2000 years ago, there was an epic battle between a king and his army and vicious, scary-looking dragons and demons. In the present, we meet our protagonists, Kaisar Lidfard and Favaro Leone. Kaisar is chasing Favaro for unexplained reasons. Said chase consists of…riding horses across rooftops and Favaro eventually escaping by riding a giant runaway mill wheel. I couldn’t make this up.
The pair run into some robbers, who identify both Kaisar and Favaro as bounty hunters. However, Kaisar dislikes being a bounty hunter and blames Favaro for his current state. The robbers, while trying to make their escape, are stopped by the sudden, myserious appearance of a naked girl on top of their caravan. Elsewhere, Favaro, having managed to lose Kaisar, tracks down a bounty who can summon demons. Favaro outwits the criminal and seals him inside of some sort of stone tablet/card thing.
Favaro then visits a drunken man named Bacchus and his talking goose, where he receives payment for his bounty…payment he immediately spends on alcohol and women. He brags that he is journeying to the ice-bound northern country, Helheim, to seek more bounties, and causing the mysterious girl, who is also going to Helheim, to attempt to hire him as a guide. They are interrupted by the younger brother of Favaro’s last bounty, who attacks them with an enormous demon. The girl transforms into her true form, a glowing figure with wings and armor, and easily defeats the demon. Favaro is hit by a rock and passes out, but not before he realizes that the mysterious girl is herself a demon.
While unconscious, he has a bizarre dream in which he encounters an immense dragon in a flaming landscape. He awakens to discover that he now has a tail that he did not have before.
This series was surprisingly pleasant to watch. The plot, what there is of it so far, is nothing special – a bounty hunter fighting demons and a mysterious girl who has a secret. It had a few original moments, such as Favaro’s mysteriously appearing tail at the end and the character of Kaisar. I found myself wanting to know more about him especially, as his story seems interesting to me – he was once very wealthy, but is now forced to work as a bounty hunter, a job he hates. What happened, or why he blames Favaro, has not yet been explained. Uptight characters who just cannot catch a break are some of my favorite types, so I’m already really liking Kaisar.
The animation was also surprisingly well done. Each dragon or demon which appeared looked distinctly different, which was impressive given the sheer number that showed up in the battle at the beginning of the episode. Kaisar and Favaro’s designs are also pretty unique, Favaro’s especially – his Ronald McDonald like poof of hair combined with his eye scar is easily recognizable. The show uses a lot of bright, eye-catching color, especially in the scenes in the pub and when Favaro visits Bacchus, which was also very pleasing to the eye.
Overall, this was an enjoyable show to watch, but with nothing particularly special. There’s very little plot in the first episode, being nearly entirely action – which I didn’t mind, even though some scenes (the rooftop horse chase) were rather ridiculous. A lot of people have already started calling this a rip off of Attack on Titan, due to similar Japanese names, comparisons between Favaro’s outfit and the military uniforms in AoT, and the rooftop chase utilizng a lot of similar shots/angle as some of the 3DMG scenes. However, as this show is based on a collectible card game, I doubt the similarities are intentional or will continue.
Not the most original show, but more fun to watch than some of the other generic action shows I’ve seen recently. Depending on how the other First Impression shows go, I might actually blog this.
Out of 5:
Moeronpan 