Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-

Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-, often shortened for the sake of convenience to “Tsubasa“, is one of the newest additions to a large body of work by world-renowned manga studio CLAMP. After 6 years of faithfully following this series’ serialization, I have come to the conclusion that it is nothing short of a masterpiece.
————————STORY: Tsubasa has an original and fresh story under its belt, which is to be expected from a CLAMP work. The main antagonist (Fei Wong Reed) causes a desert princess (Sakura) to lose all of her memories in order to achieve his dream. Her childhood friend (Syaoran) is forced to invoke the Space-Time Witch for help, because only through the Witch’s powers can he be sent to different dimensions in order to retrieve Sakura’s scattered memories. He is, by a stroke of fate and unmistakable destiny, accompanied by a swordsman (Kurogane) trying to get back to his homeland and back to the princess whom he serves (Tsukuyomi-hime). Syaoran is also accompanied by an enigmatic magician (Fay D. Fluorite) who is running from his dark past. To recompense the price for traveling worlds, they must each pay with the thing they value the most. Syaoran loses his relationship with Sakura forever, Kurogane gives up his precious sword, and Fay parts with the tattoo which keeps his magic intact. Along the journey, they encounter corrupt worlds full of bloodshed, despair, and lies. They find treachery and abandonment within their very own group. It is a story that sends a refreshing and ominous chill down one’s spine, particularly in the second half of the saga, which is savagely cruel. One should commence reading with the expectation that Tsubasa grows to be extremely dark and depressing. The story plays out to be almost worthy of Greek tragedy. It’s a fool’s game trying to predict how it ends. Tsubasa is definitely recommended for readers that enjoy magical adventures, fighting action, or forbidden romance.————————APPEAL: CLAMP excels at creating manga series that perfectly mesh the conventional attributes of shōnen and shōjo manga. Tsubasa is, like many of their works, a strong example of this fact. For guys, there are many “badass”, wondrously-illustrated fighting scenes, along with fantastic displays of weaponry in the splash pages and in the Infinity arc. The sheer amount of destructive chaos and spilled blood alone are enough to classify Tsubasa as a seinen manga. For girls and many young women, the romance genre will definitely pull them in. There are about 20 years’ worth of crossover bishōnens who appear throughout the course of the series. Vampire Knight fans will be delighted with the appearance of vampires and their hunters in the Acid Tokyo arc. Shounen-ai fans will be wild over the boys’ love teasing that CLAMP is renowned for, specifically interaction between Kurogane and Fay (what their relationship actually is remains questionable, but has been addressed by editors at VIZ Media, prominent cartoonists, and professional manga critics). The hints of shounen-ai and minuscule doses of virginal eroticism are so specifically placed into subtext that it’s enough to make any self-respecting fangirl go crazy. Some worlds resemble feudal Japan, ancient Korea, Victorian London, and post-apocalyptic Tokyo, among others. Characteristic of CLAMP, there are also instances of cloning, time-travel, and lucid dreaming. Yeah, this is a trippy manga. I dare to say that there is definitely something for everyone.Tsubasa is, without a doubt, the most incredible and epic crossover series to date. It is entirely not necessary to read CLAMP’s other series, and perfectly acceptable to read Tsubasa by itself, but the series will not conjure much feeling at all if read in this manner, and will not be enjoyed nearly as much. Why read a crossover series if you do not know the true essence of the characters? Why read a crossover series if you are unable to understand the constant references, shout-outs, and cameos? If you new to CLAMP, the fascinating charm of “bringing back the characters” has no effect whatsoever, and the magic of Tsubasa is altered in a very unfavorable way. CLAMP’s manga have been given such a unifying tone that they must be read in order to enjoy Tsubasa to the fullest extent. This fact cannot stressed enough. The more CLAMP series you have read, the more you can get out of the experience. Tsubasa was truly made for the fans who sobbed, bawled, and found themselves complete wrecks (rather redundant, but emphasis is key) throughout the courses of RG Veda, Tokyo Babylon, X, and CLAMP’s other tragic classics. I have emotionally invested all of my soul into these characters ever since I was a child, and to see them appear again at last was quite nostalgic for me.The least you can do is read Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tokyo Babylon, and X before reading Tsubasa. If time is of the essence, you can always go straight to Tsubasa after CCS and then re-read Tsubasa later, after you plown through all of their other works. As aforementioned, it is not vital to be familiar with CLAMP in order to understand the events in the series, but stylistic themes and obscure character relationships will be much less understood than if one had the knowledge from reading their other works and was able to use them as references. Undertaking in the reading of this series before CLAMP’s other series, I believe, defeats the very purpose of what Tsubasa is supposed to be.————————PLOT: From the very start, Tsubasa grabs interest. I can honestly say, without exaggeration, that I was enthralled after glancing at the first two pages. However, the pacing begins to slow down due to filler chapters, repetitiveness, and childish innocence. I found it frankly a bit boring, but I didn’t drop this series because it’s CLAMP. A joke within the fandom is that anything and everything by them will either develop into a dark, bloody, diabolically-slaughter-and-decapitate-every-living-thing-in-sight series, or a disgustingly cute, fluffy, this’ll-give-you-diabetes series. In this case, Tsubasa is leaning towards the former. I can sympathize with those who find the series weakening around the 10th/11th/12th volume mark, but in a couple more volumes everything pays off.

