As big fans of psychic-powered anime—like World Trigger and Mob Psycho 100—Scarlet Nexus comes at a time we need more sci-fi/psychic-themed anime in our lives. Scarlet Nexus has some simple powers like pyrokinesis and wind manipulation but the way these characters use their powers is pretty neat! Watching a character unleash bullets on an alien force—in this series they are called Others—and use fire powers is never boring. Plus, the various transformations the characters undergo to fight look straight out of Power Rangers and that is never a bad thing.

We here at Honey’s Anime are currently investing quite a bit of time in Scarlet Nexus and found ourselves worrying the anime would just rehash what we’ve been experiencing. Thankfully, the anime version is a different experience with only minor scenes here and there mirroring the game. While the game offers split storytelling by choosing your protagonist—either Yuito Sumeragi or Kasane Randall—the anime tries to fuse their storylines together and give it an original flavor. Those who prefer their adaptations be copies to the source material might have issues with this choice but in our honest opinion, Scarlet Nexus does a good job of being its own story while using the characters/setting from the game.

Our biggest gripe with Scarlet Nexus so far is that the animation is quite…uneven. There are times where fights look spectacular—like the first episode’s battle after the team’s orientation—but then at the end of that same episode, the final scene is just really plain with a stoic red backdrop trying to make the scene more intense. This happens in nearly every episode with some battles/scenes looking impressive and then moments later looking okay at best. It won’t ruin some of the bigger battles—like episode 3’s intense shocking fight—but could be trouble in later episodes where the animation should be at its strongest.

Another issue with Scarlet Nexus is that a lot of the characters like Nagi, Yuito, and Kasane all feel quite generic. You have the wannabe hero, the main character who fights because he was rescued as a kid, and the cold but caring female lead. These personalities can be found in dozens of series and it doesn’t make us care for any one character specifically. Luckily, these characters do have some growth so far but they feel one-dimensional and overall won’t become anyone’s favorites anytime soon.

There is one thing we do also wish to briefly discuss; the Others in Scarlet Nexus. These alien beings who literally eat brains as if they were zombies range from half-legged creatures to strange dog-like beings. They are strange but very unique and we do applaud Scarlet Nexus for their original alien designs.