to find out more about Yuunami Airi and Asanagi Gutoku, who were both adult officers in the military. Sadly, their backstories were basically nonexistent.

About half way through the series, the story started to pick up pace and get exciting. However, toward the end things seemed rushed. The interesting twist was never really explained. What would have been a really interesting part of the story wasn’t revealed in enough detail. How did the world get into the state it was in? How did the enemy infiltrate and evolve? None of this was really explored. Because of the abruptness and the plot holes,  when the series ended, I didn’t feel satisfied. 

Perhaps if there is a second season, it will all be explained. There are manga and light novel adaptions of the series, and, if I am not mistaken, I think this series is a sequel to Qualidea of Scum and Gold, a light novel. Perhaps these mediums are more detailed and fill in the missing information. If you have read them, please let me know and comment below! 

Quality and Concluding Thoughts

As the series goes on, the animation gets considerably worse and it wasn’t the best to begin with. I felt like the audio was off at times too. It’s a shame. I am guessing the creators didn’t have enough time or money to make the overall quality better. Maybe if they had postponed the release date, they could have improved the animation and sound. They could have also worked on the story, shortening unneeded parts and expanding the plot . 

With some changes and improvements, this show could have been really great. However, its flaws overshadow all of the anime’s good aspects. Overall, I would give this show a 6 out of 10. I am hoping the anime can redeem itself with another season or with the series’ other mediums.

*Qualidea Code is available om Crunchyroll. If you have watched it and agree or disagreed with my views, comment below!

Bibliography 

I do not own the images used in this post. I would cite them, but I couldn’t find the original source of the magazine pictures (most were posted on forums).