Game Adaptation by teamKG/Hoods Entertainment
Simulcast on Funimation

Premise: Ragna the Bloodege is the world’s most wanted criminal. Wielding a power known as the Azure Grimoire, he travels from city to city on a path of destruction until he encounters a variety of powerful fighters with their own agendas… at least that’s what I got from playing story mode in the game, you’re not going to get anything out of this.

Jel’s Verdict: The Curse Continues

In retrospect I don’t know why I thought a Blazblue anime could be good. Let me rephrase that: a Blazblue anime could be good considering, unlike most fighting games, it actually has a story and it would only take a little polish on the fight scenes to make it entertaining. That didn’t happen here. You know you’re in trouble when the OP consists almost entirely of clips from the first episode. The animation is laughable at times (gifs of Jin’s ice blast started making the internet rounds pretty quick) and a plot that is already criticized for being intelligible makes even less sense in a medium actually designed for storytelling. I’d be able to forgive them to a certain extent if the fights were cool or clever but they barely amount to quick clashes as Ragna bounces around town with no sense of purpose or context.

The voice work and music is solid but really the only highlight is Ragna’s plea in the preview for next episode for the power to overcome the fighting game anime jinx. Sorry bro, you failed, and in a way that admission kind of makes me feel bad for the people creating this. It’s like they already knew they were doomed from the start but are determined to try anyway. I admire your courage, Blazblue Alter Memory team, but it’s not enough for me to keep watching this wreck.