Lord Marksman and Vanadis

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread) War, when diminished to its base components, is sadly tragic. It's hard to justify the killings of thousands of people for any kind of cause. But some are better than others: bringing about peace, saving a subjugated group, or protecting one's home. For as long as humans have lived, war has not only shaped the past, has not only persisted in the present, but will most likely never dwindle in the future. An almost inevitability, war brings out the best and the worst in people. For Madan no Ou to Vanadis, it certainly brings out the worst insomething. STORY Vanadis begins with the bowman Tigre meeting Elen, a War Maiden, on the battlefield. After being taken hostage, the two decide to help one another in protecting Tigre's hometown of Alsace. At its core, the show is about war: the battles, the aftereffects, the planning, and the formations. And to this end, it fails miserably. A lot of this has to do with the world-building it attempts to employ. Country names, nearby towns, and faraway lands are talked about as if the audience is supposed to simply know that such areas exist. It disconnects the viewer from what is going on, because he or she just cannot follow who's from where, which side is fighting what, and why they're all fighting in the first place. Simultaneously, multiple sub-plots exist at any given moment, such as Elen's trek to visit Sasha or the King's madness. The aforementioned difficulty in understanding what is going on persists here as well. Since it wasn't explained properly before, it remains discombobulated after. When it comes to the actual field skirmishes, the anime adopts a narration approach. Going into explanatory mode, the show does its best to clarify the formations of the warring sides and their plan of attack. The point here is to make it feel as if it's a war that the characters are participating in. Again, though, it falls flat: the majority of the action focuses not on the entire battle, but on the singular duels taking place. Elen fighting against a dragon or Tigre squaring off against the opposing general are fine as standalone fights. In context, though, it doesn't seem to fit since their part is just one small piece to the much bigger puzzle. When the anime isn't having such a tough job conveying the severity of the wars going on, it steps back into its secondary role as a harem. Once again, though, the anime cannot deliver. A lot of the problems here stem from the show refusing to address or at least elaborate on the relationships that exist between Tigre and the rest of the girls. It's alluded to heavily for each of them, with constant teasing and wordplay, but it never comes off as if the characters are anything but friends to our main character. What's even more strange is the apparent lack of the harem. Particular characters are sometimes shown only once or twice, despite given relative importance. Worse still, there exists a person shown in the opening and closing sequences, but never appears over the course of the show. It's almost as if the anime forgot to include her during production. Amid the directionless wars and harem antics, the show gives one final attempt to instill some form of reason. The idea that a just cause is a righteous one. Fighting for others and not yourself is noble and courageous, to say the least. And this isn't just seen with Tigre; many of his opponents question their beliefs, and many of the War Maidens aid him not for themselves, but because they simply wish to help. It's entirely poetic, though, since it's never challenged nor is it looked at realistically. It's accepted as fact that Tigre's mindset is "as straight as an arrow," and that nothing could be more worthy of praise. The show fails to explore any kind of ramifications attributed to such thinking, instead directing its resources to other venues. ANIMATION The art and animation fair no better for Vanadis. The art style at first gives the feeling of taking place within an Elder Scrolls type fantasy world, with taverns, villages, and zero modern technology. However, this is quickly replaced by the reused open terrains with overcast clouds and tent encampments. Combined with the quite jarring CG horses and platoons, it's never pretty to see. The character designs pick up some of the slack. While Tigre is rather boring with his outfit and hair, the same cannot be said for the War Maidens. While some have excessively large busts, they're all quite beautiful. Each of their designs is detailed, from their armor to their weapons. Even some of the men receive this treatment, appearing as menacing and barbaric. Everyone also has a slight sheen to their faces, with lighted eyes, making them feel a bit more alive. The actual animation dips back down in quality, sadly. The choreography for the fights isn't difficult to follow so much as it is just non-existent. Arrows regularly fly from off-screen, swords are swung wildly, and the dragon abilities characters have are not impressive, no matter how much screaming