Anime 4820 Be-yond

This is one of those series you find yourself just staring at, wondering "is this even worth my time?", when you're looking for something to be "entertained" by. Well, in that sense it isn't worth it. The H scenes are very soft, really short, and don't show much. That being said it's still a very entertaining watch. "Why?" you ask?

To start out, you have the main character, the 'Dark Devil', the being said to herald the end of everything, the destroyer of time and space itself, acting like a good, decent, human being. He even says "It's the human thing to do" several times. The ... charm to the character is that while he does indeed have the power to end it all, he has empathy towards other (especially women) and he acts more like an actual good guy rather than the devil he's supposed to be.

After that you have the other cast members, which are the girls of the series our 'devil' gets his due from. Yes, they're somewhat stereotypical (klutz space cop, inept bounty hunter, emotionless doll, and pure-hearted maiden) and they don't bring much beyond the usual jokes. Their character designs are a bit plain due to how often we've seen their character types before but are still memorable. They all help work as foils to our protagonist and help make the show more enjoyable and that's all that is really needed out of them. By having what they have, the interaction between the devil and the world they're set in makes it an enjoyable watch, while the humor can be summed up as the ridiculousness of the situation created by the devil having empathy.

The sound for the series isn't much to be impressed about but it isn't bad or anything that makes you want to gouge your ears out. At best it's easily forgettable and lets you keep on moving through the show.

The art is the nice cell shaded/painted stuff that we got to see before everything went digital, so there's nothing to complain about the art besides that most of the designs are, again, stereotypical. The people (extras), vehicles, and buildings are forgettable because we've all seen them a million times before. The best part about the designs, in my opinion, is that remind me of the Tenchi OVAs, seeing as it came out a few years afterwards and the setting feels like it could be in the same cannon thanks to said designs.

The voice acting was fine and there were no voices that felt out of place or mishandled but, again, you'll probably be able to forget them after you finish watching because while they do a good job, there's nothing overly special about them.

The only REAL problem this series has is that it's too short. It ends is a way that makes you want to see more. Though if you think about it, since it was based off of a video game, having it this short would in theory make you want to go out and buy the game so you could play it yourself. *sigh*

Overall, the characters, art and sound are all okay, but it's the story and the humor that the plot generates that really help make this series worth the watch. If anything, I wish they'd either cut out/alluded to/shorted the sex scenes so it was age appropriate and made this a full 12 to 24 episode series. Hell, even six episodes would have been better.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you found it helpful.