| | Alternate title : Spiral ~ Suiri no Kizuna
Studio : J.C. STAFF
Licenced by : FUNimation
Length : 25 Episodes
Year : 2002
Genre : Drama - Mystery
Synopsis :
Two years ago Narumi Ayumu lost his brother who
simply just disappeared from the face of the earth. His
last message to him was over the telephone, something
about the 'Blade Children'. The Narumi brothers were
gifted and there was nothing they couldn't do. One day
there is an attempted murder on a girl at Narumi's school,
Shirangatani Sayoko who has no memories of her past. Nurumi along
with the school news reporter and rumor girl Yuizaki Hiyono and
Nurumi's sister who happens to be a police inspector must solve the
case. As they dig deeper into the case, more mysteries and murders pop
up. How does the 'Blade Children', Narumi's brother's disappearence and
the attempts surrounding a girl who has no past memories fit together?
Added : 2005-10-30
Synopsis by : Kaiser
Last update : 2008-08-12
Last update details : Seiyuu modified
Score : 7
Number of reviews : 8
Link(s) :
Official #1 : FUNimaiton's Spiral Website (English)
Official #2 : J.C. Staff's Spiral Website (Japanese)
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : Strawberry Jam - Kibouhou
Ending #1 : Hysteric Blue - Cocktail
Release(s) :
2004-04-23 -- Episode(s) 0 by a.f.k. & Soldats. BT Link
2004-04-03 -- Episode(s) 0 by Anime-Empire. BT Link
2004-04-03 -- Episode(s) 0 by Anime-Empire. BT Link
Found 11 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
Hits : 26204
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Posted by : PolyGuru 
Posted on : 2007-10-26 
I picked this title up as the back of it had only two English words and they said Detective Conan. Having liked Detective Conan, I decided on blind faith to trust in the cosmos and purchase this title.
I enjoyed the beginning, as it mirrored the style of the Conan series and the characters here were smart and some of them ruthlessly so. However once this arc of "testing to see if thou art worthy to save us" finished, it was a total and absolute downhill spiral from there and, when it hit rock bottom, it started to dig it’s own grave. There was such a dramatic shift in style that even the characters reflected it. Once intelligent characters were now strangely dumb. A once engaging story was now nowhere to be found.
To say that I was disappointed would be to say the least. This title has now ended up in my dust bin. It is an anime I wonder why they made but then decided that it wasn’t worth the detective work. Though I liked the beginning, the ending far outstripped any enjoyment I had from it, thus its miserable rating of 1.
Posted by : PerfectId0
Posted on : 2006-09-23 
This is a great mystery anime, with lots of twists. It all began when Ayumu was blamed for pushing a girl over the ledge at his school. Immediately everyone believed that he was guilty, with one particular noisy girl following him around making sure that everyone knows he is the prime suspect(although she doesn't phrase it so nicely). He must solve the mystery of what really happened, only to get thrust into the bigger mystery of the Blade Children. His brother disappeared investigating them, and now it is time for him to try his hand. Many people are trying to kill the Blade Children, and the Blade Children aren't going to take this sitting down, which leads to a great mystery, action, suspense anime.
The character design is great in this anime, the characters do not resemble each other, and their looks are as varied as their personalities. The artist did not slack off when drawing these characters, and the hard work pays off in the end.
The music is also great, with the openning, Kibouhou/Cape of Hope being one of the best anime songs I have ever heard. It does a great job at setting the mood for when something is about to happen, and several of the characters have the ability to play the piano, so music has to be above average.
The execution for this anime was done near flawlessly. It seems that the people making this did not want to end it where it did, leaving us on a cliff-hanger, which is depressing since this anime was so great. I eagerly moved onto the next episode as soon as I finished the one before it. The mystery seems to follow a Detective Conan pattern at the beginning, but that is quickly shed, which leads you into the great anime that is Spiral. If you're a fan of mystery and suspense, I strongly recommend checking this out. If the "ending" does not satisfy you, then there is always the manga.
