Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

Fantasy is a genre that is notorious for being one that is very touchy. Because every fantasy world has its own set of rules and laws, every fantasy story has to explain the world in order for the audience to properly understand. It is because of this requirement that when a series doesn't manage to do this, any given anime can fall flat on its face. It is here where we have Juuou Mujin no Fafnir, a show that falls quite flat on many accounts.

Story (3.00/10): The story of Fafnir is based in an alternate fantasy world. Within this fantasy world, ... there are creatures known as Dragons, creatures from an alternate plane of existence that for some reason, come to earth and cause terror in the world. In addition to terrorizing the world, dragons infect one person, (a girl, to be more precise), turning them into a person who can utilize dark matter, a material that can create whatever people think of known as a "D". (First off, WHY?! NOTHING can come good by calling your characters D's?! Like seriously, WHY?!) It is here where we have Mononobe Yuu, the only male D in the world, entering in a school created specifically to fight the dragons in the world.

Fafnir's story is what I would consider one that reeks of unoriginality. A single male in an entire school of females? Yeah, that's something that's been done before. Much like the setup, the rest of series follows suit in disappointment. The entire series basically sums up the characters fending off against two dragon attacks, utilizing their dark matter powers to prevent certain characters from being targeted by the dragons. With this, a lot of the series REALLY leaves to be desired.

Because the series is so central-focused on the dragon attacks, there's not really much time left for any other plot points or story elements. Explanations as to why Yuu is the only male D, (I still can't get over the fact that they call these characters D's), why the dragons do what they do, and who some other characters are, simply just aren't explained in the series; just mentioned. It is because of this that Fafnir leaves a lot of different areas of its plotline open-ended, creating so many loose ends that it's impossible for any of them to come together.

Overall, the story of Fafnir really isn't much to talk about. While I usually do have quite a few things to say about any given anime's story, Fafnir just didn't have anything to offer. There weren't any real positives about a series that was so bland and lazily made. The show doesn't end on a good note, and any emotional buildup that the show attempted to create simply fell flat because there wasn't particularly any reason I felt for me to care about it.

Overview:
- Overused story setup
- A vast expanse of unexplained plot points
- Unsatisfying end
- Boring storyline

Characters (2.34/10): If the story was anything to be disappointed about, the characters sure were something that was even less appealing.

First, we have Mononobe Yuu, a character who I felt even failed to be a proper harem MC. Throughout the series, Yuu really doesn't...do anything. Aside from the dragon fighting, Yuu doesn't really have much to go for him. He has a very unexplained backstory that doesn't get much attention (much like 90% of the story), and has powers and abilities that also get little to no explanation.

And then we have the girls of the series. I grouped them all together simply because of how little we actually get to know them. Out the rest of the D characters, only about half actually get any significant screentime, those characters being Lisa, Tear, Mitsuki, and Iris. And even then, there's not really much to say about them. Every girl mentioned above gets the standard troupe characteristic, each one of them pertaining to a different harem troupe that is used to describe their only character trait. There really isn't anything significant about these girls beyond that, and I feel like the series really took a big hit because of that fact. In addition, since only half of the girls get any actual screentime, the other 4 girls don't get anything at all. They're so minor that you can forget they exist, or at the very least, what their names were.

Aside from the "main" cast, the series also features side characters that really just serve as plot devices. Character names can become nothing more than fleeting memories as these other characters are really just there to move this story along.

Overall, the characters of Fafnir were more than just disappointing. All of them are troupe rejects, and no one is particularly memorable. A lot of characters are easily forgettable, which can become troubling for a viewer if a rarely seen character gets screentime.

Overview:
- Poor cast overall
- A lot of characters you can actually forget while watching

Art and Sound (6.00/10 and 5.00/10): The art for Fafnir is what I would call standard for this day and age. Leaning on towards a moe style of animation, Fafnir manages to pull off some decently nice looking fight scenes and some decent looking characters. However, there is just...one thing that bothers me more than anything, and that is, the dragons.

Compared to the rest of the animation, Fafnir utilizes CGI dragons/creatures (Not as bad as Fate Stay/Night, mind you, but still pretty damn bad.) which are awful to look at. They clash very heavily with the rest of the visuals in this series and it just gives off a sour feeling because they don't look good. They're glaringly bad as their bad CG make clunky movements as they maneuver around in the series.

Author's note: Also, SOMEHOW, a kraken is considered a dragon. A creature that looks and functions like a squid, an invertebrate cephalopod, is similar to a gigantic, fire-breathing reptile. *insert Jackie Chan WTF meme here*

As for sound, Fafnir doesn't really have any memorable tracks. The tracks by themselves are ok to listen to, but they are more or less generic tracks that don't have any real significance.

Overview:
+ Decent art
- CGI dragons. (I mean, come on, really? We've come so far.)
- Average musical tracks

Personal Enjoyment (1.00/10): It has been a while since I truly didn't enjoy an anime. While I do watch a lot of things that fall towards the lower quality spectrum when it comes to anime, there comes a time when something really does just take the cake, and that right here, is Fafnir.

What did I like about this anime?

Nothing. Nothing...at...all. Moving on.

What didn't I like about this anime?

Pretty much every aspect of this show holds some dislike to me. The weak story was only bolstered due to the fact that the series never really capitalized on any aspect of it aside from fighting dragons. The characters were the furthest thing from being decent, relying on troupe characteristics for character traits, the CGI dragons were an eyesore, and the music was mediocre. Above all else, the series had a very dull feeling. Any sort of tension the show had was false tension more than anything. Because the story is so predictable and cliche, you can probably guess the outcome of the series without any effort.

Would I recommend this anime?

No, just flat out, no. Fafnir was a disappointment to anime. Because nothing, aside from the standard animation really had positives in the grand scheme of things; this series is an utter waste of time above all else. With weak story, actual living, breathing examples of anime stereotypes for characters, and cousins of the Stay night dragon, Fafnir is a series that stood out as a bland piece of work that doesn't give any feeling but regret when finishing it.

Overall Score: 3.75/10

This anime is pretty cliche, as a Harem/Romance/Action/Supernatural anime this is very typical its really lacks pop and most scenes are pretty predictable that you'll know what will happen next. So dont go expecting a whole lot out of it mostly a standard Harem/Romance its similar to Infinite Stratos if you have seen that before, but less ecchi.

Plot: 6/10
A fair plot, similar to Infinite Stratos, but Magic > Mecha. You have supernatural abilities only commonly available to girls. In Juuou Mujin no Fafnir the ability is known as Dragons "D" who attend a school far off on a distant island, but with our male protagonist ... Mononobe, Yuu is an acception together his classmates fight against dragons that come around periodically to rampage around the world. Humans and dragons are connected by marks that are located anywhere on their body that give them their powers. The schools students use their powers to fight against the monsters, rinse and repeat while incorporating a little bit of back story for some main characters.

Characters: 6/10
Nothing really stands out about this group of girls you its pretty much the standards of any harem such as (tsundere, sister, loli, etc...)

Art: 6/10
General art style nothing out standing no vivid colors, it really lacks the pop though the monsters look poor and dull, unless you like CGI monsters then I guess you'll enjoy it. The action scenes aren't particular amazing, but its descent.

