Earl and Fairy

Hakushaku to Yosei is a delightful romantic shoujo fantasy. However, for one to enjoy it, expectations have to be set. The 12-episode anime is based only on a few volumes of the light novel series. Therefore, do not be surprised that at the end of the anime, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. It is because the story still continues in the novels. Perhaps the producers are still planning or are leaving the door open for a second season. The characters are beautifully drawn and the designs, in fact, are slightly better than in the manga. The music, on the other hand,is average. The opening theme is an upbeat rock song that is tolerable enough to listen to, but not very appropriate to the Victorian theme. The closing soundtrack is a sentimental love song that fits the mawkish ending sequence well. This gratuitous scene that features the male characters lying in bed half-naked is likely conceived in an effort to pander to young female audiences. They even made Edgar’s seiyuu sing it, even though his singing voice isn't as pleasant to hear as his speaking voice. (I may sound so negative, but I'm not exactly complaining). The two main characters of this anime are quite endearing. Lydia isn't exactly an extraordinary character but she is enchanting, graceful and kind-hearted, unlike the stereotypical shoujo heroines who are plain looking, dumb, clumsy, shameless, and whose only merit is their genkiness. She is a female protagonist who has self-respect and will not immediately throw herself to the guy she likes. Edgar is an intriguing character. While his bearing is not mysterious because of his rather pompous personality, everything about him is a mystery: his past and identity. But despite his shadiness, he is a sympathetic character. The others (including the villains), unfortunately, are somewhat boring and forgettable. They are incredibly generic and we get to know very little about them. If the other guys weren’t so flat, the romance would have been a lot more exciting and complex. Unfortunately, it is so obvious who Lydia will end up with even though she is surrounded by hot guys who are all interested in her. Raven is too loyal to Edgar to be his rival. Paul is such a dull character and too passive to challenge Edgar. Kelpie, on the other hand, though handsome, is rather charmless. But it seems the question this story is trying to answer isn’t who Lydia is going to choose, but how Edgar is going to gain her trust and love. Although this is definitely not one of the best anime I’ve seen, I truly enjoyed watching this series. It is a good romance anime: charming and entertaining enough to engage shoujo fans. If you are already a fan of the anime, I suggest that you read the light novels (the translations), so you'll know what happens after episode 12. They are also detailed and therefore more satisfying. The supporting characters are also more fleshed out and not dull as in the anime. I also recommend reading the manga since it is a more faithful adaptation (than the anime which is so condensed). It's also darker, whereas the anime is a little too girly.

I have to admit that this anime had failed to impress. I was expecting much more from the plot and the characters, but to my misfortune I had only ended up disappointed. Once I finished viewing the entire series, I was not satisfied with the overall outcome of the characters' journey. Story: [6] There is still so many questions the anime has left unanswered. The viewer knows little of the Blue Knight Earl. The plot itself is mainly concentrated on Edgar's need to bear a name with a powerful presence, as well as to fight for his love for Lydia whilst others are after her. There wasstill much to be told of the fairy world, but due to the focused romance between Lydia and Edgar, all other information of the anime becomes lost. Hence the reason why the anime became more choppy rather than bearing the fluent motion that other wonderful animes had. Art: [7] The art could've been done better. A fairy world is meant to be magical and enthralling. Matter of fact, if the creators had done their art in an inconspicuous way as to make the viewer imagine they are in a fairy world indirectly [similar artistic appeal to EF - Tale Of Memories and 5 Centimetres Per Second], then they would've received a higher grade. I do praise the art done in O'Neill's paintings though. It almost suits the time setting of the story. Sound: [7] I bestow a 7 upon the sound because not only does some music pieces relate to the specific time period of the story, but even the suspense scenes can allow the viewer to understand that there is critical observation involved between characters [e.g. Nico helping Paul search for Banshee, Lydia and Edgar figuring out Ulysses' motive, etc]. Thus, the sound was not too bad. Allow me to point out, if you will, how the theme song sounded like a Japanese version of Yellowcard? Character: [4] Indeed a 4 does seem pretty low, but I do have my reasons. Firstly, Edgar. The ash mauve eyes gave him a