“You can certainly feel the excitement and suspense as the story is pulled along to dangerous, but enthralling, territory.” ~Lissa PattilloAt the Acid Tokyo arc, things begin to pick up with wicked plot twists being introduced left, right, and center. These ‘twists’ had been foreshadowed frequently before in the storyline. Halfway through, the story takes on a distinctly darker flair, as bucketloads of blood and angst are suddenly deemed imperative. It’s around this time that the series morphs from what used to be a light-hearted nakama adventure story to what TvTropes describes as “something out of the drug-induced hallucination of a deranged Sigmund Freud.” From this point on, Tsubasa only gets more exhilarating with each successive installment. Some people have a preference for the first half of the series…when no one is dying, Syaoran and Sakura’s personalities are yawn-worthy, and the plot lacks promise of depth. Hey, if that kind of stuff floats your boat, you shouldn’t be reading CLAMP. They enjoy making their characters go through living hell. But they do this artfully. And they like to torture their readers.Did I mention that every single time a new chapter came out, people would start panicking and screaming “WTF?! I WAS WRONG!” and then proceed to curse at CLAMP for unleashing yet another plot twist? I admit that even I felt frustrated, as the theories I took months to come up with were immediately disproven and dissolved with a mere statement in the manga. Don’t even bother trying to come up with theories. To quote some of my friends: “Even Einstein’s brain would implode trying to understand the time paradoxes in this series. The plot’s not just deep, it’s BOTTOMLESS.” “In fact, my brain expired three months ago.” “Ohkawa has an even stranger mind than Salvador Dali, Quentin Tarantino and John Lennon put together.” The sheer number of storylines that come together will undoubtedly threaten your state of mental health, as they are very confusingly executed. Tsubasa begins to rely so heavily on symbolism that it can only be labeled a huge mind screw. However, CLAMP has been tying up all the loose ends in xxxHoLic, and I applaud them from allowing the plot unfold at its own natural momentum.There are still many unexplained questions about this series, but the vast majority of it makes sense if you have the patience to read xxxHoLic, consider other fans’ theories, re-read Tsubasa, and dive in a little bit on symbolism. All the true Tsubasa/CLAMP fans have already done this, while others start trashing this series simply because they lack the potential to understand it. You can’t just skim through pages and expect to soak up all the information like a sponge. This is a manga that makes you think. This is a manga that forces you to come up with your own ideas and analyze subtext as you read. I’m quite sure that CLAMP will spoon-feed explanations to lazy fans in xxxHoLic‘s ending, so make a note to check that out if the need arises. The two series intertwine very heavily, with emphasis placed on the later chapters. You’ll gain an enormous amount of insight this way, and the majority of your questions will be answered.————————

