With this episode, this take on the source novels begins its adaptation of the second novel. It equates to episode 8 of the original series, since the original episode 7 was only released on DVD and adapts a short story which comes up later in the novels (but chronologically happens between novels 1 and 2). More importantly, it introduces a character who will play a major role throughout the second arc: the shepherdess Noa.
Actually, “introduces” may be overstating the case, since she only briefly appears at the beginning of the episode as an enigmatic cloaked figure and then again at the end as she encounters Lawrence and Holo – and in this version, she doesn’t even have a line of dialog. Still, bringing her into the picture explains her prominence in both the opener and closer. It also makes for an interesting reveal: she is the kind of human that Holo hates the most. Given who Holo is, it’s not hard to understand why, but this also carries a double meaning. Proclaiming shepherds to be the basest enemies of wolves is not a stretch, but the fact that this one is female – and a very young, pretty woman at that – was almost certainly not lost on Holo, too. Wise as she may be, Holo is also a very emotional being, so petty, unfounded jealousy would certainly not be out of character for her.
Some of the gossip that Lawrence and Holo hear prior to encountering Noa is also interesting here. Tales are being spread of a sorcerer in the area who controls wolves. If “keep wolves at bay” can be interpreted as controlling them, then a skilled shepherd could, to those not knowledgeable about the profession, seem to have almost mystical abilities. Shepherds also traditionally exist at the fringes of society because of the nature of their occupation, and throughout the real Middle Ages individuals on the fringes were the ones most commonly targeted by accusations of witchcraft. Hence supernatural traits being attributed to a shepherd is quite believable. Or is there something more about Noa than immediately meets the eye? One of the main characters is the human form of a giant wolf, after all.
But future episodes will deal more with that. More immediately, Holo gets another opportunity to help Lawrence put one over on a merchant, this time one who was using a slightly tilted table to reap an advantage in a trade agreement concerning Lawrence’s pepper. While it is another opportunity for both characters to be clever, the merchant’s reaction to Lawrence’s insistence on taking his new goods in armor seems a little suspicious. Lawrence takes the armor with the intent of selling it in the city of Ruvinheigen, where annual crusades against pagans start, but that’s not the only vague inkling that something may be going on market-wise that Lawrence doesn’t know about. A second clue comes in the presence of mercenaries moving south from Ruvinheigen. This version does not elaborate on the significance of this point like the original does, but still, the fact that mercenaries would be moving south when, theoretically, a crusade should be gathering also seems suspicious. This smells like the seeds of an upcoming crisis, as does the not-so-casual reference to packs of wolves in the area. Holo can likely deal with them without issue, but that also seems like a significant point.
On the whole, this version covers the same territory and major points as the original adaptation, but here we start to see more variance in the details. This version includes some details from the source novel that the original skipped over (such as the bit about Holo having met “Saint” Ruvinheigen long in the past) but omits others that the original version does include (such as the aforementioned elaboration on the significance of the mercenaries). It also presents some of the same information in different ways and under different circumstances, though these differences are not meaningful to the overall story. Most notably, the scene where Lawrence and Holo are talking in the room in the inn before going to see the merchant about the pepper continues a trend in this adaptation of portraying Holo in a more playful, cutesy fashion. That gives Holo a bit of a different allure here compared to the original, but in this case it’s not a negative.
What opportunities will arise with meeting the shepherdess? And what seemingly-innocuous details spilled in this episode are going to become important later on? Come back next week to find out!
We’re approaching the midpoint of the Spring 2024 season, and thanks to having more free time on my hands than expected, I am still keeping up with way too many series. Hence, to keep this mid-season round-up from getting too cumbersome, I am once again splitting it into two parts.
Last time I split the list according to what was and was not getting weekly episode reviews on Anime News Network. This time around there’s a spread of as many as three episodes on where series are at this point (one series is still on episode 4 as I write this due to taking an unplanned week off, while a few others have already hit episode 7), so this first installment will cover titles that have at least reached their sixth episode as of 5/11/24 and the second installment will cover the rest. Since the two titles I am episode-reviewing fall into the former category, this installment will be a little shorter. Also, I will not be covering The Misfit at Demon King Academy, since I finally lost interest in that one and dropped it after this season’s first couple of episodes.
NOTE: References to MAL are to the site MyAnimeList.
A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics
Rating So Far: B
This one is almost as much an advertisement for Gifu Prefecture as it is a series, but beyond that, it lives up to its name by focusing on an eclectic bunch that include a detective; a young, practical-minded princess from a fantasy world living with the detective; the female knight of said princess who’s mostly been living homeless; the leader of a cult who’s trying to recruit the female knight as a savior; and a former sex worker who was the lead singer in a failed girl band. The latter three seem to be on course to make this the fourth series this season to feature the formation of an all-girl band, while the detective/princess duo tackle random cases in other episodes. The characters and the odd situations they get in keep the series entertaining enough, and the technical merits are solid, but the whole thing feels directionless. That may be the point, though; these are just a bunch of weirdos hanging out in Gifu. Not a high-priority view, but definitely a solid keeper.
