This week we did chapter 9 and 10
We're on to Sett people!
So I think I'll have a little less to say this episode. Sett doesn't have the same range of facial expressions Azure has at this point. His 3 settings during his intro tend to be expressionlsss, smug / cocky and cruel. Which again, makes the choice to erase Azures facial expressions all the weirder when we already have a male lead who is a bit more cool headed in his interactions with Nina.
While Nina and Azure are two sides of the same coin. Azure and Sett are designed to contrast eachother in appearance, short white hair and red eyes vs long black hair and yellow eyes. Mirror images in behavior and how they approach their possition as prince. While Azure was overlooked for the throne and helps the country the best he can from his position, Sett was given it the thrown and is mostly interested in himself at the start of the series. Both men have a lot of trauma and Nina is the catalyst to their character development and healing (and maybe even some more trauma lol)
Oh cool. They start with some of the cut content from Sett's intro in the previous ep. Thats unexpected austin tindle is already slaying it as Sett lol. We're speed running through Nina's intro to the castle but nothing big is missed. Some fun hikami comments were skipped though.
So Sett's fairing slightly better then Azure face wise but his expressions are muted a little too. Whilse many of Azures were fully skipped, Sett's appear present so far, but warmer then in the manga. Hes coming off less smug and cocky when meeting Nina with his Neena for example. He seems softer then in the manga. Which i don't like lol. He's the bad boy love interest after all and his expressions really sell angsty cold prince whose up to something. Hes almost playful in their first meeting but at the same time you can sense somethings not right. It's all in the eyes and smirk, which isn't getting portrayed well here.
Really cutting the focus on how the servants are treating Nina is a bad choice. It's a big plotpoint in a couple chapters so skipping the build up sucks. Hikami getting many of her comments skipped is also a weird choice. She's an important confidant for Nina, but I guess this could mean they really are just treating this as another short 12 episode promo for the manga adaptation that so many shoujo get as of late instead of trying to guarantee a longer adaptation where the results of all the buildup pay off.
Yeah even in the twisted tea party they are softening Sett's expressions. I think their is a bias in this adaptation and how it portrays Sett and Azure but its not even working in Sett's favor when instead of portraying him in all his smug glory were getting a softer version of him and his quirks. He's still fairing better then Az in my eyes though. His attitude is still present at least unlike az's playfulness with Nina. And Austin Tindle can really elevate this rushed and muted take on Sett's material.
So we skipped Nina kind of making it her goal to be as powerful as the quwwn of fortna at least. I enjoyed this in the manga. I feel like it paints Nina as someone who can both dislike someone while respecting what they're capable of.
Sets playful sadism is now on full display for Nina, but the anime still is softening him in the manga art you'can really see how much fun he's having. The joy he takes in this chance to to hurt Nina when it starts is almost angelic before falling to a devilish grin, eyes growing colder and then an expression that so completely conveyed his view of her as completely beneath him. The anime tones it all down and at the end he seems almost rosy cheeked instead of like he could spit on her after laughing his ass off at her like in the manga. Honestly writing this is really hammering home that Sett would usually be my main ship lol. I love a good twisted character, but Azure captured my heart first.
For those of you who dislike Sett strongly already i encourage you to focus on his word choice and reasoning. Hell often reveal his rationale for things. Sometimes subtly. He may be twisted but he has his own warped moral code that he adheres to.
Chapter 10
Ah Azure. Even in Nina's dreams they won't animate you like your manga self. Give me your concerned glance and playful teasing looks. Give me your kind eyes and the look that says you have full faith in her. Give me a damn adaptation of you that makes me actually believe you and Nina belong together like the manga did. Why is chibi az the most accurate this adaptation has been with him??? Like damn near perfect, yet they skip adapting almost any humorous art with him every other ep
I want to go back to last episode. I mentioned a conversation was placed about Azures original name that wasnt in the scene in the manga. It is from a bonus mini chapter at the end of vollume 3. I'm shocked cause that's the most effort they've put into Azure's moments even if it was speed run like the rest of their material.
Lol Nina says his gaze is as cutting as his words. In the manga yes girl, in the anime he seems sassy at worst most of the time. But still compared to Az whose 1/10 the character, hes maybe at 3/5 his manga personality. So not as good as nina who id put at 4/5 accurate portrayal but not a full on failure. Ann chan is as adorable in the manga though. So yay for that
We did however cut more servant chatter. This time about how the guard captain is such a menace and his pattern of abuse to the servant girls, and how Sett allows it. The culture in the castle and the setvants is important so again, cutting out pretty much all their passing chatter will harm the next episode at the very least.
Ok this is the knot spot on theyve been with Sett's darkness. The moment he tells her she failed, while still not cold as the manga in still felt daggers comming from his eyes. But his smugness at hearing she's a possession of galgada falls flat immediately after, but they gave him a decent evil ffrim before he cuts her (but not the smug one from the manga, do they not like his smugness lol?) His slash also felt toned down. But I'm give it a pass cause censorship can be tricky, plus they really nailed his grin and eyes after the slash. But hsi shock and confusion wat Nina's bold proclamation in spite of his cruelty didnt really hit home. Not to mention he had a wide array of facial expression during this exchange that weren't conveyed at all in anime form. In the manga you can really feel the impact of Nina's words and then unease he feels as he's shaken by them. That final shot of his face ill give a passing grade to though.
Also love the symbolism of her reaching out for her hand as she fell. She got through to him. In the manga it gives the impression that her hand goes down his arm and he grabs it when it brushes his hand. As if he was trying to prevent her from dropping all the way down.
Stray thoughts
I want to call the English dub script adaptation out specifically. Flipping through the manga for vollume 3 reminded me that the author notes at the end deliberately explain the modern language choice was chosen for this fantasy series. Part of the issues with the dub script are word choice leading to incredibly awkward sounding sentences. It's important to be familiar with the tone and world of series when writing, especially if adapting something from another language. The overall formal language lead to the kings character coming off entirely wrong in several scenes where he should of been warm and informal with Nina. While the performance itself was lacking, the script certainly didn't help. Decides like what kind of language to use are often intentional and help flesh out fantasy worlds. Deliberately changing things from the more modern language of the manga can lead things not being portrayed as they should. It's important to know a series aesthetic properly instead of reducing it a trope based on your own assumptions.
And not a fan of Hikami's voice at all. The lack of effort put into the dub for this is really grating on my last nerve and my oppinion of Caitlin Glass as a director has really taken a hit with some of the performances and casting choices in this series |