Each season there are countless new titles that come out. Now some of these anime titles exceed our expectations while others are rough to watch. One of the new animes for the 2016 spring season is the Hundred, which falls below expectations. The anime focuses on the character Hayato who is recruited to become a slayer to fight these creatures called Savages, while being in a harem type setting. This anime has all the right tools, as the harem action genre is growing; yet the anime lacks a solid plot and unique character development.
One of the reasons why this anime falls below expectations is due to how the main character Hayato is developed. He is characterized from the start of the anime as being a genius. Yet he exhibits many traits that suggest otherwise. One being the massive learning curve he goes through when first picking up his weapon. Despite having a high connection with his weapon he has no idea how to use it properly. Furthermore, Hayato does not pick up on the obvious as he does not recognize that his roommate is a girl, not a guy, despite her physical features and attitude toward him. This combined with his over all personality of being oblivious to any feeling that any of the women have for him challenges the notion of him being a genius. As a result, it generates confusion and sloppiness as the anime tells us one thing but show another with this character.
The anime does not receive any help from the other characters, in particular Claire. Now Claire’s character is viewed as a strong young woman who is tasked with being the student council president. Despite having these responsibilities she is utilized as a fan service character due to the provocative outfits she wears when she fights. As a result of these outfits her accomplishments and responsibilities are diminished as the focus is directed to how she looks rather then her abilities. Thus the anime takes a strong female character and weakens her by making her overly provocative in order to sell certain aspects of the show.
Finally, the anime does a poor job of explain why Hayato, Claire, and the other students are training to fight the creatures called Savages. The anime provides minimal information of what the Savages can do and why they are a threat to humanity. As a result it is hard as a viewer to understand the purpose of these students training and fighting these Savages as no information is revealed about them. This just shows how sloppy and rough the anime is, as it does not provide a strong reason about why the students are fighting the Savages.
Now being that the Hundred is a rough anime the questions becomes do you watch it? The answer is: if you are looking to watch an anime in the genre of action harem than there are better titles for you to watch. Some of the more favorable titles that should be watched are: Black Bullet, Asterisk War, and the 35th Anti-Magic Academy. These titles are some recent examples of how an action harem themed anime should be produced.