Delicious in Dungeon
Rating So Far (this cour): A-
With Frieren and The Apothecary Diaries no longer hanging over it, this one is stepping up to become one of the season’s top performers. Episodes 14-17 took a more dramatic turn, which may not set as well with those who have become enamored with the cast just goofing around, but episode 18 (and, to a lesser extent, 19) represent a return to its more typical form of the cast having to figure out how to get through all kinds of odd situations in sometimes-screwball fashion. It’s certainly one of the best-looking series of the season (with a highlight being the design of the Falin chimera), the well-balanced cast continues to be delightful, and the take on various dungeon scenarios and foes is rather clever. Continues to be highly recommended for any fantasy RPG fan.
I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince
Rating So Far: C
Of all the series in this part, this is the one closest to the chopping block. (I’m only still watching it because I have commonly had little to do on Monday nights this season.) That’s mostly because Lloyd has become one of the most irritating protagonists that I have encountered in quite some time. It’s not how OP he is; it’s his character’s attitude. The series does have some decent technical merits and gets some entertainment value from its more involved looks at how magic works in the setting, some respectable action sequences, and some likable supporting characters (especially Tao). However, the series has yet to prove that it can be compelling or involving.
Laid-Back Camp 3
Rating So Far: B+
The artistic tweaks resulting from the studio change may have taken some time to adjust to, but ultimately this season has all the same appeal that the previous installments did. The only other real difference is that Nadeshiko’s former friend Ayano, who only barely appeared previously, is a major character for the season’s first half (at the expense of a trio of regulars), but that didn’t change the balance or functionality of the series one bit since Ayano fits in seamlessly with the normal antics. Lots of camping, eating, travelogue elements, scenery porn, and girls cutely delighting in it all, which combine to give the audience warm fuzzies. What more is there to ask for here?
Re:Monster
Rating So Far: B-
Wow, this series has some definite issues that it plays off in a fashion that may be too flippant for some viewers’ tolerances. Like in Goblin Slayer, female captives are used by goblins as brood mares, though this aspect is barely touched on early and dodged around afterwards by the existing ones dying off. (Why goblins need to do that is unclear, since there are clearly female goblins in this setting.) Goburo/Oguro essentially does away with this practice, but most of the female captives wind up having sex with him anyway – some willingly, some not, and the unwilling inevitably being members of enemy forces doesn’t soften that much. The series also dodges around the protagonist eating humanoids, too. The narrative format used in the first episode continues throughout, but I don’t mind that. The bigger problem is how much the goblins are accomplishing in such a short time frame; events that play out in about 2½ months would be more sensible spread over a whole year. And of course there’s the whole issue of how OP the protagonist is quickly getting; he’s already at the point where nothing can seriously challenge him.
Despite the issues, I have found this one to be largely entertaining, and it’s got a fantastic simuldub; this is the first lead role for Sean Letourneau (the voice Goburo/Oguro), but he’s a real talent. Not a priority view, but still a solid one if you aren’t chased off by its questionable aspects.
Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included
Rating So Far: C+
This one looked from the start to be a completely traditional supernatural harem romcom series, and after seven episodes it has proven to be such a dedicated stylistic throwback that I almost wonder if the writing is doing that intentionally. Towa is every bit Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess (down even to having a kid sister angel show up!) and a childhood friend and blond yuki-onna are in the mix, too, as friends who might want to be more. (Okay, the childhood friend definitely does.) The most recent episode has also introduced an older aunt and her editor (think Fruits Basket) and an eyepatch-sporting girl who is definitely a chunibyo and may or may not be a vampire, too. (The character being both would be a fresh twist.) All the antics and little joys are utterly run-of-the-mill fare, and none of the characters so far are overly memorable, but at least the series looks pretty good. Although decent entertainment, the series is bland enough that generating any enthusiasm for it is difficult.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 3
Rating So Far: C+
This series does involve more than than just strategy meetings, right? Yet it feels like at least half of this third season (including some entire episodes!) have just been one big strategy meeting or another. Granted, the scale on which Rimiru must now operate has necessitated this to a certain extent, as both he and the nation of Tempest are now literal world powers, and it’s not like the series has entirely lost its charm; the familiar characters are who they always were and some of the developments (such as the road design and defense) have interesting technical aspects. Also, a long-awaited Rimiru/Hinata meeting is finally on the near horizon, and new schemers have revealed themselves. Technical merits aren’t great, but that was never a main selling point of the franchise. Overall, it’s been a decent but unexciting season so far for this one.
The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases
Rating So Far: D
This is persistently the lowest-rated series in ANN’s weekly rankings and the second-lowest-rated show of the season on both Crunchyroll and MAL (behind only Highspeed Etoile in both cases, which isn’t making the ranking on ANN’s lists), so it should be no surprise that it’s also the clear bottomfeeder of the two dozen or so series I am following this season. Its one plus is that closer “Meritocracy” by Aimi is easily one of the season’s best EDs, but everything else it does is at best mediocre and outright fails much more often than that. Weak animation, lackluster artistic efforts, an uninteresting protagonist, cartoonish villains, poorly-executed action scenes, an utter lack of compelling characters or drama. . . the list of faults is long. Episode 7, which adds a slightly interesting twist on standard reincarnation scenarios, is a little better, but the series has dug itself a hole that may be insurmountably deep.
