Talentless Nana

Talentless Nana is a 2020 Supernatural Thriller anime series from the Japanese animation studio Bridge. Suppose potential viewers cannot remember this studio. In that case, they’ll be happy to know the studio has only done two anime series that may ring some bell – and that’s being very generous: The Royal Tutor, Fairy Tail 2, and Fairy Tail: Final Season. While having an anime series use the Supernatural and Horror genres numerous times, can this series be something interesting enough to be rememberable? On the other hand, can a studio have yet to create something interesting be able to captivate the audience enough not to drop this series before the show even has enough traction? Potentially, but only if the series doesn’t explode on itself.
Fifty years ago, horrific creatures dubbed the “Enemies of Humanity” suddenly appeared worldwide. To combat these threats, teenagers gifted with supernatural abilities called “Talents”- such as pyrokinesis and time travel – hone their powers at an academy on a secluded island.

Nanao Nakajima, however, is quite different from the others on the island: he has no Talent. With many “Talented” teenagers around him, Nanao is often a target for bullying, but even so, he still strives to complete his training. Soon after, two transfer students, the mysterious Kyouya Onodera and the mind-reading Nana Hiiragi join the class. But just as everyone starts blending as comrades-in-arms, mysterious disappearances threaten the class’s entire foundation.
While many people around the globe enjoy watching and reading suspenseful stories for multiple reasons ranging from the plot or how it engages their minds, talentless Nana may be an excellent example of how to have an intriguing premise. The ability to lure potential viewers into a story with little effort is attractive. However, the aspect the viewers will notice immediately about this type of storytelling is that Talentless Nana is straightforward to follow, almost to the point where the viewer can easily predict what happens next.

Another aspect of this series that viewers must know about is that the story has a steadier flow than one may expect, which is rather interesting considering that this is a thriller. Talentless Nana does a beautiful job treading the line between being a thriller and being a mystery without being too overly done to the point where it becomes comedic. Though this compliment may be unimportant to some anime viewers, they need to understand that many thriller and horror anime series have a terrible track record of accomplishing this goal.

On the other hand, Talentless Nana had some significant problems that don’t only derail the story but almost made it unwatchable. One of the biggest problems is that the writing is not written that well, and to be frank, a first-year college student could potentially do better. While some potential areas may give the viewer a suspenseful feeling, the rest is bland outside of a couple of moments. The writing, the character development, and the whole scope of the series were poorly done, and the creators were hoping for a second season as they left on a major cliffhanger.

If Talentless Nana could have the most significant constructive criticism: if the writers have a thriller-type anime series, stick to a central goal of arc rather than stretching it out into multiple areas. Another problem is that the viewer can quickly lose interest when the story gets transparent about what they’re about to do. Having a narrative that can quickly gain attention than lose everything the series has worked for in a manner of a couple of episodes is remarkable.

Considering that the story was so problematic that the art style is perfect in comparison. The art style is interesting but not original. For instance, the characters’ designs are easily forgettable and unoriginal, and the way the artists cut corners for each scene is easy to spot for a first viewing. However, the color scheme used within this anime series resulted in an edgier look towards the style, but the colors were well balanced and enjoyable for the most part. While some viewers may find this type of style and design enjoyable, this style was ultimately wasted on a series with such a weak storyline.

However, when it came to the animation production of Talentless Nana, they did surpass some expectations viewers may have. The number of camera angles and suspenseful music was well appreciated as many series tend to overlook these details. The design of the characters is exciting and well adapted from the source material, which fans of the Manga will enjoy. But what is the Achilles heel of the production is that the style and design of many other series of the same type, for example, MADHOUSE’s Death Parade and SILVER LINK’s The Ones Within, all have the same style anime poster and character design.

Considering that many works have similarities outside of anime and manga, that doesn’t necessarily mean this is a negative. When it comes to originality and captivity, Talentless Nana tends to fall into the lower tier of creativity as the series seemed to take a lot of inspiration from other series and just copied and pasted them together in a Frankenstein-like fashion. Judge this however viewers may like.

Nana Hiiragi is one of the newest students on the island. She claims to have mind-reading talent and possesses a very friendly and extroverted personality that lets her make friends relatively easily. She is a Talentless assassin sent by the government to eradicate all her classmates quietly. Nana’s true persona is highly skilled, brilliant, and observant, unlike most peers. She can utilize deductive reasoning and social engineering techniques to maintain her façade and evade suspicion for the most part.

Nanao Nakajima is a timid boy from a wealthy family who feels pressured by his father to become a leader wherever he goes. At first, he is seen as a Talentless student and the initial protagonist, but later reveals his talent is the ability to cancel out the effects of other talents by touching them.

Kyoya Onodera is a mysterious transfer student who arrived at the school simultaneously as Nana, but his talent is a little more limited. Although he has an overbearing demeanor and prefers to keep to himself, he wishes to make friends and is a bit of an otaku. Like Nana, he is observant and quick to uptake, but his deductive skills fall slightly behind hers. He investigates the truth behind the Enemies of Humanity after his younger sister arrived and disappeared five years prior on the same island. He suspects her involvement in the students’ deaths.

Michiru Inukai is best described as being the black sheep of the class. She is a kind girl whom Nana often thinks resembles a puppy. She is very naïve, which leads her to trust Nana swiftly with all her heart, which serves as her biggest downfall or biggest gain, depending on how one views it. She has the talent to heal others by licking their wounds, but the caveat is that she cannot cure illnesses, and the price she pays is that every time she uses her talent, it shortens her lifespan quickly.

Some viewers may find this series rather charming and entertaining, and that’s completely understandable. However, when it comes to everything mentioned above, this series truly is not the best. Is Talentless Nana terrible? No, but don’t expect anything outside of stereotypical tropes and easily guessed events. The story seemed to have good intentions, but even the best choices fail half the time. Viewers will be entertained by viewing this series once, which is very generous.

The fact that the series ends the way it does seems to be the biggest problem on the list. If the series ended on a cliffhanger, that would be one thing, it’s not welcomed, but at least the creators would hope to get a second season. Considering that they ended this series without allowing themselves to pivot into a potential second season, or anything for the matter, shows the laziness within this series. Don’t expect anything worthy or memorable from this series in general. With as many negatives as COVID-19 has done to the world, this is potentially one of the positive sides as this series needs to be forgotten and moved on from.