Back to TheSpanishInquis's Profile TheSpanishInquis's Profile

This anime is not as good as the rating. I have no idea why people are giving it 10/10, because it is clearly not that good. For one, a 10/10 implies a perfect show, and this show has flaws and errors all over the place, specifically, the show fails in animation, art, characters, and story. While at least art and animation can be chalked up to a low budget, it's really bad sometimes, especially those fire sprites. I swear, a Youtuber could make a animated fire better than what they use, it atrocious and tears you out of any semblance of immersion the show builds ... whenever it appears.This review contains minor spoilers, not that it really matters, as most of this story is pretty irrelevant and nothing much actually happens. There is no real conflict to speak of, so there is nothing to really spoil.

The first problem with the anime is the story. There is essentially no story to speak of. Her goal is to get books, or make books, which is pretty simple, but the entire way she goes about it is just devoid of any interesting plot points. Like seriously, the methods she uses are so contrived, and most episodes just feel like filler. She literally has the knowledge of the modern world and fails to use most of it. Her character is so one dimensional it hurts. The dialogue is very lacking. Every episode there is always some example of bad dialogue. An example that stuck out to me would be in Episode 5, where Eva is talking to another mom and says something along the lines of "Ya, you only have boys." and then goes on to list all the other parents children like she does not know their names or something. Like, wtf, that was so redundant and unnatural. If you wanted to emphasize that she is the parent of Lutz and his brothers, there are plenty of other ways to do that. Made me cringe when I first saw it. Another case is in episode 6, when they meet Benno, which is a mixed case of bad dialogue and bad storytelling. Like seriously, you expect a 5 year old kid, 5 YEARS OLD, to know what he wants to trade if he considers becoming a merchant? Like really? He's 5. 5 year old kids still piss their bed, cry excessively, and are freaking DUMB. I know this is supposed to be medieval fantasy, but that is simply beyond stupid. Nobody would expect a 5 year old to know what he's going to trade as a merchant, even back in medieval times when you were considered mostly grown up by your teens. They would take him in as an apprentice first, teach him how to trade and do arithmetic, and when he learned all the basics he would have a choice on what to do. Even then, considering this show seems to be trying its hardest to depict a "realistic" medieval fantasy, he would NOT really have a choice on what he want to do. Even if he chose to be a merchant, and was permitted to do that, he would be whatever type of merchant accepted him as an apprentice, almost without exception, because breaking an apprenticeship was a crime, and after an apprenticeship a Journeyman was not really good enough to get investment to start their own business. Its just some seriously stupid writing sometimes. I get that kids are usually more mature than their actual age in anime, but that is another inconstancy in the writing. The 5 year old kids tend to act like they are 20 year's old, but then suddenly revert to what a 5 year old would actually act like. Myne is the perfect example of this. She goes form thinking critically about how shes going to make paper to crying like a toddler whenever something goes awry, like when her clay tablets were stepped on. Another example is in episode 7 where shes afraid to cut her finger to complete a contract. Its super jarring and inconsistent. If the writer wanted the characters to be mature, have them be older, like at least 10. There is no reason to have a apprentice system like they have in the show that is similar to real life. Its a fantasy show, you can make a few changes, like making the age of apprenticeship older by making peoples lifespans longer, or something like that. Hell, most apprenticeships in real life occurred form age roughly the age of 14 and on even in the medieval period, so I completely fail to understand why they would make the characters so young. Anyhow, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Also, about all the arguments about "oh, its because the original Myne's personality and the body snatcher mixed" or "Its because her brain is undeveloped but she has the mind of a 20 year old" bugger off with that bull crap excuse. If the writer wanted to have her act like a child and an adult at different times make her a teen. There is no reason to have such contrived reasoning for her to act in such a unnatural manner when you can get away with making her act like both in a logical manner. Ya, maybe she would not cry as much as she does, and some of the "cuteness" would be reduced because she is no longer a kid, but honestly, it would make the show so much better in my opinion. There are plenty of other story things I can ramble about, but this review is already going to be long, so I'll get on to the characters and the animation/art.

