Wizardry

Are you an RPG enthusiast who played the original Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord game? Then you must watch this. It may not be a masterpiece, but it was made for you. You will recognize the character archetypes, the monsters, the spells, the grim atmosphere, the floor skipping elevator, how greed both motivates and betrays the player, this is all represented in a very faithful way.

Everything else is just generic even if competently done, so if you're not familiar with the source material you can safely skip it. The plot is purposely minimalistic and generic, and so are the main characters, perfectly ... matching the game. The animation, art style, soundtrack and sound effects are serviceable. So if you don't care about old-school dungeon crawlers like the original Wizardry game is, then you would probably enjoy this mindless adventure and immediately forget about it, and that's it.

Let's keep this simple: This is nothing more than a generic Dungeons and Dragons story. Straight up, and nothing more. If that's what you are after, you've found it.

This one-shot OVA story is based on a much longer game series. But really, that was twenty-plus years ago -- most of the people looking at anime these days weren't even BORN at the time. I am not familiar with the source material in the least, so I have absolutely no idea on how faithful it is. And, I think it really doesn't matter. ...

But I *do* know Dungeons and Dragons, and anyone who has a passing familiarity with D&D (and similar games) knows exactly what this is: your generic "dungeon crawler". You have the most generic mix of fantasy characters (the elf, the dwarf, the human, etc), the generic mix of classes, going through an underground dungeon fighting your generic mix of monsters with generic swords and magic and all that crap.

The way I say it makes it seem like it's terrible. But it isn't. It's just...unremarkable. It's like any other high fantasy dungeon crawler story, nothing more and nothing less. And there's nothing wrong about that. At the same time, there's nothing noteworthy, either.

Aside from that, the quality of the character designs (sans the distractingly big pointy ears), the artwork, and the animation quality are pretty decent.

Loosely based on a classic video game of the same name, Wizardry is a typical Dungeons and Dragons story that, while unexceptional, would garner enjoyment from its target audience. The premise is easy to understand for anyone remotely familiar with your standard fantasy adventure, and the brief runtime allows for low commitment. The production quality and character designs are also decent. However, as one should expect, the short duration and lack of narrative depth make for lukewarm character development, worldbuilding, and stakes. Those who have an interest in the history or genre should give it a chance. Otherwise, it would be best to move on.