Is Hundred Anime Worth Watching?

Hundred (Handoreddo) is a Japanese light novel series written by Jun Misaki and illustrated by Nekosuke Ōkuma.

The series unfolds in a world where Earth is being attacked by unknown life forms called Savages.

The only way to defeat these vile creatures is by using “Hundred”, which as its name implies, is a weapon that can change into many different forms.

An anime adaptation produced by Production IMS and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi aired the series’ first season from April 5th to June 20th, 2016.

1. Quick Review

The world is plunged into chaos by the arrival of mysterious creatures known as Savages.

The only shot at redemption that humanity has is by wielding “Hundred”, a weapon that possesses the ability to change into multiple forms.

The select few possessing the strength to wield a Hundred are trained to become Slayers. To become a Slayer, protagonist Hayato Kisaragi enrolls in Little Garden, a marine academy located on an airship.

At Little Garden, Hayato meets his roommate Emile Crossford and believes that there is more to her than meets the eye.

To make matters worse, the moment he sets foot in the academy, he is challenged to a duel by the school’s most powerful Slayer, Claire Harvey.

Hundred is a harem anime with a plot that’s sprinkled with action and set in a Sci-Fi world. 

Though the story grabs attention, the initial plot seems like every other ecchi anime we’ve come across so far.

The features that make the series stand out are their fluid animation and unique character designs sketched in a kawaii art style.

2. Info Card

3. Is It Worth Watching?

The glaringly obvious themes in Hundred are ecchi, romance, and action. 

If you’re into a harem anime where the main plot often tends to take a back seat, then you will find this show rather enjoyable.

The characters succeed in entertaining the viewers and keep the story lighthearted despite life-ending Savages being just around the corner.

The smooth transition between scenes and the attractive art style chosen by the creators makes the visuals pop.

Despite seeming like a conventional protagonist, Hayato Kisaragi is an effective character and fulfills the expected tasks of a protagonist successfully.

I. Plot

The world is under constant attack by alien creatures known as “Savages”. To put an end to this enemy, mankind sets out to train a group of individuals to wield “Hundred”, the onlyweapon capable of destroying the aliens.

 A surviving teenager of a Savage attack Hayato Kisaragi has the highest score in terms of compatibility with the ultimate weapon.

As a result, he is called upon to train and develop his skills at the illustrious Little Garden, a military academy aboard a battleship.

The plot of Hundred initially seems like a repeat of every shonen anime that’s come before it but the characters come to the rescue with their chemistry with one another and their intriguing personalities.

II. Characters

Hayato Kisaragi

Hayato Kisaragi is the main protagonist of the Hundred series.

He was scouted to enroll in Little Garden because of his high compatibility score with Hundred.

Hayato is shown to be a warm and kind-hearted person who is willing to put his neck on the line for others. He is also the source of most comical moments that occur in the series. His

Emile Crossfode

 Emile Crossfode is one of the main characters in the series.

Emile Crossfode befriends Hayato in the beginning of the series and later becomes his roommate.

This character is shown to be hot-headed and not afraid to speak their mind irrespective of the consequences.

Claire Harvey

She is one of the main characters in the series and the Student Council President.

Claire is the highest-ranked Slayer in Little Garden and originally from the United States of Liberia.

Due to her impressive combat abilities, she is called “The Queen”. Her Hundred is a Dragoon Type that utilizes multiple cannons or transforms into a large powerful rifle.

III. Setting

• Location: Little Garden is an elite military academy aboard a massive aircraft carrier. This military school acts as the main setting of Hundred.

• Animation: The series makes use of well-framed angles, perspectives, and zooms to intensify the mood of a scene and action sequences. Hundred adopts a 2D animation giving the characters more detailed movement and fluidity.

• Artwork: Hundred uses a Kawaii art style for its character design. This  style of artwork is fairly new and predominantly used since the last decade. Kawaii literally translates to cute and through this art style, the creators hope to achieve exactly that – adorable characters. The backgrounds in the series are bright and vivid, adding a layer of intensity to the drama that unfolds in the scenes.

IV. Theme Songs

• Opening theme songs :

Title	Original Artist	Episodes
“Bloodred”	D-Selections	1-12

 “Bloodred” is of J-pop genre and is used as the opening theme song for the series.

The track does little to excite the viewer for the awaiting episode and is not memorable enough to count as a good opening theme.

Reference Links :

Hundred-Opening-[BLOODRED - D'selection] AMV

• Ending theme songs

Title	Original Artist	Episodes
“Eyes On Me”	Rumi Ōkubo , Mayu Yoshioka	1-3
“Tabooless”	M.A.O, Rika Kinugawa, and Yui Makino	4-5
“Hardy Buddy”	Yuka Ōtsubo and Wataru Hatano	7-9
“Jewels Of Love”	Mayu Yoshioka and Kaya Okuno	10-11

The EDs in the series are sung by the characters’ voice actors as a way of narrating their journey and purpose in the show.

“Eyes On Me” starts off with an upbeat instrumental that mellows out into a enjoyable j-pop song sung by Emile Crossfode’s voice actor.

• Original Sound Track (OST): Hundred has many battle OSTs sung by the show’s main characters. Though none of them can be called outstanding, the first OST sung by Hayato’s voice actor Yoshiaki Hasegawa has a modern and unique take on it compared to the others,

• Background score: The scenes in the show are accompanied  by fitting music. The battles have energetic music blasting in the background whereas scenes in which the main characters seem defeated are backed up by solemn music to give the feeling that the characters are gathering their thoughts or contemplating their next move.

• Sound effects : The sound effects such as the characters’ Hundreds going off and the distinct sounds made by the mechanisms add to the realism of the weapons. Detailed sounds of footsteps, crowds cheering and so on were taken into account giving the series a more wholesome atmosphere.

V. Action Sequences

Hundred has an interesting take on its action scenes primarily because of the attention being focused on Hundred.

As the Slayers are able to use Hundred in multiple forms, we get to witness these weapons in action and see their versatile abilities.

Through the series’ action sequences, we also get an insight into the characters’ personalities and learn that despite their drama and differences, they come together to fulfill their purpose as slayers.

4. Grade

5. Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Hundred is a generic action and romance anime. However, it stands out as a crowd-pleaser due to its well-developed characters and the predictable love triangle between the main characters.

The character design and great animation make the series fun and entertaining watch.

The story progresses at a decent pace and though it may seem ike a cliché, it does make for an interesting watch.