Sound: 6/10
Voice acting is fine nothing out of the ordinary. The opening is catchy same with the ending. The BGM fits with the action scenes decently, but still doesn't make up for the action scenes.

Enjoyment 6/10
I enjoy watching harem genre and anyone else who likes harem, romance, and fantasy this anime is it. If you like this genre you might as well watch this. This is the pretty much the doppelganger of Infinite Stratos difference being 1 is mecha other is supernatural though I would have to say this is 6/10 while Infinite Stratos is a 7/10.

I would recommended this anime to anyone who enjoys harem, romance, and fantasy if you have already watched most previous harems and like them then just give this one a go nothing to spectacular yet, but still worth a go.

Harem anime is always a tough genre to judge because it all seems to follow the same formula with slight variations to separate one from another. However, the anime adaptation of Unlimited Fafnir does not present itself in the way a typical harem anime does. This show had a different feeling; one that if I had to describe it, would be that it feels emptier. That does not mean the show doesn’t have it strong suits, because it excels in other areas.

------

STORY - From a story standpoint, the premise of the show outlines what appears to be a classic harem foundation: a boy with "dragonic" ... powers specifically reserved for females enrolls in a school full of girls with similar powers. This group of people are known as “D.” The purpose of this school is to train the students to combat dragons that threaten the well-being of the female students. Aside from the harem underpinnings, the story is rife with fantasy and science themes. From a technical standpoint, the show is split up into mini-arcs surrounding a specific character or dragon and does a fairly good job of moving from one arc to another without leaving open a lot of plot holes. However, Unlimited Fafnir loses me with the characters and the lack of development they truly deserve. (7)

CHARACTERS - I feel the need to address the character issue in this show and this may seem like a rant, so excuse me if I seem to be heavily biased. Typically when you watch a harem anime, you find that one character that you really connect with that you root for to "win" (even though most times the status quo is intact by the series end and no one truly wins). The difficulty I faced with Unlimited Fafnir is that it presented no characters that I wanted to win. When that happens it does not feel like a harem anime and becomes just a show that has a hefty female to male ratio, which isn’t a bad thing, but when a show is billed as a harem, it leaves you a bit wanting. Additionally, throughout the series it felt like only a small portion of the group actually WANTED to win. The main class is split up between the male protag a group of seven or females. The series run focuses mostly on the male protag, Yuu and four of the seven females: Iris, Tear, Mitsuki, and to an extent Lisa. At least that’s how it was observed. Broken down even further, only two of the main four actually seemed to be “going for it,” or in the harem pool at that. EVEN FURTHER, both of those characters had the same character traits – both were exceedingly clingy and child-like to the point of annoyance. This would be fine if there was another character that provides a sort of foil to these characters, but it never happens; at least not in this series run. By the series end there were hints that a character would provide that foil, but way too late in the series to really matter.

Aside from the criticisms regarding the characters within the harem, this show does a disservice to the characters by providing them with the absolute minimum development that they could. While the show progresses pretty well from arc to arc, aspects of the characters are introduced but not expanded upon, or outright abandoned. Other aspects of the characters are not resolved until they are just dropped in at the end of the series. It all feels really clumsy and unorganized compared to the main plot. Furthermore, outside of the four primary characters mentioned above, the three remaining classmates receive very little moments to reveal themselves. In one episode, one of the three has a moment and she reveals more about herself and looks like she will enter herself into the equation. By the next episode, that interaction is completely abandoned. This is excruciatingly frustrating. While one of the remaining two, gets small, but noticeable dialogue and is integral to the story, the other is completely invisible. Literally the only thing we know about this girl is that she’s shy and likes computers. I understand there is a deviation from main and supporting characters and that not all characters can be treated equally, but I feel like this show did not do a good enough job to properly portray the characters. When you have a class size that small and you have every class member on the cover art, there should not be a character that is completely ignored. (4)

ART – This is where I find the show to excel. Quick, picture a dragon in your mind. I guarantee you that this show presents dragons in a completely different light than you are picturing. The dragons deviate from the preconceived image of what a dragon is. Some are bipedal, some are quadrupedal, some can fly, some walk, some swim. They are all different and have different skills and abilities. They are not just different in shape, but size as well. They are enormous, overwhelming creatures that provide you with the idea that they are a viable threat. They are far different from any dragon I have ever seen portrayed outside of YuGiOh cards. It is unique and shows originality. The scenery is also quite above average.

The character designs are pretty well done as well. When an anime is set in a school, one thing I look for in the character design is the uniform. Some shows will try to make their uniforms too unique to a point where they are too flashy and distract from the character design rather than accentuate it. Unlimited Fafnir provides us with a basic black and white uniform for the ladies with a built in shawl that drapes over the upper torso, hiding the bust. The characters also have, for the most part, standard hair-color. It makes them look more realistic and human, aside from Tear who has horns and pink hair. In this aspect, Tear’s character design is very reminiscent of Eco from Seikoku no Dragonar. Yu, the male protag rocks a rather badass looking black suit with white accents, black dress shirt, and white tie. It’s a clean look that accentuates his character design, which would be rather bland and generic without. (8)

SOUND – It’s a pity that the characters are done so poorly because the voice cast is excellent. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka continues to be every male protag in a harem series, but in this case it fits really well. His very soothing voice is a welcome change of pace to the sometimes loud and obnoxious voices used by some of the female cast. However, I think this was more of a sound mixing error than the voice actors’ fault. The female voices are all recognizable names if you’ve watched a good share of anime, but they show great range; deviating from the voices they’ve used in notable roles they were cast in the past. The voice acting is rather well done and fit each character rather well.

The music is pretty good too. The opening track, “Flying Fafnir” is a nice, driving but mellow song with a pretty stellar piano/vocal lead in. It sets a good mood for the show. I also have a serious soft spot for voice actors adding to the musical track, so the ending, “Ray of bullet” is very welcome, especially episode 12 which includes all seven of the female classmates. Why they didn’t do that for episodes 1-11 is beyond me. (9)

ENJOYMENT – Even with all the criticisms I have over the characters and how hollow I feel they are; the show is still enjoyable. This was one of the shows I was looking forward to this past season because of the premise and the voice cast. Despite my disdain for how the characters were handled, the story was very good, albeit rushed in some spots (this is a commonality in short run series, so it is to be expected). There is a very good dynamic in this show between fantasy and science. It combines fantastical themes where the D use weapons like spears, bows, hammers, etc. with new age tech where the military uses airships and hi-tech doomsday devices. The combat scenes were nothing special, but got the job done. Unlimited Fafnir does have its spots of predictability, but also has a few swerves that you won’t see coming.

Another aspect of this show I really enjoyed was the general lack of fanservice throughout. I mean it's there in spots, but not overwhelmingly there. In many harem series, there is an abundance of fanservice that is supposed to rile up male viewers. Aside from Iris’s low-cut nightgown, a steamy hot-tub scene, and some bikini scenes, it is pretty barren of that aspect. The female uniforms also hide the bust so there aren’t humungous boobs in your face. All the female characters are badass warriors who fight dragons and not sex symbols, and I find that exceptional and refreshing. If you want boobs, panties, or fap material, this show is not for you. (8)

------

I would assert that if you are a fan of harem series, you might want to shy away from this series. You’ll likely be disappointed. There isn’t a huge contest for the male protag’s love amongst a throng of women, nor is there multiple character types that appeal to various different viewers. If you like super detailed character backstories, this show will disappoint you. If you just want to watch some cute, badass girls fight some dragons, then yes watch this show.

