March 31, 2025

Brilliant, flawed, and deceptively hard

There's a lot to love about this series - but also a lot that's just a mess (and I'm sure some things that just went over my head). It's the sort of story that really makes you think at times, but hits you over the head with the message at others) - and occasionally (especially in the last 1/4) becomes so muddled that it feels like it lost sight of what it meant to say. There are some great messages and critiques in the show, and it's definitely some of the most unique storytelling out there (in a good way). To the show's credit there's very few filler episodes, and while it can be very formulaic, it also often goes to interesting or unexpected places. None of the characters are unequivocably good or bad (except for the main villain). I suspect it's the sort of thing that is best appreciated with a 2nd watch - but I don't plan to watch again (I do plan to read the manga | L24, and eventually watch the movie)

The language in this show is tricky - but not in the way you'd expect. In terms of vocabulary, I think it's probly a bit simpler than similarly rated fantasy shows - but it's the sort of thing where your comprehension really has to be on point. The narrative leans very heavily on symbolism, implication, and subtlety, and some of the speech can be very fast. So I wouldn't recommend it unless you're used to watching harder shows than this, or have done some solid pre-study with the jpdb deck.

Gradings:12
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