Category: Reviews

Review: The Sacred Blacksmith

The Sacred Blacksmith focuses on a young girl from a family that has a long tradition of knighthood. She joins the Town Guard in an attempt to equal the status held by her family but finds her growth as a knight slow and intolerable until she meets a young blacksmith who has the ability to forge a powerful and near indestructible sword, the Katana.

Sacred Blacksmith starts out strong with a cast of characters that the potential to grow and foster some interesting stories. At least, I want to like the characters. They do fall into some stereotypical anime patterns just tossed into a fantasy setting but the character relationships are written well and to see some of those arcs resolved were the only reason why I stuck around to see the show to its end. There are some tragic twists that if they had been in a more finely crafted show would have been soul crushing but wrapped in the world of The Sacred Blacksmith they ultimately fall flat because the action isn’t up to par, the music doesn’t stand out, and the animation slides as the series goes on. The entire show, from a technical view, is poor and forces me to believe the show was tossed together to take advantage of the success of the light novel. The above average character arcs aren’t enough to overlook all those other factors.

The characters are tossed into a world so unoriginal and uninteresting that it might as well have been dreamed up during a first-run Dungeons and Dragons gaming session. There is a city-state that attempts to be independent from an evil Empire, a resistance who wants to overthrow said Empire, and a mysterious figure in the shadows who is tossing Demons into the mix. All elements that one would expect to find on a template for writing a first fantasy novel.

The one interesting hook the show has is the existence of Demon Swords. These are swords that contain great magical power and of incalculable wealth that give the user a special ability and sometimes has the ability to transform into a human being. This is the source of much of the conflict of the series is Aria, the demon sword of wind. She is used as a vehicle to explore what it means to be a demon, a tool of destruction, and has no control over how her own powers are used. Really, the demon swords just serve as a plot device to improve Cecily’s fighting skill in a realistic way so she can actually hold her own in battle.

There are very few interesting fights in the series. A few demons are fought, a couple demon swords, but most of them end up about the same. Especially when Aria takes part in the combat since the only ability the Demon sword of Wind has is a powerful gust of wind and it doesn’t always lend itself to innovative and exciting battle scenes. There are also those moments where enemies stand around and wait for the heroes to finish arguing or conjuring a spell. Luke, the Blacksmith, has the ability to take a hilt and some metal and make a sword through some complicated magical spells. But enemies, be them demons or other knights, stand around and give him plenty of time to finish his incantation. During the final battle scene I was so frustrated with this trope that I wished the villain would just kill them before he had a chance to finish his spell. Moments where action stops so the animators can create a cool looking set piece just take the viewer out of the action, especially when they don’t show Sailor Moon style silhouettes.

The series is just a stepping stone towards a larger epic in the universe. The idea of the Sacred Blacksmith is that he is supposed to forge a sword to contain the demon king. But despite hints that start at the first episode this Demon King never arrives and the ending is left unresolved. Had there been some hint that a sequel might be coming soon this wouldn’t be an issue but using the promise of an epic monster and not delivering on that promise is just a tease, and a bad tease because now that I lack the resolve to sit through another thirteen episodes to wait to see the epic monster.

Sacred Blacksmith had the potential to be something better. The characters are interesting and have well developed relationships and arcs where the viewer gets to know and have some genuine feelings for them. But everything around the characters; including their designs; are dull, uninspired, and poorly executed.

Good

Interesting characters with well-rounded character arcs

Bad

Dull, uninteresting fights scenes.
Narrative goes nowhere and doesn’t pay off on promises established in the first episode.
Generic and uninteresting fantasy world with clichés in abundance.

Review: Darker Than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini

Darker Than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini (Twins of the Meteor) is the squeal to the 2007 hit series Darker Than Black. It picks up two years later with Hei now on the run from the now weakened Syndicate and working for the CIA in Russia. But the Syndicate wants revenge for his betrayal. Hei is ordered to capture a Meteor Core from a scientist but instead ends up protecting his young daughter from the Syndicate who are desperately searching for her Contractor twin brother.

