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If you are looking for a medical show, this is not it. If you are looking for a period drama/romance, this is not it. If you are looking for a villainess/reincarnation story, this is not it either. This show squanders its many ingredients and shows no signs of life throughout.

There are not many medical anime shows out there (to my knowledge), so I was really excited for this one. Unfortunately, the medical aspect is seriously lacking. I am not a medical professional so I cannot comment on realism, but I can say that the medical problems and solutions feel very simplistic. Elise makes some observations, ... rattles off medical terminology like she is reading off of Wikipedia, identifies the condition, proceeds to administer treatment, and then the patient is fine. The whole process is very “A to B to C”, like a detective finding a bloody knife on a corpse, taking fingerprints from the knife, and then arresting the culprit by matching those prints. It may be true that all the details are indeed accurate, but they make for dull viewing.

Elise is 100% correct in her diagnoses right off the bat and 100% successful with her treatment; there are absolutely no uncertainties, complications or mistakes. Even a genius doctor like Elise should not be able to see and predict everything, unless she has the all-seeing eye (like in Parallel World Pharmacy), and it would have been satisfying (and expected of a doctor) to see her adapt to unexpected developments and even learn new things. There are no other doctors that provide much help or insight, either; Elise does it all herself. Everything is neatly wrapped up in a matter of minutes, and there is no real challenge or tension. I cannot shake the feeling that very little thought was given to how doctors actually work and what they go through; what is important is that Elise healed them, and that is it.

An interesting twist to the medical aspect is the setting, which looks like 19th century Europe. I was curious about how Elise, who has knowledge centuries ahead of the times, would deal with the outdated science and culture. The show does almost nothing with this, except having other characters marvel at Elise’s knowledge. To my (untrained) eyes, most of the facilities, tools, and practices look basically the same as the modern-day ones, and Elise never has any real difficulty producing results or convincing others. I expected some doctors to not even understand what she is talking about, but that is never the case. Also, Elise never really makes an effort to hide how she knows so much, and everyone just accepts it and moves on. The patriarchal nature of the field of medicine at the time is very weakly hinted at but is not a factor in Elise’s career. There are so many missed opportunities to create some interesting challenges for Elise.

This shallowness extends to the broader, non-technical aspects of a doctor’s work. The biggest pet peeve of mine is when Elise promises her patients that “she will save them,” on more than one occasion. Elise, a seasoned veteran from the modern day, should know better than to say something like this, but I can chalk that up to dramatic flourish. However, the show still does not really dig into so many other topics in this field that are ripe for drama, such as her relationship with co-workers, her relationship with patients, educating people and bringing about change, tackling ethical dilemmas, how she handles the stress, exhaustion and responsibility, and more.

The show does not even do a good job of characterizing Elise outside of her medical skills. On top of being a medical genius who can do no wrong, she has no character traits other than how kind and hard-working she is and... how much she likes sweets. She has no character flaws or weaknesses to speak of, and she is constantly validated and praised by everyone around her. The main love interest does not have a personality either, which makes the romance side of things a non-starter. During most of their stock-standard interactions, Elise is barely even aware of him. Other characters get little to no characterization and have almost no impact on Elise’s journey; they either stand around in awe of her talents or feebly try to hold her back before they are steamrolled or are won over. The show also tackles palace politics, centered around Elise’s status as a noblewoman and the prince’s fiancée, but these developments turn out nonsensical and only a mild inconvenience in the face of Elise’s overwhelming genius and kindness.

The double-reincarnation setup in the beginning is interesting, but Elise draws so little from her modern-day life that it seems like the only reason for this setup is to impart medical skills on the main character in what otherwise would have been a simple “re-do” story. Also, Elise’s “villainous” past is the source of her desire to help sick people as a form of penance, but this is somewhat unconvincing when her exact crimes are left very vague and have almost no repercussions on the present anyway.

The closest comparison to Elise that I can think of is Sei from The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (also voiced by Yui Ishikawa). Sei received criticism for being an overpowered, bland character, but she at least had a desire to learn, the pressure to grow into her role, and a shy demeanor. Elise is a vaguely likable lead, but her complete lack of personality or quirks fails to make the character very engaging or sympathetic.

Yui Ishikawa and the other voice actors simply do not have much to work with here. The music, visuals, animation and direction are barely passable and do little to elevate the lifeless storyline and wooden characters.