“Raw penstrokes, gravity-defying angles and a bevy of special effects illuminate each fight scene. Thanks to the number of speedline intense, dialogue-scarce action panels … don’t be surprised if you fly through this [series] quicker than most.” ~Carlo SantosART: Viciously gorgeous artwork, as expected from CLAMP. It’s the typical highly detailed hair, heavily stylized eyes and human figures, and elaborate clothing which remains a unique style to them. Over time, the art gradually undergoes a dramatic transformation. The result is akin to that of X. Tsubasa adopts a distinctly contrasting, black-and-whitestyle, with the panels becoming more polished due to the heavy use of screentones.

“What really matters—when two full pages are absolutely necessary to show how dramatic something is—the visual layouts nail it perfectly.” ~Carlo Santos of Anime News NetworkThe most memorable scenes are the ones expressed entirely through art. Words mean nothing in this series…silence means everything. The sheer amount of raw emotion concentrated all into a single panel manages to hit you right in the heart. CLAMP knows their tragedy; they know how to reduce a hardcore fan to tears just by having them look at an isolated, wordless page.

“Even plain old conversation scenes carry a sort of emotional magic, with bittersweet longing expressed on the faces of the characters as they ponder the changing bonds of friendship.” ~Carlo SantosThe backgrounds might even be too detailed, to the point where it’s hard to see what’s going on. All in all, the art translates effortlessly onto paper with the story’s emotional, psychological, and tragic beauty. I can’t praise it enough.————————CHARACTER: Subtext is huge in this category. Every single time I re-read Tsubasa, I discover something new about the characters. You have to let things sink in slowly, and ask yourself questions. “Why did she decide to do that?” “Why did they exchange that look?” “What went through his mind when he closed his eyes in that panel?” Tsubasa is the kind of manga that you can’t read through quickly. You have to analyze and theorize. One of the main reasons that people give Tsubasa a low rating is because they aren’t in tune with the characters and don’t pay attention to the subtext. The subtle yet powerful looks on the character’s faces reveal everything you need to know. If you look hard enough, that is.Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane, and Fay have distinct personalities. They change tremendously. They lie and distance themselves from each other in a way that just breaks your heart. They find the meaning of true strength and break the chains that bind their pasts. They make horrible decisions and end up paying greatly for them. One thing that Yuuko said to Fai was, “To all the young ones in your group, you are no longer someone who passes through their lives and is forgotten. You have become someone very important to them. Your hardships are their hardships too.” In short, our characters become extremely well-developed and have radically different ways of viewing the world as a whole. It’s impossible not to relate to them, and you are dealt painful blows to the heart with the countless numbers of obstacles that are thrown between them. I would have liked a little more development for Syaoran and Sakura, though. Their love is too “pure” for me, and they’re too kind-hearted for their own good. Kurogane and Fay are the ones that truly shine in this category. They’re so human that it scares me to death.

“The whole [saga] tailors heavily to fans of character-relation dramas, as the connections between emotionally-scarred characters prove to be some of the most sweet, but also chilling, moments of [CLAMP] series in recent memory.” ~Lissa Pattillo————————OTHER: This is a real treat for CLAMP fans. People who say that the creators were just lazy obviously aren’t familiar with them. In a story where countless characters come and go, do you really expect that people will remember their names? What makes these characters memorable is the fact that their personalities and traits were unraveled when they were the main focus of a different series. The very roots of their hearts, or ‘souls’, are essentially the same. If you’ve read most of CLAMP’s works, you know in exact detail the lives, true natures, and pasts of every single minor character in Tsubasa (in an alternate universe). It’s nothing short of extraordinary. Like I sad before, I have been emotionally invested in all of CLAMP’s characters, so to have them all again in this tragedy is almost sensory overload. I was struck with waves of nostalgia and a dizzying feeling.————————ENJOYMENT: I enjoyed Tsubasa tremendously, and am mourning over the fact that it has ended. It was a great 6 years, CLAMP. This manga is definitely worth your time. So why not give it a try? You certainly won’t regret it. This metaphorical gem will stay lodged in your mind for a long time to come. A continued recommend read that I cannot stress enough the worth of sticking with.

