Wellber no Monogatari: Sisters of Wellber

Wellber no monogatari is a story about a fugitive princess on the run for her life. Coincidentally, she is set out to perform a task to relay an important document that could potentially save her country from war. The story is a little bit more detailed than that but if you watch the first episode it will all make sense. Right off the bat, you will notice that everything happens a little fast. It's a shame that most of the show isn't as action packed as one would assume from a fugitive anime.



The story isn't very exciting as it could have been. Its basically ... her comrades going from town to town running from "the law." Each episode is quite average and doesn't feel very unique. Instead of focusing more on the action escaping from persecution, it focuses more on the bond between the princess and her bodyguard. I'm sure one can picture the possible chemistry between an absent minded princess and a tough bodyguard. Don't look for it because it isn't there.

The characters are one of the weakest parts of the show. Even the few naked boob shots can't help pump up the score in the character department. Whoever thought that a talking tank and a fairy that can only fly were good character decisions should be fired. Although its obvious that the fairy is there for fan service (along with the boobs), the characters are completely forgettable.

What isn't AS forgettable is the art and animation. Its a mix between hand painted art, CGI, and photo shopping. With a good eye, you can tell the difference. One can't help but see that this show is beautiful. Wonderful country sides, flourishing flora and fauna, all appear to be hand painted with the utmost care. The setting for the show that they picked was interesting choice, Industrial Dark Ages. Gunpowder against swords never really made sense to me but it still is fun to watch. Even the music was archaic, trying to play instrumentals reminiscent of the medieval ages.

I'm a sucker for pretty pictures so if the show is terrible I'll watch it to the end only if it looks good. Thankfully this show looks very VERY good. The story is very generic and predictable and even 1/2 the main characters aren't even good. But this show seems to be aimed towards women more than men. With the female bonding, love, and drama showing much more than the action. Also, with all the bishounen and even the plot twists, one would assume this is geared toward a women audience.

While I enjoyed watching “Sisters Of Wellber” I can not label it as good since it has some flaws that can come over as quite disappointing to the viewer.

“Sisters Of Wellber” starts off with an epic instrumental opening track that gives the impression of a adventure game's opening melody where you expect an epic tale of grand proportions in a medieval fantasy setting with suspense, action and drama will unfold before you.

The basic plot of “Sisters Of Wellber” is standard fare but has proved its worth in different incarnations in many series and movies before. Rita Sior, the princess of the kingdom of Wellber, ... is forcefully betrothed to Gernia, the prince of Sangatras in a marital alliance designed to prevent war between both countries. Tina, a female burglar that broke into the royal palace that same day blunders into Rita's bedroom only to discover that princess Rita has stabbed prince Gernia. As the guards of both parties arrive on scene, Rita is forced to flee with Tina.
The kingdom of Sangatras declares that if princess Rita is not captured and executed within two weeks, they will declare war and invade Wellber. Not willing to sacrifice his daughter, the king of Wellber sends Rita a message to travel to Greedom, where she can seek an alliance to stop the war between Wellber and Sangatras.
As Tina's motive for robbery was gathering funds to travel to Greedom, where she intends to find a man with a wasp tattoo she claims to be responsible for murdering her family, she willingly accepts an offer to escort Rita.

So far so good, a plot that could lead to an excellent tale and with potential good character bond between Rita, the inexperienced but idealistic princess, and Tina, the savvy but less moral cat burglar.
It is in fact Rita and Tina's character interaction and development that makes watching the series enjoyable, surely their chemistry is not of stellar proportions but it works well.

“Sisters Of Wellber” does go out of its way to emphasize the dramatic and grand implications of its story, by constantly reminding the viewer that if Rita and Tina's mission fails, many lives will be lost in the ensuing war. To add suspense and a feeling of urgency to their quest, every episode closes off with a counter of how many days are left for the girls to stop the outbreak of the war.
But this attempt fails as it stands opposite to the episodic adventures the girls encounter and how they are often sidetracked from their main journey. Also, at first the audience is told that Rita and Tina must travel by land circumventing the quick sea route to Greedom, as it is Sangatras that controls the seas. However, at the end they do take a ship to Greedom and it even lays anchor in Sangatras.
Surely many anime series encounter poorly constructed plots with unbelievable evolutions, but on such a short episode run, this really sticks out as a sore eye.

Another related problem is quite appalling chronological integrity. On two occasions Tina is injured, once in the arm and once in the leg, both wounds are shown as severe but the next episode they seem to be miraculously healed. While for the arm wound she does receive treatment, her leg wound which is a deep gash above the knee making her limp, is completely gone the next episode which chronologically takes place but a few hours later.
The same is true for events surrounding Galahad and Jamille. One moment Galahad is seen pursuing Rita and Tina, and by the next episode he' sin an entirely different country and setting. Worse, in that same episode Jamille is shown in Sangatras, and but a few scenes later on the very same day she appears in another rcountry, having even crossed the sea.

This first season alas only wraps up one of the plots and Tina's search for the man with the wasp tattoo has not been elaborated on in any way, for that one has to watch the second season.

The series was animated by Trans Arts and produced by Production IG, perhaps due to production IG's involvement, animation quality is quite good. Especially character art is outstanding, background paintings and scenery are very atmospheric and succeed in pulling you in medieval fantasy environment. There are a few 3D animations mixed in between the regular 2D animation and while they are recognizable as 3D insertions, they are nonetheless blended in sufficiently well to not stand out too much.
The soundtrack is good, it fits a fantasy adventure series perfectly, and the opening theme certainly creates that very atmosphere.

The lesser elements I mentioned above did leave a me a bit disappointed, luckily I still was able to enjoy the series as a whole. So if you are able to look past or forgive those inconsistencies, then you too might enjoy “Sisters Of Wellber”.