Perhaps a lot of this show’s shortcomings are the fact it is a short run show of 12 episodes. It is pretty common that in these short series, the creators try to jam pack as much as they can. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. This show falls right in the middle of that where they are able to keep an organized story, but fail in providing sub-stories and creating and resolving character development. I have a feeling if they had a longer series run, the adaptation could have been better and maybe a second season would help close the gaps the first season created. Will it get that chance? (7.2 Overall)

(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir is an anime that places some emphasis on the ethereal entity known as memories. Memories aren’t facts learned or knowledge acquired; they’re events, precious happenings that we remember and look back on with glee. At least, the good ones. Because everyone has a couple of memories that really aren’t worth bringing back up. Imagine, then, if you had the capability to trade your memories for more power than you could ever dream of. Would you knowingly lose random memories to gain newfound strength? Or are they an invaluable part of your life ... that made you into the kind of person you are today? Fafnir doesn’t ask itself these questions. In fact, it should be forgotten as quickly as is humanly possible.


STORY

Fafnir stars Mononobe Yuu, a boy who is the first male “D” – a person who has some connection to the Dragons that have popped up across the world. Attending an all-female academy designed to train “D” people and their powers, Mononobe works to protect the girls who have befriended him.

It’s really hard to start anywhere with Fafnir, because it barely manages to do anything at all. Luckily (unluckily?) there is something worth investigating: Mononobe’s power. But that may be the incorrect way to describe it, for it isn’t technically his power. For some context, the anime follows the “monster-of-the-arc” formula, with each set of episodes aimed at eliminating a Dragon because they just have to. There isn’t a reason given for this; the Dragon’s just exist and the motivations behind defeating them are nothing more than having to do so in order to make sure nobody dies or, very awkwardly, causes the Dragon to “mate” with the person it’s seeking. The unexplainable nature of the show isn’t the worst part, though. It’s what Mononobe does to win every single fight that’s the most asinine. And this is enacting the most blatant “deus ex machina” possible. He calls upon some godly figure to provide him with some overly massive weapon to kill the enemy in one hit. It doesn’t make sense: there is no pretext for why he is given the opportunity to do this, having prolonged battles is pointless if he can just call upon this device, and he’s completely useless as a soldier if he never uses this ridiculous ability. The only caveat is that, in order to call upon it, he must relinquish memories that he owns.

Which would seem to provide some outlet with which to explore, but Fafnir falters once more. It’s true that Mononobe, after each battle, seems to lose a memory or two – this really doesn’t start becoming apparent until much later in the series. But the problem is that, while this does happen, it doesn’t serve anything to the narrative whatsoever. In other words, his loss of cherished memories doesn’t affect anything that happens with the plot. It doesn’t tarnish his relationships both old and new; it doesn’t prevent him from using the same heavenly summon to vanquish his foes; and it isn’t even relevant thematically to what goes on within the anime. It’s only purpose is to make it seem “fair” in its usage. But Mononobe’s minimal characterization doesn’t allow the audience to “care” for his well-being so losing his memories means nothing. And the only important memory of his is one related to his sister. Meaning the show places very little focus on memories – despite it being a crux of the show – which in turn devalues the anime overall.

ANIMATION

Fafnir has some of the worst art and animation in its repertoire.

It’s kind of amazing how bad the art can get within the show. And what’s sad is that there is little to no variety in the locations visited; everything is either a room with a bed, a few chairs, or the edge of the beach. So there is almost no reason for these separate areas to not contain as much detail as possible. Instead, the show presents each environment as entirely boring – it all starts to blend together the further it is watched. Worse than this are the Dragons. They’re entirely CG and equally horrid to see. The blocky textures, the unappealing color schemes, the way in which they heavily contrast with the already bland backgrounds; it’s quite difficult to witness them on-screen due to their general ugliness. But Fafnir’s biggest errors come in the form of inexcusable oversight. For example, characters will magically disappear during scenes, colors will be applied incorrectly, and even mistiming sound effects in accordance to whatever is occurring in the moment. It’s absolutely unwarranted for an anime to have such blatant grievances, especially when little attention is paid to everything else around it.

The character designs aren’t even worth mentioning. The girls each wear the exact same outfit, with their only defining feature being their different colored hair – that is, when it’s colored correctly. Some have big eyes, some have large breasts, and Tear even has tiny horns to make her a bit cuter and dragon-like. Regardless of what is done to make them different, though, they all end up looking identical to one another in looks.

As if it needs to be said at this point, but the anime’s actual animation is grossly below average. The combination of the Dragon’s terrible range of motion, reused ability sequences (most characters have mysteriously one move in his or her arsenal), and other rudimentary movements regarding facial expressions, special effects, and general actions make it clear that being an anime was an afterthought.

CHARACTERS

A glaring issue with the characters is in Fafnir being unable to provide any kind of attention to most of the cast involved with the narrative. There are approximately seven characters that are “vital” to the happenings of the anime. However, three of them aren’t given a morsel of screen-time let alone an equal opportunity to be deemed worthwhile. Firill, one of these three, does manage to express her emotions once regarding her friends, but that’s the extent of her character. The other two use their abilities here and there and contribute nothing at all. Lisa has some semblance of characterization in her tense relationship with Mitsuki and her motherly one with Tear, but she, too, does nothing more than react to these other girls from time to time.

As the ladder is slowly climbed, rung by rung, Mononobe is found next. Besides his amazingly unfair ability to gain power whenever he feels like it, he is given tiny references to his background. Having worked for a military-esque group known as NIFL, a lot of what he knows is loneliness surrounded by violence. This is a trait that many of the girls at the academy find themselves in as well, giving Mononobe the chance to connect with them on a more personal level. But these characteristics are minimal, and in fact, considering the amount of memory losing he undergoes, he in essence regresses as a character since what made him into the person he is today is essentially lost. Iris is one of the first people to connect with him because her past is somewhat similar – losing her parents to the Dragons, she found herself alone and afraid. She gains the courage to fight thanks to Mononobe’s protective ways, allowing the group to gain a member whose newfound strength is invaluable. Her character plateaus quite early, with her becoming nothing more than a cute voice for the majority of the anime.

While the top of the ladder is never reached, there are at least a couple of semi-decent characters provided. Mitsuki initially grew up with Mononobe. But when she was discovered to be a “D,” she was removed from society like the others and subsequently separated from her brother. There, she befriends many but during one cruel incident loses a close friend, forcing her mind to take on a more guilt-filled role. That is, she begins and even wants to accept all of the blame for anything that happens. Specifically, she tries to take the burden of eliminating those students who are themselves about to become Dragons so she doesn’t have to see those close to her succumb like her good friend did. This makes her distant and hard to work with, since she feels that all of the responsibility falls on her. When in fact, it falls on everyone. Tear’s arc helps her to realize this; that the people around her aren’t there because they have to be, they’re there because they’re her comrades and friends, who also don’t want to lose those close to them, Mitsuki included. Speaking of Tear, she receives about the same level of focus. Her past is mired in abuse, flames, and brainwashing, so her arrival at the academy shows just how delusional she is. Gradually, though, she acclimates not only to the society she never knew but also to the people who would become her mentors and family. While she relies heavily on Mononobe to make her understand that she alone has the power to choose where her life leads, she heeds his words and does something she’s never done before: make her own decisions.

