Note: This review assumes the reader is familiar with the anime version and/or its equivalent content in the source manga. There will be spoilers for those who haven’t seen through the final episode of the anime’s season 2!
The live-action version ofAka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari’s Oshi no Ko manga is an ambitious project consisting of eight ONA episodes varying in length from 40 to 57 minutes, with the first six becoming available worldwide on Amazon Prime in late November and the last two becoming available earlier in December 2024. This review covers all eight episodes.
The series’ first episode covers mostly the same ground as the movie-length first episode of the anime version, though it mostly eliminates the scenes prior to the reincarnations; this won’t faze those familiar with the anime version, and some of those scenes are scattered throughout later parts of the series in flashbacks, but this approach makes the whole story less accessible to those for whom this version is their first exposure, as certain scenes in later episodes (especially ones where the ghost of Goro appears) might make less sense. Episode 2 covers the Sweet Today content (and so is equivalent to anime episodes 2-4), while episode 3 deals with the dating show (anime eps 5-7). Beyond that, direct comparisons get more muddled for a while, as the formation of the new B Komachi partly overlaps with the beginning of Tokyo Blade, which is a TV show instead of a stage play in this version. Hence episodes 4 and 5 are a condensed and remixed version of anime episodes 8-15, with Kana’s seeming scheduling conflict being explained by her taking over her Tokyo Blade role as an emergency fill-in rather than having been originally cast for it. Episode 6 finishes out the heavily-tweaked Tokyo Blade arc (and so is very roughly equivalent to anime episodes 16-20), while episode 7 covers Aqua’s meeting with Himekawa and the Miyazaki content (episodes 21-24), albeit without the supernatural aspects. Episode 8 is partly based on a few scenes that were left out of earlier content and partly forges on beyond the anime, with the series ending on a succession of major game-changing elements that point the story in the direction of the chapter-end flash-forward pages in the manga’s first volume.
While this story shouldn’t fundamentally be too difficult to do in live-action, some of the neatest visual gimmicks in the manga and anime versions had to be left behind. In particular, the starry-eye effect is used sparingly and more subtly, so much so that a franchise newcomer might miss it. Changes in expression and demeanor are instead used to emphasize when Aqua’s (and later Ruby’s) star goes black, and this has to be reinforced by the reactions of other characters. This version also has Aqua and Ruby be age 5 instead of 3 at the time of Ai’s death, hence allowing for actual child actors to speak their lines more convincingly, and greatly reduces the amount of time that “talking babies” is on the screen. The roles of assorted side characters are also minimized or cut out entirely, especially in the Tokyo Blade arc; that Melt is also in Tokyo Blade isn’t mentioned at all, for instance. In this version, Tokyo Blade is also more a drama than an action tale, so don’t expect any nifty fight scenes. Much (but not all!) of the series’ trademark showbiz commentary also gets trimmed.
The best aspect of this version is that it does maintain the story’s flow and signature scenes. As a trade-off for having to ditch the fancier visual effects of the anime version, costuming gets extra-special attention here; how certain characters were dressed at different times was always a significant background detail in the anime version, but the anime can’t hold a candle to the veritable teen fashion show of this version in that regard. Set dressings, especially in household shots, are also generally more elaborate and rich with credible details. Theme songs rotate with each episode, giving the series greater diversity in musical themes (though the anime version outshines it in use of background music). Some parts even play out every bit as well as in the animated version.
The key word in that last statement, though, is “some.” The effectiveness of individual scenes varies greatly, and the caliber of the acting has a lot to do with this. In general, actors for adult characters are smoother and more convincing; I especially liked the performances of producers Kaburagi and Raida. Among the main youth cast, the most consistently capable performance is probably Nanoka Hara as Kana. (Anime fans may know her as the Japanese voice of the titular character in Suzume.) She plays well off of both peers and adults alike. Nagisa Saito, who is a former idol group member, also acquits herself well as Ruby, as does Asuka Saito (a former Nogizaka46 member) as Ai. Unfortunately, the weakest performance is also the most important one: Kaito Sakurai, who does have other prominent live-action credits, just isn’t able to do much with Aqua. Granted, Aqua’s demeanor would have been hard for anyone to pull off well, but too often Aqua’s behavior feels forced, like Sakurai is just acting rather than being the character. (Which is ironic, given his character’s internal thoughts at times.) Camera angle choices in some scenes also leave a lot to be desired, as does a jittery camera effect which was sometimes probably intentional but sometimes didn’t seem to be.
Overall, this version provides an interesting alternate take in how to portray both the overall story and various key scenes, but that is the main extent of its value. It is hardly required viewing, as 90% of the time the anime version is clearly superior. A follow-up movie, subtitled The Final Act, is due to be released in theaters in Japan on December 20 and will presumably make its way to Amazon Prime sometime after that, which will go fully beyond where the anime version is so far and (presumably) finish out the story. It’s worth a look to franchise completists, but not something I can recommend beyond that.
Though written, produced, and given a musical score by non-Japanese individuals (including Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson from the live-action The Lord of the Rings movies as Executive Producers), this wide theatrical release is officially an anime because it was animated by Japanese studio Sola Entertainment (Rick and Morty: The Anime, Tower of God), supported by a number of other Japanese studios, and directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Chell: Stand Alone Complex, Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit, Napping Princess). That being said, it’s clearly a film targeted at Western audiences, especially those who are long-standing fans of J.R.R. Tolkein’s works. It does have enough appeal that it could stand on its own as a rousing action-adventure story, however.
Of course, those not at all familiar with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit will miss several important call-outs, such as a late reference to Gandalf, a brief late appearance by Saruman, references to and/or appearances of locations which are important in LotR’s main story, and even a brief, unexplained-in-the-movie appearance by Mordor lackeys looking for a ring. Newcomers will also miss the importance of the narrator’s identity (which is only revealed in the credits, but which should be recognized by anyone who’s seen the LotR movies in either live-action or animated form). However, the base story is not at all dependent on its setting: a princess who hasn’t outgrown her tomboyish ways despite reaching adulthood gets caught in the midst of a power struggle between her overbearing father and an ambitious noble, whose son, a former childhood friend of the princess, swears vengeance on her family after his father is accidentally killed in a duel. Driven by revenge, the former friend seeks to conquer the princess’s land (Rohan) by becoming the lord of outside forces, and partly through an act of treachery, drives the princess, her father, and the people they protect into a corner. The problems for the former friend are that the corner is a stalwart mountain fortress that would come to be known as Helm’s Deep and that he’s trying to conduct a siege in the dead of winter.
