show review
by ThatAnimeSnob on 2011-03-21 23:23
Rating:5.33
Approval:-
ANIME EVOLUTION SERIES
Full list of the review series can be found on this page, 3rd post from bottom:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?uid=251338&show=userpage&do=blog&blogid=29009&page=0
TEASER:
OVA opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2vxlZkfW-Y
Series opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJiKEy4rsvA&feature=related
I will review both the OVA and tv series here, as there is very little to write about each one individually.
- The original story is based on a rather wide franchise that includes RPGs, novels, manga, and tv series, originally written by
Mizuno Ryou, who also made a buch of other mediocrities such as Rune Soldier, Starship Operators, and Galaxy Angel. Lodoss is clearly his best work and even that smells cheese from miles. Can’t say he is a genious but he did something all others failed to do all these decades: To make a watchable Sword & Sorcery anime adaptation.
- The OVA is animated by the king of anime,
so it looks gorgeous for its time. The tv series on the other hand is made by the lesser
Studio AIC,and thus it looks quite rundown. In fact everything in the tv version is inferior with the only exception being the opening song
Kiseki no Umi, performed by Maaya Sakamoto. Damn does it kick ass!
- The directing of the OVA is done mostly by
whose roster is full of unimpressive and forgettable works. But hey, he is still better than the next guy. The directing of the tv series is done by
Takamoto Nobuhiro,who sucks ass if you see the crappy job he did in 07-Ghost and Beelzebub. So as you can tell, the franchise wasn’t exactly given to the best people in the field.
ROLW is the first serious attempt at making a western-fantasy type anime and believe it or not, it is still the best Sword & Sorcery ever made into anime. Anything other affiliated with the genre is comedies and parodies or far worse serious scenarios with crappy animation. Just to give you an example of how bad the rest are, the second best in the genre is Guin Saga, which despite its good ideas is still lame in overall. Despite all that, even ROLW is still nothing but average at best because the transition from one culture to another is a lot harder than it seems. Westerners are better at making movies and stories about cowboys and medieval knights, in the same way Easterners are better at making movies and stories about samurais and martial artists. I mean, seriously, after all these decades the industry is still incapable to do it right. Just check out what crap
Marvelhas done with its superhero adaptations to anime or how dreadful Dragonball Evolution was as a western adaptation. Thus ROLW is a famous cult title even today because the competition sucks a lot more. Anime fans who also happen to be D&D fans simply have no other option.
If there is something this anime does right is the story and the atmosphere. The BGM and the backdrop history of the setting are simply amazing and make a fine 2nd edition D&D campaign. What does wrong is the plot and the battles. They are so simplistic and dried up; you end up not caring about what in going on. If I sit down to describe to you the story in detail, with what the Gods in the series did in the past to form the Lodoss Island, and how the ancients brought their doom and the barbarian tribes rebelled, and the Dragons became the keepers of knowledge, and how a mysterious witch can transfer her consciousness from one body to another for centuries, all as a plan to unleash a great demon God, and how the kingdoms keep fighting each other and how one betrays another and teams of adventurers are sent to investigate realms full of monsters and… Ok, I stop here but mind how I didn’t even described the tip of the iceberg. Yes, it is a very good campaign on paper but the DM was an uninspired rookie who couldn’t role play at all. In case you are wondering what is the difference between the OVA and the series, well, the first has better animation and overall story but very rushed plot, while the later has a larger duration, more events and characters, but the animation is worse and the plot is slow. Most prefer the OVAs for their higher production values alone. In both cases though, you get nothing but cheese.
It is a real shame how this project flops because of the dull presentation; the artwork is otherwise quite splendid for its time. Characters and backgrounds are detailed and usually well drawn but still pass as nothing more than a generic fantasy realm. The tv version had some serious budget problems and thus most of the animation, aka action scenes, are nothing but still panels and cheesy visual effects that give of a very amateurish feeling.