mysterious appeal. Yet his eyes implied nothing extravagant about his persona. Throughout the progression of the series, it felt to me that Edgar was a phony. The sincerity of his character was questionable. Was he a killer? Is he playing Lydia? What's going on? He didn't seem truthful enough. I had assumed he was only playing smooth as to win Lydia's trust in order to help him obtain the marrow sword. But as the plot proceeded, I wasn't too sure. Furthermore, his reactions are downright dull. When he saw Ermine for the first time, it was as though he either kept on the smooth facade or was expecting her. What? Wasn't she dead? Wasn't he mourning her absence of some sort? It was ridiculous. Not to mention the cheesy romantic remarks made towards Lydia that further aggravated his reputation. I did take interest in Raven's mysterious, composed aura. Though I was left dissatisfied when he only mentioned his personal character in less than 2 episodes. I was craving for answers to the truth behind his sprite species, like what they were like and how it could be more of a disadvantage aside from the fact that possessing a sprite spirit caused him to kill on impulse. It's too bad though. Especially when he and Lydia shared their similarities, I was expecting the similarities to be elaborated. Oh well. As for Lydia, we know more of her profession than we do of her personal character. It's understandable on how she is a fairy doctor, which is good for the series. But how do we know how she was able to become a fairy doctor aside from the fact that she inherited the gift through her mother's genes? What did she have to go through? Was it difficult to be a fairy doctor at first aside from others believing you have crossed the brink of insanity? And what was the mother like in order to win the heart of a human professor? Her emotions are also puzzling. We understand that her heart was meddled with by mischievous boys as a child. Still, is she insecure? Is she afraid? Even Edgar asks those questions and yet she has failed to answer them. But overall, Lydia is rather cute [more in nature than in appearance] and has great knowledge of different worlds. But that is only one slice of the cake. If she were to show her personal side a little more, the viewer would have the whole cake and eat it too. Enjoyment: [5] I am not much of a fan of Shoujo animation. Nonetheless, I have encountered with Shoujo material that has caught my interest. Unfortunately for Hakushaku to Yousei, it failed to do justice. The corny romantic remarks made me laugh to a point where I questioned the seriousness. I am still sitting here questioning about over matters the series has not covered. The only thing good about the anime was its comedic nature. Truth be told, there isn't really anything unique about this anime. We've seen young, cute, silly girls attracting the attention of the dashing higherups. We've already seen supernatural matters that have brought two people together in holy matrimony. We've seen talking animals and non-human creatures causing trouble. At first glance, an Earl and a Fairy Doctor does sound different amongst the array of stereotypical Shoujo animes. But once peering through the depths, there isn't as much difference as I had initially perceived. Overall: [6] Keep in mind, if you will, how I am not bashing the series at all. I have seen worst. But I can admit that this anime wasn't as good as I had expected. I am giving the series a "fair" 6. It did leave me wondering, as most animes should. If this series could've done better in the growth and development of both the characters and the plot, the anime would have done justice to all. It did not. C'est la vie.

This show starts out with a decent premise: a Victorian romance with a touch of Celtic Twilight mythology. The heroine is a "fairy doctor," and throughout the show she demonstrates a touch of folklore, plus the useful ability to see fairies that are invisible to ordinary people. However, the folklore and mythology references, which could have carried the show, are under-used. They are sprinkled over the top of a story which plainly is trying to drag itself out into the maximum number of episodes. Unlike better stories (such as, say, Tweeny Witches, or Magical Shopping District Abenobashi) the mythology and folklore doesn't seeminternally consistent. Thus the setting seems painfully generic. The character designs are decent; the scenery has a lot of eye candy for folks who like the visual trappings of Victorian mansions. The animation is painfully sparse; pan-and-scan tricks are over-used. I give it a 6/10 for design but a 4/10 for animation, thus a 5/10 for overall art. I enjoyed the initial three or four episodes, but I started to notice flaws by the middle, and by the last third I was painfully bored and waiting for a plot resolution that failed to arrive. The ending seems to indicate that the producers would like to make a second season, but I don't know how much of the audience would stick around to watch it, were that second season to appear.

