warnings for this review: contains mentions of suicide incest sexualization of minors rape/sexual assault in all honesty this might be one of the worst if not the worst anime i have ever watched. i couldnt even get past episode three and even that was pushing it. i swear i have never hated a show this much. usually im big on suspension of disbelief and just enjoying something sometimes something is so bad its good. this isnt one of those shows. the series opens with yuri the main character waking up in a strange realm instantly facing lifeordeath scenarios which she is as any normal person would be sorely unprepared for. masks people being controlled by an unknown person/organization in an unknown place must obey every command given to them which usually includes eliminating all nonmasks. i must admit the concept is interesting and one of the things that initially drew me to begin watching that and i saw the sniper mask all over my twitter timeline. that man is so attractive. but the way that absolutely everything else about the series was executed is beyond awful and i could hardly sit through it. almost every single scene had something that somehow managed to give me worse and worse secondhand embarrassment every time and thats coming me arguably the most embarrassing person i know :/ i watched the first two episodes before beginning writing this but once i got to episode three i decided this show was too outlandishly awul not to write a review about. so my details about the first two episodes might be a bit off i apologize. i decided to drop high rise invasion after finishing episode three. im not even going to begin with how inconsistent yuris character is especially towards the start of the anime though i will say it was aggravating how weak yet strong she was especially during the first two episodes. her confidence flipped on and off like a switch and once it was on it didnt falter whatsoever. this is entirely unrealistic and is just not the way humans operate. other than that the first thing i noticed was the main characters i love oniichan complex which is in my opinion one of the worst and most disgusting tropes in existence. the way that yuri and rikas her brother relationship is portrayed is so similar to that of a romantic relationship that it made me sick to my stomach. yuri obsesses over rika to a concerning extent practically flirting with him and consistently blushing every time they speak on the phone. not to mention a scene in the beginning of episode three where she basically creams her panties when he answers her call. ...which brings me to my next point: the shameless sexualization of the sixteenyearold children that are the main characters. yuri in particular is so oversexualized given multiple pantyshots per episode and somehow some way her chest always without exception ends up COMPLETELY out for the word to see. the first time this happens shes practically raped which is terrifying and sickening though something about the way it was animated bugs me. rather than focusing on the psychological and traumatizing aspects of this act the focus seems to be on yuris moaning in fear ???? and on the slow teasing removal of her clothes. very very few times is there a shot of the man traumatizing her nor is this incident ever brought up again once she manages to escape it. this scene in particular bothers me probably more than any of the other ones though the other incidents of sexualization are all incredibly repulsive and wholly UNNECESSARY. there is in few cases reason that some of these elements could be incorporated into a polt for instance to make a symbolic point or because it is part of a characters trauma. but there is a way to and not to portray scenes like this it must be done with sensitivity rather than with a complete lack of tact and morality. high rise invasion completely misses the mark here especially since this incident is never mentioned again almost as if it never happened almost as if its only purpose was to give the audience a glimpse at the sexualization of children to come. theres also the issue of extreme queerbaiting though thats probably an inaccurate term its more of the shameless sexualization of wlw who are also CHILDREN. might i repeat myself. sixteen years old. yuris name really does deliver on its promise. both herself and nise introduced at the end of ep 1 or during ep 2 i believe? could be wrong are very oversexualized ive already talked about yuri though. nise also often shown with a ripped shirt her chest out and she has a few panty shots as well but definitely less than yuri. in episode three there was a misunderstanding regarding a sexual innuendo alongside unnecessary and strangely timed physical affection a tight hug while nises shirt is ripped open and the two are both blushing nise visibly being the most flustered. and of course right after this theres a scene where yuri is washing herself on a rooftop completely naked in front of nise. completely. naked. there is a lot of other dialogue that hints at potential attraction between the two but i really dont want to make myself relive a single part of the shitshow that was the first three episodes of this series. not to mention the complete lack of a warning the audience was given that suicide would be a central feature of the show. there are multiple suicides per episode and netflix leaves no warning regarding this. not unexpected of them considering they have a history of doing things like this ex. 13 reasons why but its still disappointing. now on to a lesser more lighthearted criticism. it was more important that i got the most concerning things out of the way first. its incredibly frustrating to me that a series this shitty is so wellreceived i havent seen any real criticism of it other than people saying that the content outside of the fight scenes was hardly watchable. in my opinion not even the fight scenes were watchable the animation was bland there wasnt much movement depicted and the pacing was strange moving either too quickly or slowly. the way new information is revealed is so slow and painful and theres virtually no impact considering the way its delivered. rather than being something viewers figure out slowly its just told to them without hesitation. the only question youre left with at times is huh? not even oh why is that? ...rather than feeling genuine curiosity about whats to come i just kept rolling my eyes every time new information was revealed. it all felt so irrelevant especially considering how a lot of other plot points were treated. the concept for this show is a solid 8.5/10 but its execution was maybe a 1/10 on a good day. i absolutely do not recommend this show even if youre looking for mindless entertainment which is why i attempted to keep watching it i just ended up thinking about how awful it was instead.