I can say something similar about the characters of the show. We have this huge roster, covering all the classic fantasy species and classes, and all the archetypical roles from kings and avengers, to traitors and barmen, giving off an air close to the Dragonlance setting. Unfortunately, just like those novels, the actual plot is equally boring in terms of execution because instead of visualizing a fiery sword dropping with force on the unlucky orc chieftain, what you get is a monochromatic meple rolling a D20 + your base attack bonus vs the target’s THACO on another meple. The character profiles all look wonderful with their stats and abilities but their role play is plain boring and colourless. I mean I liked Parn and Deedlit as a couple of romantic adventurers, strolling their lands with a band of fearless companions, as they fight their way through hoards of monsters in an attempt to prevent the resurrection of the archdemon. Too bad all I was watching on screen was stiff caricatures doing simplistic attacks.
What strikes as even worse is that they made OMAKE parodies of each episode in order to make you laugh a bit and shake off the boredom. That’s cheap man! Finally a serious title and there you go ridiculing it like every other medieval fantasy! Bah, this is getting depressing. Better go listen to some Hammerfall to fight back the disappointment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k25X8RAjJ00
Ah, much better…
And now for some excused scorings.
General Artwork 1/2 (good in the OVA, generic in the tv series)
Character Figures 1/2 (generic)
Backgrounds 1/2 (basic)
Animation 1/2 (basic in the OVA, bad in the tv series)
Visual Effects 1/2 (basic)
Voice Acting 2/3 (corny but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Music Themes 3/4 (fitting with the feeling of the series)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)
Premise 2/2 (interesting)
Pacing 1/2 (rushed in the OVA, slow in the tv series)
Complexity 1/2 (rich backdrop, poor foreground)
Plausibility 0/2 (none)
Conclusion 1/2 (cheesy)
Presence 1/2 (generic)
Personality 2/2 (cheesy but well founded)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there)
Development 1/2 (overblown but it’s there)
Catharsis 1/2 (overblown but it’s there)
Historical Value 2/3 (quite famous)
Rewatchability 1/3 (low because of the dull plot)
Memorability 2/4 (generic presentation but better than nothing)
Art 0/1 (looks generic)
Sound 1/2 (I liked the opening)
Story 1/3 (as generic as it gets)
Characters 2/4 (they are ok)
show review
by setsunakun on 2009-01-29 03:14
Rating:6.16
Approval:97.3% (1 votes)
Lodoss-tou senki was one of the first Manga I read and it took me nearly a decade until I finally got my hands on the Anime version. I guess this is a good reason to write a review and maybe dwell a little more in those good old memories of when I was in school... Well, here goes.
Animation
This is an OVA, so naturally you should think that what you are being presented with is at most one year short of being state of the art (the ultimate experience possible being reserved for movies). There are many good scenes and overall the motions are quite good. But it seems to me that given the time it was produced there could have been room to improve some of the scenes.
The main characters are drawn better than the background commoners and your (un-)friendly goblins from the neighbourhood, and their style is mostly unique (at least for non-human creatures, Slayns outfit fits in like a lump of ash on a new carpet).
When I take a step back and watch the whole picture (100% percent metaphorical) the drawings seem to be quite heavy. It is often raining or when it is not something burns. Many characters wear dark clothes (Karla, Kashue, Ashram, Beld (of course)) which give an impression of the times being really dark (which would fit in a middle age fantasy world, so if this was the purpose I might reconsider giving this section one more point).
Sound
The sound is also very heavy. Some tracks seem like they were composed between one family tragedy and the next. The battle music, which comes really often, is realised by trumpets and drums. Many tracks sound like your typical hero coming back from battle victorious.
While there isn't anything really original it isn't such a bad soundtrack either. It goes well with the mood of the series and some bits are quite beautiful. And at least you've got the perfect background for your next Pen&Paper RPG.
The voice acting isn't bad but nothing notable either. What kind of got on my nerves was that Slayn was much to calm during every situation whereas Parn simply overreacted everytime. This might fit the wise sage and the hotblooded warrior-in-training but I found it a bit extreme.
