Tactics (2004/5)

Type: Shounen, Supernatural
Year: 2004/ 2005
Studio: Studio Deen
Overall Rating: 3.3/5
Reccomendation: Only if you have time to Kill

I wanted to watch Tactics long time back, because I was intrigued by Kantarou’s occupation and Haruka, but this series turned out to be rather disappointing. Watching Tactics is somewhat like watching a less cheesy version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, Haruka is the main source of cheesiness here.

Ratings Breakdown:
Visuals: 3.5
Music: 3.5
Admittedly, this series is never going to rival the likes of Gankutsuou, Eve no Jikan or even Hachikuro or xxxHolic. To be completely fair, the art and animation of Tactics is passable, somewhere near the level of Peacemaker Kurogane or D. Gray Man. In terms of action scenes however, PMK and DN wins by a wide margin.

Setting: 2.5
Plot: 3.0
The story takes place in somewhere near early Meiji, and episodes are divided between Kantarou’s encounters with the supernatural. The story takes supernatural entities such as ghosts, spirit and exorcism, as the basis for plot development, so do not expect any “reasonable” explanations. It is enjoyable as long as you suspend disbelief and thought.

Characters: 3.5
The characters are rather flat and two-dimensional, at best. Kantarou has his little quirks such as love of money, lack of punctuality, but his overall characterization is “the nice guy”. Haruka on the other hand, is nearly one-dimensional as the mysterious, cool, bishounen sidekick. D. Gray Man employs similar stereotypes in Allen and Kanda, to better dramatic effect, making them more distinctive and well-rounded characters. Kanda and Haruka shares the same seiyuu and I couldn’t help thinking – how much edgier and nastier Kanda is.