is done. Being ecchi, the breasts are given special attention when the girls move, but that is usually the extent of character movements, both in and out of battle. CHARACTERS Harem or not, the characters of Vanadis are completely one-dimensional, signified by either a single trait or the size of their chests. Tigrevurmud -- known as Tigre -- is a "prisoner" to Elen and the leader of their joint forces. Embodying the spirit of his people, his aim in war is to make sure that it never again reaches his home of Alsace. Kind to all who approach him, he is respected by his soldiers and loved by the women around him. Never emotional, underdeveloped, and overpowered from start to finish, he is as typical and generic as they come. His only purpose in the story is to be there for the harem to be created, and nothing more. As Tigre's maid, Titta dotes on him 24/7. Quick to cry and unable to keep from shouting his name every other sentence, her presence serves literally nothing but Tigre. She seems to have some form of relevancy early on, spurring her master into action, but afterwards, the focus shifts from home to the wars abroad. Subsequently, Titta is lost in the process. While she is merely happy to be by Tigre's side, her place on the totem pole is low and forgotten, and no amount of niceties will change it. As cold as the ice she wields, Mila is initially an antagonist towards the group. As the "tsundere" in the harem, she makes it difficult for anyone, not just Tigre, to get a good read on her. Short in stature and always direct, she lets her actions do the talking for her. Perhaps uncharacteristically, she has a love and sense of duty to her house, much like the man she falls for. A rival to Elen both in love and war, she constantly butts heads with her fellow War Maiden. Despite having her outer shell melted slightly by Tigre's convictions, she remains largely uninteresting the whole ride through. The only other notable character is found in Elen. Ruler of Leitmeritz, she is confident both in her body and in battle. Playful with others yet quick to get jealous, she's rational and emotional at just the right moments. She believes the most in Tigre's cause, willing to trust both his bow and his words. Unfortunately, she is resigned to the same problem as the harem leader; never seeing any semblance of change, outlook, or personal insight, she becomes just another girl to ogle. Outside of these four, the rest of the cast are entirely inconsequential to anything that goes on within the anime. And that doesn't say anything about their characterization. Sure, the War Maidens see their personalities mirrored in the weapons they wield (Elen is whimsical like the wind, Elizavetta is electric, etc.), but no one amounts to anything more or are barely touched upon. Like the wars they participate in, their lives and their characters are expendable. SOUND Arguably, the OP is the best part of the entire anime. It begins as a choir, followed by a calming vocalist supported by background singing. The halfway point introduces a really catchy, drum-and-vocal beat that is very easy to follow. The ending brings about an epic feeling that should have been present throughout the show, but is unexpectedly absent. The ED is serene, with soft piano and slow vocal arrangement. It picks up in tempo and range the further the song goes, giving off a triumphant feeling that can accompany war, depending on the outcome. The soundtrack contains nothing notable. With low drum pieces, eerie tones, and resounding trumpets, the tracks fit their respective scenes without providing anything of merit. Voice acting sees average to below average work all around, with no notable performances to be had. ENJOYMENT The argument with this one is the fact that it not only is a harem but is also ecchi in nature. Ecchi, though, isn't even fair to the genre. Those moments are spaced too far apart and are nearly all unoriginal. Like everything else, it tries to make these events fun and sexy, but it can't seem to come off as anything but lame. Its comedy is not funny, the drama is forced, and the character interactions are weak. It's a mixture of sludge that one has to wade through during the entire season, with the reward being a modicum of boobs and uneventful clashes. Madan no Ou to Vanadis is a special show. Not because of the wars it contains, not because of its lackluster characters, and not even because of its failed fan-service. It's because it will forever sit at the bottom of the pile. SUMMARY Story: Terrible, abysmal world-building, failed harem, lost message Animation: Bad, repetitive art, nice character designs, low actual animation Characters: Terrible, everyone involved is inconsequential Sound: Bad, good OP, okay ED, bad soundtrack, below average VA work Enjoyment: Terrible, almost zero redeeming qualities Final Score: 1/10

