Norn9: Norn+Nonet

In a futuristic era, "The World" is a peace-bringing entity. Though no one knows its location, it has watched over Earth for so long that war has become merely a fable. The airship Norn's task is to deliver nine ability s to The World.

After collecting the last person, Norn takes off. Included onboard are eight men and three women—Koharu, who has finally escaped her loneliness and detests her destructive power; Mikoto Kuga, born to a noble family, who uses her barrier skill to protect the Norn and those it carries; and Nanami Shiranui, whose ability only brings pain, and who wishes to die for a past sin she has committed. While en route, suspicions arise amongst the engers when they realize there are too many people onboard.

As they try to determine who has snuck aboard, the ship is attacked by an unknown assailant aiming to stop the Norn's progress at all costs. From this chaos arises questions: why were they granted powers, and what must they do once they reach The World?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yuiga, Kakeru Main

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Azuma, Natsuhiko Main

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Ichinose, Senri Main

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Kuga, Mikoto Main

Takagaki, Ayahi Japanese

Koharu Main

Fujimura, Ayumi Japanese

Shukuri, Akito Main

Sugiyama, Noriaki Japanese

Kagami, Itsuki Main

Yusa, Kouji Japanese

Nijou, Sakuya Main

Saiga, Mitsuki Japanese

Shiranui, Nanami Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Muroboshi, Ron Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Kaneko, Hirotaka Producer

Ogura, Mitsutoshi Producer

Fukao, Satoshi Producer

Yamazaki, Asuka Producer

Reviews

Jul 10, 2016

xhunter2301

Recommended

Rather than a review, this is more of a forewarning.

Having played and thoroughly enjoyed the visual novel/ game version of this anime adaptation, I sort of began watching this show with the expectation that there would be a ton of missing content, and I could almost smell the disappointment and confusion of new viewers.

A fact: the plot for Norn9 makes zero sense being told just once. From the get-go it has a complicated world and story line, with each characters' individual stories having huge effects on others'.

Logistically it's pretty impossible to cram hours and hours and hours of character development and backstory ... into a measly 13 episodes. So what you end up with is a sort of commendable mish-mash of scenes from the directors/ writers desperate attempts to somehow get it all to work. To be honest I was expecting this anime to be a train wreck, but i was pleasantly surprised as it seemed like a some key plot elements were decently conveyed, and there was just enough random fluff, romance, and light humor to bring some balance.

I would recommend watching this anime if you've got time to kill. Expect to be casually entertained, something to lift your mood with. But, if you're looking for the expansive mystery, heartfelt romance and compelling sci fi fantasy setting- the anime adaptation isn't where you'll find it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 28, 2018

BlaizeV

Mixed Feelings

Norn9 is a series with two distinct personalities.

On the one hand it's a very shoujo styled drama with lots of time spent focusing on romance and the relationships of all the main characters. In this regard the show is solid which is to be expected given the show is an adaption of a visual novel. Now while some of the drama that unfolds is melodramatic and similarly unoriginal it is at least compelling. Or to me it was, I was never bored with this aspect of the show.

Now on the other hand Norn9 is also a sci-fi drama, the setting is aboard the ... 'ship' Norn is visually very interesting helped alot by the solid visuals in the show. But the Sci-Fi plot is the weaker side of the series and what ultimately for me at least held it back. This is because for most of the shows 12 episodes beyond the location of the Norn itself not very much time is given to explaining just what on earth is going on. We are presented with somewhat of a mystery and yet we are given very few clues for at least half the show and while the layers do eventually begin to unwrap it takes too long in doing so. Once it has though you'd be forgiven for not caring as the show rarely seems to either, the same could definitely be said for the characters also.

I would argue that the shows visual novel roots are to blame here, in a visual novel the characters are the story and are notorious for dolling out their plots slowly in favor of character development. Also much like a visual novel tends to do once the show decides it's Sci-Fi time it really goes for it, it's actually quite jarring how bait and switch it is. We go from light romance melodrama to full on Science Fiction with a bunch of ideas being thrown out at you and it becomes very hard to keep up at times.

For me Norn9 is a show with bags of potential that was just poorly handled. I like the setting, the characters while typical of their otome Visual Novel roots are likable and interesting and and the Sci-Fi plot, while again somewhat typical of the genre is still quite ambitious and interesting but ultimately the two sides of this show just don't blend well enough to be satisfactory. They are both fighting against each other and neither have really enough time to breath in just 12 episodes.

So finally I would like to say that if the synopsis strikes your fancy then give the show a try but just hold expectations in check becauses chances are the show will struggle to meet them.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 16, 2016

NekoMinSeo

Not Recommended

Hmmm...Did you read that synopsis for Norn9 ? If you didn't, read it and come back.

...

Good? Ok. Now you can erase it from your mind because that synopsis is a lie. Did I ruin your hopes and dreams for this show yet? Edit 2021: This part was written when the synopsis only stated the story would be about Sorata which was a blatant lie. I see somebody on MAL now changed the synopsis so this joke doesn't work anymore, but I'm gonna keep it because I find myself funny! ;)

Story - 4

I am serious, what the synopsis says is not even a quarter of what's ... really going on. If it would have indeed focused on the story from Sorata's eyes from episode 1 to the end, maybe we could have gotten a decent sci-fi story, but nope. The kid arrives around episode 3 or 4 and gets ignored for most of the show in favor for the romance, till when he was needed in the ending for whatever reason he was brought from the future for, which seriously, felt more like a need for emotional impact rather than anything else. And yes, I am fully aware this is an otome game adaptation and as such it's only normal to focus on the "otoge" fanservice more, but do I ask for the impossible when I expect a nice story with it too? (Excepting those that really have only romance as main point. ex: basic highschool otoges) Even having a bunch of people coping up with their supernatural powers would have been great! I'm not even asking for much.

