Daimon Kaito is a student attending school in a world where puzzles are the norm. Kaito cares only about solving puzzles and spends his days with his childhood friend Nonoha, who just wants him to put down the sudoku. But one day, after solving a dangerous puzzle, Kaito obtains the ring of Orpheus - a powerful relic that pushes the wearers brain power to extremes. With this, Kaito has become a phi brain candidate - one of a few chosen individuals who has the potential to unlock the Puzzle of God and obtain an ancient treasure that is said to be mankind's greatest knowledge.
(Anime; 2 Seasons, 25 episodes, Finished)
This is quite an unusual series, but a lot of fun. Anybody who loves doing the sudoku in the paper of playing with puzzle blocks as a kid will love this show. Most of the action is derived from the characters trying to solve huge puzzles while risking their lives. This leads to some unforgettable action sequences, but there is a flaw with this plan - unless you already know how the puzzle works normally, you have to guess what is going on and you can't tell who is actually winning. There is an explanation of how the puzzles work, but these are often gone over far to fast and you end up having to go back and pause to read the rules. The artistry and animation aren't too bad, but there is something about them that looks more like coloured in manga than an anime (Actually the series as a whole probably would have done better as a manga 1st). The characters - here is the real problem with the series. 1st of all the main characters aren't really likeable, all they care about is puzzles and you spend more time noticing the people watching than the heroes. Adding to this are some very weak villains - most of the major villains spend their time obsessing over Kaito to a degree that is borderline gay stalking (and I mean literally on the knife edge border). The story is pretty good though, with a good deal of mystery and twists turning up everywhere to keep it fresh.
Phi Brain may not be everyones cup of tea, but for anyone looking for something a bit different, there is no better choice.
Rating - 6.5/10
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