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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:4666#628] | ||||||
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(Three episodes watched): This was sort of neat but I wish it had been a little better. Sari discovers the Beast King's secret: he's actually half human himself and really wants peace and stability. I think he has been faking the sacrifices and hasn't actually devoured anyone. Some leaders in his kingdom feel he's too merciful to humans and are thinking about overthrowing him. That attitude will only get worse when he elevates Sari from sacrificial victim to Queen, after she helps prevent an assassination attempt and keenly understands him. Where will things go from here? It almost seems as if a major story has already been completed in just one episode. While this show had some surprises, I couldn't help feeling that while the characters were more three-dimensional than most, they could have gone a bit farther. Sari has a laconic attitude, and sees through the Beast King's masquerade, but isn't she supposed to have been devastated by her parent's betrayal? I also wish her remarks had been a little more cutting. But maybe the characters still will get better, and I intend to keep watching for now. Another thing I wish for is that the character designs were more detailed. It's hard to take 'beasts' seriously when they are so simply drawn. They look like charicatures rather than actual characters. Anyway, in episode two Beast King Leonhart makes it known that he has chosen Sari as his Queen and will tolerate no dissent. It's kind of discordant that as frightening as he looks, he actually suffers from a considerable lack of self-confidence. No doubt Sari will help him build this. But the politics were simple--beasts despise humans so they cannot accept Sari, at least not yet. The only conspiracy so far has been a frog-man trying to embarass Sari at a banquet. Basically, not complex enough to be really intriguing. And Sari's feelings of betrayal by her family and loss of the will to live have seemingly vanished. This show will need to pick up the pace somewhat if I am to watch it to its conclusion. In episode three Sari suddenly becomes ill. It turns out that the 'miasma' is slowly lethal to humans, which puts Leo in a bind. But the problem is fixed with magic, which is inherently unrealistic. We get a little morality play about how humans don't trust beasts and vice-versa, but it was not exactly brilliant or moving. I guess the basic problem with this show is that it has an interesting premise but the execution is lacking. No doubt Sari will persuade Leo to take measures to make lasting peace between beasts and humans, but I can't get excited about how it works out, since it all seems simplistic and unambitious. As a result, I think I will drop this show from my overloaded viewing schedule. Last updated Friday, May 26 2023. Created Tuesday, May 02 2023. | ||||||||
