May 31, 2021
Dull, rushed and pitiful.
There are a great many stories that have ingrained themselves into the literary consciousness, in as much as one can exist. Rags to Riches, Conquering the Monster, Error of Your Ways, and many more are all well-known even from cursory knowledge of fiction. But though none of them are actually "bad" plots, each have rightfully fallen into archaism. It is instead the norm to reinterpret and reimagine.
A Machine learning of Humanity, though far younger than its peers, is another of these plotlines. And in suit, it too needs to distinguish itself with novel ideas and perspectives. So, when faced with such an
...
old story, would it not make sense to use it as a springboard for something new, something intriguing?
It certainly would. And yet, Ai no Wakusei Lezeria did nothing of the sort. It's another formulaic retread, an exercise in banality. If one has seen any media that touches on the themes of soul and sapience, they've nothing to gain by going through this OVA.
----
Thankfully, Lezeria's B-plot and world are much more interesting. Though that's hardly a commendation, since the OVA has neither surpass window dressing. There's a lot of intrigue to be had in the state of the war, or what it was the planet's precursor civilisation created, and if more, or rather, any focus had been given to them it would be a great boon to the work.
Characterisation, on the other hand, is shallow and sparse. Arlon likes coffee, Sherry likes Eric, and without even a mote of exaggeration, that's about it. The focal character, Antoinette, isn't any better. Part of this could be due to her stoicism, being a machine and all, but even when moving past her nature she hasn't got much of a personality to speak of. I can give a little bit of credit to the antagonist having a moment of complexity to begin with, but he soon faded to another destruction-craving caped fool, so that's no good either.
----
There's not a lot to talk about when it comes to directing. It's acceptable, nothing particularly inventive. But under its umbrella you have what really irks me, which is ending the OVA with a weak poem summarising what we just saw. I don't think I need to explain how obnoxiously irritating and unnecessary that is.
Art wise, I do have to give a lot of praise to the basic design of Antoinette herself, at least, in her final and promotional appearance. She's somewhat reminiscent of the Maschinenmensch from Metropolis, a modest but justifiable basis for this work. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the rest of the cast, none of whom have even faintly memorable designs.
Finally, we come to the music, which is probably the strongest element Lezeria has going for it. Though there're only a few tracks, what with the length, they're rather well sung and have nice rhythm. It's about what I'd expect from pieces of the era, and they're used pretty well throughout the OVA.
----
But what's particularly aggravating about Lezeria, what had me condemn it to such a low score, isn't just how mediocre and uninspired its story is, but that it doesn't even take the time to trudge through it properly. It's not just that it's something everyone's seen before, it's that it knows that's the case. The audience knows Antoinette is supposed to fall in love with Eric, so rather than actually developing a relationship between the two, the OVA just pairs them up in a few minutes and lets us figure out the rest. It's just plain lazy.
Were I to helm repairs, I'd expand on the secondary plot, that of the planet and the war surrounding it, and put far more effort, (that is to say, any at all), into developing the characters and their relationships to each other. And I'd do way with that agonising poem it closed on, it's crass and pointless.
In summation, terrible narratively, about average technically. I'd advise briskly moving on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
.png)
