Ragnarok Record is a strange beast of a seinen franchise, with an incredibly popular Netflix Original Net Animation (or ONA) from Shinya Umemura’s 2017 Coamix manga. However, when I discovered the series in manga form before diving into the Netflix series, I was quickly intrigued by what I saw, with its glorious Azychika characters displayed as a colorful slideshow of manga panels and nothing more. Despite these low points, I can’t help but enjoy Ragnarok Record frustratingly bad anime because of how much I love its manga and look forward to each new chapter.
Also known as Shūmatsu no Warukyūre or “Doomsday Valkyrie”, Ragnarok Record follows the decision of the gods of Valhalla to eradicate humanity, only for the decision to be challenged by Brunhilde of the Valkyries. Playing with the pride of the gods, Brunhilde proposes a deadly game tournament. The tournament is considered Ragnarok, where the gods can fight dead humans reconstituted throughout history and myths, with the best seven of thirteen rounds deciding whether humanity will suspend its execution for another thousand years. Ragnarok Record delivers on this premise, providing a fun seinen death anime game, warts and all.
Record of Ragnarok is a guilty pleasure anime
Netflix has done much better since 2021
I still remember watching season 1 of Ragnarok Record and be excited to see the characters designed by the 4-person art team Azychika. While the fight between Thor and Lü Bu had its moments, the stiff action and flat depiction of the more exaggerated facial expressions are hard to ignore. Round 2, with the biblical Adam against Zeus, there’s an excellent fight in the manga that, as many fans know, turns into a slideshow with punch sound effects replacing an epic showdown; is very weak, I readily admit, and is easier to enjoy simply as a guilty pleasure.
The cast of voice actors has excellent acquisitions, with representation in franchises such as Persona, Fairy Tail, Dan Da Dan, One Piece, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! and much more.
A significant component of what I like Ragnarok Record involves the strong Japanese voice cast and, ironically, the studio’s fun choices in its animation priorities. The cast of voice actors has excellent acquisitions, with representation in franchises such as Persona, Fairy Tail, Dan Da Dan, One Piece, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! and much more. In addition to this observation, I also discovered that during the fight between Lü Bu and Thor, The greatest focus on depicting convincing yet exaggerated movements was placed on Aphrodite’s breast, which is deeply hilarious still on brand for seinen fanservice.
Ragnarok anime recording seems like a studio incompatibility
But future fights might be better suited
Ragnarok Recordof The animation was made in 2021 by Graphinica, with its subsidiary, Yumeta Company, joining Season 2 in 2023. Each studio’s credentials are fascinating, like Graphinica dealing with the last three and arguably the best OVAs for Hellsing: Final and Yumeta Company joining them to Muv-Luv Alternative.
Neither company had genre-defining hits to be considered fully their own, but they’re not inept either, with well-animated sequences. They generally don’t focus as much on fighting anime, but they do show improvement.
The best parts of Ragnarok’s Netflix entry are simply cases for reading the manga
To no one’s surprise
Despite these problems, I like Ragnarok Record anime for moments like Kojiro Sasaki vs. Poseidon, where even though the weak animation from season 1 is still present, Kojiro is a truly lovable character who has the most uplifting fight of the season. It almost felt like an apology for the last two fights, which I was able to happily enjoy until Season 2.. Ragnarok Record Season 2’s animation has improved, albeit with odd choices incorporating CGI and distractingly low lighting for the Jack the Ripper vs. Jack the Ripper fights. Hercules and Buddha vs. Zerofuku/Hajun, other strange creative decisions still hurt her.
This is due to how exciting the manga is; the elaborate fatalities of gods and humans in Ragnarok Record are taken from the pages of the series and to the credit of the animators, they render the best panels reasonably well. The immensely distorted facial expressions the series is known for, like Loki’s contorted smiles, are still frighteningly well executed in the anime. Still, since strong animations are few and far between until Round 6, you can buy the volumes and color them to achieve the same effect.
The Ragnarok manga record is continuous and increasingly addictive
If the anime continues, it will have to step up its game
What I find positively maddening is that all of my favorite moments from the series are yet to come. If Ragnarok Recordof anime continues its history, the best it will do is an animated imitation of the manga. Round 7 has a glorious showdown between Qin Shi Huang and Hades, and Round 8 has my favorite Einherjar, Nikola Tesla, who is sure to win the hearts of many viewers, with his armor and technology being a great chance for Graphinica to flex her reasonable mecha . chops. Round 10 still features my favorite fight from the manga so far.
All this is to say that although Ragnarok Record It is unequal on its best days, it has the opportunity to put on its best fights, knowing that it may have greater potential to attract new spectators. Round 7 features two ikemen, or “incredibly handsome adult male character” fighters who will draw the audience’s attention to their brutal combat. Fan reception of Buddha in Round 6 shows how beneficial it is to lean on that appeal. However, with the manga becoming more and more addictive, with Ragnarok Record Round 10 featuring a proper sword duel, specific battles will be decisive experiences for viewers.
Now it fits Ragnarok Record anime to meet these quality standards because the manga is truly worth it.
I want Ragnarok Record anime matches the quality of the manga or offers a completely transformative experience, I’ll probably still watch it, both to see if it progresses, and just because it’s conveniently located. The anime scene has improved on Netflix since 2021, with two of my favorite series from the Fall 2024 season, Blue Box and Dan-Dancurrently running there, with My happy marriage 2nd season and Dias Sakamoto right after. Now it fits Ragnarok Record anime to meet these quality standards because the manga is truly worth it.