Tear’s character also helps to highlight something that the anime does with the Dragons themselves. There are a range of them, but Fafnir only showcases three: the White Leviathan, the Blue Hecatoncheir, and the Red Basilisk. The blue one doesn’t actively seek out any of the girls, and is there as a (huge) nuisance only. The other two, though, are symbolic of the characters they are after, namely Iris and Tear. The White Leviathan utilizes a “repulsion field.” Iris had, more or less, the same: she was isolated away due to her inept style of fighting. For Tear, the Red Basilisk was capable of seeing the future. And as we see for her, the future wasn’t as set in stone as it was made out to be. Tear’s future was altered – instead of becoming the Dragon she was always “destined” to become, Mononobe and the others gave her a much greater fate to follow.

SOUND

The opening theme takes on a rather “float-y” feel, being grander in scope than initially perceived. Perhaps due to all of the flying and fantasy elements that the show contains, it takes on this more romanticized stance. The ending theme is wholly generic, a poor piece with nothing going for it: not the singing, not the instruments, and certainly not the beat.

The rest of the soundtrack follows this same trend. “Irisu Fureia” is slow and almost jazz-like in its presentation that doesn’t really fit with the anime’s overall mood or direction. “Hadaka de Dokkiri” is a fun song, with playful guitar and resounding trumpet, but once again, due to the “darker” atmosphere and more dramatic elements at play, it doesn’t necessarily have a place within the anime outside of a scene or two. “Midogaruzuorumu” is the only track that’s memorable; here the simple beat, combined with the ambient effects, is a tension builder that works in the show’s favor considering all of the tense moments it attempts to generate. The majority are like the first two, however, as nothing more than background filler.

Voice-acting for Fafnir is about average. Special shout-outs are in order for Rina Hidaka as Iris for her quiet yet squeaky voice and Ayane Sakura as Tear for her childlike way of speaking.

ENJOYMENT

I wasn’t too fond of this one, but it was a little fun from the get-go. Iris is a cute character because of how sweet she is to Mononobe and everyone else, but she alone wasn’t always able to bring about smiles and laughs. When Tear came along – who likewise did her best to inject some entertainment into this stale show – it allowed Iris to have a bit of banter with her over their “boyfriend” and “husband.” In other words, some classic harem antics were had, which are always good for a chuckle time and again. But outside of Iris and Tear, the rest of the cast, either due to their incredibly lame characterizations, non-focus, or both, couldn’t do anything at all to inject some life into this one. And not just on an individual basis; their interactions between each other were very dull throughout much of the series.

All of this says nothing of the boring fight scenes with hilariously bad animation, the particularly awful antagonist known as Kili, and the show’s inability to make anything even remotely worth investing in. There are a bunch of events that involve variables other than Iris and Tear, and when those were in the equation, the result was never good.

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir is an anime with a nonsensical narrative, ridiculously poor characters, and awful art and animation problems that, in unison, create an unwieldy show with no sense of direction. This one shouldn’t just be forgotten; it should never have had the chance to be remembered in the first place.

SUMMARY

Story: Terrible, deus ex machina plot progression with zero focus on memories, despite them being pivotal to the show’s development

Animation: Terrible, inexcusable artistic errors, lame character designs, and below average actual animation

Characters: Bad, many are insignificant, Mononobe and Iris are very weak, Mitsuki and Tear are sub-par, and the Dragons aren’t entirely meaningless

Sound: Bad, mediocre OP, bad ED, bad soundtrack, average VA work

Enjoyment: Bad, Iris and Tear could be cute at times but the rest was dreadful

Final Score: 1/10

The harem genre became a popular demand these days, which we can say they are the most "overused" genre every season, and every season we get 2 to 4 harem anime, and in most cases, are shit and trash that must be avoided. Juuou Mujin no Fafnir is NOT one of that. But why do I give such a high rating for a harem? Because Fafnir(that's will I call it from now on) is a pretty good one, yes, maybe its elements are generic and overused but some of its aspects are done right and pleasing to me.

The story is somewhat similar to other ... harem animes out there with magic school setting and a main guy surrounded by many girls, guy MC gets stronger with his "exceptional" powers and BOOM! Lots of cliche events like pantyshots, peeping and changing clothes, and hotsprings. What makes this good is the concept of "D's" and dragons, but it's kinda waste because the dragons don't even look like actual dragons at all, I expect something more like dragons that fly, not just dinosaur wannabe breathing fire dragon. For a harem the plot of this anime is just average, nothing special.

The art is pleasing to the eyes though, the background designs were cool like those in video games and characters look like CGs from video games and eroge. The dragon designs was disappointing and bad because of 3D effects making it look so out of place in the scene. For the animation, I can say that it was average, the way they used magic was good but some movements look awkward and unnatural at times.

Music, soundtracks, and overall themes were pretty good and nice to hear, you can feel the mood of the scenes through the music. The opening "Flying Fafnir" is one of the best this season I think for being catchy, and the ED "Ray of Bullet" was just cute for its moe vocals by the two main seiyuus, Iris and Mitsuki. The sound effects is just there, contributing to the mood of the atmosphere but still gets the job done.

Characters may be found in other animes out there, but some of their traits are sort of unique and their personalities give the perfect chemistry for the whole cast and present a nice character interaction. Although rare for harems, this anime has little character developments to the main and some of the supporting characters. Mononobe is just as cool as usual, Iris overcame her jealousy, Mitsuki changed, Tear and Lisa gained trust to their fellow classmates. Some side characters were unnecessary though, for example :
-the chick with the magical book (Fyril)
-redhead loli (Ren)
-brown-haired girl (Ariela)
They just exist as if they're just there to add a collection to the harem, but they have really minor roles and don't even get 5 minutes screentime.

The enjoyment factor is surprising, because I found myself enjoying this kind of harem although I don't care about the genre itself. I think this is one of the good harems this season along with Saekano. Some my become bored and turn-off after knowing this is harem, but this is decent and worth watching.

Overall, I give this anime a sweet 7 because of its unexpected pleasure, one thing I can say for sure is that Fafnir is a great harem, it's solid from start up to the end, and is one of the better harems out there.

Story - 6
Art - 8
Sound - 8
Character - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Overall - 7.2=7

Like most fantasy/harem anime this anime plot is easy to read through , you can clearly see what's coming next but it have really good points in his plot.