So yes, for LotR fans, this is a story set two centuries before the main story of LotR, about Helm Hammerhand and how that fortress which played such a crucial role in the LotR live-action movies came to be known as Helm’s Deep. More precisely, it’s the story of Hera, the youngest child of Helm, a character “unknown to history” who nonetheless played a pivotal role in Rohan existing as a nation in the form that it does in the modern times of LotR. (In fact, the current royal family of Rohan is a direct result of her actions, though not in the way you might initially expect.) Hera is both the story’s primary protagonist and its visual star, as her red hair dramatically stands out in contrast to everyone around her, and saying that she saves Rohan through her direct actions and leadership is not the slightest bit of an exaggeration. She also stands also the story’s strongest and most interesting character, as she’s a young woman who spurns any thought of marriage, is clever, can fight well on her own, is quick to adapt to changing circumstances, and accomplishes all of these without losing her emotional core. By contrast, her cousin Wulf is much more ordinary as a main antagonist who has strong leadership traits but gets so caught up in revenge and love for Hera turning into hate that he can’t listen to the good advice of a loyal subordinate. Helm Hammerhand is a little more interesting as the personally-indomitable king who’s too pridefully stubborn to trust the daughter he seeks to protect until it’s almost too late.
Essentially, the story beats form a fairly standard and generally predictable fantasy/historical epic power struggle. The general course of the story also bears striking similarities to how the LotR movie The Two Towers plays out; in particular, there are many (probably intentional) parallels to the events surrounding Helm’s Deep in that movie. Hence the main selling factors are Hera, the action scenes, and the visuals. Set designs, character designs, and use of color are all gorgeous, with Hera being predictably beautiful but also solid-looking enough to be convincing as an action figure. (She’s also clothed in practical fashion for the most part, and the somewhat awkward way she looks when in a dress in one early scene is a neat fine detail. The only exception to this is the wedding dress she wears for symbolic purposes for her big showdown at the movie’s climax.)
The animation effort, which depends partly on motion capture, is also a strong one, though not one without flaws. The integration of animated characters and backgrounds is the main issue, but thankfully it’s only a spotty one, and the movie dazzles in several of its elaborate action sequences. These aren’t all fights, either; one of the movie’s best-looking sequences is one where Hera must use climbing picks and crampons to scale a rock overhang to reach a giant eagle’s nest. But there are plenty of sharp-looking action sequences, too, ones which use shifting cameras to create greater dynamic movement and don’t rely at all on typical anime shortcuts; seeing characters do fully-animated dive-rolls in the middle of a fight is a joy. The sense of movement in fights is in some ways reminiscent of director Kamiyama’s earlier work Moribito, which only reinforces why he was the correct choice for this project.
The musical score for the movie outright borrows some of the musical themes from The Two Towers, and many others carry a similar flavor. That shouldn’t be a surprise; music composer Stephen Gallagher did work on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies in a lesser role. Featured songs all fit that same feel, especially ending song “The Rider,” which I could see being a potential Academy Award nominee.
Though the movie does have a Japanese dub available, it is circulating in the U.S. with its English dub. The most interesting stories here are the casting of Brian Cox (who was once lauded for his performance in the titular role of King Lear) as Helm, a return to the franchise by Miranda Otto to narrate as Eowyn (a character from LotR who’s the spiritual descendant of Hera), and Saruman being voiced by the long-dead Christopher Lee using archival recordings. (Lee’s widow approved this and said her late husband probably would have been flattered by it.) The latter does, admittedly, sound slightly incongruous with the rest of the vocal performances, but it’s still a neat stunt. None of the other cast members are likely to be familiar to anime fans, but all filled their roles anywhere from adequately to very well.
Ultimately, the movie is a few minutes too long for its own good, and its unimpressive narrative somewhat hampers its visual appeal. Its strong musical score, good action scene and character designs, and appealing lead all help compensate, however, making this a middle-of-the-pack entry by franchise standards. It’s hardly a must-watch for franchise fans but one that I can recommend both as a standalone and as a franchise offering.
As announced at the end of last episode, the trouble with Freya is going to be resolved the classic Orario way: with a War Game. Yes, we’ve seen this before in the DanMachi universe – when a god became obsessed enough with Bell to go after him aggressively – and I can’t fault viewers for seeing this as just a replay of the matter with Apollo. However, there are four important differences this time:
Last time it was just familia vs. familia. This time it’ll be Freya Familia against everyone else who wants to (and is allowed to) get involved.
Last time this was a private matter, just between Hestia and Apollo. This time, though, all of Orario is impacted, and way more people than just Hestia Familia’s closest allies have cause to want to fight Freya Familia over this. Some are existing allies, some are those who have taken a liking to Bell and/or feel they owe him, some are pissed that Freya was audacious enough to charm everyone, and some are just taking an opportunist approach; the rewards will be rich if they succeed and there’s glory to be had.
Apollo was a one-note, cartoonish villain motivated purely by lust. Freya is a much more complex character with more complicated and better-established motivations. (And that’s without factoring the still-comatose Horn into it.)
This time around bigger issues are in play. Loki Familia is itching for a fight, as they’ve had plenty of trouble with Freya Familia even within the bounds of the main series and many (including their patron) are irate over being charmed. But the Guild can’t risk having them get involved, as having both of the most powerful familias in Orario getting weakened at the same time would both hinder the quest to eventually defeat the Black Dragon and invite disaster; the last time this happened (i.e., after Zeus and Hera Familias were practically wiped out fighting the Black Dragon), Evilus arose and wreaked havoc for years.
The latter point is a disappointment, as all of the DanMachi fandom is likely aching to see a knock-down, drag-out fight between the elites of Loki and Freya Familias, especially after the events of this season; the only two previous battles (Ais vs. Ottarl in s1 ep 8 and Ais vs. Allen and the prum brothers in Sword Oratoria ep 6?) were brief skirmishes. Narratively speaking, though, allowing that would be a very bad idea, as that would a) put the fight on a more even field and b) make the conflict more about Loki vs. Freya, which would distract both from the everyone vs. Freya spirit and from Bell being at the center of things. Within the story, that’s avoided because Royman, the Guild leader, is less concerned about justice than he is about Orario fulfilling its role – i.e., to cap the Dungeon and foster the heroes necessary to defeat the Three Great Quests. That’s why he even goes as far as bribing Finn with information that Loki Familia’s leadership can’t overlook as additional insurance that they’ll behave. (And on that note, the anime falls woefully short of clarifying why that broken sword in the crystal is such a big deal: it’s a major clue to a mystery Loki Familia has been ardently pursuing for many years, but Royman was unwilling to reveal it before now because getting to its source would be costly even for Loki Familia.)
