Searching for a dragon out of affection
Accompanied by a rich girl and apprentice
Who seek guidance for a better life direction
With two trolls as comic relief
And a organization out to stop the hero
A story of trust and betrayal unfolds
With chances of success being zero
What might sound as a familiar story
One you've heard time and again
Watch and you'll see what a nice story this is
Here is Majutsushi Orphen
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This is my first review on MAL and, to start this off, I chose a slow paced fantasy light-novel adaption that I recommend for those who enjoy adventure stories in search of forsaken loved ones.
Score Synopsis:
Story - 7
Art - 6
Sound - 7
Character - 8
Enjoyment - 6
Overall - 35/5 = 7
Story - 7
The story takes a while to get going and, a lot of the time, the majority of the situations for some episodes are only brought about for the sake of comic relief. However, as the story progresses, the emotional buildup begins to improve quite well once the backstory for the protagonist, Orphen, is told. With simple but decent magic fights and a likable trio to follow, I came to enjoy the romance and the internal struggles each character undergoes. The biggest issue is the slow pacing for the overall series.
Art - 6
As an anime that aired between 1998 and 1999, the art style was clearly dated but well done as a whole. Given how some scenes lasts for a long time, one would focus quite a bit on the scenery which was actually well done for its time. Still, in comparison to other anime of this time, this one wasn't able to stand out as much.
Sound - 7
For those of you that have spend lots of time listening to 90's anime music, you can guess what kind of music this show had. The usual endings are calming but I personally liked how upbeat the openings were with the first opening being Jazz. Voice acting was as you would expect from most 90's anime, okay but nothing spectacular.
Characters - 8
The characters are where the story really shines as the majority of this anime seemed more character driven than plot driven. Orphen, unlike most light-novel protagonists, is a cool protagonist who is a decent fighter and is sometimes a jerk to many of those he encounters. The most reoccurring female figure, Cleao, who I will admit is just there for comic relief was okay and, once the emotional aspect of the story came around, she actually became both likable and relatable. And then there's the try hard apprentice Majic who actually is the pinnacle of character development over the course of this series. As a whole, the lineup takes a while to get used to but, unlike many of the more recent light-novel adaptations, this group was quite solid.
Enjoyment - 6
I'll admit that the slow pace is not for everyone including myself and the two "comic relief" trolls will actually get annoying rather quickly. And I mean REALLY annoying for some occasions. Still, I enjoyed how each character developed as the story progressed as well as how much more relatable they became. No harems, no fancy battles, just pure and well-developed character development.
Overall - 7
This anime might not be for everyone given how slow and behind the times it is, but if good 90's music, a decent plot, and eventual "feels" is what you want, then I would recommend this to you.