Most all characters in this story feel shallow. They are puddles, and are lacking depth in most regards, especially for motivation. To be specific for some of them, Myne only cares about books, Lutz is just that one kid who is helpful to Myne and wants to eventually explore the world one day, and EVERYONE else except Benno is simply their to be a foil for Myne. No kidding. The entire cast is foil characters, and it feels like their only purpose is to either get in Myne's way somehow by saying she can't do something because shes weak, or she not a noble, or for some other reason, or to comment "WOW MYNE! What an amazing invention you just made, how weird!" And now for the only spoiler that might matter. Lutz is the only one, after about 7 episodes, and a period of what Lutz said was almost an entire YEAR, to realize Myne is different. That is the most retarded thing ever. Hes the only one who questioned her about it, and after he confronted her and figured everything out, nothing really changed about their relationship. Ya, she mentioned that people thought she acted weird, but that is it. Other than Myne and Lutz, the only other character who seems more human are Benno. Ya, hes written poorly, as shown by the scene in episode 6, but otherwise, he seems like a merchant who wants to protect his money maker in the form of a little girl who has a ton of good ideas. He gets really pissed whenever she does something stupid, and refuses to let anybody try to get her to work for them, which makes sense, considering she is probably the best thing that has ever happened to him as a merchant. Honestly, hes probably the most likable character, even though hes a jerk sometimes, because he feels more real then the rest of them. Myne is so one dimensional I find it impossible to relate, Lutz is way to forgiving for a 5 year old, the parents are fine, but its so amazingly stupid that they don't realize Myne is a different person, and her sister hardly does anything except be a side character with no personality. Lutz is the second best character, mostly because he actually has a dream to pursue.

The animation and are is subpar. Nothing is great about it, and a lot is bad about it. This is more of a budgetary issue than anything, so I did not really factor it into my overall score, but its still atrocious sometimes. Sound design is very good though, the music feels great and has a good atmosphere to it that the animation sadly does not live up to.

Overall, this anime is about a 4.5/10, definitely not a 10/10, regardless of what people say. The animation is to bad to be considered a 10/10, and the story is not that great either. I recommend anybody who is interested to watch this anime for about the first 5 episodes and then decide if they want to continue. Seems to me like most people enjoyed it for the cuteness aspect, but considering I've watched enough cute anime that I have not gotten around to adding onto my MAL yet, cuteness no longer has an affect on how I rate my shows, unless it is super good. In this case, its just slightly cute, and most of the time its annoying because she is supposed to be in her 20s, which ruins all the times she cries that might otherwise elicit a emotional response.

I've waited for so long. SO LONG!!!! "Its such a good setting, WHY HAS NOBODY USED IT BY NOW!" Is what I was thinking of for years. I am a total history nerd, and an avid consumer of Japanese media, and while I love every manga with a historical setting, like Vagabond, Vinland Saga, Kingdom, and so on, I ALWAYS wanted a manga set in the Holy Roman Empire(HRE). Its just such an interesting setting, from the Protestant Wars that occurred in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, to the Investiture Controversy that caused so much fuss in the 11th century going forward, and even ... back to Charlemagne's conquests, everything about the HRE is so interesting and WEIRD. Its literally a league of nations, city-states, and republics that somehow stayed together for almost a thousand years, which is a ridiculous accomplishment considering how decentralized they were for a vast majority of that time. I always though it was a massively overlooked setting, and I was legitimately considering getting better at my mediocre skills at drawing just to make a one-shot or something, BUT NO LONGER MUST I WAIT!!! AT LAST!!! Shinji Makari used it, and its freaking amazing. Just from looking at the first Volume, I found what has to be one of my favorite manga of all time. Everything about it screams history nerd. The armor is historically accurate for the most part, the weapons are historically accurate, and most of all, the battles are BRUTAL, just like real medieval battles. Only nitpick I have is that sometimes, the armor does nothing, like in the first chapter when Issak uses a matchlock rifle (I think its a tanegashima, but I'm no specialist in rifles, so idk for sure) at a ridiculous range and penetrates plate armor. If he was using any matchlock rifle at that time period, his feat would literally be impossible, and would likely land nowhere near his target or if it did hit, it would simply bounce of the plate. But that is just me nit picking at whatever I can find, and otherwise, its like a Vagabond based in the HRE. Its so well drawn I have absolutely nothing to give but praise to the artist. Issak looks pretty distinct form the other characters, which makes sense because hes Japanese and they are European, and it adds a bit of flavor to his character. The characters around him are interesting, and we get a lot of information about characters from their actions, rather than simply using dialogue. The story is well written, and is simple, which I think is good. Issak is out for revenge, and that is all I'll say, because I don't want to go past the first chapter and spoil the fun for anybody reading this review. And on a side note, the author Shinji Makari also has some cool tidbits at the end of some chapters. Overall, this manga is on par with other like it, including Vinland Saga and the famed Vagabond. Honestly, it might just be me freaking out over finally having my imagined manga come to life, but this is just so good. Highly recommended for anybody who likes Seinen or history.