Again at Crunchyroll, I find something new. I swear, that site is the death of me. Anyway, for Anime Thursday this week, please welcome Phi Brain: Puzzle of God. While the concept was a decent idea, it began to take the feel of Yu-Gi-Oh! after a while. What do I mean? Read on.
There are three seasons in this anime. The first season consists of introducing all the characters for the most part. Kaito Daimon has loved solving puzzles his whole life, but his childhood friend Nonoha Itou can’t solve them for crap. Instead, she participates in pretty much all sports, drama club, and is strong as an ox. One day, Kaito is exploring a puzzle maze deep in some ruins and “forms a pact” with an Orpheus armlet, which attaches to his arm and increases his thinking speed.
When the two friends both transfer to Root Gakuen High School, they find that the ability to solve puzzles is highly valued. Those that are good at them gain titles and are able to hang out in the Title Lounge and eat lunch for free. Of course, Kaito demands to gain one of these titles, so he challenges the holder of the Gallileo title – Gammon Sakanoue. Much to Gammon’s dismay, he is beaten, and Kaito gains the title Einstein. However, now that he has a title, the others in the school with similar honors seek him out. He challenges the two with the titles of Edison and Da Vinci, winning both times. While at first he is unaccepted into his new position of honor, eventually the three accept him.
But a strange organization called POG is creating dangerous puzzles in the city. They seek Kaito out and force him to participate in deadly “Philosopher’s Puzzles.” What didn’t make sense to me is why they were trying to kill Kaito via puzzle. If they wanted him dead, couldn’t they just go ahead and kill him? Also, the puzzles that they make are so immense and I wondered how these characters were getting the funding to make these giant things. Of course, Kaito solves all the puzzles, and in exchange, gets the prizes the puzzle givers offer. The prizes include anything from antique cars to strange maps. Continually, these puzzle givers chase Kaito down and force him to solve their puzzles by threatening him with things like “solve the puzzle or Nonoha dies.” It all seemed really rediculous. If you wanted to kill someone, why would you give them a puzzle that can be solved?
Anyway, Rook, Kaito’s friend from his grade school days, shows up and reveals that he, too, has an armlet. At first, they suspect nothing, but Rook begins acting strangeley, demanding Kaito do puzzles given by the POG. If he solves all the puzzles, he can become a Phi Brain and solve the Puzzle of God. Apparently, if the puzzle is solved, the solver can gain the Book of God and control reality itself. What made no sense is that Count Pythagoreas, leader of POG hid it in the Puzzle of God, but he wants it back. Does he not remember where in the puzzle he put it?
The armlet worn by Rook begins to take over his mind and make him obsessed with beating Kaito. The final puzzle the two face causes Kaito to have to chose between killing his best friend and gaining the Book of God. But Kaito figures out a way to do both, causing the armlet on Rook to break off. Rook then turns the POG into a helpful organization, assisting him and his new friends through the next seasons.
The second seasons brings forth a new organization called the Orpheus Order made of five people who claim to know Kaito from his grade school days. The leader, Freecell, claims that Kaito caused his mother’s death and wants revenge. Each of them have a replica armlet and harass Kaito and his friends to do a puzzle with them. But instead of getting annoyed, Kaito wants to save them. So the team go against the Order and of course beats them, but that isn’t the end of it.
A strange man named Herbert appears, and tries to destroy Kaito through puzzles, because his attempts failed in the last season. Again, why is everything about puzzles? If he wanted Kaito dead, why didn’t he just kill him? So Herbert forces the gang to take on a dangerous puzzle, causing the building to collapse. Herbert dons two armlets, and Kaito tells him how dangerous that is and vows to save him (again with the saving just kick their ass and move on already!). But the armlets have taken over his mind and he can’t control his words or emotions.
In order to finally get what he wants, Freecell captures Nonoha, and brings her to the Himalayas. There, he forces Kaito to take on a Puzzle of God (there’s more than one?) and play a sort of game of tag with Kaito. It’s a very anti-climactic Puzzle of God as I’m thinking it’s supposed to be ancient ruins, but it’s some high-tech thing. Of course Kaito wins again and everyone becomes friends.
Finally, the third season, some girl named Raetsel appears and brings Kaito’s freind Jin into the picture. Rook and Jin and Kaito were friends back in grade school, but Jin is much older so he was like a mentor. Apparently, Jin’s memories are gone, and Kaito has to solve puzzles to bring them back? WHAT IS WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF PUZZLES IN THIS ANIME? It’s like Yu-gi-oh! with puzzles! Kaito has been claiming the whole series he can “feel the puzzle’s emotions” or something like that. I don’t know, but it was a struggle to finish it. No one dies, everyone becomes friends, and the characters are 2D. Really it could have been done a lot better.
Anyway, bringing back Jin’s memories causes him to be possessed by Orpheus, who has bypassed death to possess people in order to have eternal life. It’s revealed that the Puzzle of God (which one?) is actually a way to find a new host for Orpheus. There is no real prize. So of course Raetsel and Kaito face each other in the Puzzle of God in another non-ancient, easy puzzle that really just made everything anti-climactic. Then apparently, Jin can’t become un-possessed, because Orpheus is mixed in with Jin’s mind. But something happens and everything is all better. Oh and again no one really dies because everyone is a genius.
Probably a 5 out of 10 on my ratings scale. Two weeks wasted watching this stuff.
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