First Impressions – Big Order
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Big Order is the next cool thing by the creator of Mirai Nikki (Future Diary), and it’s being adapted by pretty much the same staff as well. So if you like wild-eyed action with an extra helping of mentally unsound cast members, you won’t wanna miss this one. |
Big Order starts off with a tease: getting us to wonder what an innocent toddler named Eiji could have wished for to destroy so much of the world around him. The reveal isn’t as exciting as all the hype leading up to it, as it turns out he literally just plagiarized a dumb cartoon character who wanted world domination. While the build-up didn’t exactly pay off, I do agree that it’s pretty messed up an innocent wish ended up killing so many people and causing Eiji a lifetime’s worth of guilt and heartbreak. Therefore, the twisted story of “be careful what you wish for” taken to the extreme begins.
It appears that wishes are granted on a random basis, meaning that any innocuous wish you think of out loud may become your new superpower for the rest of your life. Either that, or wishes that have a particularly strong desire behind them end up being granted. This means that those who want it more may have their wishes fulfilled. However, those in desperate states are more likely to let emotions take hold and end up having that wish backfire on them. It doesn’t help that the whole wish-granting system isn’t exactly kind int he way it interprets these wishes too.
As a result of these two things, everyone with wishes granted thus far seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. Most obviously, Eiji wishes for world domination with the goal of world peace in mind, but he ends up almost destroying the world. Slightly less obviously, we have Kurenai who is now immortal and will have to suffer whatever life has to bring for all eternity. Immortality is great for the short term, but that wish has serious repercussions if you, say, cut her up into pieces and store her in separate boxes forever. She can heal, but it looks like she still feels pain so that would not be fun at all.
Going forward, it looks like a big part of Big Order will be seeing how these wishes manifest themselves as unique powers. It’s a neat concept because the wish directly tells us a lot about the person who made it. We know from Eiji’s wish that he is actually quite just and dislikes conflict. Kurenai’s wish tells us that she cares fiercely about those she loves and would do anything to protect them. If her power was simply “healing” without any of that deeper explanation behind it of the whole wish system, we’d be missing a whole chunk of her personality. Knowing what wish leads to what powers already gets a lot of character building out the way from the get-go, so it’s rather convenient.
Another thing I like about these wish powers is that every Order seems to have a physical monster standing behind them to fight, like in Ajin or the Stands in Jojo. This hasn’t been explored very much, as Eiji is still working out his powers, but it seems like a nice way to add some more depth to the whole concept.
That being said, Big Order is not a show with a lot of depth. A kiddy pool is deeper than this. In Big Order, the characters feel more like set pieces than actual characters. Everyone has their quirky power, dark past, and hidden motives to be pitted against one another…but that’s about it. I previously noted that we learn a lot through the characters based on what they wished for, but really that knowledge is just for us to know why each character is so damn crazy. We’ve only seen Kurenai’s psychopathy so far but I will bet you anything at least half of the cast would benefit greatly from a psychiatrist (and probably some daily tranquilizers). This focus on doing what I loved in Mirai Nikki has me convinced that Big Order will turn out exactly how I want it to be.
Basically, if you liked Mirai Nikki, there’s a high chance you’ll like Big Order. Both are focused on making up crazy superpowers in order to get an unlikely group of insane rascals to fight each other. I found Mirai Nikki to fun and highly memorable, but also rather messy and inconsistent. It liked to flop over into dumb cliches and fluffy highschool romance moments that just didn’t work well with the story at times. I can already see though rough edges in Big Order with the way Eiji dotes on his little sister in what hopefully doesn’t cross over into the usual siscon territory. I’m still so sad siscons are a common anime thing, so please let me be free of an incestual subplot for at least this show.
Looking for big action and a plot that will likely make zero sense as the anime progresses? Big Order is your show – perfectly imperfect and just as off-the-hinges as the very psycho characters it’s telling a story about.
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
The storytelling has all the subtly of a kick to the groin. To make up for that, it’s POMPOUS as Hell!