Earl and Fairy is an adventure where a doctor and a prince are going on a journey to find an heirloom of fairy origin. But since it is also a shoujo, the doctor is your typical silly girl with a good heart that can see mythological creatures and the prince is your typical mysterious hairless chest bad boy hunk. YEAAAAH here comes the cheese. Animation is done by Artland, a studio which has produced nothing but mediocrities with the exception being the highly acclaimed Mushishi. Other than that, they never had high budgets and thus this show looks rather run down. Direction is done by anobody who has produced nothing but passable titles. So our shoujo heroine TM Lydia is a doctor, something that can fool you to think she cures diseases and treats wounds. That would make her a heck of a dynamic female instead of a clueless dumb broad. But NAAAAH she is actually a FAIRY doctor, akin to a witch doctor or a shaman, able to see and communicate with the unseen world of mythological creatures. And that is all she is doing, so the whole inborn talent she has is just there to flavour the story with sparkles of magic. So instead of having rose petals and stars as nothing more than visual effects in the background, those are literally stuff that happen in real life… but only to her, because she is the only one who can see all that, so everybody else just thinks she is a nutjob. So much for superpowers if you can use them to do jack in your every day life and be sent to an asylum for no real reason. The problem with her is that she is penniless, since nobody would give a job to a 19th century girl, much less to a girl who claims she can see monsters in an age such things are considered nothing but fairy tales. Here is where the mysterious hunk TM Edgar enters the story and with his royal lineage and hairless chest asks her to help him find a sword to prove he is indeed an earl. Because finding that sword is apparently all it takes to prove to everyone you are who you claim to be; let’s hope some random peasant doesn’t get to it first because he will magically turn to a noble or something. Each of them has their own mascot pet to boot. Lydia has a talking fluffy cat that acts like a spoiled noble and Edgar has a butler bodyguard who kicks ass and is of course also a hunk. And thus the four of them go on a journey where she constantly is helpless, he is constantly mysterious, and their pets do all the comic relief and action scenes. That pretty much means that the protagonists have less appeal than their lackeys. YAWN! So here you are waiting to be excited with an adventure full of action and suspense. You get close to nothing because everything remains quite basic and blunt to the most part. The artwork is so weak and the antagonists so dull, you just don’t give a damn even if they accomplish whatever they want. And by the way, they don’t because the story is left incomplete. You also hope for some spicy romance to take place between them but NAAAAH not even that happens as everything remains on first base at best. There are many moments where they could have done much more than just holding hands but she keeps flipping and he just doesn’t try to force himself on her. How nice of him; too bad we don’t get a single interesting scene for the same reason. And that is pretty much all you get from this anime. Run down visuals, dull music, stereotypical shoujo characters who don’t do anything, piss poor action and adventure and an open ending showing you its middle finger. You might as well not bother watching this unless you so much want to be disappointed or have a heck of a lot free time to waste. And now for some excused scorings. ART SECTION: 5/10 General Artwork 0/2 (run down) Character Figures 1/2 (generic) Backgrounds 2/2 (Victorian era and fairy tale feeling) Animation 1/2 (basic) Visual Effects 1/2 (basic) SOUND SECTION: 6/10 Voice Acting 2/3 (corny but fitting with the feeling of the series) Music Themes 2/4 (average) Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess) STORY SECTION: 3/10 Premise 1/2 (typical) Pacing 1/2 (dull) Complexity 1/2 (not much) Plausibility 0/2 (none) Conclusion 0/2 (doesn’t exist) CHARACTER SECTION: 4/10 Presence 1/2 (generic) Personality 2/2 (cheesy but well founded) Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there) Development 0/2 (none) Catharsis 0/2 (none) VALUE SECTION: 1/10 Historical Value 0/3 (none) Rewatchability 0/3 (no reason to bother watching again such a dull and incomplete show) Memorability 1/4 (nothing much to bother remembering it) ENJOYMENT SECTION: 1/10 Art 0/1 (looks lazy) Sound 0/2 (sounds dull) Story 1/3 (generic and heads nowhere) Characters 0/4 (stereotypes) VERDICT: 3.5/10