Review #75: Rune Soldier Louie

• Episodes: 24
• Published: 01 (JP), 03 (US)

Antispiral – Welcome to the 75th review for me, though it’s not #75 for Tenjo-kun. Anyway! This week, we start off a series with Rune Soldier Louie. Little known fact; Rune Soldier is a part of the Lodoss world!

Tenjobito – Lodoss, Crystania…  Guess we have our plans for what to watch next!

Antispiral – Record of Lodoss Wars is a classic in anime that a lot of people know about, but Rune Soldier is a little more… on the outskirts of the anime world. Which is a shame, since (spoiler alert) I liked it quite a bit.

Though I still haven’t seen Crystania, I’ve seen the original Lodoss and Chronicles multiple times, so getting to sit through a new story in the same world for the first time here was refreshing.

So right, plot. Set the stage bro.

Tenjobito – Plot Summary: Louie, a brawny student at the mages’ guild, is reluctantly accepted by three girls (Merrill (thief), Genie (fighter), and Melissa (priestess)) as a companion for their adventuring party. As the foursome explore ruins, battle dark creatures, and make new friends, they also uncover a sinister plot within the kingdom.

Antispiral – That’s quite the summary, yes. To be a little more specific, the story takes place on a continent called Alecrast, which is supposedly north of Lodoss Island (though they never mention Lodoss in Rune Soldier), specifically in the city-kingdom of Ohfun. Louie is the son of the headmaster of the Mage’s Guild. Melissa, a priestess of Mylee the God of War, goes through a ritual where she prays to Mylee for a champion, a sacred ceremony where the God is supposed to speak to the priestess and give her a warrior that will fight for them. Melissa is told that the next person she sees will be her champion… and then Louie falls through the roof into the pool Melissa is praying in.

Tenjobito – Thus does Louie join the adventuring party as their “valiant champion”, no matter how against Melissa’s will it is!

Antispiral – Rune Soldier is at its heart a comedy. There ARE serious parts, and plenty of action, but the whole thing continuously centers back on Louie being kind of a fool, Merril being greedy, the assistant professor being easily flustered, Melissa’s suitor being a wimp, and so on. It’s a good thing too; the humor may mostly be slapstick physical violence, but it truly is humorous, and it makes for a light hearted series of the sort that I find easy to watch.

Tenjobito – It’s almost easier to compare the series to Slayers than Lodoss Wars, with the comedy and looser story.  But really I think I prefer Rune Soldier over Slayers, if for no other reason than the fact that it’s a decent length, rather than drawn out into five seasons.  And despite being shorter, I think the characters have more growth in personality in Rune Soldier, though that’s not saying much.

Antispiral – It’s just about the perfect length for developing characters while not feeling too drawn out with multiple story arcs.

This isn’t to say Rune Soldier if necessarily a perfect series. The characters are, for the most part, rather one dimensional. The ending isn’t perfectly wrapped up, and in fact is a little sudden. It really is little niggles and minor complaints though. Rune Soldier ended up being a very pleasant surprise, and a perfect comedic twin to Record of Lodoss Wars. If you like fantasy, but need a good laugh, this is just about the best anime you can get.

Tenjobito – Definitely old school fantasy goodness, even if kind of simplistic.  If nothing else you really have nothing to lose watching Rune Soldier;  It’s short enough to not take up too much time, inoffensive enough to be watched by a younger audience, funny and driven enough to keep you awake, and well made enough to please the eyes and ears.  None of it stands out as the best ever, but there really is nothing majorly wrong with it at the same time.

Antispiral – I might give it a little more credit than that, but we at least agree in the end; it’s worth a view! Until next time fleshy spiral people!

 

Review #74: Demon King Daimao

• Episodes: 12
• Published: 10 (JP), 11 (US)

Antispiral – Hey everyone, it’s been a few weeks, but we’re back! It’s actually been a while since we finished Demon King Daimao, and we’re already almost done with the next anime on our review docket, but we’re just now getting to the official review for Demon King Daimao.

Tenjobito – No particular reason, just this and that.  And certainly not because either of us was dreading reviewing this series.  Though saying this is “official”…

Antispiral – Everything we do is official beef-boss.

Right, the anime. Demon King Daimao is about a high school student named Akuto Sai, a boy raised by a church run orphanage that finds himself transferring to the prestigious Constant Magick Academy after the start of the school year. He dreams of becoming a High Priest and helping the people out, just as he was helped as a child. On his way to school he meets a swordswoman named Junko, a member of the Iga ninja clan and the class representative for Class 1-A. He seems to make a connection with her and the two make a promise to help each other out.

Things seem to be going well for Akuto. And then…

Tenjobito – And then the Sorting Hat says he’s going to become the Demon King!  OK, so not really;  It’s a crow spirit that can tell anyone their future job.  Briefly thought a mistake, it’s soon taken seriously and word spreads around the school.  And sudden Akuto is number one one everyone’s list to avoid or hunt down.