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A great story, appeal for a wide range of audiences, absolutely breathtaking artwork, and good characterization make it a ‘must-read’ manga. However, the convoluted plot and the extremely depressing scenarios that occur in the second half of the manga will throw readers off-guard (though it’s a wonderful improvement compared to the boring, comedic, “gotta-catch-’em-all” feel of the first half). The storyline gradually begins to make sense after months of ceaseless pondering, but once the majority of puzzle pieces are in place, you can’t help but love Tsubasa even more. Definitely recommended if you’re a CLAMP fan, but definitely NOT recommended if you’ve never touched any of their other series.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie Review

My expectations for Boruto: Naruto the Moviewere, like many longtime fans of the Narutofranchise, particularly low when I walked into the theater. The ten-chapter manga sequel depicting Sarada Uchia’s quest to know her father, Sasuke, fell short of many expectations in plot, action, and emotional depth that have kept readers and audience captured for over fifteen years. So, with the same prospects of failure, I watched the new film. However, I was completely wrong.

Hiroyuki Yamashita, animation director on The Last, makes his directorial debut with Boruto: Naruto the Movie. Set years after the end of the Shinobi War, the world of Naruto has taken a step towards technology with televisions, computers, and ninja handheld games. Scientists have created a machine that enables those without chakra (the life force behind every ninja), to use powerful chakra-based attacks, or jutsu, via miniature scrolls. But with many the old "Ninja Way” is still alive and well. Naruto, reprised by Junko Takeuchi, the 7th Hokage, has forbidden such technology in training new ninja and their qualifying exams.

The film begins with an explosive fight scene between Sasuke (Noriaki Sugiyama) and the film's new enemies, Kinshiki and his master Momoshiki, who is capable of stealing chakra and jutsu. The beautiful art and fight choreography that has made Naruto so attractive over the years was on display here, and set a high-speed, thrilling pace for the rest of the movie.

Returning to the village, we begin to follow the story of Boruto Uzumaki, voiced by Yuuko Sanpei, and his whirlwind relationship to his father.

Despondent over Naruto’s absence due to his duty as Hokage, Boruto lashes out against him after a mission with Konohamaru-sensei and his team Sarada Uchiha (Kokoro Kikuchi) and Mitsuki (Ryūichi Kijima). Upset and eager to prove himself at the upcoming Chunnin Exams, Boruto takes an apprenticeship under Sasuke.

Nonetheless, Boruto continues to feel a lack of confidence in his skills as the exams begin. He uses the new chakra machine to one-up the other contestants, but the jutsu-stealing Momoshiki interrupts the exams to abscond with the artificial jutsu and much more. Together with his teacher and father, Boruto fights Momoshiki in an extravagant fifteen-minute final battle.

Boruto perfectly balances an intricate plotline that holds the audience’s attention, intense action sequences, and the signature character depth that has kept fans in love with the series to this day. The previous film, Naruto: The Last, while a well-expressed love story, lacked the action scenes we expect from Naruto, and Boruto definitely made up for that.

That said, the action scenes, as with many Naruto films completely failed to depict the female characters as strong fighters as well. In the series and manga, Kishimoto flaunts the strength of his female characters, but in this film, even the strongest female character of the Naruto universe, Sakura, was only given two to three seconds of fighting glory.

But on the whole, the dread I felt entering the movie theater was completely replaced by a feeling of elation and satisfaction. It felt like watching one of the first Naruto films where the bad guys were cool but relatively unimportant, and the point of the film was to see how the team works together and kicks ass. The heavy doom and gloom felt in the franchise during the final arcs of the series and the dramatic teenage love song that was the previous movie were completely non-existent in this film.