When I started watching Darker Than Black Ryūsei no Gemini I quickly realized that I probably should go back and re-watch the original. Two years is a long time between series and it’s hard to pick up because the show drops you into the world. Very much like the original there are a half dozen organizations fighting each other with endless amounts of contractors and the narrative never slows down long enough to actually explain why these things are happening. Luckily, the two saving graces of the original Darker Than Black once again save its sequel.

The characters in Darker Than Black are always interesting if not always the most developed. Even some of the side characters have interesting personalities, from the mostly silent April to the completely stoic July, their characters aren’t explored in much depth but they remain somewhat compelling. But the main characters are wonderful. Hei is as complex as he ever has been. Now that he is on the run and taking even shadier jobs he has been completely destroyed by life as a contractor. Suou, the young girl, comes in and forces Hei to deal with some of his deeper issues while dealing with her own crippling problems. I love these characters and I cheered for them as they grow and become able to deal with their problems.

The action is also top notch. While the battles are sometimes short the variety of powers the contractors use always make the combat interesting. The key element that makes them compelling is that Hei has to learn what his new foes power is and how to counter it. The majority of the fun of the show is watching Hei develop methods of defeating the seemingly endless variety of contractors that appear. My favorite was The Magician who was able to create a field around his body to make it seem like anything tossed at him just passed right through.

There are two story arcs in Darker Than Black, which come together in the end, the first are the character arcs of Suou and Hei and how they deal with their individual circumstances. As I stated above, I love both these characters and their development is handled extremely well. However the other storyline, the one containing the battle between the Syndicate and the CIA, is almost impossible to follow. There are times when it is difficult to tell the difference between the two organizations let alone their goals. This might be a translation error or something actually intended by the author but either way it makes following the story difficult.

The supernatural aspect is also a bit wonky. The show handles the individual powers well but when it starts talking about their source and how those people received their powers the concept falls apart. Nothing is explained. There are just things happening. There are dolls that can observe people at long distances and they are important somehow… but nothing is ever said about their origin or exactly why they are important or how they are connected to the fact that the original stars have disparaged. All the questions left at the end of the first season are left unanswered with many more piled on top. It is as if the writers have dug themselves into a hole and the only way they can think of to get out of it is just to dig deeper and deeper.

Darker Than Black 2 is a wonderful character piece with some excellent well thought out action sequences. But the story and concept of the show suffer due to its complexity and faith in its audience. While the poorly organized plot does make the show confusing at times the characters and actions more than make up for it.

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Good

Characters of Hei and Suou are well developed and interesting
The action alone is worth watching all thirteen episodes
The writers will never run out of interesting Contractor powers

Bad

Supernatural elements are never explained, seem like nonsense
Disorganized plot which is difficult to follow

Afterward:

Most of my confusion based on the shows plot probably comes from not knowing a lot about the characters or the organizations battling it out. I will still hold that against the show because this isn’t billed as Darker Than Black 2 it’s billed as a new story in the same universe. I remember being very angry at the end of the original for many of the same problems this sequel has, at least in the supernatural elements. I remember the noir aspects of the show a bit more well constructed than the ones in the sequel. So I will be returning to Darker Than Black and attempting to make some sense out of its overarching story. But if I cannot I’ll still be able to see Hei kick some ass again. Something worth watching both shows to witness.

Review: Seitokai no Ichizon

While there are examples of Otaku who take themselves far too seriously on the whole Otaku culture is very aware of itself. The hit Lucky Star is an example of the culture looking back on itself and having a laugh at some of the sillier aspects. Seitokai no Ichizon (The Student Council’s Discretion) sets out with this same goal and will delight hardcore anime and manga fans but may leave more casual fans scratching their head.