Story
Lodoss, the accursed island, consists of many kingdoms who mostly live in peace with each other. The most prominent of them are Flaim, where Kashue the mercenary king rules, Valis with its king Fawn who was once one of the six legendary heroes and Marmo where Beld resides. Beld himself was one of the six heroes and chose Marmo as his kingdom in order to fulfill his ambition of uniting Lodoss. To achieve this he won't even back from a full scale war.
The Story is a typical fantasy story. Rescue the young maiden from evils grasp, battle the dragon, find the wise man and all hail to the king.
It starts with Ghim, a dwarf, setting out to find the daughter of Neese, once one of six legendary heroes, now faithful priestess of Marfa, goddess of creation and life. He meets up with his old aquaintance Slayn, a sage who seeks wisdom but still lives in a small hut in a little village far from anybody who might be literate. In the same village live Parn, a young warrior who dreams of following his father as a knight in shining armor, and his friend Eto who just happens to return after a three-year scholarship for becoming a cleric. Those two decide to take revenge on some goblins who a short time before attacked the mayors daughter in broad daylight when she was alone in the woods. But the goblins are gone, on their way to attack the village. This proves to be the first obstacle for Parn on his way to knighthood and after the battle is won he sets out with his friend Eto, Slayn and Ghim. The Elf Deedlit, having just left her wood, follows them out of curiosity. Their journey takes them to the lord of the area, but before they can explain the situation they are being arrested and imprisoned as spies from Marmo. In prison they find the thief Woodchuck. Shortly after the fort is attacked by Marmo and is completely taken by surprise. The soldiers are being slaughtered and the party can only escape this fate by hair breadth. Looking back to the burning city Parn spots Ashram. This begins a lifelong battle between the two men.
To make a long story short: all happened because of Karla, the Grey Witch. She feels responsible for Lodoss and thinks she can only provide Lodoss with stability by playing the centers of power against each other, thereby weakening them again. The invasion of Marmo is stopped by the death of Beld and Karla is thought to be defeated. Later on the party finds out that she just let go her previous host, Leylia the daughter of Neese, and instead went on to possess Woodchuck.
Being based on the novels by Mizuno Ryo, Lodoss-tou senki has a well crafted story even thought it is, and I'm going to repeat myself, not quite original.
Character
The characters are well designed and represent the ideal collection of people you should gather to battle dragons, kings and gods.
You've got Parn the warrior (or knight if you will) who swings his sword to protect the weak and earn glory like his father.
Accompanied by Eto, cleric of Faris the ultimate god of light, who seeks to learn more of the world and aid the needing. You should always have a healer in your party!
Slayn casts simple spells, which are more than sufficient against most enemies. He searches the land for wisdom but only joined the party because of his friend Ghim.
Ghim feels responsible for the disappearance of Leylia and swears to bring her back even at the risk of his own life. He is very good in carving wood, as most dwarfes are, and has much battle experience.
Deedlit broke free from the conservative and paranoid society of the wood elves to travel the world and learn of its vast opportunities. She is young for an elf but certainly the oldest member of the party next to Ghim. Deed, as she is called takes a fancy in Parn and is the reason for him to come to Marmo to stop the dark wizard Wagnard.
Woodchuck is a thief and it seems like he was the one easiest disposeable when it came to Karla searching for a new host. He can't really show his talents as a thief as he is the last member to join and nearly the first to go.
Ashram lives to fulfill his emperor Belds ambition. After Belds death he takes his sword and his place as king of Marmo. Even though in the sequel it is discovered that he only acts for the good of his people he is shown as the nemesis of the protagonist Parn.
Known as the Grey Witch, Karla is the only survivor of the collapse of the great past empire Kastuul where wizards penetrated the boundaries of humanity and thereby brought upon the wrath of the gods and the fall of their civilization. Having sealed herself in her tiara she now uses hosts to interfere with the destiny of Lodoss. When she finds one side to powerful to maintain a balance of power she causes war to weaken that side.