The Irregular at Magic High School 3
Rating So Far: B
This franchise has always had certain irksome aspects which keep me from fully embracing it, but thankfully those haven’t been as prevalent this season. Instead, the series has mostly focused on what it’s good at: complicated, multi-layered scheming and magical mechanics. To be sure, there have still been some elaborate action sequences here and there, and that aspect looks like it could be heating up as the series plunges into the heart of its second arc of the season, but the emphasis has been much more on establishing new characters, implementing schemes, and figuring out said schemes and making counter-moves. In that regard it’s been much like Slime, but all of the plotting and planning seems less out of character here.
Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy- 2
Rating So Far (this cour): B-
In some senses, this series is also in the same story mode as Slime. As it has progressed through its second half, it has continued to be more plot-driven than the first series, at the expense of the crazy spirit which enticingly characterized the first series. Even so, the (almost too broad) supporting cast is decent, and at least some of the plot twists have been intriguing, if not necessarily original; even the most novel one – about Makoto and his business running afoul of the Merchant’s Guild – has parallels to Parallel World Pharmacy, though here it takes on a more practical and less villainous aspect. (It also presents a welcome rare case where Makoto and his allies can’t solve a problem just by overpowering it.) In other words, the series is still good entertainment, just not for the same reasons that it was in the first season.
That’s it for now. I will return in either one or two weeks for Part 2. (Next weekend there may be a review of the movie Oni-Girl instead, since I intend to be at its world debut at Anime Central.)
Whether you’re a newcomer to the franchise with this series or a long-established fan, this was always going to be the make-or-break episode for this adaptation’s first story arc: the point where Holo finally fully reveals her true form. Up until this point, the new adaptation has done a mostly-worthy job of matching the late 2000s version as it follows the same story beat-for-beat. This episode continues to succeed on the latter point, as absolutely nothing happens here that didn’t happen in the original’s episode 6. However, it falls woefully short on the former, enough so that even newcomers may be underwhelmed by what should be a very impactful episode.
I could point to a number of small contributing factors to this weak performance: the music is, at best, only mediocre at setting the tone (and vastly inferior to what’s used in the original for this whole episode), scene staging is more pedestrian, Lawrence isn’t convincingly enough scared of Holo’s true form, and Yarei just doesn’t carry quite the same impact in the appeal to Lawrence when they finally meet as Chloe did in the original adaptation. (The latter point may be controversial, but I stick by it.) However, the biggest culprit is one thing that has arguably been the newest adaptation’s biggest strength up to this point: the design of Holo. Her giant wolf form is so vastly less intimidating here – so almost cute, even – that I could not shake the impression of her just being a large pet dog. Compare that to her much fiercer look in the original, especially in the eyes:
The novel describes Holo’s true form as being inherently terrifying, well beyond her just being a massive wolf. Which screen shot more effectively conveys that?
Beyond that, the first 2/3 of the episode is the most action-oriented the series ever gets, with an extended chase sequence, Holo scaring off hunting dogs with a howl, and even some brief, decently-handled fight scenes. These sequences do convey effectively that with the amount of manpower Medio is devoting to hunting Lawrence and Holo (or, really, specifically Holo) down in the sewers, them getting cornered eventually was inevitable, which was why this was always a desperate gambit to begin with. But as both the incident and its aftermath show, the fatal flaw to cornering the two in the sewers is that Holo can use her true form without fear of revealing herself to the general public, and Lawrence’s show of loyalty in the face of deadly peril is all the impetus she needs to go through with it.
But this whole scenario would not be complete without the conversation between Lawrence and Richten afterwards. It wraps up the economic side of things as effectively as Holo’s transformation wrapped up the physical danger side, and the the play Richten relates to Lawrence is a nice little touch which guides the series directly towards the “spice” part of its title. (I also like the added touch of how the king essentially soaked Milone on transaction fees to minimize his losses. Some aspects of business don’t change even despite the passage of hundreds of years.) The reuniting of Lawrence and Holo at the end was just as effective here as it was in the original, with the implication that Holo sent off that invoice knowing well how Lawrence would react to it; she was essentially saying, “if you were serious, come get me.” A little more reflection by Yarei might have been nice in here, too, but that wasn’t in the original novel and I’m not sure there was any convenient place to put it anyway.
In all, this episode bring the adaptation of the first novel – and thus the series’ first story arc – to a conclusion that justifies the series’ title and is at least satisfying in plot and character development senses. It definitely falls short of achieving what it could have, though.
Episode 4 ended with Zagan kicking Nephy out in an effort to distance her from the threats she might face by being associated with an Archdemon. The next two episodes demonstrate that, as well-intentioned as Zagan may have been, this was a terrible idea which negatively affects both characters involved – and, somewhat ironically, proves why they should be together.