The show is about a Student Council who have been elected by a popularity contest. So, obviously, they are all beautiful young girls. The fifth seat, given to the student with the best exam grades, is filled by Ken Sugisaki who went from last in his class to first in order to turn the student council into his own personal harem. The majority of the time is spent inside the student council room as the characters explore their likes, dislikes, talk about the future, and pretty much, as is stated through the series, do nothing.

The major focus of the show is on the individual characters because there is no story to drive the plot forward. Each character represents a specific anime genre or trope. Kurimu Sakurano is the Loli and Tsundere, Chizuru Akaba has a sadistic and dangerous aura around her but remains very quiet and serious, Minatsu Shiina is very athletic and always attempting to get the student council to hold tournaments or fight demons, Mafuyu Shiina is an avid gamer and is obsessed with writing boys love fiction, and Ken Sugisaki plays the horny sex obsessed pig and the heroic “make girls happy” archtype all in one.

It’s probably bad form to write a character analysis into a review. But the show relays so much on these characters it is difficult to review the series without an understanding of what the show is trying to accomplish. The show uses these characters to explore those common tropes and make fun of them. There are two main methods that they do this. The first is simply coming up with a strange topic that each member comments on and the second is for the characters to collaborate to write a piece of fiction. The first becomes somewhat formulaic as the show goes on, which is bad for a series only twelve episodes long, but does allow for the jokes to keep flowing around the topic at hand. The second is far more enjoyable because it allows for the series to play out some of the tropes it’s making fun of in actions even if it’s just being imagined. Those sequences becomes a welcome break from the standard formula which features the characters sitting around a table in the Student council club room.

Seitokai no Ichizon is a satire and in order to enjoy it the audience needs to have an intimate knowledge of what they are parodying. They don’t just cover anime in general but some of the most recent anime that have aired in Japan. There were jokes tossed in during the preview where one of the characters became excited reading off names of shows airing that season, then disappointed when she gets to “Student Council.” They make a joke about Haruhi’s Endless Eight Arc, which aired over the summer. There are very few references in the show that a mainstream American anime fan will understand with the exception of a few Dragonball jokes. A general anime fan might enjoy the tropes being parodied but it takes an intimate knowledge of Anime and Manga in order to truly appreciate some of the satire.

It’s unfortunate that the jokes will appeal to such a small audience because of the quality of the writing. The writing is wonderful, which is expected considering this show was adapted from a very popular light novel, and the author manipulates the tropes in a way that explores the absurdity of the medium without being over the top. But this exploration does fall into a formula. The characters talk about the topics in turn and then the topic changes. Repeat. The writing keeps the show entertaining but if watching five people talking in a room for twenty minutes doesn’t appeal to you then you should probably pass entirely.

I don’t want the weight that I’m putting behind the ideas that these characters these representative of anime tropes to say they don’t have characteristics of their own, they don’t interact with each other with their own personalities, or that they do not grow. They are three dimensional, fairly well developed characters, but that development is restricted by the elements listed above. Even so, the moment of growth towards the end of the series comes when each character breaks, at least a bit, some part of their stereotypical roles. It is an enjoyable moment but it ultimately disappointing because shortly after the characters begin to develop the show ends.

The character animation and designs are stunning. Each character has their own unique, colorful qualities that not only fit in with visual archetypes but make for a visually interesting combination. The uniforms are one of the most distinctive part of the show specificity the men’s which mirrors the girls as a way to make fun of the idea that men always have plain uniforms while women have elaborate ones. There aren’t many times the characters leave the student council room so it isn’t surprising the animators would make sure the character designs were of exceptional quality.

The music in the series is nothing special. The opening and ending theme are ok and the background music is simple and easily forgettable.

Seitokai no Ichizon is an anime for anime fans. It has little to no mainstream appeal and can be formulaic at times. But the jokes are funny and the characters somehow become endearing despite their limitations. If the series went a little longer they may have developed beyond the confined of the gag.

Good:

Great character designs

Hilarious satire

Characters grow out of their predetermined molds

Bad:

Odd pacing

Formulaic

Casual anime fans will miss most jokes and references