But even with the coalition behind them, Hestia Familia is still at a major disadvantage, and as Ganesha himself points out, the “Hide-and-Seek” concept isn’t enough of a handicap given the might Freya Familia has at its disposal. Quality trumps quantity in the DanMachi setting, and the Hestia coalition doesn’t have anyone on the level of Freya Familia’s elites. In essence, it’s practically the reverse problem Hestia Familia faced in the War Game against Apollo Familia. They do have some things in their favor; Crozzo magic swords and Haruhime’s abilities are not trivial factors, Finn formally training Lily is partially offset the tactical wizardry of Hedin, and Asfi’s items have certainly proven to be wild cards in the past. And there are going to be a sizable number of mid-range adventurers amongst the mob. The OP strongly suggests that Mia will eventually step in, too, and her one scene this episode could be taken as a set-up for that; Mia doesn’t tolerate foolishness, and her goddess has certainly been foolish. Anyone who’s enough of a powerhouse that even Allen is concerned about her could certainly be a difference-maker. Cassandra’s vision and Ryu’s promise before jumping off the wall both suggest that she’ll be back to be a difference-maker at a crucial point, too. Tsubaki also proved in Sword Oratoria that she can hold her own even among Loki Familia’s elite. Still, they’re going after a group with Orario’s strongest warrior, one of Orario’s best tacticians and mages, and a large membership composed of individuals well-tested in head-to-head battles with other adventurers and backed by top-rate healers. And they’re all united in purpose (in most cases to a fanatical degree) behind their goddess.
There are a couple of interesting side stories set up by this episode beyond just the bribe Royman gives to Finn, though. Where, exactly, is Ryu going at a time like this? Given the state of things and what was revealed during s4, only one destination makes any sense: wherever Astraea currently is. She’s got a lot to talk about with her patron and is years overdue for a status update, so methinks we’ll see a stronger Ryu join the fight at a later stage. The implication that Allen went to see Ahnya is also intriguing, as it’s hard to figure what Allen’s purpose would be for doing so. We haven’t seen the last of that, either. Then there’s also the matter of Horn. Is she deliberately remaining comatose to preserve Syr?
One other point also probably requires some explanation for anime-only watchers: why Aiz isn’t involved in training Bell this time, and why Freya had any pull to make that happen. That’s a result of events in Sword Oratoria a few novels beyond where the anime adaptation stopped. Without getting much into spoilers, Aiz independently sought training from Ottarl to help her prepare to deal with one of that spinoff’s main antagonists, and Freya allowed it in exchange for a later favor. This is Freya calling in that favor.
On other fronts, the animation effort this episode seemed much more limited compared to previous episodes this season, but given the major battles which are coming, that’s not a big surprise. And seeing Lily being such a commanding figure towards the end was a nice touch.
The way the anime is presenting the setting for the War Game is not what I pictured while reading the novel, so I’m especially curious to see how the backgrounds play out as we get into the thick of things next episode. Ultimately, this is the standard pre-main battle set-up episode, but it still has plenty enough angles going on to stay involving.
Given Hestia’s persistently undignified behavior, it can be easy to forget that she is actually a goddess. Even with her divine powers curtailed, she is still the supreme power in Orario within her domain: that of purity. Unfortunately for Freya, that domain is the one that stands most directly opposed to the allure of Freya’s charm. With the right stage set, Hestia (known as Vesta to the Romans, hence the episode’s title) can counteract even Freya’s city-wide charm, all in the most glorious scene she’s had in the whole franchise to date. And all it required was recreating a semblance of her heavenly altar across the length and breadth of the city without triggering the charm’s protective elements.
So does this mean that we can now start referring to Ouranos as a sneak old codger now? Because that was certainly a devious stunt he pulled with the firewood, one that Hestia apparently somehow caught onto. (The main failing of this episode is not elaborating more on this point, which the novel does do.) We’ve known since the beginning of the franchise that gods can use their ichor (i.e., blood) to inscribe Falna onto their followers and update their statuses, so it stands to reason that ichor could be used in other ways to apply a god’s blessing. In this case, Hestia had her ichor dripped onto firewood distributed across the city. When lit, it would effectively create a giant magical seal keyed to Hestia across the city, which would allow Hestia to manifest her heavenly temple in the Lower World. The sacred flame isn’t part of Hestia’s personal symbol (as seen on Bell’s back) or her familia’s symbol without reason, and it cleanses all impurities. This does beg the question of whether Hestia would lose this power if she ever did the deed with Bell, but that’s a thought for another day. . . What matters here is that it incontrovertibly shatters Freya’s charm. And that’s going to bring big and quick consequences, not the least of which is affirming that Ouranos is not someone you ever want to get smug with.
While that’s the episode’s most visually dramatic sequence, what’s going on at Freya Familia’s home is at least as important. Horn has released the imprisoned Ryu in hopes that she’ll be enough of a distraction for her to confront Bell (though it certainly seems like Hedin may have covertly helped make this happen). Even over Bell, she’s in the most difficult situation of everyone. Because of her bond with Freya, she’s privy to Freya’s heart more than anyone else, and she can’t stand to see the goddess she idolizes fretting through romantic uncertainties like any ordinary woman. But she’s also trapped in that her loyalty to her goddess is at odds with what she feels is best for her goddess. The big problem for her is that sometimes people can’t always correctly understand what’s best for themselves, and in this setting that applies to gods, too. Horn is theoretically ideally positioned to play that role for Freya, but she’s too close, and like too many of Freya’s other followers, she’s too possessive or fanatical. Ottarl sometimes gives the impression that he understands that, but he’s not the kind of person who could ever talk to Freya like that. Hedin isn’t the kind of person that anyone could talk to about emotions, either, but his actions are increasingly suggesting that he does understand that what his goddess claims and what she really wants aren’t necessarily the same thing. In his own way, he may be trying to maneuver Bell not into being the person that Freya wants, but into the person that Freya needs. That bears watching going forward.
And let’s not forget that Bell’s confrontation with Freya is the boldest and most confident he’s ever looked, and that is a treat in itself. Like everyone else, Freya has underestimated him, but this time in terms of his emotional convictions. As much as she might want to, he’s not going to let her deny Syr or the genuine feelings she showed as Syr. He’s not going to let her hide behind the veneer of a goddess’s capriciousness anymore. Hestia mentions that Freya’s big mistake was abandoning Babel, but an even bigger one was letting Bell see her real feelings. Presumably, something about this is going to be at stake in the upcoming War Games; though Freya is proposing it, it’s also probably the only way to settle the rampant city-wide anger at Freya’s actions.
I also have to add praise again for the animation effort, which has been at the top of its game once again. Ryu’s battle scenes looked sweet, but the range of expressions Horn goes through as she rants at Bell was also impressively well-animated. Solid musical support, too, especially in the confrontation scenes.
With this episode, the adaptation of novel 17 ends. Next up, with adaptation of novel 18, is the arc’s climax: the War Game against Freya Familia.
Solo Leveling is returning to TV for the Winter 2025 season, and this special theatrical presentation provides both a roughly 80 minute compilation of the first season and an advance look at the first two episodes of the second season. It was out in theaters in the States today (Wednesday 12/4/24), so this preview is based on a screening of the subtitled version at an IMAX theater.