Episode 5 also accomplishes one other important task: it proves that the series can function fine with Zagan mostly absent for a whole episode. Nephy has always had an undeniable cute appeal, but she has also slowly become stronger and more interesting as a character. Zagan’s “why be bothered by what makes you different” attitude seems to have made her more comfortable with herself, to the point that she is becoming more assertive, more willing to clearly stake out what she wants and pursue it with determination. She’s no longer a doormat; she wants to be with Zagan, both because he can understand her and because she can sense his vulnerability, and is willing to resist another sorcerer even from a disadvantageous position in order to affirm that conviction. She’s now a character who can be rooted for rather than just regarded as eye candy.
Episode 5 also brings two other female characters featured in the OP more prominently into play. Manuela had only appeared once before – as the harpy who runs the clothing shop and dressed Nephy up in an outrageous outfit or two – but she clearly took a liking to Nephy at that point, so coming to the abandoned Nephy’s defense in this case seems reasonable. Chastille, meanwhile, was already wavering in her convictions about Zagan, and she’s too good-hearted to hold anything against Nephy despite her association with Zagan. Whether intentionally or not, they play crucial roles by helping Nephy sort out her feelings and understand why Zagan did what he did.
Barbatos turning out to be the mastermind in this case was no surprise, though him being the apprentice of the sorcerer Zagan killed as a child was a more interesting twist. His complete curb-stomping by Zagan – who arrives in time to rescue Nephy after Barbatos takes both Nephy and Chastille – was expected, but that ultimately proves to be one of the least interesting aspects of these two episodes. (This is also why I’m rating episode 6 a bit lower.)
Far more interesting are the world-building aspects in play here. In episode 4, the other Archdemons spoke about the ability Zagan had which made him worthy to join their ranks, but seeing it in action here clarifies why they found it impressive enough to warrant that consideration. Even if they’re more powerful, any sorcerer would have a difficult time facing Zagan down one-on-one, especially with his gimmick now reinforced by the power of an Archdemon’s seal. In many TTRPGs, being able to reliably counterspell allows a caster to control the flow of magical battles, and the “battle” between Zagan and Barbatos in episode 6 is Exhibit A on why. With the big boost the Archdemon emblem gives Zagan, he’s not going to run short on mana (i.e., spell slots) first, either. At least as interesting, though, is the nature of demons in this setting. The adaptation does an excellent job of making the demon an intimidating presence despite its rather amorphous form, and that the demon was beholden to Zagan’s emblem raises big questions about the nature of those emblems and the foundation of Archdemon power.
But that’s a concern for the long term. The more immediate delight is that Nephy and Zagan are back again and Zagan effectively proposed (clumsy as it was). Issue can definitely be taken with Nephy effectively requesting that the slave collar be used as a stand-in for an engagement ring, as it smacks uncomfortably of Raphtalia doing something somewhat similar in The Rising of the Shield Hero with the slave seal. In both cases, the girls do this as a sign of their firm commitment to the guy in question, and any negative connotations be damned. (That we know neither master is going to abuse it is irrelevant on this matter) I do wonder what the townspeople and Nephy’s new female friends (who both saw her without the collar) are going to think about that, but I’m not holding my breath to see if the series will even bring that up.
Taken together, these two episodes round out the adaptation of the first source novel. (Episode 5 adapts Chapter 4 of the original novel, while episode 6 adapts Chapter 5.) Now that the relationship between the two has been firmed up (even if each of them is unsure how far it goes!), I am curious to see where the story goes next.
Episode 4 ended with a crisis which demanded quick action. But while this series is many things, it’s definitely not an action series at heart. It has its own way of dealing with a crisis, and that is beautifully demonstrated by how episode 5 plays out.
As much as the series is about Holo and Lawrence, it is also a thinking person’s series. Understanding an opponent’s motive and goals is critical in a situation like this, as is using the clues that the situation gives Lawrence and Richten to deduce how far along the opposition is in their own plan and how they might logically react to various approaches. By avoiding panic, they realize that using Holo as a playing chip isn’t without some complications on Medio’s side, and that restricts Medio’s actions enough to give them a chance to outmaneuver Medio enough to force a compromise. And that rescuing Holo and going into hiding for a day or two is a necessary part of that plan gives Lawrence the opportunity he needs to prove that Holo’s trust in him was warranted. This is exactly why Holo allowed herself to get caught to protect Lawrence, even if the rescue part didn’t go quite the way she anticipated.
That whole business makes clear one thing about Holo that has been somewhat implied by previous episodes: she’s quite the romantic soul, even if she would probably fiercely deny it as a matter of pride. As much as she might tease, she has definite expectations for any male she might call a companion. It’s also why Yarei’s declaration to her hit her harshly, even though she had resolved to leave the village behind. She had wistfully believed that she was doing so because she was no longer needed, but being so bluntly rejected was a bitter repudiation of her long service to the village. That Yarei was going to see her turned over to the Church was a blow much more because it was a final affirmation that the village had moved on from her than because her life was at risk – because, as she later points out to Lawrence, it really wasn’t as long as he carried some of the wheat.