The characters sure lack originality as does the whole story. The only exceptions would be Ashram and Karla who see more than only their own needs and act accordingly. Maybe this is Mizunos way of telling us that many things perceived as evil are only changes we can't adapt to or measures to secure everyones survival (or it is just me interpreting too much in the still of the night).
Value
As Lodoss-tou senki as presented as some heavy stuff but seriously lacks in story to back that assumption I wouldn't call it valuable. In fact it seems to me that it is one of those things that are overrated because it is quite popular. And it's Overrating leading to even more people wanting to know it.
Enjoyment
I think I just made the series seem much less enjoyable than it is. It is the stuff we all like: a hero, seeking acknowledgement by completing quests and battle the bad ones. Though it is quite classic and delivers a similar feeling to that of Lord of the Rings watching it would surely not be a waste of time. If you are into it you can easily associate with one of the main characters.
show review
by jturner on 2008-07-13 16:03
Rating:9
Approval:86.0% (1 votes)
[br]Of all the Anime series that I have viewed, Record of Lodoss War holds a special place in my heart. If you happen to be fond of fantasy adventure videogames as I am (or great literature such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings), then this 13-episode video series is a very clever hybrid of these two great works of art. It's got everything fans could ask for--dragons, elves, dark gods, unlikely yet compelling heroes, villains you'll either hate (or love, depending on who you side with), action, suspense, romance, a small dose of humor, and an engaging feel to keep on watching by the time each episode ends.
[br]This is a direct-to-video animation series produced back in 1990, which unfolds over thirteen half-hour episodes. Adapted from the fantasy novels of the same name by Japanese author Ryo Mizuno, Lodoss is a classic good-vs-evil story, exploring the chronicles of six adventurers: these include Parn, a young, inexperienced warrior eager to (literally) jump at any chance to clear his father's tarnished name; Deedlit, a spunky, mystical high elf who tries (with varying degrees of success) to prove her love to Parn; Etoh, a loyal, good-natured cleric; Slayn, a gentle wise mage; Ghim, a gruff and tough dwarf; and Woodchuck, a wanted criminal who nonetheless provides loyalty (and occasional chagrin) to his pals.
[br]The story is hardly original, and the plot tends to "jumps around" from one event to the next (for instance, the first episode starts off in the "middle" of the heroes' quest; chronologically, it'd be best to see eps 2-5, 1, and then 6-13)--yet the overall show is so engrossing that this fault (in addition to a few others I'll come to in a moment) becomes irrelevant.
[br]It's the characters which make Record Of Lodoss War so much fun, and much of the best scenes belong to Parn and Deedlit; especially in a royal banquet episode where she forces Parn to dance with her (one of my favorite sequences from the show). As is typical of a elf-dwarf rivalry, Ghim and Deed bicker about each other's differences yet maintain a somewhat begrudging level of self-respect. It's Parn, however, whose plight stays with you long after the show approaches its climax. Eager to discover whether his father died in disgrace or not, he finds a father figure in Kashue. (This gets on Deedlit's nerves; she continually competes with the king for Parn's attention--a running gag that plays out unfortunately for only a couple of episodes.) In the latter episodes, we meet two new characters who don't get much screen time but are no less fully realized. Shiris, the hotheaded young mercenary who vies with Deedlit for Parn's affections is strongly depicted, as is her partner (and secret love), Orson, the moody Berserker, who becomes an angry, uncontrollable monster at the sight of Shiris in trouble.
[br]Even the bad guys are richly developed. Ashram, as mentioned, isn't driven so much by malice as he is by what he believes is right; in fact, he becomes the most three-dimensional of the villains for that reason alone. For support, he has a Dark Elf accomplice named Pirotess (the opposite of Deedlit) who'll do anything to prove her loyalty to him... including sacrificing herself. Karla, incidentally, is no ordinary villainess. Her primary goal is to bring to Lodoss the balance she feels has been so greatly disturbed... yet her psychologically unbalanced persona leads her to cause far worse chaos with deadly consequences. She is shifty, cunning, manipulative -- an almost deadly combination. Wagnard, on the other hand, is just plain evil -- every bit the equivalent of Kefka from Final Fantasy III who cackles fiendishly as he puts his dark plans into action. When we first meet him, he appears to be a nondescript character, but when he becomes possessed by Kardis, he becomes frighteningly villainous. (Every scene he's in sends shivers down my spines.)