The compilation is less a summary of the first season and more a highlight reel designed to help refresh the memories of established fans. If you’re new to the franchise, don’t rely on this to inform you enough to be able to follow the second season, as it skips over a lot of important details. The heaviest emphasis is on Jinwoo’s fight against the snake, the affair with Hwang Donsuk’s party, and the class change battles, the latter of which are replicated almost in full, but you’ll see very little from the set-up in the first two episodes. Since the strength of the first season lay in its detailed battle scenes, getting to rewatch them on an IMAX screen was a real treat. In fact, in general, limiting the content mostly to the major battle scenes emphasizes the strengths of the series while minimizing its weaknesses.
The first two new episodes (which I hope are released together as the debut, since they form a story mini-arc which doesn’t have a good break point in it) involve Jinwoo escorting the high school girl from the C-rank dungeon raids with Jinho (who turns out to be a classmate of his sister) as observers with a raid party of mostly B and A-ranked hunters. Things, of course, go awry when the gate goes red, thus trapping the team in a snowy landscape until the local boss can be defeated. The main threats here are giant bears and elf-like assailants, which combine to pose a severe threat to everyone else but mostly just give the even more dashingly-handsome Jinwoo an opportunity to show off what his new class can do. Various flashy battles ensue, as well as yet another Hunter turning ugly at his failures.
While these two episodes do bring up a couple of potentially interesting world-building points – this is the first time that dungeon adversaries who can talk have been encountered, and they seem to be subject to some guiding force – these two episodes mostly serve to finish a major shift for the story. No longer is this about Jinwoo having to get stronger just to survive; it’s now about him showing off as a total OP badass. Granted, there’s an S-ranked Hunter (and I’m guessing one of the stronger ones?) now gunning for him, but Jinwoo now seems to be at least on that level, and he’s got a whole damn shadow army at his disposal, too, complete with powerful new recruits from these episodes. Could be interesting to see if the series can keep ratcheting up the challenge level enough to maintain the kind of tension which characterized key fights in the first season, but at the very least, the high-powered musical score is back to give the action all of the dramatic backing it could ask for. On the downside, Jinwoo is progressively becoming less interesting as a character as his flaws and self-doubts continue to fade away.
Basically, if you were a big fan of the first season then you’ll probably find a lot more to like with this opening. If you weren’t then these new episodes offer little hope of changing your mind.
In all heroic stories where things go bad, there is a turning point. In the case of this arc, that “point” is the entirety of episode 8. No action in this episode can single-handedly carry that distinction, but taken together numerous actions set the path forward for climbing out of the hole that Freya Familia has dug.
The first issue is that, for as all-encompassing as Freya’s charm seems to be, there are gaps beyond just Hestia and Eina’s incident a couple of episode back. Freya knows it, and so does her upper echelon, and so they’re starting to sweat Bell’s continued resistance, even if it is flagging in the face of training even some Freya members are starting to acknowledge is going overboard. The Xenos are too deep to be influenced, and so is a Loki Familia expedition to deep levels headed by Riveria. (What, exactly, this expedition is for has not, to my knowledge, been revealed in the novels, either – or at least the ones published so far in English anyway – as Sword Oratoria’s novel 12 happens between seasons 3 and 4.) How someone as powerful as Riveria might influence the situation is a legitimate worry, enough so that reassignments in anticipation of her group’s eventual return passes the smell test with the Freya rank and file. But that’s not the last suggestion this episode that Hedin is definitely up to something. He seems to be both pushing Bell and giving him opportunities.
The second factor is Mia. Although novel readers knew this for a while at this point, the anime version has only suggested that she is a retired Freya Familia member. This episode confirms both that and that Mia did, indeed, have some kind of agreement to stay out of what Freya was doing. But she’s also clearly shown as far back as the first season that she doesn’t tolerate crap, and the stunt Freya is pulling here is a big heaping load of it. Her tolerance only goes so far, and so she gives Bell the words he needs to hear, even if he’s too much in depression to realize it immediately.
The third factor, unsurprisingly, is Ais. We knew from previous episodes that she was affected, but maybe not completely; she is, after all, both part spirit and emotionally stunted, and had a connection to Bell maybe even as strong as Hestia’s (if in a different way). Even so, an Ais who has only vague impressions of her established connections to Bell is enough. Would this encounter have happened if Freya Familia members were still tailing Bell? Probably, because nothing short of Freya personally being present could have stopped the encounter, and even familia elites (other than maybe Ottarl) couldn’t have taken on a trio of level 6s without consequences. Still, them not being around meant that Bell could collect himself without anyone being the wiser – and my, Hedin seemed at least a little happy about that, didn’t he? That’s the nail in the coffin that he’s not as fully committed to this scheme as everyone else, though why is the lingering mystery when his devotion to Freya doesn’t seem to be any less than that of the others.
And then, of course, there’s Hermes, who, other than Ouranous and Hestia, is the most problematic of the gods. Even under the charm, Hermes is too clever to not notice that things are off (with Asfi not being present, and him not knowing where she is, being the biggest clue), and he’s clever enough to figure out a way to leave breadcrumbs that even the charm can’t negate when it inevitably interferes with his memory when he gets too close to the truth. How do you fight a charm like this without being aware that you’re fighting it? Put yourself in a situation where you’re being told what to do without knowing the reason why. Honestly, it’s a brilliant plan, especially given the limitations he’s operating under.
And it’s even more brilliant when you consider that the note he left Hestia, which he had to come up with on very short notice and hastily scribbled out, fits perfectly into that resistance. Current Hermes may not know why it’s important to turn all of Orario into one big hearth, but he knows himself, he knows Hestia, and he knows that’s her domain. If something is affecting his memories, and Hestia can resist it, then the key is to find a way to transfer that resistance to the city as a whole. The particulars may be murky at this point, but the firewood deliveries Hermes Familia have been tasked with almost certainly have everything do do with that scheme. Gotta give a few more creds to Ouranos at this point!
And lastly, in a way, Syr is a factor here, too. Getting into a relationship with Bell as Syr may have been something Freya deeply wished for, but it’s looking more and more like trying to corner Bell as Syr was the biggest mistake she could have made. as Bell’s memory of her is the final barrier when he’s on the brink of giving up. But that, combined with all the other factors, allows Bell to collect himself in true heroic fashion. It’s now looking a lot less promising that Freya Familia can keep things together, especially with one of their own seeming to very subtly sabotage them. And don’t forget that Ryu is locked away somewhere, too, even if we didn’t see her this episode.
Finally, kudos to the musical score for this episode. This franchise has a long-standing and well-earned representation for superlative use of its musical themes, but this episode enforces how effective it can be outside of major battle scenes, too. This also feels like the best the series has ever looked artistically. Given next episode’s title – “Vesta,” which is Hestia’s counterpart in Roman mythology – a major reversal may be looming, and I can’t wait to see it play out.
This half of the report covers Orb (which I somehow overlooked in my first half) and all fall season series I have been following which are first hitting episode 6 or 7 between 11/16 and 11/20 inclusive. Mostly these are the series that were later starters, though in one case (Reincarnated Aristocrat) the series is here instead of in part 1 because it took an unexplained week off.
