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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:4623#628] | ||||||
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(Seven episodes watched): I had expected that a 'fairy tale' anime would be silly, children's grade stuff and this was the last new show of the season that I watched episode one of. But, as with several other shows this season, I was pleasantly surprised. This show is not a weak comedy at all, but rather has a serious and intriguing plot. We learn how humans control fairies (by removing one of their wings and holding it hostage). This show has a fanciful yet believable premise and pleasing, watercolor-like artwork. There's a well-off guy named Jonas (yellow hair) who seems to consider Anne as destined to be his bride even though she is not really interested. The real romance seems likely to come from Anne and Shall. Anne is a liberated woman (now an orphan) who doesn't see why Fairies must be treated cruelly. She has done her job in making herself appealling to us viewers and I must know what will become of her. Shall is a proud warrior (Warrior Fairies are as big as humans) despite his status as a slave. He despises all humans now but no doubt will have a change of heart at some point. So, pretty neat! It's a good thing I didn't skip this show altogether. In episode two the journey to the capital continues. Jonas has become worried about Anne and insists on escorting her. We meet two more (small) fairies, Jonas' servant and another who stowed away in Anne's wagon. We are told how fairies are created, which was a little difficult to wrap my mind around. This episode was OK, but not as fresh and intriguing as episode one. Likewise, in episode three a crisis comes when Anne's supply of premium sugar vanishes and Jonas goes off the rails when Anne rejects his proposal. He seemed to go from fairly reasonable to patently insane in almost the blink of an eye, and I could not see how this benefitted the plot in any way. The disturbing possibility was that maybe this show wasn't nearly as good as I had initially thought. Somehow I skipped episode four and watched five first. This show doesn't exactly leave me on the edge of my seat at the end of episodes, so it wasn't immediately clear that I had missed one. Episode four (I got caught up) is all about Anne's attempt to overcome Jonas' sabotage and make a credible entry in the Sugar Master competition. She is partially successful, and I would think any pretensions he once had of marrying her have been buried. But the way things worked out wasn't all that surprising or thrilling. In episode five Anne is obliged to act as an assitant to a master sugar artist, or whatever the title is called. For the most part this episode made sense and was sort of fun. But surely the main conflict of this series will be Anne's relationship with Challe, which began to move in episode four. This show is at risk of being dropped from my viewing schedule as I fall farther and farther behind and this season begins to near its end. The work that goes into these confections makes them more like pieces of sculpture than things to be eaten--that would be a tragedy and a travesty. They should be made of blown glass, not candy. Anyway, Anne runs into Jonas again in episode six as both are competing for a prize offered by an odd nobleman. Jonas tries to blackmail Anne into breaking up with Challe. But I could not help feeling that maybe this show had been intended primarily for children after all. At least Anne makes it clear that she does not blame Challe for anything, which would have been the height of juvenile writing. The secret to the confection that this nobleman really wants was underwhelming, too. My interest in this show had fizzled and I decided to drop it without saving the remaining episodes. It had great potential, but all too often potential is not exploited. Last updated Thursday, May 04 2023. Created Wednesday, January 25 2023. | ||||||||