There are so many things to talk about in this review, yet there is so little to be said about each of those things. Elise is a doctor, but she is so good at fixing everything so quickly that she might as well have been a magical healer. Elise is a “villainess” reincarnated from the modern day, but that ends up such a minor detail that she might as well have been simply an extremely gifted doctor from 19th century Europe. Elise is too bland a character, surrounded by non-characters and non-threats, to develop any sort of romance, drama or intrigue effectively.

This show has been a major disappointment, and the more I think about it, the harder it is to come up with any redeeming qualities. The most positive thing I can say about the show is that it is good-natured and inoffensive. It also deserves some recognition for tackling the topic of medicine in the first place, which I would like to see more of. If you are starving for anything medical/healing-related, you may get some enjoyment out of this. If you’ve completely run out of wholesome, female-led romance/dramas to watch, this may pass the time. Otherwise, this one is an easy skip.

This show is decent historical fiction in the vein of Golden Kamuy, with a really interesting setting and a sprawling plot. It is just threatening to buckle under the weight of its own ambition and weak production value. While it is not a show for everyone, I am shocked at how few people are even throwing a glance at it as it is airing (Winter 2024).

The early Meiji period setting is one of the most exciting times in Japanese history and the best thing this show has going for it (it is in the title, after all). A civil war has just ended. A ... new government has been established, but its authority is still in doubt. Modernization continues at a relentless pace, and many people feel left behind. Western colonial powers are fighting for control of Japan. Crime and corruption flourish. I find all of this fascinating, and it's easy to see why this is a popular setting for period action dramas (Rurouni Kenshin, Like A Dragon: Isshin!, The Last Samurai, etc.).

We get to see a good variety of characters with many different backgrounds and (hidden) motivations. Even the main character is a rickshaw puller making ends meet while hiding his past as a samurai of a fallen clan. The characters are (mostly) grounded and have realistic goals; no cute anime girls or a kid with a sword and a dream. The show still has fun with outlandish character designs, like the one-eyed swordsman with long silver hair and dual katanas. Some characters fare less well; several women share a simple "geisha in kimono" look and are difficult to tell apart (just take a look at their thumbnails in the "Characters" section here on MAL).

Unfortunately, these characters, while interesting in concept, are closer to cardboard cut-outs than actual people. They are almost always either in the thick of action or "talking business", and they don't get a lot of time to show off their personalities and emotions. We do learn about the main character a bit more, namely his personal quest, his can-do attitude, and his good old-fashioned sense of duty and justice. Some viewers may find him uninteresting, but I think he's fairly charming and a good lead for this type of story.

The actual story itself is, as of Episode 4, something of an ambitious mess. In addition to the large cast, there are simply too many factions, shifting allegiances and plot developments to keep track of. Every episode just feels packed to the brim (this show does not have an OP and still runs a full 28 minutes). I am not sure if the Japanese audience finds these story points familiar, but other viewers might have a hard time if they do not know much about the history. I have read only a little about this period before, and I think I am just barely keeping up.

It's tough to say whether the show will tell a coherent overarching story. At the moment the show seems content to throw characters into cool situations and introduce new ideas. We get to see stuff like one-man yakuza raids, an assassin that uses hallucinogenic gas, and a mixed martial arts tournament. The show does not cut loose into full insanity and comedy, however (like Golden Kamuy does), leaving the show feeling a little safe and dull. This is all decent fun, but I am hoping the slowly-building conspiracies and conflicts pay off in future episodes.

The production quality is not the best, but I get the impression that the studio is doing the best they can with very limited resources. The animation in character interactions and fights is not exactly smooth, but creative and expressive in places that counts. There are some shots that are visually striking, thanks to impactful camera angles and lighting. Overall, the production is doing a decent job of supporting the story and the atmosphere, even if it just does not have the level of polish that would turn heads.

It has been a solid start so far, but with an uncertain future. Like Golden Kamuy, it has a fascinating setting, cool characters, an action-packed story, and even inconsistent production quality. If you really enjoy historical fiction or are interested in the time period, you should definitely give this show a try. If you can enjoy a dizzying plot with interesting ideas, and can overlook some thin character work and roughness in quality, you may enjoy this show.

Hikari no Ou tries to be a unique, more thoughtful kind of fantasy, but sadly it is much too shabby and dry to recommend.

Its biggest problem is the animation; constantly breaking the art, moving as little as possible, making odd artistic choices, and often making scenes more confusing. Action sequences suffer the most, with characters suddenly looking like MS Paint drawings and awkwardly floating around. Characters go off-model all the time, even in quieter moments. The 3D CG, while sparingly used, looks very outdated and jarring. Painterly illustrations sometimes take over the screen, but often in seemingly random moments. The list goes on.