Arifureta 3
Rating So Far: C+
Thanks in part to much improved technical merits, this anime adaptation has gradually become more watchable as has progressed into its third season. It also gets a somewhat interesting plot line going about how the Haulia Bunny Tribe decides to start asserting itself politically, too, with only a comparatively minor helping hand from Hajime. That being said, it’s still blatant edgelord fare, to the point of absurdity; Hajime and crew now fly around on a massive sci fi airship that would look more fitting in outer space, and I think it may actually be impossible at this point for Hajime to make a mistake. I’m really starting to wonder if how seriously this series takes itself isn’t part of a really big joke. It’s barely passable as lowbrow fare.
As A Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World2
Rating So Far: B
While the first season did set the bigger plot in motion, it largely focused on assembling Ars’ core supporters and allies. This season has moved on to dramatically advancing the plot, sometimes with diplomacy and sometimes with Ars facing his first real, direct battles. Along the way his Appraisal ability essentially levels up, too. The series is doing a pretty good job so far of showing how Ars is gradually growing into the role of being a leader who could conceivably rise much further, but this would all be a bit more credible if Ars is allowed to age up some more. At least he’s not having it easy; no shortage of capable foes are popping up in his path.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War p3
Rating So Far: B-
At this point, I’m watching Bleach much more because I’m a completionist than because I care about the storyline. Other than Uryu having turned on Ichigo and friends/allies and Grimmjow being back as a kinda-sorta ally, this story about Ywatch killing, absorbing, and replacing the Soul King isn’t mechanically much different from any of the franchise’s previous apocalyptic storylines. Like its predecessors, the plot has little more to it than an excuse to set up lots of flashy battles. That being said, the flashy battles are amazingly flashy. The franchise has never looked better than (for example) episode 33, and that and the way the series is getting just about everyone who’s ever appeared before and is still alive involved is enough to carry the content on its own. So turn your brain off and come for the sheer spectacle; who cares if it makes sense?
Demon Lord 2099
Rating So Far: B-
This “reincarnate into the future of the same world” tale invited initial comparisons to The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, and despite being an entirely different style of show, it still maintains some structural similarities. It is also easily the season’s most overlooked and underappreciated series. A former demon lord becoming a pompous, arrogant gaming streamer to reconstitute his worship-based power is a neat and fitting approach for a cyberpunk-influenced setting, and there are some unexpectedly philosophical elements involved when Veltol encounters the still-existing former hero, now reduced to being a vagabond. It can also surprise with some remarkably lavish action sequences, highlighted most by some in episode 6, and features a solid core cast. If you passed this one by at the beginning of the season, consider giving it another chance.
Nina the Starry Bride
Rating So Far: B
Nina may still act immaturely at times – she’s certainly no Shurei from The Story of Saiunkoku – but few anime heroines persevere more thoroughly on raw gumption than she does, and that (along with some protection by gorgeously handsome princes!) has enabled her to navigate some deadly-dangerous situations and still come out ahead;. Even a prince intent on using her (unknown to him, fake) status as a priestess-princess to start a conquest of her home country is having trouble reckoning with her, as even being slashed across the chest by a sword doesn’t stop her. Some big plot twists towards the end of episode 7 promise that the story will remain lively. On the technical side, the series benefits from some very pretty character designs, but the more subdued coloring prevents the look of the series from standing out.
Orb: On the Movement of the Spheres
Rating So Far: A
I may be a little biased here, since I’m a sucker for historical dramas. However, for as ugly as the content can be (torture, suicide, violent deaths, and characters being burned at the stake have all been a thing), this is a beautifully-rendered version of a manga that was known much more for its keen writing than visuals (especially in regard to its limited background art!), and it does so without sacrificing the writing one bit. These are sharply-defined characters who each have their own well-developed world views as they struggle to pursue the truth of the universe (i.e., heliocentrism) – even if that pursuit might put them at odds with the Church. Stunning twists, dramatic events, and an especially strong musical score are all highlights of one of the year’s most cerebral series. It’s my current front-runner for Best of Season honors and, unless it flounders in its second half, will likely to make my Top 10 (if not Top 5) for the year.
Ranma ½
Rating So Far: B+
The original Ranma ½ anime adaptation has long been one of the most beloved series in Western fandom, so many familiar with it approached this new version with trepidation. However, a strong case can be argued that this version is better. With support from a crisp animation effort, the series looks great, and the tighter and more efficient storytelling keeps events moving along. It proves that it can hit more sentimental notes when it needs to (see the first half of episode 5), but it also deftly captures the spirit of madcap fun which characterized the earlier version. Nowhere does that show more strongly than episode 7’s epic “Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts” showdown. (For newcomers, this is just the first in a regular running gag of making martial arts versions of activities that have nothing to do with martial arts.) The wonderful English dub is hitting all the right notes, too. Sure, there’s a big controversy over some mild censoring involving butt cracks and nipple-less breasts, but that’s ultimately a trivial issue to me. If you were holding off checking this one out because “remake,” don’t; you’re missing the season’s funniest series.
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 2
Rating So Far: B
Frankly, I didn’t have a high opinion of the first season when it first aired (due in no small part to the MC being a blatant Kirito clone), but the series grew on me more during a rewatch immediately prior to its second season’s debut, and that has carried over into this season. The lackluster personality of Haruto/Rio is still the series’ weakest point, but he is unusually insightful for an OP lead and he does at least have the conflict over keeping his past and present lives separate as he interacts with the newcomers from Japan (including his former love and biological little sister!) and one of the other summoned Heroes. Essentially, the series depends primarily on the people around Haruto being much more interesting, and giving significant chunks of the content from viewpoints other than Haruto’s doesn’t hurt. The seeds of greater plot threads lain in the first season are also now starting to bear fruit, including some surprising reappearances by characters first seen early in the series. It still hasn’t strayed far from being an OP power fantasy at heart, but it has more going for it than the lesser isekai series this season.
Shagri-La Frontier 2
Rating So Far: B+
There may not be much plot to this series, and it may not amount to anything more compelling than watching the MC get into all sorts of antics in VR games, but it still tackles what it does with gusto. The animation alone doesn’t get the credit for that, although it is a big factor; the design of the action scenes deserves at least as much credit. Sunraku also doesn’t give enough credit for how much his smarmy personality helps carry the series, either, whether he’s playing in Shangri-La Frontier or some other rando VR game. The SF Mini bits also deserve a shout-out, especially the one at the end of episode 6 about customers at an armorer being creeped out by Sunraku jealously staring in from outside. Still among the season’s most purely entertaining series.