Perfect! Sign me up. When you get down to it, the wish-as power-as facet of your personality was done with more dignity in Madoka (He said with a posed look), but was never really that show’s central thrust. Maybe they’ll take that here and make is some fascinating.
But, it’s entertaining. I didn’t not do that….
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yep, no subtly in sight here…But in a way, it’s nice to have at least one show like that every season. Easy watching, easy enjoyment, and not a whole lot of thinking involved. I do hope they take the wish thing to some interesting places, although I also doubt it will have the same level of nuance as Madoka.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I’ve given it a bit of thought, and Big Order is almost as the same thematic stuff of Mirai Nikki, isn’t it?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
From the same the same author behind Mirai Nikki (Future Diary), eh? Makes sense taking the appearances of Eiji and Rin into consideration. Their character designs are like the more grown up versions of Yukiteru and Yuno. Yuno Gasai left an impression that has endured to this day. Let’s see if Rin Kurenai can at least match her.
I watched the OVA that released about two weeks earlier and got a hell of a whiplash that left me profoundly confused. This first episode was a remedy. Despite about 80% of the run being a copy/paste of the OVA material, it at least provided an ending to give clarity and a sense of direction as opposed to going into an infinite loop of already presented events.
When you’re told “Be careful what you wish for”, you’d best pay heed. What I believe after watching similar scenarios from other shows is the one making the wish isn’t being specific. And so thanks to the carelessness, it ends up biting them in the ass.
I’m always up for a dark series. Even better when it has psychotic characters. Mirai Nikki passes as an adequate example. I’m in and hopeful of not getting any more confusing whiplashes.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
There are SO many similarities, it’s obvious this is the kind of story (and character designs) this dude loves since he keeps retooling them.
I remember Mirai Nikki had an OVA that made NO SENSE and was just like a choppy version of the first episode so I guess this is the same. I’m just going to skip it then.
We’ll see how it goes, but it should have plenty of dark moments and craziness!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Are you sure you weren’t watching something else? The OVA was titled Mirai Nikki Redial and it continued where the series left off, making so, through a sort of loophole, that Yukiteru and Yuno ended up together despite the rules of the survival game they were part of. If it’s that you’re talking about, then I really can’t agree that it didn’t make sense.
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
A wise choice Overcooled, idk about the mirai nikki OVA but I assure you skipping big Order’s OVA was in your best interests.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That about sums up what Kei Nagai endured after his capture in Ajin.
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
I vowed not to pick up anymore shows after flying witch… but this is by by the same the same psycho that made Mirai Nikki… Ok, I’m going to watch ep 1 right now 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s frighteningly easy to give into temptation, isn’t it? 😉
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
Yeah I might have changed my mind, Big Order’s start is really trippy and the mc seemed like a real push over (like yukiteru from mirai nikki). The ending of cool though with the mc’s dominate everything power (with tentacles? not sure if they were trying to imply something there :P) but I’m not completely sold. I might just watch it after the series is done cuz this show doesn’t hold a candle to the amazing shows that are on this season.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
“Trippy”, huh? That’s putting it mildly, in my opinion, after watching the OVA. At least the first episode had a direction one is actually able to follow.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Enjoy the show! Definitely verryyy different from Flying Witch, but I can’t resist watching both either…
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
Btw Big Order had an OVA last year in October.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Oh, so the OVA was released in 2015. My mistake, then. I assumed it was two weeks before the first episode. Because that was when I downloaded and watched it. It had me thoroughly confused, though.
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
Yeah episode 1 was a major improvement over the OVA. The OVA was like the anime was simulating drugs or something, I highly discourage people from watching the OVA cuz its frankly terrible and the good scenes from it were pretty much reused in ep 1 of the anime anyway.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I couldn’t agree more. Indeed, the first episode was a remedy to an OVA that was a true cluster…. You get what I mean.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It was pretty much a copy/paste job. Although, this one had a clear ending.