Passing directly to the anime :
Story :
The start of this anime don't have a true meaning, its like being pushed right in . We start without information about the MC ,his circumstance at start ,his personality ; Some might say plot like this are overused but in this anime , the monster ( called dragon ) have a certain "mission" a true goal before destruction unlike others anime where they just come ... to destroy the world.
The true minus is about the mob girl ( "same" being as MC in term of plot ) being "incoherent" with the plot ( Some monster , each monster try to find a precise girl , mob character might be one of those the monster chase but they is too many mob girl in school compared to number of monster ) and all the Main girl ( chased one ) are in the same classes since the start , like saying all the girl out here are just really there for showing the "school-life" even though making a near-0 apparence

Art :
How you see art depend on the people so what i say might don't be true for some and wrong for other.
To me , the art in this are very good , the color aren't too flashy or dark making it easy to watch ( Not have to force yourself when it's too dark or have to decrease the luminosity ).

Sound :
I'm not really good at differentiating sound in anime so for me it's a basic rate

Character :
I loved the MC personality , unlike others harem MC who are really dense , he know what he is doing and why he do it , the girl main character ( all his classes to me ) have different who make them unique.

Enjoyment :
I always liked watching anime with much personalities , a defined plot and the way MC fight so for u people it might be untrue too.

Overall :
The rating i did might not rejoin my word because its really hard to find word without spoiling a inch , i tried to make it so you can enjoy without knowing it all already.

Basically, in my opinion, if you like the harem genre then this anime is for you.
Story: 8
The story is the better thing about the anime. It is basically a dude who has amazing powers that he can use at the expense of his memories, which ends up causing some plot here and there, but the other main thing is that he is the only male person in the world who has the powers that are usually only found inside of women (go figure), and starts fighting dragons (not really dragons, just monsters) who originally gave the women powers. I won't spoil anymore.
Art: 4
This is probably ... the one thing that the anime did poorly in, as the animation is just...outdated, compared to some of the other anime that were airing at the same time. The 3d animated monsters didn't really help the score either as there were some moments in which you really couldn't even see what was the actual monster and what was the smoke that surrounded it.
Sound: 7
The sound was fine, the music was good and the background sound effects were placed where the needed to be.
Character: 6
You can't really watch a harem type anime and expect to be no characters you haven't seen before. Fafnir is no exception, the only really notable characters that stand out are the main protagonist, the loli girl who's aiming to be the wife of the main char, and the...loli bisexual perverted principal whos always being disciplined by her maid.
Enjoyment: 7
I was able to watch it and finish it, but there were times when I just didn't feel like watching it. There were many other animes this season that were always higher on the watch list for me, and I feel that it could have solely been to the 2010 art style that the anime used.
Overall: 7
This anime is a decent anime to watch, however if your a veteran harem watched like me you may be pushed away due to its lacking art style and average stats. Either way, at least keep this anime in your plan to watch on a boring day.

This is going to be a very long review I'm just going to get down to the basics. I am a VERY generous person when it comes to giving out ratings. I mean... I gave familiar of zero a near perfect rating back in the day before I realized how much I hated the "Always beating on the mc while him being too much of a chicken to do anything" trope. Let just get this over worth. Animation is sub-par, sound doesn't have any interesting, voice acting is alright at best and the story is so damned predictable I had more fun playing a game ... with myself to see how much I could guess would happen, spoiler, I'm pretty good at the game. I am so tired of seeing anime just throw in unneeded drama and try to act like it's something amazing. Oh boo-flippin-hoo. I read the previous reviews and decided to give it a try anyway because I'm a big fan of the "someone having a power they shouldn't have time of anime" which are far and few between. The last good one i remember is Tenchi muyo : war on geminar (Amazing anime by the way, check it out (45 min long episodes)). I can tell you however that I only got through like 3 episodes, but felt the need to come write this review. Just... don't watch it. You'll come out of the experience worse than when you went in. Just go rewatch something good that you've already seen. Chances are you won't see what's coming next in an anime you've already seen compared to this.

I had the feeling that this was just another Wash/Rinse/Dry(REPEAT) of Infinite Stratos. I couldn't connect to the characters since their backgrounds are vague at best. The semi-cg monsters are rather....poor, like a 10 year old made them up and said to their parent "Look, its a dragon". The story line could have used a little more work. They overused Norse Mythology AGAIN, when they could have gone with something else, like oh say.....NOT Norse? The harem aspect is pretty much a given if the main char gets a full nude visual in the first episode, and that makes one think 'oh hey, this guy ... is SO gonna see them all naked.'.....not. The overall overuse of the "Only man in the world can do this" got tiring, since there around......lots of animes like that. Calling the dragon power users D's like they all love being called a letter all the time? seriously? at least use something original like D-Slayers....oh, that's not original. Overpowering the only male 'D' just makes it REALLY boring to watch, as with the lack of actual story development, they could have instead of saying "This is our prey" they could have just did like several other animes did and have random sprouts of enemies. The denseness of the main character is about skin deep, meaning he knows who likes him, but just doesn't care. His 'exchange' (memories for power) is a bit disconcerting if you think about it, what if he forgets he has the contract? What if he forgets his name, sister, raison d'etra? seriously, i could so see it, he pulls out the massive cannon thing and forgets why, then everyone dies because his price is forgetting things....LOOPHOLES ARE EVERYWHERE. I hope the writers of the anime adaptation read this and take into consideration that they don't need to give a life story for all the chars, but SOME background on them as well as closing the numerous loopholes and giving the 'Dragons' more of a dragonoid shape, otherwise changing their name to Dark Matter Clusters(DMC for short) and the humans with powers Dark Manipulators, or DMs. I read the description, did a little research before watching it, was all hyped up to see it, and disappointed when I made it to episode 4, I finished it because I hate leaving things unfinished, was facepalming with a hammer by the end.

I have video review for this, but here is the written the review.

Story - 6/10

Unlimited Fafnir is sort of a harem, it does involve the main one male protagonist around a group of girls, but it doesn’t technically mean all the girls want in on him. The story is based in world where dragons, gigantic beings terrorize the human race, but there a bunch of individuals who fight against dragons with powers of their own, known as Ds. Ds are people who gain the power to create Dark Matter, and using that they can create substances and create magic to fight dragons. A D can ... become a dragon, if their designated dragon draws closer to them. However the only people who have Ds powers are all girls, except our main protagonist Yuu Mononobe.
The series is broken into mini story arcs, usually focusing on one of the female characters.

The story is ok, but it doesn’t wow me. However it is pretty well paced, and when transitioning into another arc it does it very well, as in it gives each arc a clear ending. However the overarching story between Yuu and his sister Mitsuki, does become interesting as the series progress. I just wasn’t wowed by anything.

Characters - 5/10

Our main protagonist is Yuu Mononobe, the only male D in the world. Mononobe was sent to Midgar Academy, which is a girls only academy. He was sent on a mission by the NIFL to prevent the girls at Midgar academy from becoming Dragons. He’s the kind of character that’ll go out of his way to help those around him, at the same time he gets himself caught in situations where people kind of don’t want him to be in, often perverted ones. His D power is interesting, because he actually has to give up his memories in order to use his powers which makes his back story a little interesting. However his power is kind of overpowered, as he the most least experience member in dragon fighting can usually defeat a dragon with one blow compare to the school of girls who’ve been train their whole life.

Yuu’s main love interest goes to Iris Freyja. Iris fulfils the role of ditzy, moe fan service hopeless character archetype. She starts off as the character who cannot control her powers, but she has the more unique ability to create dark matter appear anywhere and explode them. Other than that she relies a lot of Yuu, as she has an obvious crush on him.