The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor
Rating So Far: B-
This one is probably my second-favorite new series of the season (behind only I’ll Be a Villainess), but I have to rate this one distinctly lower for a couple of reasons. The first is that the series doesn’t entirely divorce itself from the inherent creep factor of a grown man having a physically 10-year-old girl as his bride, even if she is mentally older (though he doesn’t know that) and nothing physical is going on. Revelations over the course of the season have shown that his preference for girls under 14 isn’t a lolicon fetish, but rather a security measure (a fragment of a jealous goddess oriented on him can possess women age 14 or older), but that still seems a little too convenient. The balancing of cutesy and serious elements could also be better, but that’s a minor factor compared to the animation limitations that occasionally include still frames in the midst of action scenes – disappointing, since at other times the action flow actually looks pretty good. On the plus side, Jill is a delight and calls up comparisons to Tanya from The Saga of Tanya the Evil as the prepubescent-looking girl in a military uniform with a military attitude, and the contrast between her gung-ho confidence and occasional cutesy moments is utterly adorable. Not hard at all to understand how she wins people over despite her age. The musical score is a big plus on this one, too. Even with the growing animation problems, this is still a very fun series.
The Healer Who Was Banished From His Party Is, in Fact, the Strongest
Rating: B-
I was going to rate this one a step lower, but a strong episode 7 – one which furthers two key relationships and reinforces in a big way that a bigger plot is in motion – bumps the evaluation up overall. It also doesn’t hurt that this is one of the better-looking of the lower-tier fantasy series this season, with some actually decent animation, and has a co-lead in Narusena (featured above) who more than makes up for the bland personality of the titular character. Add in a potential romance beyond just the main characters and we have an RPG-styled fantasy series which seems to be striving to be more than just a typical tale about dungeon-crawling. The limp personality of Laust (who is, of course, far more capable than rumors about him suggest) is still a limiting factor on what this series can accomplish, but this one is still at least a step above the season’s bottomfeeders.
Week 7 of the Fall ’24 season marks the season’s official midway point, so let’s take a look at how some of the series airing this season are doing.
Like with the past three seasons, I am keeping up with a massive number of series this season (23 to be exact), so I am once again splitting this endeavor into two parts to keep it from being too cumbersome a read. The titles in this part are the ones that I am following which have reached episode 7 by 11/15/24. Next week’s installment will cover tittles that are hitting episode 7 or (in a few cases) 6 in the period of 11/15-11/21. And no, DanMachi will not be covered in either of these pieces since it is getting separate episode reviews.
So without further ado. . .
2.5 Dimensional Seduction
Rating So Far: B-
This series is at its best when emphasizing the different motivations for cosplaying and the way that relationships can build through cosplaying, and both of those factors are strongly evident this season as Nonoa becomes a cast regular, Mikarin returns to more active participation, and final girl Aria (the blonde who’s the redhead in the shot above) enters the stage. The love triangle dynamic created by Mikarin’s return is less effective (partly because she’s the only one who seems to be aware that there is a love triangle), but Aria compensates for that as a young woman seeking to cosplay to show love for her divorced father’s manga and hope to get his attention by becoming famous in the cosplay scene. Her more extroverted personality also fills the last gap in the group’s personality dynamic. Though Okamura is mostly reduced to the role of a supporting character by this point, he still makes important contributions, too. The somewhat flat coloring and unremarkable artistic effort still hamper this one some, but if anything its appeal as a story may be growing as it progresses.
365 Days To The Wedding
Rating So Far: B
Fake romance stories share one thing in common with real romances: how much you want to see the couple together is the single most important factor to the series’ success. That’s by far the biggest plus this series offers, as Takuya and Rika absolutely belong together: they both have similar levels of attractiveness, they both have similar levels of social awkwardness (though in somewhat different ways), and they both fit a gap in each others’ lives. The seven episodes so far all put them in situations to test whether their relationship can become more than just a fake engagement, including a surprisingly sober episode about a coworker and his family being shaken up by his wife unexpectedly seeking a divorce. Credit also goes to the staff for making the most of what feels like a relatively limited animation budget, and it’s hard not to appreciate a story focused on potential romance between two adults in the anime landscape. It may be one of the season’s more low-key offerings, but it’s a delight nonetheless.
DAN DA DAN
Rating So Far: A-
And we go from the season’s most low-key title straight to its most brazen. While I would not number this one among my favorite titles of the season, there are legitimate reasons why it’s both a critical darling and the most popular title of the season, even over former megalith Re:Zero. For starters, it’s arguably the most ambitiously and dynamically animated series of the entire year. While I prefer the prettier visual aesthetic of the animation used in Frieren or The Apothecary Diaries, neither of them has anywhere near the energy or sense of motion that this one does, and boy, does the storytelling provide ample opportunities to show that off! The appeal of the series goes well beyond just that, though. Okarun and Momo make a fabulous central duo (in addition to Momo being a great character on her own), Momo’s hot grandmother is a lively and unique supporting character, and even the villain “Turbo Granny” is tolerable now that she’s relegated to being a plushie. Episode 7 also surprised with a heartbreakingly poignant backstory explaining how the second major antagonist came to be the ghost Acrobatic Silky and linked to secondary girl Aira. Let’s not forget that it has one of the year’s best OPs, either, and its ED also isn’t shabby.
Good-Bye, Dragon Life
Rating So Far: C+
For the most part this has been a very run-of-the-mill pure reincarnation tale, in this case involving a former dragon reborn as a human man but with many of his draconic powers still intact. The main difference-maker has been the presence of the young-adult lamia Celina, though an encounter that protagonist Dolan had with a literal goddess he knew in his dragon life was also interesting. The move to a battle-heavy scenario in the last couple of episodes has been less effective, partly because Dolan, for all his power, just isn’t that interesting to watch in a fight. The portrayal of elves in this setting has also been thoroughly underwhelming (especially compared to how much attention is given to how Celina moves), and the world-building in general is a weak point. Offsetting that somewhat is a capable female magic knight who doesn’t (at least yet!) seem romantically interested in Dolan. This one is definitely watchable, and doesn’t look bad artistically (though the animation quality is less robust), but it is only borderline for being decent in a qualitative sense.
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History
Rating So Far: B+
I almost rated this one a notch higher, but a 7th episode where the titular character was mostly absent as part of a curious way to handle a time jump holds the series back some, even if that episode did serve its purpose (i.e., to give a full outside perspective on what’s transpiring). Beyond that, this is easily my favorite new series of the season, with Alicia making for the ideal spunky villainess-wannabe, with the twist that most of her efforts to be a villain wouldn’t actually be considered true villainy by objective viewers, but rather a level of pragmatic “tough love” that captures positive attention she doesn’t intend to get. The angle of Alicia serving as a break on the runaway idealism of heroine Liz, and Alicia getting into danger because she’s not getting sucked into Liz’s almost cult-like following, is also interesting (even if not completely original).