Antispiral – The Demon King was a man that, 100 years ago, nearly destroyed the world. It was only with heavy losses, and thanks to the power of magic, that he was finally stopped. It’s with that in mind that the student body, government, practitioners of black magic, and nearly everyone else makes him the top an object of fear, ridicule, and control. All the while, Akuto denies his fate, only wanting to help others. This leads to a lot of strange circumstances, a lot of awkward interactions with other students and staff, and even an android girl sleeping in his room to keep a watch on him.

Tenjobito – Typical anime “harem” style hijinks.  Though, despite the fan service being thick, this is definitely one of those animes with a little more behind it then some;  Betrayal, revelations, character growth all happen and things definitely end up a lot different than they start.

Not exactly shaking up the world of course, but more than just mindless awkwardness and kooky situations.

Antispiral – True, though I DO want to emphasize the thickly layered fan service. While I thought the action was good and the plot interesting enough, it’s definitely an anime defined by it’s women being put in compromising situations. Like High School of the Dead in that way. If you’re the sort that doesn’t like high content ecchi anime, Demon King Daimao will definitely turn you off.

That said, the two of us have never been subtle in our being just fine with such matters, so it’s with that view in mind I say that, while the plot and characters are all interesting enough, if you’re looking just for a harem style ecchi anime, you’d do pretty well.

Tenjobito – Highschool of the Dead is an apt comparison, though not as much blood in Demon King Daimo;  So if you’re worried about gore and such not too much to worry about there.

Ultimately the thing that stood out to me the most about the series is the quality;  The music, animation, and voice acting are all absolute top notch, and it all really makes every good-average part of that much better.

Antispiral – I agree. If there’s any problems, it’s that the ending wrap up is a little sudden (which isn’t a surprise with its length), as well as the fact that the ecchi quality of the anime seems to get in the way more than in High School of the Dead (as an example). Those things aside though, I’d still recommend Demon King Daimao. It’s more a recommendation to teenage guys, since that’s obviously the target audience, but if you can put up with a lot of skin showing, there’s more to it to recommend.

 

Review #14: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

• Episodes: 13
• Published: 02 (JP) 05 (US)

Antispiral – The first anime review of 2015! Welcome back everyone! The more time goes on, the more anime there is, yet we start out this new year with an anime that’s a bit older.

Tenjobito – From Gainax, the makers of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nadia and the Secret of Blue Waters, FLCL, and Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagan no less.  IE, animes that mix the grandiose, the bizarre, the serious, and the humorous in their own measures.  And Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi fits right in with their other works.

Antispiral – Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves making correlations. First things first; the plot.

Abenobashi is a shopping arcade in the Abeno ward of the city of Osaka, a shopping area going through a big change. The modern world begins to catch up with the older style shopping area, and people are moving out as the arcade is slowly demolished to be re-purposed. This is the setting where we meet Sasshi and Arumi, two kids in the end of their elementary school days. Sasshi’s family used to own the Turtle Bath House, but has already moved out into housing. Arumi’s family runs the Grilled Pelican, which is still running mostly from the stubbornness of Arumi’s Grandpa Massa, even as her father is set to get a job cooking at a resort.

Tenjobito – Said grandfather has an accident one day trying to get a cat off the pelican statue that gives their shop its name.  This accident sets off Sasshi and Arumi’s journey through time and space to other versions of the Abenobashi shopping arcade.

Antispiral – When Tenjo says “other versions”… it’s sort of a loose interpretation. A few of the residents keep appearing in these other worlds, but the environments really end up being quite varied and different. They first end up in a world that seems like a medieval fantasy world complete with a castle, dragons, and so forth. Even as Arumi wants to go home more and more, the two keep going to strange messed up world after world.

Tenjobito – What’s ~really~ happening comes out over time, though it actually moves along fairly quickly.  Which makes sense considering the anime is only a thirteen episode series.

Antispiral – Going back to what Tenjo mentioned at the start, Abenobashi reminds me the most of FLCL. They’re both quicker series that move along at a nice pace and work despite their lengths. Both have a very over the top style of action and art (something that Abenobashi also has in common with Gurren Lagaan).

Abenobashi’s at once a serious look at what it means to live and move on with life, while at the same time being a trope reference anime and wacky comedy. It pulls all of those things off well, especially the more serious part of the plot when it gets down to it. If anything, I felt like it could have gone on a little longer, but it worked for what it was.

Tenjobito – Yeah, like both those series, Abenobashi certainly doesn’t skimp on quality story-telling. Also, like both, Abenobashi knows when to really take the story seriously and when to throw in some humor or cheesecake to keep things interesting and fun.

Not sure there’s a lot else I think of to say about Abenobashi;  Music’s quirky and fitting, animation is a good Gainax mix of high quality and exaggerated, and the voice acting is done by top notch regulars in the anime business.  I’m not sure I’d say it’s my favorite thing ever, or even my favorite thing by Gainax.  But it’s certainly far above average.

Antispiral – I think I could agree to that. It’s a recommended anime from me, and even if it’s not your favorite, sounds like you think the same. It’s short enough for a watch over just a few nights, so if you can find it somewhere, give Magical Shopping Arcade a check. It’s a cute, thoughtful, weird little watch!