Another character that gets attention is Yuu’s sister, Mitsuki Mononobe. She has a dark past, as she was force to kill one of her friends when she was younger, and has been burden by it ever since. She uses a bow and arrow as her power. She comes off as the very serious strict formal type. She takes her role professionally and talks in a really monotone way. Her love for her brother goes a long a way, more than the usual sibling love.

Another character that gets significant screen time is Tear Lightning. The loli devil girl of the group. She is a transfer student to academy and immediately claims Yuu to be her husband as she doesn’t want to let go of him despite the age difference. Unlike the other girls she wants to be a dragon, and seems confused by the whole situation in general.

There are seven girl’s but only those three I just mention get attention. And Lisa Highwalker a tsundere and Firill Crest the socially awkward one get some attention to an extent. But other than those the other characters are kind of boring.

There’s not much development on the other characters, and when they are developed, it felt very rushed, as in you don’t even know if they got stronger or better. This doesn’t help the fact that, I don’t find any of them interesting or likeable, they all seem kind of annoying and seriously, they’ve been training to fight dragons their whole lives and some guy who doesn’t fight dragons that much, instantly does a better job than they do.

Animation - 5/10

Here is where the anime shines and kind of doesn’t shine. The thing the animation does well is how clean it looks, it looks like a genuine highly polished anime. But they do usually use a lot of basic, even though its animated well, it’s just really repetitive, such as when each character is using their weapons, its repeated over and over and over. It seems the animators were just lazy. Sometimes the lightning in this anime is either too bright or too dark, I get that it adds to the special effects and the scenes, which is fine, but sometimes it’s just glaringly bad to look at.

Now the designs of the dragons are alright to look at, when their standing still, but the moment they move it just looks pretty ugly. It looks as though it was just a huge giant mechanical robot and it moves so statically. Also the dragons are 3D renderings, and you know how I feel about 3D renderings in anime, it just doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t look good, and it doesn’t help the fact the dragons are not amazing designs, they’re not epic to look at when you think of dragons.

Some of the special effects can look lazy, but the weapons and the magic that comes out of the weapons look good when up close, but when from a far, I mean a far, it looks like paint. The weapons do look good in general.

Enjoyment - 6/10

Is this an enjoyable anime…yes to a certain extent. The story is somewhat interesting if you’re following Yuu, it’s interesting to learn more about him and what memories he loses. It’s also kind of interesting to see how he helps everyone with their problems being the only Male D, and his decision making between his friends and his work. But at the same time, it’s sometimes annoying to watch because of how bright or dark it gets, which just hurts eyes, and seeing the ugly movements of the Dragons. It’s disappointing because the opening and ending songs gets you pumped up for the episode, but the anime is maybe too average for its own good.

Verdict - 5.5

With that in mind, I give Unlimited Fafnir a 5.5/10. It’s not bad, but it isn’t great, it’s average. It doesn’t wow me in any factors nor does it disgust me in any factors, it’s just really average. I think they played it too safe to be honest. It’s ok to look at times, with an ok story, but the cast of characters apart from Yuu, they are pretty meh.

Huh... do I really need to go into detail for this?
Quick review, here we go.

Story: 2
Nothing going for it. Stupidly unoriginal and needlessly slow at times.

Art: 4
Nothing special here. It's decent, but nothing is beyond the realm of mediocre. Animation was... not too smooth. It wasn't smooth thorought the whole series even.

Sound: 3
... OP and ED were equally dull. Very generic themes, if you ask me. Voices were fine. Sound effects are... okay at best. Nothing to see there.

Character: 1
No. This anime didn't even try.

Enjoyment: 2
For more info, see above.

Overall: 2
This anime was dull, unoriginal, uninspired, and stupid. Watch this if the only thing you are searching for in an anime is Ecchiness. Otherwise, it's best to skip this one.

P.S.: The only reason I watched this is because when I first watched anime, was for it's Ecchi factor. Now, looking back, I can conclude that this anime is a pile of utter shit.

One of stories' greatest strengths is their ability to evoke emotions and reactions by the persons who are experiencing it. Stories can make people weep, can make people laugh and can even make people piss their pants. Stories that fail at provoking anything to the reader other than apathy are intrinsically flawed, and such is the case of Unlimited Fafnir.

Unlimited Fafnir (Juuou Mujin no Fafnir) is the adaptation of the action harem light novel by the same name. It was produced by the studio Diomedea, who also produced Akuma no Riddle and Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?, and directed by Keizo Kusakawa, ... who also directed the two anime previously mentioned.

Twenty-five years ago, Dragons first appeared in the world. After a while, girls with supernatural powers similar to those of the Dragons were born and were called "D girls". A special school, Midgar, was created for them and they were trained to fight the Dragons. Everything had a semblance of routine, until Yuu Mononobe is revealed to be the only D boy in existence and is enrolled in Midgar. Yuu has to gain the trust of the students at the all-girls high school and defeat the Dragons as they appear without losing any of his comrades.

Everything about Unlimited Fafnir screams average. Its story is a fairly generic mess that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, its characters are one-sided and archetypal to the core, its art style is the modern moe style that can be seen in every season, its soundtrack lacks any semblance of originality and it doesn't even try to make anything new.

To make matters worse, there are problems in every corner. The story brings a twist in the last episode with no build-up whatsoever that is resolved just as quickly as it appeared. The characters lack development, with exception of two girls, whose whole personal arc is something that has been done thousand of times already. The CGI for the dragons is one of the worst I have ever seen, looking like they were taken from an old mobile game.

But all of this doesn't make Unlimited Fafnir terrible, it is just painfully average with some elements below that line. The one thing that truly saddened me was the fact that I couldn't feel anything while watching it, just a general sense of apathy. As I already said, stories have one of the most wonderful characteristics ever: they can make people feel things they would have never felt before. A series that has the exact opposite effect is sad and truly disappointing.

While, objectively, Unlimited Fafnir is average, the apathy it provokes bumps it down to a limbo of forgotten anime/TV series/movies that could never provoke anything to the viewer.

The only people who may enjoy it are the ones who are looking for a new anime to lose a few hours to.

Very weak plot, uninteresting characters in a dull plot where the action scenes are a total failure and unemotional, and not to mention the awful combination of bad 3D for the traditional animation that left a disastrous mix. Few things really worth it, I think the only one to mention is the super bazooka that the protagonist materializes, the scenes he does it more worth than the entire anime ...

I wish the show was getting better along the time went since my first review after two eps. Well, for me it went better precisely but still not so special as Winter 2015 series. The story sets after incident, 25 years ago. The world was facing the fear out of the Dragons unexpectedly. When the world was in chaos, the chosen children emerged after the first occurrence of Dragons, they hold supernatural powers as Dragons, well-known as "D". The unforeseen male—the hero--suddenly transferred into a school which purposes to train D to be able using their powers as resistance of Dragons. Yuu Mononobe is transferred ... into a school where her little sister is studying by the somewhat military forces. And his everyday life begins to filled with bishoujo on that school.


