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May 23, 2022
⚠️ MAY CONTAIN LIGHT SPOILERS
This review was written only for the first book (From A Wandmaker's Perspective), I'll edit in a follow-up for the second book (Passing of the Witch) soon.
Dragon and Ceremony takes you on a quest through a world shrouded in secrets and the arcane – a high fantasy setting with historical and cultural backgrounds as its focus, certainly a theme seldom found in the genre.
It presents a mystery set in an unfamiliar world, an investigation of long forgotten history. However, despite being a fantasy, it remains very human in nature – a world torn by territorial, religious, and racial conflict and
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power struggles, and one where customs and tradition evolve, sometimes even losing their meaning over time. The logic and arguments that can be used in our world, can also be applied here. Perhaps the only things that truly separates their world from ours are the presence of mythical creatures and utilization of magic.
The story focuses on two main protagonists, Ix, a fledgling wandmaker - an architect of the tools needed to channel magic, yet one that is unable to use magic, and his client, Yuui - a young girl hailing from a distant land staying at an unfamiliar kingdom for reasons undisclosed, owner of a powerful wand, and someone who is unsure of her place in the world.
In order to fulfill his client's request, Ix needed to find clues regarding the mythical dragon. Yuui accompanies him in the search, and the pair try to find anything related that may become a lead; from old books, records about indigenous customs, and hearsay, but trying to find factual information about something that has already been deemed nothing but legend proved to be challenging. By going on a journey to pursue the few leads that they did find, the both of them who were unsure of their purpose in the world, now worked together temporarily towards a common goal.
Worldbuilding is the strongest aspect of this novel. Each region mentioned has their own cultural backgrounds and origins, traditions, and unique atmosphere. The setting feels like a world that has existed long before the story had begun, and one that will continue to exist long after the story has reached its conclusion. Though at the beginning things may seem vague and incoherent, the bigger picture is steadily revealed, and the groundwork was steadily laid as you progress through the story. It starts going at a more interesting pace, and keeps that momentum until the very end. As the main mystery calmly unravels, it focuses in on the reasons as well as the different thoughts of the characters.
The illustrations and artwork are very nice and pleasant to look at. Simplistic but compliments the story well, and character designs definitely fit the image they present. In fact, the cover was the main reason I was drawn to read this novel in the first place.
In terms of characters, the protagonists are interesting in their own right, they have good chemistry, fitting personalities, and the dialogue exchanges between them were a fun read. In the early parts of the novel, their origins are mostly left to the reader’s imagination, the ones pursuing a mystery being a mystery themselves too makes for quite a fascinating narrative. For the side characters however, they were a bit lacking in depth, especially compared to the protagonists, but they still served their purpose in the story well enough, just not as memorable.
“Does that mean I can have hope we will understand each other someday?”
“Maybe in a hundred, or a thousand years from now, but someday we will.”
At its core, Dragon and Ceremony presents a journey - a journey about change and finding a purpose in the world, a journey that shows coming to terms with a painful past, and not letting it decide the future, and a journey about acceptance and self-reflection blended in with the pursuit of the unknown. It offers a unique spin on the adventure-fantasy genre by incorporating mystery elements in tandem with fictional history and culture, presenting a rich world and flawed but interesting main characters. The story draws you in by showing only disconnected pieces of a puzzle, connecting them slowly with each page, and then finishing off with a solemn, yet satisfying conclusion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 9, 2022
With the myriad of anticipated shows and sequels this season, I certainly did not expect to find yet another hidden gem.
Shows with "Heal" in their titles don't really have a very good track record, so I was reluctant to give this a shot at first, but seeing its main focus on Music and being made by Studio 3Hz, I decided to give it a try. And from the very first episode, it definitely felt that this show had the potential to become something special.
The concept of Healer Girl is fairly straight forward - it's a show about girls that heal, through the power of music.
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My first thought was that this show would be done in some sort of fantasy setting, so it was a nice surprise seeing that these elements were actually incorporated into a modern, normal life setting. Though simple, finding an original and unheard-of concept used in a music anime was a nice change of tune.
At its core, the show is a slice-of-life about cute girls striving to chase their dreams, with each of them having their own motivations for choosing the path of becoming a Healer. The three main characters have good chemistry with their own unique personalities complimenting each other, and the rival and supporting cast have so far also been fairly fleshed-out.
Now for the main focus – the music. Combined with the voice acting, they have all been done phenomenally. The seiyuus present a very convincing performance on both spoken dialogues, and song segments especially (also worth noting that the main 4 are the ones that sung both the OP and ED), they are all definitely very talented both as singers and voice actresses. From the incorporation of singing in fun casual conversations à la musical theatre, to the more serious choir-like healing sequences, it definitely feels that you – as the viewer, are also being soothed by their melodies as they sing. It is without a doubt, the strongest aspect of this anime.
The art and animation are fairly well-done, especially during movement or dancing sequences which flow naturally. Backgrounds are nothing too special, but it gets the job done and even has the opportunity to shine in certain scenes. As for the main character designs, I quite like their color schemes, it fits the characters’ personalities well.
However, if there would be something I feel that is lacking, it would be the lore and worldbuilding. I think it would be nice to see a full explanation of the concepts of healing through music, such as explaining how certain songs get healing properties, or rules and limitations needed to make them work. This can make for a more immersive experience, but has only been teased in little snippets of dialogue. The current story arcs and plot points can also feel a bit out of pace sometimes, but so far hasn’t led to any serious issues. Despite its flaws, the potential for a fleshed-out story is still present, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it wraps up.
Overall, the comedic, serious, and musical moments of Healer Girl all work together to offer an enjoyable experience, and watching it feels much like drinking a nice blend of coffee that fills the cup of a slow Monday morning. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, comfy, feel-good show to start the week, and are a fan of cute girls doing cute things, definitely do give this one a shot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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