Let This Grieving Soul Retire
Rating So Far: B-
I wavered on rating this one this high, but ultimately leaned towards the generous side because I find the fundamental concept to be that amusing: Krai leads the the land’s most powerful adventuring group, and his every decision is regarded with respect and awe and in the most favorable possible light, but he’s painfully aware that he’s by far the least of his compatriots when it comes to monstrous talent (he can only get by with seeming powerful because he uses a ton of magic items) and so is always seeking ways to minimize what he has to do, whether it be foisting management duties on subordinates or getting clan underlings to do investigations for him. His only real talent is being able to manage his exceedingly eccentric childhood friends, but after seeing how some of them act, that group needs a stable pragmatist at its core, and the other members seem to recognize that even if Krai doesn’t himself. Much like with Mia in Tearmoon Empire, seeing Krai get way more credit than he wants or deserves, even as he tries to dodge having to do anything, is endlessly entertaining.
Loner Life in Another World
Rating So Far: C
This group isekai series has a lot of factors stacked against it: some of the season’s weakest artistic and technical merits, over-reliance on the game aspects, little that’s interestingly different going on, and hardly anyone but the MC and an emergent antagonist among the students being allowed to be both creative and effective with their powers. Despite that, I can’t bring myself to hate the series and am still watching it. Haruka’s commitment to the loner role helps fends off potential harem elements, and that the Class Rep snagged one of the most potent abilities mostly to keep anyone else from abusing it is also a neat touch. It’s my lowest performer of the season so far, but not the series I’m following that I’m least enthusiastic about.
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.
Rating So Far: B
I love the concept here: magical girls are adult women doing a job for a specialized business (or, in some cases, specialized departments of more regular businesses), and the different ways this can be done are examined through the eyes of the newest employee at a magical girl start-up. The execution of the concept has been solid, too, as protagonist Kana has gotten to witness magical girls that are aggressive, elegant, or businesslike working for companies that focus on aesthetics, improvisation, or efficiency, as well as experiencing the very tech-like nature of this form of magic. The most recent episode has even raised hints of a bigger plot involving the “Kaii,” which serve as the threat necessitating magical girls, possibly evolving into something more dangerous. The series looks pretty good (if a bit flat) and has a likable diversity in its cast, including at least one who seems to have a loaded backstory. This may not be top-tier entertainment for this season, but it has proven to be a reliable performer so far.
Mecha-Ude
Rating So Far: C+
The strongest thing this series has going for it is its almost manic, Studio Trigger-styled action pieces featuring the titular aliens and the hosts they have “derized” with to feed off of their host’s “Arbitrium” (whatever that is). The problem is that the series depends too much on that element, leaving other aspects anywhere from partly to wholly unsatisfying. Some of the specific blame for this is pacing that is, at times, frenetic, especially in the most recent episode. I am also not a fan of the very angular art and character design styles, and a muddled plot and a bunch of characters I don’t care about don’t help. I’m giving this a halfway decent rating out of respect for the action sequences, but this is the title closest to the cut line of all the titles this season that I’ve watched to the halfway point or beyond.
Re:Zero s3
Rating So Far: B+
Most of the core cast members (sans Ram and Rem) have gathered in Watergate City, along with all of the Royal Selection candidates, and four Archbishops of the Witch’s Cult (previously-introduced Greed and Gluttony and newly-introduced Wrath and Lust) and their minions are there, too. Add in a new bard character and a whole lotta mayhem is going down – in other words, par for the course for the franchise. I am less than thrilled about Beatrice being sidelined partway into the season (though she still has importance as something the Witch’s Cult is seeking), but Emilia remaining active despite effectively becoming a prisoner helps offset that, and that is one hell of a speech that Subaru gives in episode 7 (57 overall). This isn’t the franchise’s strongest run of episodes, but the series still doesn’t disappoint.
Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online s2
Rating: B
Prior to seeing episode 7, I was going to say that the twist which resulted in the formation of the BTRY team during Squad Jam 3 was the most disappointing of the season (if not the year), as it killed the full-blown LLENN/Pitohui team-up that was promised at the beginning of the season. The second big twist near the end of episode 7 has forced me to re-evaluate that thought, however, as the episode’s very last scene offers up the possibility of an even more interesting scenario, and earlier scenes offer up the suggestion that something of concern might be going on in the real world, too. All of the tops a season that has, so far, entirely consisted of one long in-game battle, but at least there’s been enough antics with all the different groups involved to maintain interest. This spin-off has never indicated that it isn’t meant to mostly be about lengthy online battle scenarios, but I still feel like there’s at least some room here for more plot beyond just the games (unlike Shangri-La Frontier, where the plot is in the game), and the lack of that is why I can’t rate this one higher.
That’s it for part 1! Nearly all of the titles feeding into part 2 air over the weekend or early in the week, so part 2 should be posted late on 11/20/24.
Despite Freya Familia seeming to have nearly all-encompassing control of Orario, last episode still left the status quo with a few loose ends. This episode explores several of those, while also dropping the first vague hints about possible resistance to the status quo. With so much ground to cover in various little scenes, that makes the episode’s content fly by.
Let’s take a look at how various important characters are impacted here:
Ahnya – As expected, she’s a loose end, and a big enough one that Freya decides to address it personally (even if she did have ulterior motives). Also as expected, Ahnya doesn’t understand what’s going on and is not dealing well with everyone seeming to forget Syr. The way she reacts to Allen – and the way Allen acts towards her – definitely suggests that there’s a complicated story behind how these two apparent siblings ended up this way. But what’s most curious here is how Freya seems to be going out of her way to be emotionally cruel towards Ahnya, like she’s specifically trying to distance herself from Ahnya. But is that for Ahnya’s benefit or Freya’s?
Mia – That Mia was unaffected by the charm isn’t too surprising. Once Freya was revealed to have been posing as Syr, that she would be working at an establishment run by a current or former Freya Familia member who is still quite strong only makes sense from a security standpoint; the upper echelon likely wouldn’t have tolerated anything less than a member on their level directly watching over Freya. Mia also seems to know exactly what’s going on, too, but she does not seem inclined to interfere even though she clearly isn’t happy about it. Allen does mention a threat to her tavern, but even based on anime-only content alone, I can’t see Mia being intimidated by him or anyone else in the familia’s upper echelon. Likely she has some special agreement with Freya, and if she is a retiree, it could have something to do with that.
Ryu – Ahnya may be simple-minded, but Ryu arguably had an even stronger emotional connection to Syr (even if Syr did also recruit Ahnya, much like she did Ryu), so naturally this turn is going to hit her hard, and she wasn’t going to be able to resist Freya baiting her in with Ahnya when Ryu and Asfi sought to infiltrate the city. The interesting thing here is that Freya does genuinely seem to like Ryu, to the point that she’s loathe to use her charm on Ryu and is even willing to share Bell with her in an epic three-way relationship. How much of this was merely a ploy vs. Freya’s true feelings is unclear; it may well be both, especially since she, in the end, resorts to imprisoning Ryu rather than charming or killing her.
