‘World Trigger’ Aims To Reach Wide Audience

World Trigger is a manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Ashihara. It started in 2013 and is ongoing, although it only has 224 chapters as of August 2022 due to the author’s chronic illness. The first season produced by Toei Animation came out in October 2014 and aired until April 2016. The first season did not receive good reviews for the animation or the slow pacing, especially including a giant filler arc from episodes 49-63. 

Still, the anime was given a second chance due to the popularity of the manga outside the U.S. They definitely did not disappoint with a giant improvement to animation and pacing it was given a third season as well. Although there will probably be some time before a fourth season due to the monthly release of the manga.

The story is great. Probably not the best story out there, but it certainly will keep you interested (especially with all the cliffhangers the episodes leave you on). The beginning of the story starts four years after Mikado City is attacked by monsters called Neighbors. “Border” had stepped in to help defeat the Neighbors with their own technology, called triggers. Triggers use trion from internal energy to turn the user’s body into a “battle-body” made of trion. This is why you can watch someone get sliced into pieces and be fine a minute later.

The story is kind of like those “invasion from another race” type of stories, and it’s executed very well. There’s a ton of foreshadowing especially in the beginning, which just makes you keep watching or reading it, although sometimes you might not even get the foreshadows.  There is very excellent world-building in World Trigger, there is such an abundance of named characters with meanings from Hq to all the B-ranked squads.

World Trigger has a great cast of characters. Here are quick takes on the main four. 

Osamu Mikumo: Osamu is weak, and he will stay weak throughout the series, manga included. Although just because he is weak doesn’t mean he is useless. He serves as captain for Tamakoma-2 and he is a really good captain. Putting their ace to work and setting up behind the scenes. He does improve little by little, but if it comes to a 1-on-1 he doesn’t stand a chance. I like that there’s no major power boost for him, but he still leads his teams to victory.

Yuma Kuga: Yuma is the ace for Tamakoma-2  and he dosen’t let anyone down. He is a very laid-back person with nothing to live for without his friends. The premise they put around him is sad, but you honestly forget most of the time that he has only a limited time to live (or maybe not). He’s one of the few characters shown with Black Trigger throughout the show.

Chika Amatori: I was surprised by how much power she has, and I was even more surprised that she is being allowed to fight giant monsters. She’s the sniper for the squad, or better yet she has so much trion she is basically a cannon. The plot of her wanting to save her brother from the Neighbor’s land is sweet and all, but I think her brother is already dead, so it’s probably not happening.

Yuichi Jin: Jin is a very laid-back older brother type of character. He can tell the future (at least a path of it) and beat you with his former black trigger he can use from time to time.  

The art is really well done in the manga, and seasons 2 and 3. Season 1 definitely had its drawbacks with Toei in 2014. A lot of people disapproved of the old animation, but I think it was ok. The character designs for most of the named characters were unique, but there are a couple I get mixed up every now and then.

And the battle system is my favorite in all of the anime so far. There’s always someone with an advantage, but there’s no one powerful enough to always have a guaranteed win. Well unless you put a newbie against a pro. Trion is such a wonderful concept and is brilliantly executed throughout World Trigger. There’s a ranking system, which is basically tournaments to raise your rank, so you can get all the way to A-Rank. S-rank is an entirely separate tier filled with black trigger users because of how powerful they are. There are so many weapons, abilities, and layouts in World Trigger. You can be an attacker, a gunner, a sniper, or even have special weapons. Bagworm is used a lot to hide users from radar.

World Trigger show openings are some of my favorite openings in anime. Although I think season 2 had the best with “Force” by Tomorrow X Together.

Overall enjoyment is a 10/10 from me. The manga and season 2 really pick up what season 1 did poorly. Despite all the negativity about season 1, I give it is really enjoyable if you’re able to get over the obnoxious pacing. That is including if you skip over the filler arc as I did, and the recaps for each episode.

Should you watch it?  Yes. Will everyone like it? No, not everyone will enjoy it, but I’m sure those that do will get really into it. It’s very high on my list for a reason, and I hope the creator stays in good health. If you’re into tactical fighting and fights that just aren’t won by shouting, then this is most likely for you. You should watch World Trigger.