I won't include a summary because it is already provided so I'll just dive into the other categories of which I graded this anime. Please note that I have NOT read the manga nor do I have any previous knowledge of this series. Thus my judgement is entirely unbiased. Let's get to it then! ^_^ ART: The art style of this anime is quite eye catching as the beautifully blended colours go well together. There was much detail where needed and it was softer where background was concerned. The portrayal of the army from a distant scenes gave a 3D effect, which workedwell once I got accustomed to it, considering the detail to them was well done. From the clear distinction of every character's face right down to the weapons used was well drawn. I have no complaints about art and animation. SOUND: While the opening goes well with the anime, I am not very fond of it. Call it a love hate relationship. It grew on me. The ending however, I loved! I felt like it captured the essence of the seriousness of the show. I don't have many complaints with the sound track because of how well each piece suited the situation and the timing which helped to build hype and I wondered what the outcomes would be. I will not find myself listening to the opening or ending for this anime, even though I am fond of the ending, simply because they are forgettable. CHARACTERS: Tigrevrumud Vorn---- our protagonist in the series is your typical anime hero. He's brave, honest and is all about the people. He is a feudal lord with a firm believe in protecting his homeland left to him by his deceased father. He is exceptionally talented with the bow and has even earned a name among higher ups in the community. Personality wise, he is very innocent and respectful. He is a clam yet tactful person who is not quick to wrath which plays to his advantage because of how well he used his resources during the war. This character is not perfect but he is not bad either. He takes risks when necessary and also knows when to walk away. Eleonora Viltaria---- a powerful war maiden who has fallen for our protagonist.......I mean his skill with the bow (pfffft ¬_¬ ) after he attacks her in an open post battle field, is cunning and carefree yet when is totally serious when on the battle field. She takes Vorn in as a prisoner and the rest is history. When it comes to attack plans, she definitely knows best as you will see during the series. She is brimming with confidence and always has something witty to say. I cannot name all the main characters as it has a pretty big cast for a 13 episode show but here are a few honorable mentions! Roland better known as Dark Hero of Brune, Marthus Rodante and Ludmila Lourie. ENJOYMENT: I was captivated from the very first episode. Everything flowed and there was no long wait for the plot to get going. The fight scenes were beautiful and the detail of the art work all around was just well done! This anime was mostly about the tactics of war and it was quite a watch. OVERALL: I recommend this anime to those who like historical war themes with quick moving plots and many strong characters. The are was captivating, the sound track suited it perfectly, I cannot grantee that you would like all the character but there are definitely some you can grow to like.

Madan no Ou to Vanadis is a light novel adaptation set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, dragons and heroes. If that was the most generic story you've ever heard of, then that's probably 'cause the story IS pretty god damn generic. I watched this anime because I had a craving for medieval fantasy after seeing another, far better medieval(ish) fantasy story, Hitsugi no Chaika - ending in a rather rushed and disappointing way. I had hoped that another one like it would wash off the disappointment and it certainly worked! I'm not disappointed anymore, just plain pissed. Yay! Story (25%) - 3/10 Vanadis' story soundspretty impressive at first glance; a hero of the Brune Kingdom is captured by the Zhcted, Brune's rival, and forms a pact with a Zhcted war maiden to save his hometown from two powerful Brunish dukes plotting to overthrow the king. However, its execution falls completely flat on its face. The story is very linear, for the most part; hardly anything happens that isn't directly related to the protagonist and everything happens conveniently in concert with the main plot. There also isn't much world-building and it seems that the show is more comfortable telling us to go read a history book to find out how medieval times were like rather than bothering to explain how this world works. Another thing that annoyed me to no end was the fact that the heroes never seemed to have any problems in the battles they fought. In the third episode, the heroes face an army numerically superior, better armed and even had two dragons with them. And the heroes respond by using ass-pulls and inferior tactics. Yes, the tactics the heroes use are demonstrably worse than the ones their enemies used; it's like the show is proud of how over-powered they are! That's not to say their enemies were masters of warfare, but at least they used basic flanking and encirclement tactics while the heroes rushed head-on against them using cavalry, of all things. I don't know when medieval action anime will stop