Anime to Watch: BNA: Brand New Animal

Netflix has really upped their game in the anime department this year. Besides adding tons of new amazing existing anime, some of their originals have been getting massive amounts of hype. One of these is BNA: Brand New Animal, probably one of the wildest of Netflix’s licensed anime selection.

BNA focuses around shape-shifting anthropomorphic animal people (sorry, that’s the best description I got) living in a world that doesn’t want them. They live in Anima City, a place the humans set up for them, to keep them away from normal society. The show revolves around the tensions brewing in the city, and how the new girl, protagonist Michiru, adapts to her new life there.

Honestly, I can’t think of any negatives to this show other than the fact it had an end. Everything about this show is solid. I have to mention that BNA is from Studio Trigger, the same genius studio behind Promare. Trigger is known for bold colors, bold designs, and over the top action and concepts. BNA is no different.

As usual, you’re not getting any spoilers out of me. This is a quick watch, and you could easily do it in a day or two, so you’ll be able to get to important plot points pretty quickly. BNA has a lot of great things about it, and it would take away from the show to give away some of its best secrets and moments. I’ll say that the themes are similar to Promare, with a little bit of a twist. BNA is fun because it has tons of great action and shenanigans while also having important messages to go along with it. Like Promare, BNA is all about inclusivity despite what people’s differences may be. I like how they tackle all the complex parts of the issues, and there’s not exactly an easy fix for it all. You’ll have to see for yourself how it all turns out, because there just might be a cliffhanger…

The animation is fantastic. The colors are truly amazing, this one has more pastels than anything else I’ve ever seen from Trigger, and the soft colors are gorgeous. The landscapes are pretty, and the character designs are so unique. Their personalities come across so well. Michiru looks friendly with her tanuki design, and Shirou’s wolf form shows his powerful, determined personality type. I really like seeing all the different animals in Triggers style. They exaggerate features and facial expressions to a point where physics sometimes don’t even apply. Every character was refreshing to look at.

Another thing Trigger animations always have going for them is the music. BNA has a killer opening, and one of the prettiest endings I’ve ever seen. The music again has that balance of being silly when the mood calls for, but quickly escalating into something much more intense when the fighting starts. Sometimes the score sounds like a heavy rap beat, and other times it’s 80s synth. I love the diversity in BNA’s music, and it’s something you won’t see in many other anime out there.

I also like to talk about voice acting in these anime reviews, and BNA has some great stuff to dive into. I watched the sub for this anime, so I can only really talk about the Japanese version. I thought it was really well done. What I noticed was that every character had such a distinct voice, especially the side characters. Every voice sounded completely unique to the animal type they were, and the actors did a great job exaggerating their ranges to fit with the visuals going on in the animation. It all goes back to Studio Trigger knows how to make a solid anime, and the voice acting is always fun to listen to.

BNA is unique. It’s a joy to watch, and you’ll be itching for a season two by the end of it. If you want something to keep you entertained and engaged the whole way through, this is definitely the anime to watch.