The series wouldn’t be true to itself without plenty of direct banter between Lawrence and Holo, which is why the wagon scene between them was such a delight. One of Holo’s most devilish aspects is how swiftly she can transition between displaying genuine emotion and teasing, but Lawrence is now at least halfway to holding his own in such exchanges. Easily the most fun part is the way Holo, now in a good mood, is goofing around in the background while Lawrence talks to the wagon driver. I’ll likely be repeatedly replaying that scene for a long time, and it’s a rare new addition to the series for this time around.
Besides that goofing around, the only difference of any significance between this episode 5 and episode 5 of the first adaptation is Yarei appearing instead of Chloe – and frankly, the significance of that reversion to the original novel is debatable, since whether the character from Pasloe speaking to Holo is male or female is inconsequential to how that scene plays out. The episode starts and stops in the same place and uses the exact same scenes, just with some altered building designs. In general, Holo’s expressiveness is a little more pronounced in this version, but that comes at the cost of weaker music support. As I’ve said on previous occasions, Penkin’s music is not bad here, but especially in the wagon scene it just doesn’t carry the same impact.
One more episode to go this adaptation of the first novel. The final scenes strongly suggest that a showdown is coming. This version has proven the equal of the original in most respects so far; can it hold that true through the dramatic events to come?
With its fourth episode, the economic scheme that Lawrence has gotten a whiff of expands, with Lawrence wading into deeper water as he arranges a deal with the Milone Trading Company. But while the potential returns are fantastic, this also leads to the series’ first true crisis and cliffhanger ending.
In the long run this is going to be a valuable lesson for Lawrence, because, though still relatively young, he’s experienced enough that he should have anticipated the trouble. (Holo, who’s not a merchant, did, but her vices kept her from remembering until almost too late.) A gain big enough that he could open his own store has his head in the clouds, and thus not able to see the dangerous situation he’s put himself in. Economically speaking, merchants like him are small fish in a vast sea, and he has swum into the territory of sharks. With so much money potentially at stake, naturally there will be some who won’t be above using violence to make sure that others don’t interfere. And while there’s no better protection in the city than the grounds of a major trading company (which is virtually an embassy), such a company isn’t going to help you in a crisis unless there’s a vested interest in them doing so, either.
Which brings us to the matter of why, exactly, the Medio Trading Company (who’s behind the scheme) went after Lawrence and Holo. Richten, the Milone branch manager, is rightly confused about this point, since under normal circumstances having Lawrence and Holo captive gives Medio no leverage; Lawrence has already passed on the crucial info, after all, and their plans are already in motion. The clue to that goes back to the series’ first current-timeline scene: Lawrence’s conversation at the military checkpoint. The Church of this world, which has been portrayed as analogous to the Roman Catholic Church of medieval/Renaissance Europe, would regard beings like Holo as heretical. The Church has waged wars against pagans, and so would prosecute vigorously anyone associated with a heretic. Even a great company like Milone would be in a tight spot if they were known to be working with a heretic, so the not-so-veiled threat to turn over Holo to the Church is no idle warning.
But for Medio to go after Lawrence and Holo with intent to use them (or, more precisely, Holo) for this kind of leverage, they would have had to know who Holo was. Lawrence wasn’t shy about using Holo’s name, but since she was an obscure local god, only someone from that area would recognize it. Given how episode 1 played out, only two characters could possibly fit that role, and one makes far more sense to be the mysterious arrival in the episode’s epilogue than the other. And that effectively reveals who the noble behind Medio has to be, too.
The episode isn’t all crisis, though. Lawrence is in the best mood we’ve seen him in prior to that, which prompts him to share his long-term dreams. A traveling merchant’s greatest desire being to settle down in a town and open a store is a goal also explored in Ascendance of a Bookworm, so it’s little surprise that Lawrence has a similar goal, but while Holo is genuinely happy to see Lawrence potentially be that successful, it also puts her in a fix. She’s looking to travel north, not settle down, and as she makes clear in her weaker moments this episode, companionship is everything to her now. She’s been alone too long, so she is getting every bit as much out of this relationship as Lawrence is, maybe more. Unlike Lawrence, she just doesn’t measure the value in coins. How effectively the writing portrays that may be the actual true highlight of the the episode.
In terms of comparison, this episode covers the exact same ground as the original episode 4 and stops in the exact same place, and minor adjustments to scene design and framing don’t create any exciting improvements. While the artistic merits are perhaps a bit higher, this production also leans more into darker lighting, not always to the production’s benefit.
After three generally more relaxed episodes, the plot is cranking hard and the tension is building. How will Lawrence be able to pull off the rescue of Holo that she expects? Come back next episode to see!