doing this but they need to stop thinking that good generals rushed head-on with their cavalry, those were usually used for flanking or to mow down enemies that were either routing or already fighting infantry. I may be bitching a lot about this, but only because these retarded tactics are present throughout the story. There are other incidences, like the protagonist scouting enemy territory by himself in episode 5, which no general in his right mind would ever do. The protagonist's army being able to set up traps and ambushes in episodes 8 and 10 despite the fact that they should know nothing about the terrain and an entire army routing in episode 8 just because their commander was killed (which SHOULDN'T happen to a greatly numerically superior army - the fight was 10 to 1 for crying out loud!). Art (20%) - 3/10 The character designs are very iffy, all the characters look 10 years younger than they should be which makes it difficult to take them seriously. It's like a generic art style modified to produce lolis where there are none. The animation isn't that great either especially when it comes to the use of CG. I burst out laughing in some of the fight scenes when the background was full of CG enemy soldiers slashing at literally nothing! How clumsy were the animators when they made this? Sound (20%) - 5/10 I actually liked the OP and ED songs - they certainly feel like they belong in this kind of show but they, along with the rest of the soundtrack, feel too extravagant and over-the-top sometimes. Not much subtlety or variation but enjoyable if you like corny D & D style tunes. Characters (25%) - 3/10 Now we can add generic harem cast to the show's repertoire of generic elements. The characters are really uninteresting and bland, MC included. The fanservice and harem shenanigans don't exactly help either. The villains are quite one-dimensional and by the show's end, I still have no idea why they wanted the throne or why the war maidens were fighting or why were the war maidens acting like mercenaries when they were practically royalty? There is nothing remotely interesting about any of the characters, but this is a light novel adaptation, so... Enjoyment (10%) - 6/10 Meh, it's an ok time sink, I suppose. Lots of pretty colors and brainless action and fanservice to keep you occupied. Don't expect much going into it and it won't offend you or anything.

Ahhh... what a waste. The show has a solid premise. A standard fantasy fare with a strong focus on powerful individuals and massive army warfare. But execution? Terrible. This anime feels like it omitted like 90% of its source material, because that's the only way it makes sense. Nothing is given enough time to develop on the screen. Characters are paper thin, lacking any real personality or motivations. Next to no backstory given on any of them. Each character is more meaningless than the other. The story seems to revolve around a young count being drawn into a civil war as well as fighting off foreign invaders lookingto take advantage, but we the viewers are given nothing to work with. No backstory, no explanations who all these different sides are and why they're fighting. Wars just happen, non-stop, no build-up, no planning, no warning, no nothing. It's war after war, battle after battle as if someone was playing Civilization on the smallest map size. Characters are chilling one moment, and the next it's a full on fight between thousands of troops. The world map barely gets any screen time to the point where you won't even know what country is being fought for and where the fights happen unless you pause and try to pay attention to the few seconds it occasionally flashes on the screen. The warfare is extremely superficial as well. The show tries to put on big airs with higher quality CGI tactics and strategy screens, but it's all meaningless gibberish as none of the battle plans are actually explained properly, and battles that are described as taking days, are over in seconds of screen time. Wham bam, it's all over. Characters occasionally make a big deal about a battle being difficult and requiring crazy tactics to have a hope of victory, but they all play out the exact same way. They troops clash, they fight, then they randomly get reinforcements or one of the characters unleashes a new power and they save the day. It's nonsense. This is an extremely frustrating anime to watch because the premise is solid, and it could have been a fun warfare focused fantasy show, but instead we get this watered down, rushed, content deprived slop that can't really please anyone. There's even a harem of big breasted women all fawning over the protagonist, but even that isn't given any development time. It's literally just a bunch of boobs occasionally on the screen making doe eyes at the MC, and then it's back to a random fight scene with no real explanation. This really doesn't even work as "fast food". Avoid this anime unless you REALLY want to watch a completely mindless sequence of mediocre battle scenes and a few scantily clothed women doing some fancy magic moves.