The worst is that Norn9 has all the cards set to make a solid base for a good FF Type-0*coughs* fantasy/time-travelling story, it just didn't know how to stuff it all up in 12 episodes (13, if we count the summary episode too, which I question even the existence of; was it too hard to give it one more story-episode instead of a summary ? It really felt like they needed to be SURE we REALLY understood the plot, which made me fairly suspicious. Was it trying to tell me that the story is actually worth it enough to understand? That makes me feel even more sorry for the wasted potential, instead of feeling enlightened. It makes me feel like it was supposed to be so much more.)

Was it the fault of the 12 episodes being way too short for such a story? Personally, I don't think so. A good chunk of the fault goes to whoever directed/wrote this. Their choice to focus more on Kakeru and Sakura-...wait, what? Her name is not Sakura? Well, I don't care, Fire- bender Pink Missy? (I must have insulted all Fire Benders of the Avatar realm, ImsosorryZuko!) - only turned the show duller rather than help it. Why them? Why her? Why not Cool-Ojousama or Miss Kuudere which were by far more interesting? No. Why focusing so much on one pairing at all? The story could have completed itself so much better if it was told from 3 perspectives instead, which sounds like too much, but believe me, it is not, seeing the complexity of the story that they wanted to present here. Yet it all felt so...distant...and done for the heck of it. Chaotic. All over the place.

Plus, there's that deus ex machina 100% convenient and 100% foreseeable ending (for the main couple). I would have been ready to raise my rating for it if it wouldn't have turned out in such a foreseeable manner.

Characters - 3

God have mercy on my soul. Okay, no, that was an exaggeration, but God have mercy on my soul when it comes to Kakeru and ...*checks for her name properly now* Koharu! RIGHT. If any of you watched Kamigami no Asobi just please put Kakeru next to Apollon and then tell me what you think. Comparison done? Great! They're awfully similar, aren't they? Just that, while I could ...kinda...understand Apollon's pain to a greater extent (and I put emphasis on "kinda"), Kakeru just managed to make me want to hit myself. I could never manage to put my finger on him and the overall chaotic storytelling didn't really help me care either. No, I'll go even further. I've seen so many Kakeru's that I can't help but go cold when I'm able to realize all his issues from the first glance. It's just that simple.

It all goes so slow, but then so fast. All these characters seem to not care all that much, only to care later on for no apparent reason. Koharu was another one of those dull heroines that's there to just make the guys look better, always in need of saving, always in need of reassuring and not able to do anything without her man; and to top all that, she's selfish, because her happiness with Kakeru is more important than the whole world, and I don't care otome games need a happy ending. I do not even remotely agree and it simply frustrated me more. Rant over.

Fortunately, the other two heroines were really fun and if they were given a better chance, the anime wouldn't have been such a pile of mess (but unfortunately, they weren't). Mikoto was the strong-willed, sometimes rough girl, trying to find a path that fit her ideals, then there's Shiranui (who really looks like Echo from Pandora Hearts to me) who couldn't forgive herself for a sin she made in the past. Yeah, Koharu fitted into the main story better than the other two, but seeing how she's almost a blank sheet of paper, I would have went around it somehow...

The other guys...Welp, must not lie, I didn't particularly like anybody. Sure, there was Natsuhiko, Senri, Itsuki, Shukuri and Sakuya who are types that I usually tend to like, but in this case, I didn't really have much of a reason to just fawn over them.(*coughs* besides when Shukuri got the wolf ears *coughs*). Sure, they're all pretty guys and those that I mentioned actually have some sort of backstory and some thoughts of their own, but they didn't hit me as characters; too little, too little time. Some of them can barely even categorize as characters. They're just...there. And there's Ron. I really, REALLY think that Ron is an underrated character and the way the anime treats him is only obvious. There was always that type of mystery around him, but we never found out anything about him, he was just there when it was convenient, then disappeared when he was no longer needed. And I find that a shame because I was really interested in him, no matter how much some people that played the otome game tend to dislike him. (or so I hear)

Is this enough? ....No, you say? Oh right, I forgot the villain. Welp, he's not an original one and not even remotely unique in any way. We've seen his type of characters many times and done way better. By the time he came in, I just wanted it all to end.

Animation & OST - 6.5

I was pretty happy with the animation for the most part as well for the character designs though some of them are clearly overused, but it's ok, it's nothing particularly fancy. There are very brilliant and vibrant colors throughout the entirety of the show and the animation got particularly better in the last 2-3 episodes and all through the climax. I also some scenes of the dream episode and the flashbacks which were really pretty. Must be honest that some other parts were more flashy than actually good, though.

As for the OST, decent. I really loved the opening and ending themes and Aion's song was really pretty. Nothing outstanding though.


Conclusion - 4

Welp, could have went way better. Just a note though, I did not play the Norn9 otome game so I don't know how they deal with it there; I also make no parallels to the game and if I disliked the execution of the anime, it doesn't mean that I also dislike the otome game or Norn9 in its entirety. I really don't. I'm just salty about the potential that it had. Edit 2021: I played the otome game. It's one of the best otome games I've ever played 100% recommend!

Do I recommend it? I guess I do, but only to the people that already played the game or to people that just want to stare at some handsome bishies. Want a good story? Look somewhere else.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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