Overall, Boruto: Naruto the Movie was an exciting film for all ages and fans of Narutoand anime. The U.S. and Canadian release date is set for October 10, and I suggest you go grab a ticket and enjoy the ride.

So, what’s next for the franchise? Is this the end of the Naruto series? Maybe for a little while, but I have a feeling this won’t be the last we see of Boruto and his friends on screen.

SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" plays like a fire sale in three departments of the genre store: Vaguely Ancient Greek, Hollywood Swashbuckler and Modern Romance. That it works is because of the high-energy animation, some genuinely beautiful visual concepts and a story that's a little more sensuous than we expect in animation.

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Sinbad, whose voice is provided by Brad Pitt, is a sailor and pirate whose name and legend have been stretched to accommodate an astonishing range of movie adventures. This time we learn he was a resident of Syracuse, a commoner friend of Prince Proteus (Joseph Fiennes), and left town after his first look at Proteus' intended, Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones). "I was jealous for the first time," he remembers.

Sinbad runs away and finds a career commanding a pirate vessel with his first mate, a stalwart giant named Kale (Dennis Haysbert). They have indeed sailed the seven seas, all right, if we're to believe his talk of retirement in Fiji. Considering how far Fiji was from Greece in the centuries before the Suez Canal, we rather doubt he has really been there, but no matter: Maybe he's been talking to real-estate agents.

As the film opens, Sinbad's pirate ship attacks a ship commanded by Proteus, who is in possession of The Book of Peace, a sacred volume of incalculable value to the future of Syracuse. This attempted theft goes ahead, even though the two men are old friends and happy to see each other; a pirate is never off duty.

Sinbad's scheme is interrupted by Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Goddess of Chaos, who likes to mix things up and creates a gigantic sea monster to threaten both ships. The battle with the seemingly indestructible monster is one of several astonishing sequences; the others involve sailing off the edge of the world; Tartarus, the realm of the dead, which awaits them over the edge, and a winter vastation presided over by an awesome snow bird. These scenes are animated so fluidly, and envision strange sights so colorfully, that there is real exhilaration.

The story, directed by Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson and written by John Logan, involves the shape-shifting, deceptions, switches and parental ultimatums much beloved by legend. It also exploits the tendency throughout Greek legend for the gods to interfere in the affairs of man. As flies to wanton boys are, Sinbad is to Eris. Although Sinbad did not actually steal The Book of Peace, the meddlesome Eris impersonates him, and he seems to steal it, and Sinbad is taken prisoner and condemned to die by King Dymas, father of Proteus. Sinbad protests his innocence, Proteus believes him and offers himself as hostage to free Sinbad to sail off in search of the book. There's a 10-day deadline.

Here's where the sensuous stuff ramps up. Marina, who says she has always wanted to go away to sea, stows away on Sinbad's ship, and that comes in handy when all of the sailors on board are bewitched by seductive Sirens. A female immune to their charms, Marina takes the helm, saves the ship and furthers the inevitable process by which she falls in love with Sinbad, who, as the character with his name in the title, of course must get the girl.

The scene where the ship sails off the edge of the word to the land of Tartarus involves physics of a nature that Archimedes, a famous native son of Syracuse, would probably not have approved, but what wondrous visuals, and what a haunting realm they discover, filled with the hulls of wrecked ships and the bones of doomed sailors. "Sinbad" is rich with ideas and images, and exploits the resources of mythology to create such creatures as the snow bird, who at one point locks Syracuse in a grip of ice.

Syracuse itself, for that matter, is a magically seen place, a city of towering turrets atop a mountain range. When Sinbad returns, it is to deal with the crucial question of whether Marina will return to her betrothed or stay with him. This is handled with great tact in a conversation in which both men agree that her basic motivation is to sail away and see the world, although she also, I suspect, has a burning desire to see the bunk in Sinbad's cabin.