[br]Its the strength of the characters and their chemistry as well as the compelling (if jumpy) plot that make Lodoss as a whole that one can overlook its occasional shortcomings, notably the animation, which, although gorgeously drawn, uses a low cel count resulting with some stiff movements. Taking into account that this is an older show, however, this doesn't really detract all that much (although there are some later episodes where some of the same footage is reused, for cost cutting purposes).
[br]No fantasy adventure would be complete without a stirring soundtrack, and Record of Lodoss War delivers this in style. The musical score by Mitsuo Hagita is mostly symphonic, although it is (obviously) generated by electronics. Yet the compositions were so rich and lovely that they eventually grew on me over the course of the show. Equally lovely are the opening and ending theme songs, "Adesso e Fortuna -Now & Fortune-" and "Fantasia of the Wind", both of which are excellently sung in Japanese by Sherry. As a nice bonus, these songs were even translated for the English version; the woman who sings the dubbed songs, Lisa DeSimone, sings with an equally splendid voice.
[br]One aspect of Lodoss often criticized is the English dub, produced by New York-based Central Park Media in 1996, a time when most dubs had a low reputation. I've read all kinds of mixed opinions about this English track; some say its fake and/or mediocre while other claims its unbearable, but here's a better review from one of its several (albeit outspoken on the net at least) enthusiastic fans (that's me). No, it's not perfect, and some lines do come off as a bit awkward, but a lot of the voice-overs are really good. In particular, Billy Regan (Parn), Lisa Ortiz (Deedlit), Al Muscari (Slayn), Jacques Le Can (Woodchuck), Simone Grant (Karla & Leylia), John Knox (Ashram), Jayce Reeves (Wagnard), and Alexander J. Rose (Wort and the Narrator), are among my favorites. Plus, the dialog is close to the subtitled script and packed with some memorable one-liners (Parn: "Quick, Deed, what's this dragon's weak spot?" Deedlit: "I'm not a dragon expert! How should I know?!") and great chemistry between the actors. I especially loved the interactions between Parn and Deedlit, the banter between Ghim and Deed, and a lot of other things. Which is why it saddens me that some would find all of this "inferior" to the Japanese language track. I listened to parts of the Japanese language track, too, and while I did find it to be of top-quality, I find that the dub still holds its own position decently. Of course, it may be in danger of being overshadowed by some of the better dub productions of today, but for a dub made in 1996, its a rather decent, if unspectacular listen. I'm still fond of it, as a matter of fact, even after hearing some better ones.
[br]Record of Lodoss War has received its share of detractors over recent years, probably due to its cheap production values and/or inconsistent plotting. However, it is important to remember that these "shortcomings" is mainly because it's an older Anime series. While Lodoss may show its age in places, its infectious appeal and complexity rings true even after other shows of its ilk, and like most classics, it can stand against the test of time.
show review
by saya77 on 2007-01-23 22:35
Rating:3.33
Approval:78.8% (2 votes)
This anime is a decent fantasy story that gets a bit cliche at times and shows its' age.
The animation is extremely cliche and is pretty bad all around. The villians all wear black and red, heroes wear white, blue, and brown; leaders of the good guys have beards while leaders of the villians are clean-shaven; leaders of the heroes look old and wise while leaders of the villians look young and cunning; the villians have evil eyes and sharp features while heroes have soft features with all-knowing eyes.
Also, there is a bevy of cliche things like stare-downs, every important figure wears heavy cloaks (even in the middle of battles!), all the important men are huge muscle-bound and broad-shouldered figures bigger than the horses they sit on, etc.
Also, the age of the anime is apparent; still frames abound, battle scenes arn't animated (mostly just flashes of light) at times, little detail, stoic backgrounds.
