I'm in love with this series. I just had to write about it.
Why did I start watching it? Honestly, because I was bored and it was on Amazon. Nothing in particular drew me to Re: Creators. I had heard of it and its premise but I wasn't too bothered until I watched it. Now, I'm so in!
What is it? Re: Creators is an anime about characters from anime and games somehow ending up in the real world. A white-haired young lady in a military uniform brought them to our world, 'the land of gods' so they can find their creators and fix their worlds. Some characters take to that idea more than others. Some just want to go back home. Some want to reshape their worlds. Some just want to make sure people aren't getting hurt in the chaos that this all causes.
What are the characters like? All the characters are great, the creations and the creators. There is only really one or two that I either dislike or find annoying. One of which is only annoying sometimes and has plenty of scenes that outweigh their annoying times. The other doesn't come in until much later and doesn't get too much screentime, so it's fine. The creations as you would expect all fit into some kind of anime or game trope, exaggerated personalities that suit epic stories. The contrast between them and the normal creators and main character is an interesting dynamic. I mean, the idea that the creators are meeting their creations in the first place is a fun interaction to see.
Anyone particularly cool? This is a bit of a weird one for me because I usually fall head over heels for a single character but I haven't with this one. I was interested in all of them. I was interested in how this story was going and end, so for once, I don't have a character I'm obsessing over. There are a few that I like more than others though. One is the magic girl Mamika. At first, she comes across a bit annoying, but her character gets so much development she's not the same girl a few more episodes after her entrance. She still holds strong to her beliefs but her world was simple. She beat the bad guys and everything went back to normal. Until this world, consequences didn't apply much for her. Now they do and her struggle through that is compelling. I also like the main three creators. An artist and writer duo and a anime series writer. I don't know whether I like them because of the contrast of their characters to their creations or because as an author I see myself in their position but I love how they are written. They're just so human. I especially liked when the artist left the room when there was an argument and started tearing up in the halls. I was like 'That's me!'. I kept expecting one of them to slam their hand dramatically on a desk or something but then would realize, that's what an anime character would do not necessarily what a real person would do. Potentially why I like them is because they subvert my expectation like that.
What's the bad news? First thing is this isn't a good series if you are not familiar with anime, games, manga etc. It expects that people watching this have watched/played quite a few things to be able to recognise the characters and what kind of worlds they would have come from. Without this knowledge, I think this would be a hard series to get into as they don't take much if any time to explain what the worlds these creations are coming from are like. There are the odd flashbacks but the rest all depends on what a person knows about the worlds a character like that would typically come from. Second thing is the Villain. She's incredibly over-powered. I mean, for those who have watched the series I agree this is a bit of a bad complaint. It's kind of the point that she'd overpowered and nearly impossible to beat but it doesn't stop me feeling a bit disappointing as when characters go for her and I know exactly how it is going to play out. It's not really an issue until the final part of the series and at the very least the action is still really good. Last bad thing I'd say is if you're not pulled in by action then you might find it hard to get into. The story is very good but the first episode heavily relies on flashy action scenes to get your attention. (which is fine by me!)
And the good news? This series is so gooood!! Firstly, the music. I have been listening to bits of the soundtrack nearly constantly lately. The battle themes sound like stand-alone songs making battles feel like the last battle in the anime when they play the opening theme. It's really good at getting you excited for a battle. I've mentioned it before but the series is pretty good at subverting my expectation. Not just in the normal way the creators act but In some of the larger events near the end. I was kept on my toes when it came to anything that wasn't the main villain. But generally, I found this series really inspiring. I was tearing up in the last episode, not because it was a sad ending but because I just felt so inspired by it. I wanted to go off and make my stories the best they could be after watching this. As an author who loves her characters very, very much this series just resonated with me and it will with any kind of creator.
Would you recommend? Yes! To any author and anime fan. For any just anime fan, yes too. Not so much for those just trying to get into anime.