My rating for this anime: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
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Enjoyment: 10/10
Story:
The story is complex and straightforward. Unlike Genesis, the power dynamic changed in Virgin Soul in favor of mankind by the time Charioce XVII, king of mankind ascended the throne. Charioce’s actions resulted in weakening the gods and demons, he raided the gods temples and enslaved demons. His actions were the result of mankind being the weak and oppressed race between two powerful races (Gods and Demons) for centuries if not a millennia.
In Genesis, it is shown that mankind were neglected by the gods that allowed for mankind’s suffering for centuries under the demons. Despite mankind worshiping the gods, gods think that excessive support to mankind is unwise. The only angel that was fond of humans was Michael and he was the one to bless Jeanne with her holy powers. Michael as he was dying admits that Bahamut’s revival was their punishment for forgetting how to work with mankind and losing Zeus. On the other hand, Demons have been terrorizing mankind for a very long time, attacking their villages and killing it’s inhabitants including little children. Genesis did hint that demons are sadistic creatures shown various times such as when Azazel laughed when he realized he killed Kaisar and Favaro’s fathers, and that he actually killed them for fun. He enjoys torturing people such as when Amira was tortured in his castle. The other demon Cerberus begs Azazel to take a turn at torturing Amira because Pazuzu’s way of torturing was boring while suggesting horrifying ways she would love to try and torture Amira. Even though Bahamut was reviving, none of these races wanted to cooperate until they were forced to since no one can take down Bahamut alone. It is important to watch Genesis to have a background on the story and its characters.
In Virgin Soul, the main focus of the plot was on the protagonist Nina Drango and the anti-villain Charioce XVII. Charioce’s actions is what moved the plot and the characters throughout the episodes. Whereas, Nina was the character that got involved with everyone and helped us see different POVs and story of each character. Nina Drango is a refreshing character, with a very positive and happy-go-lucky personality. She has the ability to turn into a dragon due to being half dragon-folk. She is from an isolated village where dragon-folk live, they are people that have the ability to transform into a dragon. She is a bounty hunter trained by Favaro that came to royal capital Anatae to earn money for her mother.
In the first cour, The story focuses on the on-going conflict between gods, demons, and humans and this time humans are seen as the villains for abusing their power. I love how this conflict is the result of the actions of all three sides. Every side thinks they are doing the right thing and no one is willing to compromise. The writers show the brutality and the devastating results of their actions. The first few episodes focused on Azazel’s attempt in freeing the demons and attempting a failed demon rebellion against Charioce. You can agree and disagree with what all three sides stand for yet realize that since none are willing to compromise this conflict will led to further complications. Charioce is willing to make mankind prosper furthermore. The gods believe mankind lost it’s way and they have to redirect them back to the gods even if it means through war. Demonkind have been waiting for the right chance to strike. Charioce was willing to eliminate everyone that stands in his way until he discovered that Nina “his love interest” was involved with them. Because of Nina, he is taking less extreme measures against his opponents rather than killing them as he was willing to in the beginning. His love story with Nina started to build up since episode 3 and it has been confirmed by the director that Charioce in fact fell in love with Nina at first sight.
In the second cour. Charioce reveals his secret weapon Dromos that he has built from the ancient artifacts he stole from the gods. All characters except for Azazel have seen the capability of the amount of destruction this weapon can do yet none know the real motive behind Charioce’s actions so they decide to stop him. The story starts to hint that Charioce’s goal is in fact to take down Bahamut which explains the reason he needed to build Dromos as it is the only weapon that is on par with Bahamut’s power. Mugaro’s death played a major role in unifying the demons and gods against Charioce who was about to break the seal and release Bahamut. None at this point figured out Charioce’s plan until Bahamut showed up at the battlefield. Gods and demons led by Gabriel and Lucifer tried to contain Bahamut’s blast but they barely did it and Charioce along with Nina put their lives on the line to use Dromos and save the world from Bahamut. Both paid the price by losing one of their most important senses: Charioce lost his right eye (both eyes are blind) and Nina lost her voice. Bahamut caused less destruction than he did 10 years ago and that is because Dromos proved to be far more powerful and took him down easily. The humans and demons are still on bad terms but they are starting to work together to build the capital. Charioce is seen as a hero who defeated Bahamut to his people.