In my Preview Guide entry for episode 1, I had mixed feelings about this series and the seemingly-stereotypical path it was going down, but I did recognize some potential positive points. In the three episodes since then, those positive points have blossomed and been joined by some unexpected elements, gradually turning this into one of the season’s most welcome surprises. And the series is accomplishing this despite not doing anything all the different or special.
Indeed, a lot of what transpires in these three episodes feels very familiar. Zakan is very much cut from the same cloth as Takuma/Diablo in How NOT to Summon A Demon Lord: a powerful sorcerer who’s such a social misfit that he has no normal friends or clue how to talk to girls (or really anyone else), which commonly results in him coming off as more gruff than he intends. He’s actually a more decent guy at heart than he gives him credit for, though, and is determined to do right by Nephy rather than treat her as property, which results in his behavior being markedly different with her around. There are clothes to buy for Nephy, honest money to earn to pay for them, and new foods for both of them to try. On a more serious note, because sorcerers are persecuted by the Church in this setting, there’s conflict to be had there, too.
One fact which helps set this series apart a bit is how cloyingly cute the interactions between Nephy and Zakan are. Nephy is a gorgeous character design to begin with, and her reactions to things – especially how she blushes in her ears and twitches them when happy – are thoroughly adorable. A good dynamic also starts to form between them as they both get more comfortable with each other, which is especially evident in episode 4. The real turning point, though, comes in episode 3, when Zakan has to fend of some Church knights who have become convinced that he’s behind a spate of recent kidnappings. That’s when the truth about why Nephy refers to herself as a Cursed Child starts to come out: she’s a true mage in an environment which only knows sorcery, and quite powerfully capable in a pinch because of that. (The relationship between magic and sorcery in this setting seems to be somewhat similar to how it works in The Ancient Magus’ Bride – one of the many similarities between that property and this one.) She’s had a rough time in life because people haven’t understood that, and in a surprising move, she reveals that she’s not above taking some satisfaction in the kin that had long mistreated her getting slaughtered. But none of that is a problem for Zakan because he can relate; his life was pretty crappy, too, and he would have conducted the slaughter himself in Nephy’s situation. As the story pushes into episode 4 and he starts formally instructing Nephy in magic, there’s a growing sense that Zakan is as ideal a fit for her as she is for him.
The story shifts more to plot and word-building with the second half of episode 4, as the first half of the title finally comes into play. Apparently Archdemon isn’t just a title in this world; it carries literal, rather than just figurative, power. Zakan’s not the most powerful sorcerer among the candidates to fill the recent vacancy in the Archdemon ranks, but he has an unusual talent which could eventually make him among the greatest of sorcerers, and the other Archdemons recognize that. But they also give the very distinct sense that choosing Zakan is as much about keeping a potential future threat close at hand. Though that certainly ensures that Zakan will be powerful enough to survive anything, he also recognizes how this could endanger Nephy, leading to a heartbreaking but predictable major plot twist.
For as serious and heavy as some aspects of the series are, though, it has a pronounced light-hearted side, too. The one good joke in the first episode proves not to have been a fluke, and the series is arguably at its most entertaining when it leans into its cutesy humor. The closest the series has gotten to fan service is the sputter-worthy first outfit that the winged clothing story proprietress puts her in, but even that is, in a sense, adorable, too. The biggest concern at this point is some troubling signs of the artistic quality not holding up, but that isn’t yet to the level of being a significant distraction.
An Archdemon’s Dilemma will probably never be regarded as one of the season’s prestige titles, and that’s fair. However, it is proving to be a solid mid-tier performer, to the point that it is now a priority view for me. I may not end up reviewing this one every week, but I feel certain that this isn’t the last time I’ll be talking about this series.
This week the English simuldub begins, lagging two weeks behind. Brina Palencia and J. Michael Tatum are back reprising their roles from the dub of the first series, and all’s right with the world. While they had an unenviably tough act to follow in voicing the two protagonists, their performances are widely-regarded in the West as being as iconic as the originals, and the dub of episode 1 shows why. Ami’s performance of Holo conveys her energy and slyness a bit better, but Brina’s performance give the character a more pronounced haughtiness which fits just as well, and you can’t go wrong with either take on Lawrence. Of course, this is to be expected, since Brina and Michael have been voicing the audiobooks for the original novels over the last couple of years, but I know I’m far from the only long-time franchise fan who breathed a sigh of relief at the recent cast announcements.
For returning franchise fans, episode 3 covers the exact same scenes and conversations as its counterpart in the original and stops in the exact same place, further suggesting that this adaptation has no intent to pick up the pace and will stick with the six-episodes-per-novel pattern of the original two seasons. The visuals in some scenes are reimagined and some minor details have been altered in trivial ways (the Milone merchant Lawrence deals with used a hand-held abacus in the original but a tabletop version here), but this is ultimately the exact same episode.
