Kizuna no Allele (絆のアリル) is a Japanese anime television series from Wit Studio and Signal.MD, based on VTuber Kizuna AI. It is directed by Kenichiro Komaya, written by Deko Akao, and features character designs by Shiori Asaka and Niina Morita, and music composed by Go Sakabe. The first season aired from April to June 2023, and the second season aired from October to December 2023.
In February 2022, Kizuna AI announced at her "Hello, World 2022" concert that an anime project was in production.[4] Prior to the announcement, Kizuna Ai had already voiced cameo roles in two other anime television series, Ingress and Magical Girl Site.[4] In November 2022, the anime project was confirmed to be a television series titled Kizuna no Allele, set to air in 2023, with a visual from En Morikura, Kizuna AI's character designer.[5][6] Later that same month, the anime's plot and key visual were unveiled.[7] In December 2022, the cast and staff of the series was unveiled, as well as another key visual. In February 2023, it was announced that the series would premiere on TV Tokyo and its affiliates, which aired from 4 April to 20 June 2023.[8]
The series is produced by Wit Studio and Signal.MD and directed by Kenichiro Komaya, with Deko Akao writing the scripts, Shiori Asaka and Niina Morita designing the characters and serving as chief animation directors alongside Mizuki Takahashi, and Go Sakabe composing the music.[9][10] Crunchyroll streamed the series in North America, Oceania, and selected European territories.[11]
In June 2023, it was announced that the series would have a second season,[12] which aired from 5 October to 21 December 2023.
For the most part, critics had a negative reaction to the series. Steve Jones and Nicholas Dupree of Anime News Network were critical, wondering why the anime was created, calling it a "strange duck" with questionable creative choices, called the musical numbers subpar, said that it was not "technically an idol anime," criticized the "mythologizing and near-deification" of Kizuna Ai, said the finished product of the anime looked like it had "been handled by boardrooms full of ill-fitting suits" or extolling the "virtues of AI art."[38] In another article on the same site, Jones described the series as "one of the most nakedly cynical and corporation-poisoned anime projects" he had ever seen, even as a fan of VTubers, and suggested people "stay away from this slop."[39] ANN's Spring 2023 anime preview guide was similarly critical. Reviewer Richard Eisenbeis said he was not interested in the series, and the depiction of a world where "live-streaming and idol culture collide" was not enough to offset the other issues of the series and James Beckett said he would be "happy to remain ignorant and devote my time this season to searching for greener, less uncanny pastures" rather than watching the series. Dupree had similar thoughts but said the series looked "fine" and there was a "certain charm to the 3D segments." Rebecca Silverman described the series as better than Alice Gear Aegis Expansion and appreciated the choreography of Miracle, but called the series "plainly a showcase for virtual idols."[40]
Anime Feminist was also critical, calling it a "dull, calculated cash-in" which did not capture VTuber culture, passed on the series after it "started shilling" for NFTs in a segment following episode 3, and questioned if it is a "forced meme or not."[41][42][43] Reviewer Chiaki Hirai, examining the show's first episode, criticized Miracle's character and stated that while the show had "nothing problematic" at that point, it was, for her, an embodiment of everything she found "tiresome about the artificiality of pop entertainment in Japan," and recommended people watch My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 instead.[44]
Claire of Beneath the Tangles argued that the plot of the first episode is incoherent, has static characters and an empty world, is less compelling than Selection Project, and they were passing on the series.[45] Comingsoon.net said that the second season promised to have an "engaging storyline enriched with...depth and intrigue."[46]