Posted by : Yuun
Posted on : 2005-05-06
I've been seen many, many mysterious, maze-like case-solving anime and I must say, Spiral is the best if you want to compare it to the others. Spiral may look simple and the character's appearance may be decieving, but like they say, "never judge the book by the cover"
Story Plot:
This anime is very weird... from the very 1st episode, we'll be showered by tons of mysteries and to make matters worse, some of them are never solved even until the very end of the series.
Narumi Kiyotaka, the person who seems to exist and not exist... well... we have never seen his face, neither do we know much about him. Yet, everything seems to start from him. His little brother, Ayumu Narumi (Hero) seems to have suffer some major mental illness and possesses an extremely low self-confidence.
Here we talk about Blade Children aka Cursed Children and their relationship with Kiyotaka and Ayumu. We have never been told about this so-called Blade Children details, what we know is that they are not suppose to live in this world yet they're born to this world and have to live their life like a run-away prisoner.
Infact, the entire story is actually focus on our Ayumu telling his past, his current situation and his adventures. Yup, he reminds me of that useless Shinjii From Evangelion. Ayumu was tested by the Blade Children, 1 by 1 which put his own life on the stake. Either he pass and live, or lose and die. However the "Test" is very interesting and it is fun to see how Ayumu deals with it. This is a Mystery Solving anime after all...
As the story progress we get to know more about Blade Children and stuffs but still there's too much unanswered Questions. However, I believe that these unsolved mysteries is meant for audience to think and solve them by themselves.
Other than explosions and deaths accompanied by mysteries, we do get some laughter from the weird jokes. The timing for the joke is always surprising, such as during the most critical and dangerous situations, they could simply pull out a joke to release some tension.
This anime is very addictive and full with suspense and tension. Being a breath taking anime, I would advise you guys to take your time watching it. AND DO TAKE NOTE ON EVERY EACH WORD THEY SAY!!! Every word they say mean business, you'll be puzzled if you miss even a single word.
Characters:
The characters are way too good, the guys are cool and the girls are cute. The characters are nicely drawn and built well. Each of them have personalities that is just irresistable. I really like our cute, funky, and happy-go-lucky heroine Hiyono. Not to mention that our Hero, Ayumu despite being a lame guy, I really like his appearance and "what do I care?" attitude. However, my most favourite character would be Rio Takeuchi which is one of the Blade Children which I would say, Bomb Specialist? or perhaps... Female version of "Crazy-Ivan"? Well... she's not that crazy but her taste of playing with explosives is simply creepy.
We get to know every each of the character's characteristics. So in other words, the Character Development is very detailed. Basically, I just love every one of the characters and most of all their eyes... you can see that those Blade Children's eyes are like reptiles. The eyes are one difference a normal human and a Blade Children.
Musics:
Superb!!! I just love the opening... for the entire 25 episodes, I hardly skip the opening songs... somehow I just love the songs. Not to mention Hiyono's "weird song". Her songs, occasionally sang in the episodes are very-very cute... However I got to agree with Ayumu and the rest of the characters that her song is weird...
Overall:
Very Addictive... very interesting... very captivating... and most of all you have to THINK to actually grasp the story of this anime. What is a mystery when you don't solve it yourself before the Hero did? Somehow... I get a feeling that Spiral is an anime combination of Detective Conan and Yu-gi-oh.
Either way, please don't be fooled by their appearances especially the Blade Children... do take note that they kill mercilessly and in anyway they can. Yet I bet you are just going to like them and the way they do their jobs.^^
I understand that a lot of the audience have been left out with unanswered questions such as:
1. What relationship does Kiyotaka have with the Blade Childrens?
2. What does it mean when they say that Ayumu can save the Blade Childrens?
3. What is Blade Children?
4. What is the purpose of their mere-existance?
5. etc.
However, somehow... I have came up with some conclusion to these unsolved mysteries. If you guys want to know my conclusion, just PM me... and I'll elaborate them to you. Be warned though, the conclusion is MY conclusion that is based on the evidence from the anime. I won't bullshit you and if it make sense to you then it is good enough.