Unorthodox, "low-quality" animation ... can pay off, like in Tatami Galaxy and Mononoke for example. However, the animation here just does not feel like there is any consistency or artistic intent behind it, and it feels more like they are trying to cut corners and cover up mistakes (unsuccessfully). Interestingly, the OP is much better and shows the potential of this style of art and animation; the show itself often does not meet this bar. The end of Episode 2 would be a good point to decide for yourself whether you can enjoy (or tolerate) how the show looks and moves.

The overall art style really works, however, and feels unique next to its 2023 peers. The character designs, the backgrounds and the subdued color palette all come together to create an almost dream-like and mythical atmosphere (I like that it reminded me of Mushi-shi). The music also feels different and adds a lot to the contemplative and mysterious tone.

The strange and expansive world is the most interesting thing about the show. This is a harsh world where humanity is still struggling after a mysterious disaster. There is a form of society resembling Industrial-era Japan (a little like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), but most people are desperately scraping by, while powerful, mysterious forces are vying for control. The show is packed with thoughtful worldbuilding that encompasses technology, economy, social classes, races, customs, beliefs, and more. However, there is just so much of it, right up to the final episode, and much of it is delivered in an unengaging manner, through narration and characters flapping their mouths.

The characters are very toned down and believable people, but it is difficult to care about them. Basically every character is just focused on their goals and stoically pressing on. This may be as expected in a post-apocalyptic world, but they do not reveal much of their personalities and motivations that we can connect with. One of the two main characters is entirely pushed along by circumstance, without much to say about it. Many supporting characters remain a mystery, and not in a way that leaves us intrigued; we just don't have much to go on.

The story mainly acts as a vehicle to journey across the world. While it is fascinating to gradually discover this world alongside the characters, the story is not much of an emotional one, other than characters bonding through their shared struggles. In 10 episodes, it feels like the show has only now finished setting the stage. The season ends in the middle of a build-up, and while it does provide a future direction, its meaning is left unclear.

So what are we left with? We have a unique art style that is constantly brought down by sloppy animation. We have an interesting and detailed world that is dumped on us with no interesting story and characters to populate it and hold our attention. Yes, this is an original, understated, more adult-oriented fantasy anime (the kind I was looking forward to). If you are absolutely dying for one of those, if you are generally unaffected by animation quality, and if you value worldbuilding above all else, you may enjoy this show. Otherwise, I suggest you look elsewhere and avoid the disappointment and irritation I have felt watching this.

Kingdom Season 1 is a big disappointment. The show is a historical epic about wars and heroes, but it does not dig into the setting deeply. It is closer to an action adventure show about a kid fighting strong opponents, but follows a simplistic, obnoxious protagonist that barely develops. On top of these, the poor production quality hampers the excitement and the storytelling.

I had a somewhat high expectations for Kingdom:
- I had heard the manga described as one of the great historical epics, mentioned in the same breath as Vinland Saga. I had not read either, but I was absolutely blown away by Season 1 ... of Vinland Saga.
- I was very interested in its setting, the warring states period of ancient China, since I enjoyed reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
- Kingdom Season 4 was airing at the time and holding one of the highest MAL user ratings of that season.

I appreciated how Kingdom S1 takes great care in depicting warfare. I enjoyed the build-up to a battle, when generals discuss strategy and foot soldiers prepare themselves. Once the battle starts, the show frequently explains strategies and the thinking behind them. On the ground, characters are constantly figuring out how to carry out orders without dying, and the emotions go through highs and lows along with the flow of battle.

However, the show is severely lacking on the visuals side to really deliver the full impact of the battles, and it hurts especially in 2022. While the use of CGI allows sweeping camera shots and huge melees, the extremely stiff and simplistic animation fails to make them convincing or exciting. One-on-one fights are not much better; the characters simply swing their weapons at each other really hard. It does not help that the environment design and background art often looked completely flat and uninspired.

Some of the hand-drawn animation does look more pleasing and expressive, and I wish the show had more of it. Also, the character designs manage to be a lot of fun. The characters have simple, distinct personalities with a variety of backgrounds and motivations, and their looks clearly communicate them and make the cast memorable. This brings us to the biggest problem I have with the show...