For newcomers, episode 3 represents a shift from the relationship-building focus of the previous episode to a more decided economics focus. We get to see Lawrence in action as he deals first with a trading house merchant to sell his furs and then with a money exchanger as he tries to puzzle out what, exactly, Zheren’s scheme is. Along the way, he also gives Holo a lesson in money and all-too-often glossed-over complexity of a setting where a single standard coin doesn’t exist. Even in modern day, the stability and trustworthiness of a currency directly affects a nation’s power; for instance, the dollar being the world’s most trusted currency is no small part of the U.S. being the world’s most powerful and influential country. That’s doubly true in this setting, where the silver content of a coin more immediately and directly affects the coin’s value. Because of that, decreasing the silver content of coins is risky, since the currency would be regarded as less trustworthy if people found out about it. But what if it was being decreased in stages, at increments so small that even expert moneychangers couldn’t tell? Certainly sounds like a way to get more coins for the same amount of silver. Throw in some rumors that the opposite is happening, thus getting people to speculate in the wrong direction, and those in the know stand to make a hefty sum. By the end of the episode, Lawrence is starting to get a sense of just how big this scheme could actually be: big enough that Zheren is but a bit player to a vastly greater interest.
This episode also shows much better than the second what value Holo can contribute to Lawrence’s business. The previous two episodes revealed that she’s more than a little clever and catches on quickly, and this episode shows why you don’t want to have a battle of wits with her. How completely she bowled over the trading house merchant was a thing of beauty, and she can offer insights and alternate angles that Lawrence might not consider on his own. Lawrence is hardly helpless here, since he still has to use his business acumen to take advantage of what Holo can offer, but she makes for a fearsome back-up in many different ways. And she can apparently be bribed with apples and wine, too!
Just how big and deep is the scheme whose fringes Lawrence has now detected? Look forward to finding out next episode!
Episode 1 may have established the series’ operating premise, but episode 2 is the series’ make-or-break episode, the one which determines whether or not viewers are around for the long haul. That’s because most of the episode is one on-and-off conversation between Holo and Lawrence on a variety of matters, so the appeal almost entirely depends on the chemistry between the two. This was the episode that made me a major fan back when the original version first aired, and I am pleased to say that its new version (which covers exactly the same material and mostly the same dialog) captures every bit of the interpersonal charm that is as much a cornerstone of the story as the economic aspects are.
Plot-wise, very little transpires here beyond the formal beginning of the first story arc and the introduction of the first economic conundrum. (I’ll get back to that shortly.) Holo and Lawrence have their initial few days of journeying together, wait out a rainstorm in a church, and converse with some fellow travelers. Along the way, Holo delights in teasing Lawrence and showing off her superior wit, though we also get the first indications that she’s not too fond of anyone else getting the best of her in a match of wits. That leads to one of the episode’s pivotal scenes: Lawrence getting truly upset with her when some of her sharpest teasing (in response to him getting in a rare good verbal jab) unwittingly touches on some past trauma. Watching how Holo reacts in both body language and expression when she realizes she’s gone too far is a great bit of both writing and visual portrayal and a stark contrast to her delightfully spirited, almost playful behavior elsewhere in the episode. Viewers can also easily sympathize with Lawrence over how much of a handful Holo is to deal with, and yet there’s never a sense (beyond the instance mentioned above) that Lawrence minds it all that much.
And that spirited, playful behavior includes spending a fair bit of the episode nonchalantly prancing around naked in front of Lawrence when they dry their clothes out in their room at the church. While this could definitely be looked at as an extended fan service scene, the camera isn’t particularly lurid in framing Holo during these scenes and they definitely serve a point: to show that she regards being naked in front of Lawrence as a triviality. (It’s also entirely possible that she’s doing some of it deliberately to tease Lawrence further.)
But another key point in this episode is that Lawrence isn’t entirely helpless or a fool. He is very worldly and shows that he knows his stuff on the business front when he’s speaking to the vintner in the common room and dealing with Zheren. The currency manipulation scheme Zheren introduces Lawrence to constitutes the beginning of the series’ other major draw and cornerstone: an intricate look at period economics which goes well beyond what you’ll see in virtually any other anime series. The scheme being described has its current-world parallels – it’s not so different from what sometimes goes on in stocks and cryptocurrency – but the details of how it’s supposed to work in this setting are fascinating and give an introductory sense of economic scale, too. Holo’s ability to tell that Zheren is lying about some aspect of it, but not exactly which detail, also adds a fine sense of mystery and intrigue to the situation.
On other fronts, Kevin Penkin’s use of music in this episode impresses me a little more, though it still has a ways to go to catch up to the original. And the more I hear and see of energetic closer “Step by Step,” the more I like it. It will never fully replace the charming “The Wolf-Whistling Song,” but it is feeling more like a fine alternative and is easily one of the season’s best EDs.
With the plot also now starting to roll, the series is pushing full steam ahead. If this is your first experience with the franchise, there’s a lot of great content to come.
