|
|
||||||||||
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
|
[series:4837#628] | ||||||
|
(Five-and-a-half episodes watched): Episode one of Wajutushi- was both sort of interesting and sort of confusing. Apparently a Talker avoids combat himself but by reciting short spells uses magic to strengthen his comrades. "By invoking words with buff effects we jack up the combat strength of our parties" Noel explains. He can supposedly 'enhance all of their abilities by 25%'. He also has a chrome plated .357 Magnum loaded with magical bullets, just in case. Lloyd, another C-rank party member, is supposed to be the leader but during the fight with 'lesser vampires' it definitely seemed that it was Noel who was giving the orders. He also overuled the suggestion that the team go for the enemy's throat by seeking out the 'Queen' vampire rather than rounding up the minor ones first (Yeah, but you might always get killed by a lucky minor vampire before you reach the Queen--if 'luck' exists in this videogame-like world). The concept of a Talker is sort of interesting but I didn't think this show did a very good job of explaining it. Also mentioned is 'Magi-engineering', which seemed to be the practice of using magical artifacts to invent remarkable devices (Noel's pistol, no doubt). Blue Beyond may not last long; while the four members seemed to cooperate smoothly during their fight, Noel and Walter argue bitterly afterwards--you would think they hate each other, and this seemed to come out of left field to me. In general the characters didn't seem particularly interesting to me. Noel's personality consists of his desire to become the 'ultimate Seeker' and not much else. He proposes that the four of them (Tanya, a healer, is the 4th member) take the risky step of forming a 'Clan' and the others seem to agree. But at the end of the episode Lloyd and Tanya have apparently fled, leaving only Noel and Walter, of all people. I guess I am curious enough about what's going on to watch another episode. In episode two Noel and Walter figure out what has happened and pursue Lloyd and Tanya. Noel is a strikingly ruthless guy. He doesn't hurt innocent people but he has no mercy on anyone who crosses him, even if they were his comrades yesterday. You might say he is a good person to have on your side but he has no friends. He is devilishly clever (though I could not take the deal he made with the gay slave trader seriously) and knows how to manipulate people. More of an anti-hero than a hero, which is intriguing. Walter cannot deal with the ugly fate his former comrades meet and leaves Noel, who must form a new party from scratch. In episode three he interviews a potential member, Alma. This girl, who comes from a line of expert assassins, seems too good to be true and Noel quickly offers her a job. They conduct some practice and we get a better idea of just what a Talker does. So far, so good; like Noel, Alma seems fairly interesting to me. The scene where Noel himself is offered a place in another party was amusing. In episode four Noel and Alma take on a job to deal with bandits near a remote village. The Bandits are no big problem, what takes up more time is the mayor's attempt to betray Noel and Alma because he needs the money he promised them for another purpose. Again, Noel is merciless whereas based on countless other anime you sort of expect him to be forgiving and generous. The mayor's daughter is transformed from an admirer of Noel who hopes to be a Seeker someday into someone who totally hates him and them. Unconventional, but not exactly brilliant. I was left wondering if Noel is really a guy who is good enough that I should root for him or if this show is just meant for people who get a thrill out of sadism. We learn some more about Alma's past as well. In episode five Noel stumbles upon a pathetic looking slave who turns out to be a skilled fighter who might make a useful addition to his team. He considers casually disposing of the man's cruel master, something only Noel would do. Alma, however, likes having Noel all to herself, so to speak. Whereas many anime girls would adore the protagonist and do whatever he told them to just so that they could be near him, Alma considers herself to be Noel's 'big sister' and therefore outranking him in a way. Definitely unusual characters here, even if (again) they are not exactly brilliant. The first half of Episode six indicates that this slave will indeed wind up as the second star fighter in Noel's team, though not immediately. But it also indicated to me that this is an ugly, hateful show which I would be better off not to watch. I hated the Sicilian style Mafia families and the sadistic punishments they doled out to anyone who crossed them. The slave master blames Noel for his inability to pay off a debt to a family, and they seem to believe him. I want less Mafia, not more. I bet they will send the slave (who the family has claimed) to punish Noel, but he'll somehow persuade him to 'flip'. We are shown his background, and this guy has such a weak personality that the slightest compliment from anyone makes him emotional, because he has supposedly never heard one before in his unhappy past. This show is looking less and less like isekai and more and more like raw sex and violence. Last updated Wednesday, November 20 2024. Created Saturday, October 05 2024. | ||||||||