I would like to share them with you guys, so do PM me ^^
For those who have yet to watch this anime... you should!! Do give it a try and you'll understand.
Ahh!! Do take note that the romance level of this anime is almost unseen. Thus, don't even dream of watching kissing or hugging scenes in Spiral...
Man... I feel like Spiral is in my head...
Posted by : MorisatoKeiichi
Posted on : 2004-06-11
First off, don't be deceived by Spiral's opening video. You might think Spiral's animation is simple but you're wrong. The animation is totally great. This anime is the type of anime you'll watch non-stop. Every episode will leave you thirsting for more. Solving mysteries together with Ayumu was so enjoyable, you get to test yer head.
The animation is thumbs up in the first half but gets simple in the second half especially when it comes to fast-paced scenes, the animation fails to stay solid. As expected from an anime with lots of talk. The character designs are good and there is no unattractive character. The music is great and I love it! I can't recall how many times I was singing together with the opening song "Kibouhou". The background themes are great too especially when things get thrilling. The comedy here is not out of place even if this is a serious anime. The funniest character is Hiyono for she is a very jolly character even in serious situations. She's there to give us a smile from all the seriousness. Violent contents are not that high. There are no traces of blood anywhere in the series. The ending is okay but there are important things left unexplained. Questions surrounding the Blade Children like why they kill and why hunters are after their lives were not answered. AND the most important question about the whereabouts of Kiyotaka is still unknown.
Just by reading these two words: "Blade Children", it is very obvious that these people are kids. They are cold-blooded kid... killers who kill, kill and kill without a cause. It was very unrealistic that these kids have the guts to kill, not to mention the youngest Blade Children, a girl, 14 or 15 years of age. Another unrealistic thing is how Ayumu manages to stay alive after meddling with the plans of the Blade Children. They threaten Ayumu in series of life-threatening games, Ayumu wins and yet they keep him alive. Why don't they just kill or shoot Ayumu with a gun directly?
I would like to mention that Ayumu and Hiyono would really make a great anime couple but they don't get into some lovey-dovey relationship. They spend their times a little with each other sometimes though but they don't assume they're on a date. It was a pity that their relationship is nothing special... but they sure are sweet.
Spiral is not always about crime solving but more on battle of the brain type of games. As episode goes by, Ayumu must pass these life-threatening games before he could make another step on the road to finding his brother. As I recall, there are only four murders that happened here, so if you are looking for an anime with lots of mysteries to test the Sherlock Holmes in you, Detective Conan is suggested. You don't need to be smart to understand Spiral's plot. Sure the plot gets a little confusing sometimes but once you just concentrate on the dialogues, there'll be no problem. The bottom line is, Spiral is an average anime at best but still is recommendable.
Posted by : Himitsu
Posted on : 2003-11-30
I must say that this was a very, very enjoyable watch. I've read many reviews on which they totally disliked it due to the ending, maybe I expected the most horrible ending possible, but in truth, the ending wasn't so bad. It makes you think. Sure, there are things that aren't answered, but it does set some kind of conclusion. The ending wasn't abrupt, it just didn't answer the plot (or any other things for that matter). I have many questions that need an answer towards this anime series but I'm afraid I'll spoil this if I do.
The reason I gave such a high rating was because the animation was very...nice. It was smooth, crisp and well done - nothing flashy. Well, actually, it was more of the character design, my favourite part of this anime. There weren't too many characters introduced, and the songs - well I didn't like them at first, now I love the songs! I also loved the relationships between the characters and how they can become so lovable. Although I'm a major cuteness and shojou fan, I actually felt relieved that Narumi and Hiyono didn't get into some lovey-dovey relationship. I would have given this anime four stars, but darn Narumi is seriously a type of guy I wouldn't mind getting to know, he's so attractive! To be honest, from looking at the screen shots - doesn't Narumi remind you of Misaki from Angelic Layer? At least I think so, that's why I thought Narumi was a girl at first.