"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" is another worthy entry in the recent renaissance of animation, and in the summer that has already given us "Finding Nemo," it's a reminder that animation is the most liberating of movie genres, freed of gravity, plausibility, and even the matters of lighting and focus. There is no way that Syracuse could exist outside animation, and as we watch it, we are sailing over the edge of the human imagination.

Feng Shen Ji

Hello and welcome to the first iteration of Manga Reviews by Vonsopp. This will be a series showcasing Asian Comics that are off the beaten path of a Manga reader, and they will serve to enrich your Manga reading portfolio. This review will have multiple aspects of review and an eventual grading/raring system based on my opinion, which will also govern the series that are presented. There will be usually one of three types of series explored: Manga for Japanese series, Manhua for Chinese comics, Manwha for Korean series and webtoons. With all that said, let's begin!

Now, the series that will be explored today is a magnificent specimen named Feng Shen Ji. The author of the series Zheng Jian He, whose works included Wolf & Mary and primarily focusing on FSJ, artist is Tang Chi Fai, whose works also included Wolf & Mary and an incomplete series by the name Sea Tiger. It is a Manhua, which are Chinese comics. Feng Shen Ji, or FSJ going forward, is currently an ongoing weekly series with a chapter count of 116 that has many genre tags, but the important ones to take away are that it is a Seinen series, and it explores the dynamics seen in many Shonen books. What that means for the reader is that you get the best of both worlds. You get to see a character’s growth be explored in an uninhibited fashion where most Shonen typically are restricted with barriers they will not cross.

The premise of the Series is a universe where mankind lives in a world where they are in contact with gods and these gods oversee the humans and expect for them to harvest Bloodstones for them. The series starts with a human defying the gods and the retribution that soon followed by the opposing humans and subsequent assistance from the gods. Then, the story shifts to following the son, and this is where the series truly begins. The series, if it could be compared to anything, is God of War incarnate. The series follows a man bent on revenge, a dish served with a fist in the face....multiple times. The universe flows and maintains a consistency that many average Shonen fans would come to appreciate. With each chapter the plot and stakes seemingly escalate out of control. The key in FSJis the lack of predictability. One cannot properly make a conclusive statement on how things will resolve themselves. This is one of the best components. The series has actual depth in the structure of the characters and arcs in the relationships.

FSJ’s art style is a stark difference to most mangas, particularly because FSJ is all color. Every single aspect of the series is embellished in vivid colors allowing the reader to get the full spectrum of what is taking place in each panel. There are some who disapprove of color in Manga, but I am on the fence. For this series, it works wonderfully as the universe requires the colors to exemplify the diversity of each character and their myriad of abilities. The fusion of color spreads and the diverse quality of abilities makes for epic battle that only continue to rise in stakes. As a whole the series manages to maintain its sense of balance that many other series tend to lose when dealing with such unique content.

This series is teeming with mouth watering action. With that said, let’s talk about the diversity of the powers in this series. There are 4-5 main branches of abilities and within each branch is a plethora of individual powers. You see powers from Lightning to the conjuring of something like a megaman buster cannon. The battles range from simple hand-to-hand to earth shattering abilities and summons. There is a system of checks and balances even as the plot escalates. The beauty of the series lies in not knowing a person’s ability, or their level of mastery behind it.

The characters in the universe are fleshed out well, the dynamics flow well, and the characters have a lasting impression. Many times the “supporting” roles take the helm in plot importance and allow the reader to immerse themselves in not just the main characters growth but the other characters as well.

This series is very much worth the read. It has everything to please action driven readers. It is a series that I deem near perfect; the only thing stopping it from perfection is the fact the series is not complete.

Nanatsu no Taizai Review

Review:

Nanatsu no Taizai, honestly I think this is one of the great action shows of the past few seasons. This was a manga adaptation that had a goal in mind as to where it wanted to finish in the source material and it did everything it had to in order to get there. Normally this can lead to some questionable adaptations (like say Deadman Wonderland), but in this case it worked out fine. Any changes made compared to the source material in my view were minor while they still managed to hit the key points in spectacular fashion. In terms of adaptations I’d consider this a pretty strong one.