As stated above, it's about the fight between the D who's going to be called by her dragon partner. As soon as the dragon in contact with the D also if D accepted it then they will turn instantly as the dragon itself. The focus of the show indeed D and dragon, not the dragon who endangers the life of mankind. The story progress somewhat episodic, by episodic I mean the class Yuu's in, would one by one, one after another to fight the different dragons. One dragon defeated, surely another dragon will come to haunt them. Even if it's quite episodic the show runs it smoothly with the spice of school life story.

In sync with their fight to carry on, they also nicely develop their relationships (it doesn't just mean about the romance thingy). Like the burden of their past, the tighter connection among their groups, the teamwork they form in the battlefields, those are awesome for me. The bug of its progress may be lie on how the show made it looks so dramatic. Dude we know that their problems are hard and distressing but keeping on the drama for every problems are disgusting.
When the story almost on its halfway, Tear-san appears and colouring the show nicely. The vibe and meaningful moments increasing. Tear-san comes to scene, the one who has enormous power as the D, is a fugitive of Dragon cultists. Eventho' Midgar's defense is strong (the academy Tear currently lives with Yuu and his friends), the anti-NILF D, named Kili Surtr Muspelheim is going to settle the score with its defense. The story is keep going not just centered to Tear-san. This is just a piece of moment that I mark.


Too radiant colours of this show hurts my eyes in general, the most bothering part when they are on day-off goes to beach playing around nicely but the scenes are creeping me out with mammoths amount of lighting. When they are facing the battlefield. the colours are good. it goes well with every landscape rather than when they're in their usual normal life in Midgar. Summary, the graphics and artworks aspects are plenty except the radiant colours phase. Good magic spells and their motions using each skill are fairly enchanted here. Even if, to be honest, the characters design is not superb, their developments are something reckoned (•̀ᴗ•́)و

I can say the theme songs are nice, not too upbeat but I like it and still place it on my playlist especially the OP theme song sung by TRUSTRICK "FLYING FAFNIR". At first, I thought I only could turn my feelings into words for the theme songs as normal songs but I instantly like it after twice then thrice and more~ The ED song is sung by Rina Hidaka (Iris Freyja's seiyuu) & Manami Numakura (Mitsuki Mononobe's seiyuu) "Ray of bullet".


From the pros and cons in this series, I definitely like it maybe because the friendship tastes so sweet here, they flow slowly but in a solid form as team and personal matters. Nice enjoyment here is 8~
Pros:
It flows nicely (sometimes too dramatic [cons])
Good meaning embodied in this show
Nice characterization and graphics (at first it's quite ecchi [cons])

The best thing to do at night is to write a review on your phone, right before going to sleep, at 12 am and having to wake up at 6:30 am for school. Stay in school kids.

The story was quite confusing to me. It went around the place without staying on a main theme. A new girl comes up? Sure, let's add a fucking dragon that wants her. It wasn't very original either. The only male to have an ability most females have and be placed in a school where everyone is a female. Sound familiar enough? (Hint: INFINITE STRATOS)
I was expecting an original, ... not over-the-top fan-service and some decent action. Loli fan-service is a no no. To add to that, there was only one kissing scene in the anime, considering it's a harem AND romance. I swear every male protagonist in a harem is gay. Action wasn't that good, but it wasn't the worst thing in the anime. It wasn't that epic to give me goosebumps and usually the male protagonist would be OP and apparently this one would be (as mentioned that D or not, the main character would never be defeated) but it didn't look like it, nor did he have many abilities that would surprise everyone around him and make them think that he's the saviour of the world. The story in the anime isn't finished yet, so the rating of this review might change.

The art was above average and it wasn't very dull. The bright colours would help a happy scene become more happy and sad scenes become more sad. Like some anime, the thing that was intrigued me was the size of the eyes. It's almost half the size of their heads. I know this is pretty common but if it's that big it starts to become weirder.

One thing I'm going to mention about sound is that I read a comment in the anime website I watched it on was that apparently the soundtrack was "stolen" off a 3DS game. That's not confirmed but it was a bit interesting. The OP/ED was ok, but I don't judge anime based on just the music.

Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, I hate male protagonists who are very oblivious to around him. As a straight male, I'd rather want someone who is very cool, calm and smart male character. Mononobe Yuu is the male character in the series. Yes he has some parts about him I don't like, but at least he's not the type to hold all the girls and not even choose one. Mononobe Mitsuki is Yuu's supposed sister. I like girls who are hardworking, but sometimes being too hardworking can get annoying. She is the type to do it all by herself and would sacrifice herself. I know that sounds like a glorious thing to do, but you're not only and have friends to help you. She is smart and cool on the outside, but emotional in the inside. Other characters are semi-likeable, depending on your tastes of women.

If I was stranded on an island after a plane crash and my laptop was with me, along with my TB harddrive full of anime, I would probably skip on this. I mildly enjoyed it at the start but it got really repetitive after. Some people have different tastes and I do like ecchi/harem/romance/action type anime, but this wouldn't pass my standards.

If you're thinking of similar anime to this, I would say Infinite Stratos. Like I said, personally I didn't really like this anime but if you're like me and bored most of the time, then this might help you cure your boredom. I don't like forcing other people not to watch the anime just because of a review of why people don't like it. Would I re-watch it? Sorry, but that's a no. Though, there might be a Season 2 if the sales are good.

Come Lion Tamers, we'll try again to examine another in a long line of anime, trying to earn the viewers' hard earned dollars.

I speak of "Unlimited Fafnir"-2015

Firstly I want to speak a little about certain trends in anime, that all of us recognize when we have the notion forced upon us.

1). Most start in a high-school environment.
2). Most struggles are becoming increasingly supernatural
3). A inordinate number of these things involve a huge number of pretty little girls, with great big childlike eyes, and short skirts, that appear in their early teens, but have the buxom figure of a girl in their late teens, if at ... all.
5). And all the girls tend to have cute little Japanese voices that just make you want to collect the whole set, especially if they get together and hug each other like tiny little girls we wish were actually in the world.

And in some cases all of that fan-service gets so rank, that it interferes with the telling of the story.

Unfortunately, Unlimited Fafnir does not have that problem, because the story is simple enough, anyone can follow it, and almost predict the next move through virtually every one of the story arcs. All of which follow a basic scenario:

1). Monster wants to pair-off with little girl student
2). Little girl becomes the subject of a 'Perils of Pauline' danger zone, and forces everyone, especially our nice-guy hero, to save her, and destroy the monster.
3). Through larger and larger ideas of "...we can do it if we just try harder ...", or the other staple in such stories "... our love will sustain us ..." victory is ours, and we all go home happy and feel all cuddly inside.

Okay, I'm a sucker for a romantic and friendly ending, but this anime uses the basic cliches to the point of irritating me. Which is hard, because anime scenarios tend not to bug me too much, as long as there's a point.

But in the end, I came away with a strong feeling that girls know when they have a good thing, and boys aren't always creeps (unlike some anime). A great relief.
-------------------------------
Let's look at the technicals.

The artwork is above average, with its usual penchant for drawing pretty girls, pretty. And almost every single one of them is drawn very well endowed, many to the point of bouncing off the ground if they fall over. That part is pleasant (not for the girl, I'm just remarking on the possibility of a not-so-funny accident), but I was embarrassed for the artists. And also contains some pretty good 3d parallax aspect-art dealing with tall towers in architecture.

