Phi Brain | Love, Hate relationship

Hiiiii and welcome to yet another blog on this website. Today, we’re going to be discussing the Anime Phi Brain. Which can be seen as a love, hate relationship to whoever watches the Anime. You either love it or hate it – well that’s how I see it anyway. Let’s begin, shall we!

Kaito Daimon would be a completely average high school student except for one thing: he’s a ‘demon’ at solving puzzles. Kaito is so brilliant, in fact, that when he’s asked to take some ‘special’ tests of his unique ability, he immediately suspects that the test itself is a test. Kaito suddenly finds himself caught up in a lethal Philosopher’s Puzzle made by the sinister group POG, a murderous maze of trap upon trap, where failing to solve the secret correctly will result in death! Fortunately, Kaito’s skills prove up to the first test, both for himself and his childhood friend Nanoha, who is also caught up in the deadly scheme. But now that he has been designated as a Solver, he is pulled into a new life where he must travel the world with other Solvers, attempting to solve the latest deadly riddles left by POG. There’s a new conundrum around every corner and each deception could lead to death, but once a riddle has been posed, you can count on Kaito to unfold, unravel and unlock it! – MyAnimeList

---

Story
I was expecting a lot of filler throughout most of the show along with the POG people challenging each of the main characters, which would be atypical of a shounen show set up. However, it never ended up the way I was expecting as there were plenty of random things that did go on in the show. In the end, the story is no longer just about puzzles and how wrong it is to make them dangerous. It’s about friendship, childhood trauma, emotions, and the true meaning of trust. That’s what I admire about it.

Puzzle-wise, I enjoyed several of them. The show started off with ones you would sort of expect, but then, some of them do become ridiculously hard. They don’t always explain how the puzzles work, but I don’t mind that at all. You can always try it yourself online.

Art
It is what you’d expect of Sunrise animation. Nothing too spectacular, but it’s good enough as it is. They did a lot of good research behind puzzle designs and did pretty well with conveying the character expressions.

Sound
I think it speaks for itself. Sunrise does their sound and music like any other studio. The opening and ending songs are normal – as expected.

Character
Out of the zillion anime character archetypes to use, Phi Brain puts together a: semi-grouchy puzzle prodigy, a photographic memory tomboy, a baby-faced computer genius, a super convincing cross-dressing artist, a high-strung tough crazy/sadistic biker guy, and eventually, an apple juice loving student president. These guys are just lovable in their own ways. All their personalities are different as well as their antics.

I initially wasn’t sure what to expect from these characters, but the people behind the show were able to play with these personalities in order to make the show engaging. We also get into a few backstories with some of them, even though, Kaito’s past is the main focus. The side characters, for this show, are never forgotten in any way. They each get a role to shine in, whether it’s a backstory or not.

Personal thoughts
I personally try to enjoy all Anime I’ve watched because of the time the studio and their employees put into creating these types of shows for us. This one is no different, I did enjoy it, but there were also times when I didn’t have that much fun. I’ve always been a fan of Sunrise and what they’ve done for the Anime community, however, I think Sunrise should stick to making Gundam Anime – It is after all, what they’re known for.

---

If you want to support me and what I do,
please consider following me on Patreon.

Otaku Central