One look at Trigger's second new show, Kiznaiver, and you begin to realize; this is where the bulk of their budget went into producing and animating the show. Not to say that its a knock on the quality of Space Patrol Luluco or Kiznaiver. Both have their own merits and styles and each of them require a certain animation to fully present itself. Rather than being an action centered anime like Kill la Kill or Luluco, Kiznaiver takes the route of dramatic sci-fi thriller.

We're introduced to our main character Katsuhira Agata, a high school student who is so far removed from his emotions that he lacks the ability to feel pain. This is something he has had since childhood, mostly playing the physical punching bag for bullies. Agata lives his life just letting things happen, apathetic to the world around him. That is until he is approached by a girl, Noriko Sonozaki who takes him and 5 other students and selects them to be "Kiznaivers." These include Agata's childhood friend, Chidori Takashiro, Hajima Tenga, Niko Niyama, Tsuguhito Yuya and Honoka Maki. These students all come from different social circles and backgrounds and the end goal of Sonozaki making them into Kiznaivers is to make them understand each other on personal levels and to share each other's pain. This is also meant to be taken literally. Any physical harm done to either of them splits the damage between all of them. Ultimately it will help the characters develop a sense of empathy and Sonozaki's goal in all this is to find a means for achieving world peace. So she sends them out on missions to get results. If high school students can put aside their differences for a common goal, why can't the rest of the world do that?

Kiznaiver puts forward a deeper question about ourselves, about our human nature to be able to empathize for other people and to just generally make connections. The title comes the Japanese words, "kizu" meaning wound or scar and "kizuna" which means bond or connection. What I'm getting from this is that it is asking the characters and us as an audience to try and understand one another and build relationships from there. This is evident in Katsuhira actually becoming more active with the rest of the cast. Since he can't feel any pain, he takes a hit by a car during their first mission to find another Kiznaiver who has gone off the grid and the shock of the pain knocks the missing person out and they're able to catch him. He's showing smart thinking and willingness to put himself before others as opposed to the disinterested and emotionless introduction shown in the beginning.

I'm excited for the rest of the show as it develops. Trigger has been knocking it out of the park ever since they first opened their doors and I can see they will only continue to grow and make great content. Kiznaiver is definitely a show I'm going to be sticking with.