Season aired: Spring 2025
Number of episodes: 13
Watched on: Samsung TV
Translated by: ???
Genres: Scifi, Mystery, Drama
Thoughts: Your Forma brings together the titular voice acting power couple Kana Hanazawa and Kensho Ono as the two main protagonists of a sci-fi mystery anime adapted from a critically acclaimed light novel series. That alone was enough to get me interested in the series.
Taking place in a world still similar to ours but with just enough scientific advancements for human-looking androids with near-perfect replication of personalities to walk amongst people, the story follows Echika, a hardboiled investigator, and her partner, Harold, an android whose coding seems to make him more human compared to other androids. They go about the city solving cybercrimes that often border philosophical elements of humanity and emotions. It’s a classic serious detective and her goofy partner with impeccable chemistry, but the catch is Harold’s too-human-like personality. It includes but is not limited to genuine flirting, explosive anger, and stubborn persistence which adds an interesting element to the dynamic that we have seen a thousand times.
There’s just one big issue: this anime adaptation is missing a key part of the story. The first episode throws you into the world without much explanation, but I don’t personally think that’s the real problem. Visual media is one of the best ways to throw audience members in without having to provide exposition, since our eyes can do the work of figuring out the world. What’s woefully missing are the characters’ backgrounds. It came as no surprise when I learned that the anime adaptation skipped an entire first arc of the light novels – the arc crucial for introducing characters, establishing dynamics, and providing insight into who they are.
When I was watching the series, I had assumed that this adaptation choice was to integrate what had happened in the first arc throughout the series, but unfortunately, the anime chooses to completely forgo it. Harold and Echika constantly refer to how they “used to be,” and despite the chemistry the voice acting couple bring to the screen, I simply didn’t understand what they were even referring to because the anime never shows it. From what I gleaned, Echika’s dislike of Harold at the beginning extends beyond just the fact that their personalities are made to be an old married bickering couple. However, because the arc that explains this conflict and resolution was brushed aside, I never got to enjoy the fruition of the conflict resolution where they truly become partners, which is where the anime series starts.
This crucial mistake doesn’t just ripple out an effect to the characters; it impacts the rest of the arcs. The protagonists solve three different mysteries in the series, but like a good long-running series should be, the mysteries are ultimately built on top of each other, interconnected in a way that ties to a greater plot. However, without the first skipped mystery, the remaining mysteries the series explores feel completely disconnected from each other, forcing the audience to piece together on their own how the protagonists landed where they are, how they bonded with the supporting characters, and what their own motivations are. For two of the three mysteries, a large part of me wondered why I even cared because whatever personal stakes the characters had were just not present narratively.
The third mystery arc was exactly what Your Forma desperately needed: a direct tie to the protagonists. Unlike the first two mysteries, this third arc immediately shows us why this mystery matters, giving greatly needed context to Harold’s personality, motivation, and even quirks. Suddenly, I didn’t just care about Harold simply because he’s a likeable character —- I cared about him because his stakes matter, and with that, his story. While the first two mysteries are ultimately tied to the protagonists in a personal manner, the reveal doesn’t happen until the end, after I had already spent several episodes feeling disconnected from what the characters were chasing. Backstory arcs are often a product of complaint in anime, and while I do think certain series can take it too far, they are absolutely necessary to establish connections with the characters.
I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. After the first episode of the third arc left me emotionally reeling in a satisfying way, I immediately went and checked out other forums discussing the anime. Almost every comment lauded the episode, echoing my sentiment that we needed this personal backstory to happen sooner and connecting with the conflict instantly. Some frustrated watchers explained that while this made them click with Harold, they’re still missing that connection with Echika that they also want. Unfortunately for those viewers, because that connection is in the first arc of the light novel, they will never find it.
This decision is genuinely a shame considering the other great elements of the show. Despite the action in the series, the animation is not only passable but also actually enjoyable. I especially love the dive sequences where Echika links up with Harold to pull a science fiction mind dive into criminals to search through their memories to explain the whole story. There are also scenic shots of the show with atmospheric lighting that hover over our main characters when they encounter dangerous situations. My favorite technical decision is the use of a specific opera track for one of the most heinous crimes committed in the show. Just hearing that haunting voice play on a record sent chills up my spine. Coupling that with the very real sounds of chainsaw cutting through limbs created the perfect mixture of horror and drama that I ate up.
Unsurprisingly, Kana Hanazawa and Kensho Ono have great chemistry as the titular pair. However, because Harold’s backstory and motivations weren’t cut, Kensho Ono was able to really show off his skills. Coupling that with Harold’s complicated coding — which makes everyone question whether he could count as human or is just a coded machine working on orders with a made-up personality —- gives Kensho Ono plenty of opportunities to add nuance to the android’s emotions. Hiroshi Kamiya also makes a short but incredibly effective appearance as a minor character whose relationship with Harold raises the stakes of the entire series.
It’s upsetting that the skipping of a first arc could create this much damage, but considering how much crucial context was skipped, it almost feels inevitable. I have a feeling that the anime production team realized they couldn’t end the first season on arguably the best mystery if they kept the first arc in without rushing the prior mysteries to the story’s detriment. However, as witnessed many times by adaptations like 86 Eighty-Six and Tsurune, sometimes making creative and even drastic changes can get the series to the potential it deserves, and it’s a shame Your Forma didn’t.
Rating
Plot: 6 (Multiplier 3)
Characters: 7 (Multiplier 3)
Art/Animation: 7 (Multiplier 2)
Voice acting: 7
Soundtrack: 7
FINAL SCORE: 67