The main character, Xin, is very annoying and uninteresting. He is a country kid, the simple-minded and brash type, always excited to battle, with boundless ambition and confidence, and most importantly, LOUD. He has no other memorable personality traits or quirks to him, and he is given little motivation beyond "I'm gonna be the very best". He does not develop much through the season, because he is very rarely seriously challenged in his beliefs or suffers failure. On the battlefield, he displays superhuman strength and agility from the very beginning, which is never really explained. He is consistently rewarded for these personality traits and his martial prowess. This style of writing, combined with stiff CGI models, makes it hard to understand or sympathize with Xin.

Kingdom S1 spends an overwhelming majority of its time with Xin, so the other characters are not given much time to shine. Zheng is introduced as "the other half" of the story (as seen in the poster), and he offers a very different type of story and point-of-view from Xin's. However, his story almost completely takes a back seat to Xin's later in the season. We do spend a lot of time with one particular side character, exploring his personality, motivations, and battles. He becomes a stand-out in the show for me, and even has some impact on Xin as a character, but he comes late in the season.

The show misses out on exploring other storylines by focusing so heavily on Xin. With a large cast entangled in power struggles and wars, the show could have explored palace intrigue, statecraft, diplomacy and espionage, and even everyday lives of the commoners and the nobles, etc. While the show touches upon some of these briefly, it does not follow up on them; for example, a powerful figure is introduced as the de facto ruler of the country and a dangerous rival, only to disappear from the story shortly afterwards. The later seasons supposedly expand on what has been set up, but I am struggling to have faith in the series.

Despite my many complaints and general dissatisfaction, I have sat through all 38 episodes of the season. A part of me just wanted to be able to say I finished it (and leave a review), but another part of me wanted to see it improve and realize its potential. The show does steadily get more interesting as the season progresses, but the earlier parts are much too clunky, and the later improvements are not significant enough. Kingdom has announced a Season 5 at the time of writing, so I may come to enjoy Kingdom more in subsequent seasons. However, after these disappointing 38 episodes, I will not be bringing myself to watch Season 2, at least for a long while.

Before we begin, let's get this out of the way:

- This show is a "re-release" of the "Berserk: The Golden Age Arc" movie trilogy from 2012-2013. It's basically the movies, re-edited to TV format.
- The show advertised some improvements made to the original movies, including some CGI clean-up and added scenes.
- The show does NOT claim to "re-make" the movie trilogy or "re-adapt" the Golden Age arc of the Berserk manga.

Is the show worth a watch or not? I'm leaning towards "no", but due to its complicated history, it depends on where you're coming from.

- If you have never experienced Berserk in any form, ... I cannot really recommend this show.

What you get is a decent dark fantasy tale featuring brutal medieval warfare and character drama. The story so far feels extremely rushed and somewhat disjointed. The characters, however, are given some opportunities to bounce off each other and develop. The action sequences are fairly exciting, with some CGI animation that are a little dated in places. The art, music, and voice acting are all great, if not eye-poppingly gorgeous like some other recent theatrical releases.

This would be fine enough, if the manga was not so much more effective, beautifully written and illustrated. You may be tired of hearing this everywhere, but: I STRONGLY recommend just reading the manga. I can count the manga I have read so far on one hand, but I am so glad to have read Berserk before watching an adaptation.

If you absolutely do not read manga, or cannot find a way to read Berserk, and if you are just looking for a mildly entertaining dark fantasy action show, this show will deliver well enough. Otherwise, skip this; you only get one chance to experience Berserk for the first time.

- If you have read the manga but have not watched the movies (just like me!), know that this show has been a mediocre adaptation so far, but not terrible.

The main problem is that the show has had to omit large parts of the story and rush whatever is left, which results in characters and story moments not hitting as hard as they could. However, the show does not make changes that take the story in a different (worse) direction, so this show is mostly "faithful" to the source material and feels consistent in its themes and tone. The show also takes the time to do justice to some of the dramatic and quieter moments.

The biggest complaint about the movie trilogy that I have often heard is the wonky CGI animation, and I have to say, it is only mildly distracting and not as bad as I feared. The battlefield sequences do get a lot of mileage out of it, with sweeping camera moves and large-scale melees, but the nameless background characters tend to look and move unnaturally. However, the named characters are much more convincing, thanks to some detailed animation and pretty interesting choreography. The show knows to fall back to hand-drawn animation during dramatic scenes and gives characters expressiveness and subtlety.

Berserk does deserve and can support a much better adaptation that can even count as one of the greats. As long as you recognize that this show is not it, you will enjoy aspects of it (like I am planning to).

- If you have watched the movie trilogy, I doubt you will react to this show differently.