The romance was a great subplot to the story. The love between Nina and Charioce was simple and genuine. It didn’t require major events or too much screentime, it developed in the most organic way where the development entirely depended on them both without anyone’s interference. Nina and Charioce are polar opposites but complete each other. They have great interactions and it shows us their most vulnerable sides. The romance healed Nina whereas it gave us another dimension to Charioce’s character, he isn’t the ruthless king everyone thought he was but in fact a person that is capable of love and emotions, he is human after all. The relationship gets complicated when both discover their true identity, king Charioce XVII and the red dragon. Despite that, they continued to love each other. Nina sees Chris first before king Charioce, she is conflicted about how a kind man like Chris is capable of doing horrible things as Charioce. Nina accepts both of his sides though she can’t change his past but she can change his present and future. Charioce despite being in love with Nina stayed in character until the end, it truly proven that he is a king with an incredible mental fortitude. Despite the odds being against them, their love won in the end. I loved the symbolism in their relationship such as the dance and chili pepper, things both of them cherish. The body language that each character displayed was wonderful. My only complaint is that I wish we have seen things from Charioce’s POV and his emotions more.
I think the story is wonderful, sure it had potential to be greater but still was wonderful. The main issue was the pacing and not the story. If the show had 30 episodes I think it would have answered many questions and covered the story better. The story is very well-written but they couldn’t fit it within 24 episodes because the story had to deal with many things that the series didn’t wrap up at the end. Just because the ending was rushed doesn’t make the anime bad.
Animation:
The animation was amazing. From Anatae, to dragon village, to land of the gods, and the battlefield animations was just superb. I was always in awe in the beauty of the scenery every episode. Mappa never disappoints when it comes to animation. I will always consider the animation in Shingeki no Bahamut one of the best I’ve seen in anime. The CGI feels off sometimes but it doesn’t bother me.
Sound:
The soundtracks in Shingeki no Bahamut is perfect. Every new soundtrack presented in the anime amazes me. My favorite is definitely Nina and Charioce’s theme, its such a beautiful melody. I love the battle soundtracks too and the Chorus of Despair version in Virgin Soul is much better than its Genesis version.
The voice acting was amazing too. Nina’s voice fits her character perfectly and the seiyuu did an excellent job with it. Yuuichirou Umehara brought Charioce’s character with his voice, I can listen to him talk forever. All the Seiyuus did very well especially Rita and Kaisar’s seiyuus. The cast were one of the best seiyuus the industry offers.
Characters:
The variety of characters in this show is amazing. I feel attached and invested in every character in the story. Every character is unique and for some reason I feel connected with them. Main characters, secondary characters, and even background characters left an impact in the show, it shows you how well-written these characters are even if they were not relevant or did not get enough screen time.
The characters design was perfect. Each character has a special characteristic to them and most are peculiar to anime standards. Naoyuki Onda’s magic never disappoints anyone. Even Genesis characters look much better in Virgin Soul. I’m glad they made the gods less shiny this time even Lucifer, my eyes hurt when I saw Lucifer in Genesis.
Enjoyment:
This has become one if not my all-time favorite anime. I have enjoyed all 24 episodes without feeling bored. I was invested in the story and I got attached to all the characters. This anime is not perfect but it had almost everything that I’d want in an anime. I’d recommend this anime to everyone. After the anime ended I felt hollow and I still am a little bit, because for months I have been attached to these characters and the story and its difficult to say good bye. Thank you Studio Mappa and Cygames, I hope we got more of Shingeki no Bahamut and I want to see all these characters return to screen sometime soon.
Oct 5, 2017
Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul
(Anime)
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My rating for this anime: 9/10
Story: 8/10 Animation: 9/10 Sound: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 ... |