At its core Nanatsu no Taizai is an action show. But an interesting twist is that instead of the main cast starting out as wimps and having to spend a whole show training or something….the cast starts out pretty awesome. In some ways they gain strength, but in others they really don’t and it’s more dealing with the situations they are presented with. With this show it’s not as simple as saying one side is stronger because they have more energy or something. There is a mix of physical strength, special abilities and magics that really decide who might come out on top in a confrontation. The first episodes start off showing how damn strong the main cast are and giving some context for when the stronger characters for their opposition start to crop up. I just found it rather refreshing that we didn’t have to wait 20 episodes to start seeing characters do something impressive.

Action wise I’d say Nanatsu was quite good. It manages to get a bit bloody which sometimes can be rare in action shows these days. Shows being a bit hesitant and just having minor scratches if anything on characters. That somewhat comes into play because of the special property of one of the main cast in which they can show a lot of extreme damage without it actually killing the person. The fights can actually feel pretty impactful with some weight behind the strikes. A fair amount of movement and dodging. You could feel that these characters are actually pretty powerful and are able to do serious harm.

The show has a lot of interesting visual abilities. Because the cast members are all pretty powerful they can do some impressive things and make the action scenes rather intense. All the main characters have different kinds of abilities and some fairly creative. Seeing how those abilities clash with the special properties of their foes makes for some interesting encounters and even at times when the main cast has their own internal conflicts. As the show went on the battles got more hectic and some rather brutal situations started to come up. The last few episodes started creating threats that even a cast as tough as this one ran into trouble against.

The cast itself was a pretty good strength in my mind. Meliodas isn’t my favorite character, but he’s a good lead. He mixes things up between being a rather perverted character and a serious one. A guy that certainly doesn’t mind having fun with the lead female character, but also carries his own burden. Underneath the silliness he does have a lot weighing down on him and that slowly gets revealed as the show goes along. All the main characters (the Sins) have their own burdens and difficult pasts. That’s part of why they ended up in a group called the Seven Deadly Sins in the first place. Meliodas carries a darker and more mysterious side to himself than most and is a major part of the group’s fighting force, he’s a guy all those powerful people acknowledge as their Captain.

Elizabeth….is a nice girl. Honestly she’s not the strongest of characters, but she’s not annoying either. She’s a fairly normal person with her own mystery, but someone who’s going from princess to dealing with super powered people. In a normal situation she’d be the weak link, but in this situation she’s surrounded by very capable people. It’s hard not to stand out for not having great combat abilities. But in the end she’s the catalyst for the show, nothing starts if she doesn’t begin the effort to assemble the Sins. And really she does tough out some situations where her life was on the line and I can respect her for that.

Ban is easily my favorite member of the Sins. Normally I probably wouldn’t be so hyped about that kind of character. He gets into a great deal of trouble has a thieving element to him and frankly is not the most polite XD. But he’s also got one of the more compelling backstories that gets revealed in the show. A guy living a tough life with a Sin he’ll never be able to let go of. His behavior actually makes sense by the end, why he has that kind of personality and takes those kinds of actions. He’s also got some of the more interesting combination of abilities and powers which makes him interesting to follow in a fight. While Ban may do stupid things, he’ll come through when needed. He’s also got some of the best emotional and dramatic scenes in the show at least in my view. One of the Sins you’ll get a good understanding of.