Note that I have not seen the movies, so I cannot say for certain. From what I've seen online so far, there does not seem to be much to the show that differentiates it from the movies. If you enjoyed the movies, you are watching more or less the same thing, just in 25-minute chunks, and with very minor improvements. Do read around if you want to know more.

It is definitely a challenging watch, but I am really enjoying this so far. There is a special something about this show, so I strongly recommend giving it a try with an open mind.

I have not read the classical literature that this show is based on, and my knowledge of 12th century Japanese history is minimal. The synopsis provided on the MAL page here should be good enough to get started. Know that it is a centuries-old story of a powerful clan at its peak, the conflicts and political maneuvering it gets tangled up in, and the members of the clan in various moments of ... their lives, in their triumphs and misfortunes.

You absolutely do need to pay attention to follow the story even on a general level. Lots of names of places, people, and factions are dropped at a rapid pace, and often the characters on screen are not introduced, and you learn who they are over multiple scenes. Years pass in a flash without the show drawing attention to it, and character relationships and allegiances sometimes flip without warning. At times I did not fully understand the details of the situation, and I could tell that a lot has been withheld, either as an artistic choice or because prior knowledge is assumed of the Japanese audience. I have to admit that it can be exhausting at times, but I can also appreciate how the show does not get bogged down and expects the viewer to be watching and catching things.

However, I feel you do not even need to understand the whole picture. You as the audience are peeking into the chaotic lives that these characters lived almost a thousand years ago, as they are living them. From these moments, you can still understand on an emotional level what drives them and what they struggle with. I would say you can have a similar experience reading myths and folk tales, where the stories and characters are often bizarre, but you can still feel something from them.

Thankfully, the viewing experience is greatly elevated by the gorgeous art style, animated with a lot of care. The creators are not going for an insane level of detail or complex animation choreography. The colors, shading, and animation are more subdued than its contemporaries, but they still evoke an absorbing atmosphere, as if you're looking at a moving painting from the Middle Ages. The show is just so calming and pleasing to look at.

The music also adds so much to the show. Despite looking like a period drama, there is a lot of piano, electronic, and rock music in the soundtrack, which creates a surreal sensation and somehow enhances the atmosphere. Of course, there is traditional Japanese music as well. Especially memorable are the musical interludes where a character narrates the proceedings in a few lines of song.

If you have a love for shows that pursue unique storytelling and art style, if you have even a passing interest on medieval Japanese history and art, or if you can sometimes enjoy a story that has an evocative atmosphere but is not always easily understood, please give this a try, up to Episode 4. I will be cherishing it and go through the episodes as slowly as I can.

Highly recommend this, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 1! (like me)

Normally I don't start a show mid-series like this (I tend to either start with the first season or not at all, like most people probably), but I had no problems jumping into this story midway and ended up really enjoying it.

- It's a self-contained story. Doing some reading around the internet, Season 1 seems to me a story that reached a definite conclusion (the consensus seems to be that not many were expecting a second season). Season 2 does involve a lot of the same characters, but it seems to be a ... new chapter in their lives, with a very different tone and themes, that also reaches a form of conclusion. Having finished Season 2, I will definitely check out Season 1 at some point, but I am by no means in a rush to do so out of frustration or unanswered questions.

- A significant amount of time has passed since Season 1. The returning characters seemed to have gone through quite a lot and ended up in a very different place than in Season 1. I felt that the show really takes the time to paint this new reality that the characters found themselves in, while also introducing new interesting characters, so that it's not constantly leaning on plot details from Season 1 to progress the story.

- There are quite a few flashbacks that give you glimpses at what happened in Season 1, but also what happened in the time between Season 1 and 2. They are told with care and spread out throughout the whole season, so that they don't feel like recaps purely out of necessity, and they add to the story in the moment instead of bogging it down.

- But most importantly, what the characters were going through in the present (in Season 2) felt very real, heartfelt, and interesting on its own. Yes, a lot of this story deals with what happened in the past: the curve-balls life threw at you, and the mistakes you made. But the story is even more about what you should do "today" and what you can work towards in the future: to heal from, to come to terms with, or to make up for the past. The fact that I was so engrossed in the story without worrying about details from the past is a testament to the show's strong storytelling and characters.

- As most other reviews have mentioned, the show in so many other ways sucked me in. The rugged, almost grimy art style that really feels different, beautiful art and character designs, impactful fight animation, great character acting, fascinating backdrop, and a soundtrack that adds so much to the atmosphere and drama.

I found Nomad to be an excellent self-contained story that one can enjoy and feel strongly for, even without having seen Season 1. Definitely worth your time and attention.