In the world of shy, average teenager Utena Hiiragi, magical girls become celebrities by openly fighting to defend cities from evil organization Enormita. Utena adores and idolizes Tres Magia, the trio which protects her city, so she jumps at the chance when mascot Venalita offer to make her able to transform, too. To her dismay, she becomes the scantily-clad, S&M-themed villainess eventually known as Magia Blaiser and must fight Tres Magia. However, becoming Blaiser unlocks Utena’s subconscious desires, leading to her discover (again, to her dismay) that she takes great delight in humiliating Tres Magia. She eventually becomes the leader of a trio which Tres Magia struggle against, though the superiors in Enormita that the trio eventually meet take a dim view of Baiser’s tease-but-don’t-defeat approach. But as even they discover, opposing Blaiser’s fully-unleashed kinks is no simple matter.
So goes the premise and plot of the series which isn’t just the raciest of the Winter ’24 season; it’s arguably the most explicit anime TV series since 2020’s Interspecies Reviewers. It makes no pretense about what it is, either, with the first defined nudity coming during transformation scenes just 2½ minutes into the first episode and each of the 13 episodes containing defined nudity to some degree. Throughout the series’ run it explores all manner of sexual fetishes (including some that may be fairly obscure) and even features a full-blown lesbian sex scene for good measure. It’s absolutely lurid, so that means means it must be trashy as hell, right?
That’s actually a debatable point. While the content is clearly meant to be titillating, there is a purpose and method to it. For Utena, becoming Baiser is very much a sexual awakening. It forces her to confront that the love she has for magical girls isn’t necessarily platonic and unleashes the big bundle of kinky desires that she has gradually started to develop and understand. Some of her encounters with Tres Magia (and, initially, with ally Leoparde) can even easily be interpreted as sexual experimentation. She has to assume her Baiser identity (i.e., role-play) to fully bring out her desires, but even in her normal identity she starts to take an interest in things like porno mags.
Utena isn’t the only one on a journey of sexual discovery, either. Tres Magia member Azure gradually discovers masochistic thrills through various times Baiser binds and/or blindfolds her, which she mightily struggles to come to terms with, and defensive specialist Sulfur is heavily implied to relieve her frustrations by going on the offensive. Later on, two characters are essentially forced into a lesbian scenario by Basier, but as their backstories come out, that scene could easily be looked at as them being pushed to act on something that they were already inclined towards doing with each other. Tres Magia leader Magenta, though the purest and most straight-laced of the trio, also discovers her own kink at one point. A lot of commentary could also probably be made on S&M play in general here, but I don’t feel knowledgeable enough about that realm to engage in that discussion.
A certain amount of plot is present in the story, though prior to the appearance of the Enormita elites in episode 8, it mostly involves the implication that Venalita is scheming something big that he’s not letting his girls in on. (But do pay attention to news broadcasts early on, as one point brought up in them becomes significant later on.) Even after the elites show up, the series is still largely character-centered, with nearly every recurring character except the mascots getting a good amount of attention. Easily the most interesting developments involve Utena/Baiser and, to a lesser extent, Azure. As much as Baiser gets off on tormenting and humiliating Tres Magia members, she is never actually interested in beating them. In fact, the series’ strongest scene comes when she takes great offense to Azure seeming to give up and succumb to being Baiser’s slave – an act that, if allowed to finish out, is strongly implied would be Azure’s downfall as a magical girl. Utena doesn’t want that; even in Baiser form, Utena still idolizes magical girls, so she expects them to fight back and eventually triumph. That doesn’t mean she’s above perving out on her own growing lesbian tendencies, but she’s never more happy than when the magical girls rebound and show greater strength.
The personalities also keep things lively. Each side gets an earthy, foul-mouthed girl (Leoparde for the villain side, Sulfur for the magical girl side), and those two are constantly at each other’s throats whether transformed or in civilian identities in school. (The magical girl transformation gives the girls on both sides recognition filters, so neither side knows the other’s civilian identities.) Their sharp words and attitudes definitely give the series some extra spice. Haruka/Magenta, meanwhile, is the epitome of the good-hearted outgoing type who is also effectively the team mom; not hard to understand why she was the first picked to be a magical girl. Neroalice is the quiet, elementary school-aged girl who isn’t subjected to the fan service displays that the other girls are, but some of her reality-bending dollhouse play ends up being edgy, too. Of the Enormita members who show up later, the nun is irritating and the overall leader is more generic in nature, but that may well be deliberate. One quirk of the setting is that there are no male characters at all, not even in most crowd shots.
As might be expected, the technical merits focus their greatest efforts on the fan service, with animation and artistic quality being somewhat erratic outside of that. Baiser in particular gets a collection of great expressions, though, and kudos go to Fuka Izumi for a wonderful performance as Utena/Baiser. (I was shocked to learn that this was her first major role, much less lead role. It won’t be her last.) If this series eventually gets an English dub, this will be a hard performance to duplicate. The musical score also shines in the way it keeps a near-constant playful note even when being dramatic.
In all, Gushing Over Magical Girls is absolutely not for everyone. Even setting aside the rampant nudity, certain aspects may be too edgy for some audiences. If you can handle the ecchi aspects, though, then the series can be appreciated either as a simple, lively ecchi romp or as a bold illustration of burgeoning sexuality.
USA Anime 