As to the soundtrack; I didn't enjoy any of the songs, and for the most part the random pop songs in the middle of the story kind of ruined a few scenes for me, especially near the end of the anime.
The story itself is interesting, but also cliche at times and contains a few plot holes. The plot twists were decent but never completely unexpected, and the ending was easy to see coming from a mile away. I wish the anime had been more realistic in this area; there isn't much poltical intrigue, strategy, or complexity.
One example of the incredible amount of cliche happenings in this anime is during a massive battle; in the middle of the battle the King decides to stop the battle to fight the opposing King, who agrees (even though he has an overwhelming advantage in numbers, has the enemy trapped, and is winning the battle) to fight one on one. Meanwhile, both armies watch the battle occur without interfering at all.
Also, we never find out what happened to the dark elves, why Deed seems to be the only high elf in Lodoss, what ever happens to Wood, and why the dragons were introduced at all.
As to the characters; they are all your typical fantasy characters: the tough, stout dwarf; the flighty, happy elf in tune with nature; the insecure young swordsman; the sly, cowardly theif; the dependable, bumbling priest; and the wise, knowedgeable sorcerer. Toss in the wise old King, the evil King, the "noble outlaw" King, and the evil Sorcereress and you've got yourself Fantasy Characters 101.
I didn't really enjoy any of the characters; Deed was the only one I had any semblence of caring for during the series, and even that was minimal.
However, despite being cliche and not very enjoyable, they were developed well for the most part. Parn and Deed's relationship was well developed, motivations for each of the characters was established during the series, and for a 13 part series each was given quite a bit of screentime.
I wouldn't reccomend this series to anyone who has seen decent fantasy series before or read a fantasy novel or watched a fantasy movie. Also, for those who dislike cliche series in general, this series is not for you.
Overall, while I think it is technically an below average series, I didn't get any enjoyment out of watching it. I plan on watching Record of Lodoss War's later incarnations soon, hopefully they will be better than this anime.
show review
by ff8emil on 2007-01-03 05:00
Rating:8.5
Approval:65.0% (5 votes)
Record Of Lodoss War OVA - The closest an anime has ever gotten to a DnD atmosphere
Tired of post apocalyptic sci-fi scenarios? Tired of the cold and metallic feel of an urban metropolis setting? You think that a cyborg is no match for a big,black, fire breathing dragon? Then Record Of Lodoss War is the OVA for you!
Story - A tale of Knights,Elves,Dwarves,Dragons,etc.
The Story in ROLW is an intricate one and it's hard to describe it without spoiling.You could say it revolves around the fight and balance between light and darkness. A common, and I must admit, a bit clichêd topic. Thankfully, it's much more than that. It revolves around all of the characters goals: the becomming of a great knight,the search for a dear person,the resurrection of a death goddess and,of course, greed for power and revenge, just to name a few. Add to this that anything and anyone is manipulated behind the scenes, which inevitably leads to unexpected plot twists, and you've got a fantasy epos true to the canons of this genre.
Animation - CG? What CG?
Everything in the Lodoss OVA is hand drawn. Proportions of characters,monsters,buildings, whatever is very realistic and you won't be looking at PowerPuff Girls like eyes. Backgrounds are rich and detailed,the shadowing is remarkable and so are the main characters facial features. Overall I think the style fits the setting perfectly and resembles that of Berserk a bit. The "mobs" in the anime,however,(armies,hordes of monsters,etc.)look as if cloned from one of their species. Not saying it isn't beautiful, but the animation's quality clearly is outdated by modern standards. Still, it is clear that some very talented artists have worked on this piece.
Sound - Even the English version is good!!!
The Soundtrack of Lodoss tou Senki fits the medieval theme. The use of more classical wind,string and percussion instruments predominates and adds to the atmosphere. The opening and ending aren't anything special, but they're pleasant to listen to and the singer's voice is too. The seiyuus couldn't have been better ones and complement their characters extremely well. The english voice actors, remarkably, are on par with their japanese counterparts. Those include famous voices from titles like DBZ,Akira,Gundam,OH!My Goddess,Fushigi Yuugi,.hack,Dead Or Alive and more!