Asfi – Of the people left unaffected, she’s the most detached emotionally, and the one most capable at stealth. She may be isolated by circumstances now, but she’s too smart for that to last. Her opportunity to shine is doubtless upcoming.
Hestia and Ouranos – Not at all surprising that Hestia would end up here; in fact, her not trying this would have been more surprising. Ouranos is playing it coy because he can’t make a move without Freya knowing about it with Fels charmed, but that was a curious direction he gave to Fels, wasn’t it? Why would he have made a point of making sure Hestia knew about firewood deliveries being done by Hermes Familia? Methinks that may have been a subtle hint to Hestia about some course of action. . .
Freya Familia – The meeting with Freya and her leadership team only raises the suspicion that Hedin – the familia’s equivalent to Loki Familia’s Finn in terms of being a strategist – is playing a bigger, longer game here while still following Freya loyally. Freya seems to be picking up on it some, but Hedin is too smart to reveal his hand, and none of the others in the upper echelon are even close to on his level of craftiness. What’s going on with Horn is even less clear; is she being influenced by Freya or trying to influence Freya?
Bell – His appearances are only relatively brief this episode, but he still seems to be holding out, and is even unwittingly throwing Freya off her game with his simple-minded but sill meaningful comments about retrieving things that one has discarded, a statement more impactful on Freya than he knows given what went down earlier with Ryu.
Freya – For not the first time, Freya gives the impression that she’s deliberately casting herself as the villainess; she’s just not openly admitting that’s what she’s doing, as Alicia is in I’ll Become A Villainess Who Goes Down in History. It almost seems like she’s trying to convince herself that she doesn’t care that she’s trampling over everyone to get what she wants, and even that has limits. (See Ryu.) The statement that she hates her own charm power is also a curious one; perhaps it’s because it makes everything too easy? That she still has that ornament in a bedroom drawer is the strongest evidence yet that she has failed to completely suppress Syr, and even Bell is noticing.
Lastly, one point about the artistic effort. It’s been very solid so far this season, but in this episode I have noticed some inconsistencies in the way Hedin’s ears are designed. They look different in side shots compared to head-on or from behind.
Things look bad for now, but the saving grace for Hestia and everyone else is that Freya, despite being insistent on what she wants, isn’t bloodthirsty about it. She’s more incredibly selfish than truly evil. That gives those who oppose what she’s doing what little chance they have.
Unlike most other movies connected to anime series, The Sacred Kingdom is not a compilation, sequel, or original side story. It is, instead, an interstitial story, one that takes place between the two main arcs of season 4 but was skipped over during the airing of season 4, presumably to set up the end of the Re-Estize Kingdom as the season’s much more dramatic finish. (There are even a couple of brief references to the events in the Roble Holy Kingdom in the second half of season 4, so they are now referring to the events depicted here.) Seeing up through at least the end of the first arc in season 4 before watching this movie is recommended, though in honesty, the events here stand well enough on their own that not being fully caught up not hinder the viewer much.
The story here focuses exclusively on the northern half of the Roble Holy Kingdom, which is facing an existential threat from a massive army of demihumans led by the demon Jaldabaoth (aka Demiurge). Faced with a foe they can’t handle on their own, the paladin defenders of Roble reluctantly seek the help of the great hero Momon, and so travel to the newly-established Sorcerer Kingdom. To their surprise, the Sorcerer King himself, Ains Ooal Gown, decides to assist them personally, and the young female squire Neia is assigned to be Ains’ escort. As she assists and speaks with Ains in his endeavors to face off against Jaldabaoth, Neia gradually becomes more impressed with the Sorcerer King, even to the point of using him as a standard to define her sense of justice – much to the dismay of head paladin Calca, who (more rightly than she knows) doesn’t trust an undead.
Like with some earlier story arcs, the perspective here isn’t that of Ains or any of his chief minions; in fact, beyond Demiurge, the only Nazarick minion which has more than a cameo appearance (if even that!) is the little-used-in-animation Pleiades member CZ2128. Instead, the viewpoint is primarily that of new character Neia, and to a much lesser extent Calca. But the franchise has shown multiple times before that it can function well based on outsider perspectives of Ains and his people, and that works at least as well in this case, too. Neia deserves the bulk of the credit for this, as she is both an engaging character and makes for an interesting study in how an ordinary person can gradually become a zealot through circumstances. One of the multiple juicy ironies in the story is that Ains wasn’t deliberately aiming for this; he was just being congenial with Neia (as he was with the Swords of Darkness members back in season 1), and his dramatic help to Neia’s cause was, at least in part, staged, but it’s not hard to understand why Demiurge would interpret that as deliberate intent. That Neia had such a favorable view of Ains certainly contributed to her getting along so well with CZ; their teamwork in the movie’s later stages is arguably more of a highlight than the big, flashy battle scenes.
The substance of the roughly 135 minute movie comes from the various ruminations on justice scattered throughout the film. Paladins form the core of the Roble Holy Kingdom’s defenders, and their very existence is bound to the pursuit of justice. When this starts to be used against them by the demihuman forces, various key characters on the Roble side – most notably Neia and Calca – have to consider if their definition of justice needs to be modified or even re-thought entirely. Is justice based on idealism still functional, or does it have to be based on practicality in order for it to be achievable? In dealings with Ains, Neia going in the latter direction is only natural, while ironically, the justice and distrust maintained by Calca proves to actually be correct even though no one around her will believe that Ains and Jaldabaoth are working together to stage the whole thing.
Like the series, much of the content has grim overtones to it, with no shortage of bloody slaughter and graphic deaths involving even children. However, also like the series, it makes room for various bursts of both ordinary and dramatic action sequences (though the biggest battles are commonly trimmed in favor of emphasizing smaller, easier-to-animate action sequences). Also like the series, the movie does find its opportunities for humor, too, especially in the curious emphasis that various figures put on “rune technology” (this is the reference that seeing the first part of season 4 is most necessary to understand), Ains’ reactions to Neia at times, and CZ’s comically bad acting, which Neia doesn’t seem to pick up on. The nearly-full theater I watched this in was chuckling or laughing out loud at multiple points.
The animation effort is a step up from what the TV series accomplished, while the musical effort was in line with the styles used in the series. I watched the English dubbed version, which worked perfectly fine; veteran Sarah Weidenheft (Black Clover‘s Charmy, Zombie Land Saga‘s Lily) is a great fit for Neia, while Michelle Rojas hits just the right delivery cadence as CZ.
I can’t speak to how the movie serves as an adaptation, since I have not read that deeply into the source material, but from an anime-only perspective the movie serves as a capable and entertaining display of the franchise’s strengths. Its main weakness is some somewhat choppy editing, which results in what might be expected to be featured battles being cut out entirely and thus some abrupt scene transitions. Even with that, though, it’s a worthy addition to the franchise that’s well worth watching by any franchise fan.
USA Anime 