In a sense King and Diane are pretty well linked with King having a hard to hide romantic interest in the girl. A strange combo to say the least with the giant (literally) girl and the fairy. Both are very powerful members of the Sins with their abilities. King has a ton of weight on his shoulders with what has happened in his past. It makes him really sympathetic since he’s gone through a lot and had to give up a lot along the way. An extremely kind person, but also one that really will blame himself heavily for things. Plus combat wise he’s not a brawler, but his abilities are devastating and make him one of the most dangerous when upset. Diane’s Sin isn’t really all that strong, but she fits in with this group of misfits being a Giant and having her own reasons to fight. Someone very dedicated to the people she cares about and will throw herself into dangerous situations and take the harm that comes from that. She really grew on me as the series continued and had good scenes throughout the show. She’s a very passionate person. Once she’s your friend she’ll be on your side no matter what. Her power is actually pretty amazing to see in action. All the Sins are pretty spectacular in their own right, but Diane still is up there in having one strong magical ability.

There are a ton of good characters in the show. The non-Sin characters are pretty interesting to some degree. It’s not just the Sins who are powerful which makes the conflicts spectacular. The villains are good threats as well and by the end you will be enjoying seeing all the forces just clash in a big way.

The story itself is pretty straight forward in a sense. It’s one of those big journey kind of situations. The Sins have got to reassemble to take on a threat and that takes time. With a group as odd as this the tricky thing is just tracking them down. But the more Sins they get the more entertaining it gets just because they are all really weird. This is a group fairly low on normal humans, but that just adds to the fun. There are a few surprises in terms of what is really going on, but at the core of it this is an adventure. And for me that’s not a negative and rather a fun aspect. Watching this weird group of people travel, run into trouble and assemble their group once again. There isn’t a lot to say on the story other than that. The ending arc is really quite fun and full of action. They manage to make the struggle one the Sins are very emotionally invested in.

The biggest deviation in the show is just in the last episode. They didn’t make huge changes, more like just accelerating the events so the episode would end on a good note. Unfortunately they are only 20 chapters or so behind the source material so it’s unlikely we see a second season for a good while. The end itself was still really good though, an excellent last battle as you’d expect from a show like this. Honestly, in terms of a last battle for this anime it was pretty darn fun to watch all the craziness going on.

In terms of the audio side of things the show held up pretty well. I was hesitant on Diane’s voice casting initially, but the choice turned out pretty well. The rest of the cast seemed spot on casting wise which made for a good listening experience. The soundtrack was good with the music fitting for the scenes they were placed in. I did like the tracks they used for the action scenes which I’m glad to say since those are some of the most important for a show like this with quite a few fights. They didn’t just have one song for a fight, but a fair amount of options. I really enjoyed the soundtrack and thought they added to the scenes nicely. You knew whether this was going to be an awesome scene or a tense one from how things were sounding. The two openings and endings fit pretty well and were good ways to start and end the episodes. I wouldn’t say they’d be my favorites for the whole year on those fronts, but they were good.

Really the show didn’t seem to slack off in terms of visuals. They made sure that when someone got killed or really injured that it left some kind of impact. Though I will say there wasn’t an obscene amount of death. The abilities actually looked pretty good from explosions, to electricity, to abilities that would be spoilers to talk about XD. The cast all looked good from the small King to the giant Diane. It’s a group that definitely stood out in terms of their appearance. There wasn’t that much CG in there, but what was done fit well for the specific situations. As a whole I would say it was a solid looking show. They made sure the action looked good and there wasn’t any major incidents of butchering the quality. That’s a pretty solid result for me.

In the end Nanatsu no Taizai was quite the good adaptation. Sadly the manga really isn’t that far ahead of where it ends so there’s little chance we’ll see a second season in the immediate future. But at least we got to enjoy a good show in the present. The cast was a fun one to watch, the action was good, and it was just an enjoyable ride. The only downside to the show was that it got so little attention. It struggled at times to get quick and reliable subbing which might have dropped it off people’s radars in a time when most of the new shows end up on Crunchyroll or somewhere else. But I will say this is a show worth watching. If the idea of a good fantasy adventure sounds like a fun one, then I’d give the show a few episodes to see how it looks. It’s a really good show and one of the more enjoyable fantasy action shows we’ve gotten in a while. A great cast, some fun battles, and just worth checking out if you enjoy those types of shows.