This anime was not hilarious, more like light-hearted-funny which does calm you down somewhat. It's hard to believe that there is a person like Narumi, someone who thinks abstractly as he does and induces such conclusions. It just makes you think that anything is possible. I can see what kind of ending they're trying to pull, it's not really direct but if you pay attention to the story of the butterfly, you'll get the idea. At least it has an ending, compared to Kare Kano, which had the most abrupt ending ever! Also, the ending (for me anyways) leaves you satisfied.
I found this a very different, and very entertaining series. Since it's basically the only mystery/analytical type anime I know, I think that it should be given a try.
Posted by : placebo
Posted on : 2003-06-23
If you like mystery, Spiral is the anime for you. Before i watched Spiral, i read many reviews that said that Spiral was a lousy impossible anime to understand. I admt i was a little doubtful of the anime, but when my friend told me it was a mystery anime i decided to go ahead with it. I was pretty sick of mecha, shoujo, fighting, fantasy animes by this time.
So how was it?
Animation was FANTASTIC, smooth, pretty cool characters. One thing i liked abt the anime was that it didn't try to introduce too many characters- (hint- Samurai Deepr Kyo) Hiyono and Narumi's relationship was realistic and nice and thankfully Spiral knew what anime it was and did not degenerate into shoujo Girl-loves-boy genius pukish anime. Ayumu's relationship with the blade Children is pretty interesting too!
Music was pretty cool too with its nice ambient music adding bucketloads of suspense to the exciting parts.
Plot wise, i would say up till epi 23 it was pretty damn exciting and nerve wrecking- many 'games' that the Blade children 'played' with poor Ayumu had me at the edge of the seat!
k, so i've cleared plot,characters, music and animation- all which i give 10 up to this moment.
The anime does not come with its flaws. Spiral, like many other animes ended really abruptly. After hearing abt the Blade children for 25 episodes, and Narumi's Otooto (Narumi's brother) for like 298 times, they ending does nothing to explain abt them!! Which REALLY is unfair!! coz the anime would have been PERFECT with these explanations.
So though Spiral is a perfect mystery anime to replace ALL mystery animes ( Which are very very few- Kindaichi and Conan ?) but its ending leaves much to be desired. =<
In any case, to all anime fans who are sick to the core of mecha, fantasy, samurai, vampire, romance themed anime and would like something refreshing and intelligent- Spiral's it.
But if u absolutely HATE abrupt/wierd endings stay away.
Posted by : lonestar
Posted on : 2003-06-08
At first like the other reviewers, i thought this anime was pretty interesting, but i was more than disappointted at this anime. First, you will never know what really happen. Second, the story was really poorly developed. Lastly, after the 18 episode there is no point in continuing watching it cuz there is no ending.
Posted by : Fitali44
Posted on : 2003-01-30
If i was going to give you a description of Spiral in one sentence i would call it the anime Sherlock Holmes, a light headed anime this aint. For those of you who arent sure, Sherlock Holmes is a detective, thus making Spiral a mind challenging mystery-esque anime. It is not too serious. although most of the situations and crimes in the series involve murder, there isnt any gore or twisted innuendos to offend the eyes(or mind).
Spiral takes you through a fun ride with Narumi-san, a boy genius and detective prodigy who(alot like Sherlock himself) uses his own observations and hypothesis to deduce a solution to a murder mystery or a life threatening wager. The anime itself is of high quality with funky music fully accomodating the atmosphere of the anime and beautiful, crisp and neat, animation. Although it might be the animation itself that fails slightly in doing this series justice, where although quite good there are often lots of conversational scenes (as expected form a detective anime) and other scenes which leave no scope for animation to happen at all (forcing the audience to stare at close ups). Nonetheless the series is very interesting and will hook you in from the beginning with its very original concept and mysterious feel. For every case closed another opens and Narumi-san is brought closer to the truth behind a secretive group known as the "Blade Children" and the wherabouts of his missing brother Kiyotaka.
Assuming the series just keeps getting better itll deserve more. For now 4 stars and 2 thumbs up
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