The show primarily focus on a human male known as Izumi Cinque (or Shinku), who was incidentally dragged into an alternate world he never knew of after being summoned by the Princess of the Biscotti Kingdom, Princess Millhiore Biscotti, to be a hero and help them turn the tide of war against the nation of Galette. Initially, Cinque is in doubt whether he can really do anything, but after seeing how the battles are actuality fought by hero-like characters serving in the frontlines of large army formations and goes head on against an opposing force in a sports-like manner with silly physical challenges and obstacle courses serving as the main battle terrain, in addition to that, no one actually dies or gets serious injuries from the battle since the land is protected by some kind of spell that prevents those things from happening; Cinque accepted the Princess’s offer to become a Hero.
Each episode is filled with fantasy and magical themes that feels lighthearted and fun to watch. Most of the episodes are dedicated to the interactions of the Hero Cinque to the people of Fronyaldo as they try to unravel the mystery behind the constant wars fought by the kingdoms of Biscotti and Galette. Along the way the Hero will meet several people, as well as encounter events and battles that will contribute greatly to plot development. The pacing is good as each episode is provided with the right amount of details and excitement to keeping the viewers interested and looking forward for the next episode. The ending offers a good conclusion but still contains a lot of materials that can be used in case a new season is decided.
For a series that never really tried to be serious and focuses more on the lighter and fun-filled side of storytelling, the animation of Dog Days really works. One of the challenges in animating alternates worlds is that it has to have at least some unique features that isn’t found from Earth for the viewers to explore, in the case of the land of Fronyaldo, the series achieves that with the floating islands found everywhere, magical creatures roaming the lands, and the people which generally looks still like humans but with the inclusion of big ears and tails found in many mammal animals. The surrounding towns and fortresses look similar to those found in Medieval Europe. As for the technology found in Dog Days, it’s a nice mixture of magic, medieval, and modern technology which is a nice touch. For the environment itself; it looks detailed enough, neat looking, and the color tones fit the overall theme of the story. The character designs are likeable and cute, however outside the main and supporting cast all the other people presenting the town folks and soldiers are all generic looking having almost the exact same face and features, so I guess that one of the downturn of having to create such a huge cast of extras. The fights scenes and magic spells looks really pleasing to the eyes especially when a large number of soldiers are knockout in battle, they transformed into animal furballs which increases the fun factor of the show. Also worth mentioning are the large battlegrounds which the series achieves showcasing a very lively surrounding that is filled with hundreds of soldiers, the effect that there really was a war going on. In general, the production values are good except for several occasions that character designs looks distorted and out of proportion. Usually I’m not bothered by it, but when it involves very important scenes (e.g. concert scene of Millhiore in ep.11) and the characters almost looks like an entirely different characters, I tend to get disturbed by that.
Sound effects used in Dog Days are generally good, the battle sounds are nice to listen especially the summoning of magical spells and the sounds produced with its used, worth mentioning is the sound effect by the transformation of the soldiers into animal furballs and the expression “nyaah” as the indication they are defeated, it is quite hilarious to hear. As for the soundtracks, it did a fairly good job in conveying the moments but nothing really special. The Opening and ending songs also feels well fitted for the overall theme of the series but it is something that I could skip all together when watching. Voice acting is where the series really shines; it’s an all star cast featuring the voices of several well known seiyuus that are too many I’m not gonna try listing them in this review. The voices really fit the personalities of the characters they are portraying and listening to them exchange conversations with one another is really very pleasant and enjoyable to listen.
Dog Days have a fairly large number of characters, not included are the extras from the magic academy, the imperial staff, the soldiers, the commentators, and the townsfolk from both the Biscotti and the Galette Kingdom, it is easy to see the amount of effort poured into the production. However, this paved way to less development or little background of the characters which could be ignored all together because the series has made a very good job in blending such a huge cast and make a likeable and believable world. As for the characters themselves, Izumi Cinque, has done a very good job as the main character of the series, his personality as a male lead is not annoying in fact likeable, more importantly he did well acting as the “Hero” that ended the dispute between the two Kingdoms. Princess Millhiore is also a very likeable character, she may be innocent and pure at heart, but her determination is unquestionable. The other Princess, Leonmitchelli of the Kingdom of Galette likewise is also likeable, she may have deceive an entire kingdom to play a war due to personal reasons, but more importantly she admitted it and her people accepted it, just shows how her people loved her so much. Other important characters such as Ricotta from the research department and Eclair from the Imperial knights serving Princess Millhiore provided some comedic relief as well as important companions for the Hero Cinque in solving the dispute between the two kingdoms.
There are also a lot of supporting characters that added important contributions and several other viewpoints. Worth mentioning is Gaul (Leon’s brother) and General Godwin from the Kingdom of Galette, Brioche, Laurent, and Yuki from Biscotti’s side, also is Rebecca, which is an earthling that have a very close relationship with Cinque. Not to forget are the commentators that cover the matches and many other important events, they gave several hilarious comments on the background that added more fun to the series.
Dog Days is a series I started watching out of curiosity and after completing it, all I can say is that it is a very well made series. Enjoyment is quite high and not a boring moment so to speak. It has a fun-filled, lighthearted, magical, fantasy, and adventure story set in an alternate world with characters that have big ears and fluffy tails. Add to that are good animation, many interesting characters to meet and places to explore that really gave life to the world of Fronyaldo that will surely appeal to younger viewers as well as older viewers alike with interest on the aforementioned themes of the series.
Note: edited at some parts, ratings changed.