Character - Featuring an animated elf worth falling in love with
This anime wouldn't have been the same without it's diverse cast of characters, each one in a typical D&D role. We have a pride knight,a mighty sorcerer,a loyal priest,an axe wielding,white bearded dwarf,a greedy rogue and last but not least...an ellegant and agile elf, commanding nature's spirits and elements. This said elf is a true masterpiece when it comes to expressing beauty in an animated form. If you do not agree substract 1 point from the character score! Everyone's motives to take part in the journey get unravelled little by little and their personalities(especially Parn's)mature during the development of the story. The diversity of the characters' features gives a certain "need to be there" feeling and everyone plays a major role in the story,pushing it forward. An added bonus is that as well as likeable heroes there are truly sinister "love to hate" evil-doers.
Value + Enjoyment + Recommendation: DnD fans rejoice!
The fantasy fairytale of Parn, Deedlit and co. is one of the best anime reincarnations of the preexploitated theme of light versus darkness. The intriguing and complex story give it a rewatch value and it's something that can be watched with friends over and over again, if only to gaze at Deedlit. If you prefer sci-fi settings this might not be your cup of tee, but if you play DnD and dream of such fantasy worlds then Record Of Lodoss War will reward you with a great tale of the adventures of a young knight and his trusted companions!
(Yeah, I know it's corny! It's supposed to be!)
Review by Ragnarok (aka ff8emil).
show review
by lion on 2003-12-08 19:30
Rating:6.83
Approval:70.6% (11 votes)
A real good show, that doesn't feel age, and is worth watching. It of course presents some weak points, a couple of them dued to its age, but neverless is really enjoynable.
Graphic is really good for its time.
Of course you see that it is aged, but all is drawn very well; the characters are well defined, and
. Monsters and evil foes, if they are not important for the story, aren't made so well. A couple of female characters (the main ones) are really well done and loveable.
The animation itself lacks something,
. Battles too aren't something exceptional, most of the times, when it is the time for a hit, you see a flash of light, and the next image is the result of the fight.
Now the background music is what, for me, takes high this title:
all the music is really fascinating, perfectly in theme with the story. Only rarely I noticed that the music was a bit off with what was happening on the screen. Voice actors do their job, without fame or blame: they help in the characterization, but
.
Did someone else notice that producers seem to like inserting italian words into music? This wasn't the first time I catched italian words.
Story is a good one.
For the first part it seems a bit rushed, and the timeflow isn't always clear. I think all of this was dued to the lack of episodes, they had to pack all they could in little space, and this sometimes brings a bit down the story itself. But later, past the half of the show, the story gets paced well, and you'll get to enjoy the last episodes. I must say the story is really good, but sometimes it lacks some explanation, perhaps again for the lack of episodes.
Characters are well done... but:
well, I must say I didn't fall for any of them. The main one is a bit too clumsy for my taste, the others didn't have something significant the could draw my attention. The only one that really hitted me was Deedlit, sometimes she is drawn so well I could really fall in love for her *-_-*
Characters develop, even if not so much as I would have liked, by themselves and in relation with the others, but this happens only for the main ones, the others are only "background", and you notice that in the fact that they are pourly drawn too.
I don't think this is a show that is easy to take again.
Perhaps if you have a friend that is really into fantasy genre, otherwise I don't think you'll retake this one (if not to see again Deedlit *-_-* ).
I enjoyed this one, really!
I like fantasy a lot, and I must say all the other anime I found about it where in someway dissatisfating. They were childish (those who hunt elves), or at the core they weren't really fantasy (Hack.Sign), or they left me hanging on, without conclusion (Berserk).
This is the first show I enjoyed as a real fantasy one (not talking about berserk, but it ended so.... T_T ), and near the end it becomes really good!
I said I'll not retake this one, but for sure I'll take RoLW TV, hoping, with the major number of episodes and the minor age, that it will be better where this has failed.