Here's an example of the girls, just an example, we get to see her nude in the first 5-minutes:



The other really bad part was the monsters. All of this type of story has monsters. These are all drawn with really lousy 3D artwork, which turned me off. I would have been much happier without the injected 3D CGI artforms. Dreadful, every last one of them.

Sound. Dialog was read almost uniformly by a whole bunch of cute Japanese Kansai dialog talents. Some of which are so high-pitched they sound like little squirrels; and not in a good way. I would have preferred a little more variation in voicing skills, from one artist to another. Again, this trend had me embarrassed for the artists and the producers. I did not try to watch the dub-english version. Wouldn't have helped at all. The mushy stuff was mushy without dialog, and the dreadful artwork for monsters was going to get no help from English audio. Besides Kansai dialect cuteness has no translation in English (there are anime I prefer in English, this isn't one of them)

Music. The OST is very good, here's a sample. This piece is just plain outstanding, unusual for this kind of fan-service fest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYw0RsUrJmA
HTML5
720p MP4
360p MP4

The OP and ED were uninteresting. Not horrible, they just couldn't catch my interest.

Characters. Forgive me for sounding like I'm coughing, but the characters are right out of a filmschool manual. And most of their personalities tend to not fit their character cast designation. On the other hand, the average male viewer won't worry about that. All the young ladies are completely huggable. Bad matches for character against script purposing won't occur to us while we're watching them.
------------------------------
With all that on the line herein, I must tell you that if you can stand this thing, all the way to the end; you will come off with a set of feelings that are normal for watching little squirrels running around tree-branches in the romantic way that leaves one smiling.

And then you remember some of the less fortunate moments, and the feeling leaves one with that "... what did I just watch? ..."

So, I was going to give this thing a solid 5, but because of some of the OST, I ended up giving Unlimited Fafnir a mild 6.

Sorry folks, it's been one of those weeks. I gotta get away from anime for awhile. I'm becoming too critical of some parts of the whole Anime Genre.

Okay this anime was Decent..

From watching this anime 12 episodes i don't seems to enjoy it and not just that it made me want to sleep cause the story is not that interested.

So here is the thing, Mononobe Yuu has the power of the Leviathan but in exchange of strength is his Memories, from that point "oh this might be interesting" crossed my find... And not what i though, using his strength does not affect his current state of mind ( I would like the anime if his sanity/humanity or forget who he was or who the girls are ) but no, he just forgets ... something not interested in..

He uses the Power 2-3 times i think ( i don't remember since it's sleepy ) but hardly flinch or just you know.. put into a coma

And what hurts the most is the animated style or CG of the Red Basilisk is just too plain and i also saw some boxes ( when doing a 3d or CG edges are common ). The thing is that when they are Charging they're dark matter.. the screen also gets dark i thought that was just an automatic brightness from my computer but nope, getting too dark.

So is this a typical Harem? no i don't think so, yeah is has the 'One Boy in a all-girls school' type, but the thing is.. it is just not working out for me or you

In overall it peeks my interest but lose it half way.

Do i recommend this? No, i don't think so unless i don't have anymore suggestion

Do i enjoy this? Half-way cause of reasons

Is this anime Good enough? in my opinion not in the Good nor Bad side but something in between.

Most of the time, I like all the anime I watch, but oh boy, this one is pretty bad.

The story always repeats itself so you can just watch the first four episodes three times to say that you've watched the entire series.

The art looked kinda good to me at first, but when I saw those "dragons", I was about to vomit.

The sounds were mediocre. I don't have much to say about it.

The characters felt like they were all the same.

... The entire series goes like this:

Some stuff happens, everyone is in danger. The protagonist gets some special abilites all of a sudden, saves everybody. And the same thing happens three times. Three. Exact same thing. Three times. Without anything changing at all.

So yeah, worst anime I've ever watched.

tl;dr: A pretty generic battle academy harem anime that shows some light hints of potential but is largely a miss in terms of execution.

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir is a pretty typical harem battle academy. The type where some mysterious threat suddenly attacks the world and the only thing that can stop them are a group of high school students with special powers gathered at a special boarding school who are all girls except for the protagonist who somehow also has powers despite being male. I’m perfectly fine with the archetype and trope set used and in general don’t mind generic anime, though in such cases ... it come down entirely to execution which I don’t think this particularly excelled at.

As is often the case with the anime adaptations for such light novel series, the first season is primarily focused on the essential world building required for the narrative while introducing the characters and showing the development of initial bonds between them with all this being centered around a series of major battles. As such, while the plot is important as a vehicle, what’s far more important is the world and characters showcased.

The world and it’s mechanics I think were mostly solid enough. The core enemy are monsters known as Dragons, though they mostly look nothing like traditional dragons, and the ones that fight them are called Ds. Each D has a Dragon that corresponds to them wherein eventually each Dragon will hunt their respective D, at which point a crest on the Ds body begins glowing. If after this the Dragon and D meet, the D also turns into a Dragon. Thus, there is some complexity to things, in that while it would obviously be for the best to defeat the Dragon before it encounters the D, killing the D before it can encounter the Dragon is also something that is considered in order to avoid the creation of more Dragons.

This results in some level of conflict between the organizations Midgard and NIFL, wherein both are under the umbrella of the international Dragon fighting organization Asgard, Midgard primarily has the goal of protecting Ds while NIFL has the goal of defeating Dragons, and thus NIFL is far more willing to kill Ds to avoid the creation of more Dragons as compared to Midgard. While there’s still a lot that needs to be fleshed out around this regarding the lore behind the dragons and where the story will ultimately go regarding that, I think that this is a pretty solid start to world building and builds a good foundation to tell a character focused story on.

The majority of character development is centered around the aforementioned issues. The protagonist, Yuu, was originally a part of NIFL, but after his powers as a D become apparent he is transferred into Midgard, but with his superior in NIFL, Loki, staying in contact and pushing him to get rid of Ds at times, which was something that was difficult for him to deal with at first. It’s also mentioned that him using his powers results in him losing memories, but that’s basically only been touched in passing without really explaining it and not really delved into and thus hasn’t really had much of an effect so far. Thus, the protagonist’s development has been pretty minimal so far.

Going back to the theme surrounding Ds turning into Dragons, the fact that a D can turn into a dragon also presents issues in regards to Ds having to struggle with whether they should just let themselves die as humans rather than risk turning into Dragons that go onto kill their fellow Ds, as well as presents an issue for Ds who have to struggle with the guilt of killing a Dragon that was a former comrade, which lies at the center of the heroines Iris and Mitsuki’s character development. This as a concept is also really solid, but the writing surrounding this wasn’t all that great, and for the most part it felt like things were being glossed over to the point that the related narrative doesn’t really hit any particularly good emotional beats.

Unfortunately, this is still better than the development any of the other characters got. There’s some sort of character arc surrounding another heroine named Tear that is centered around whether she wants to be a human or Dragon, but it felt pretty weak in that it essentially just involved her overcoming being brainwashed than any sort of actual development. Also in Tears arc, there’s another character showcased, Kili, an antagonist that will likely become a heroine eventually, who wants Tear to choose to become a Dragon, and seems to be quite a bit more complex and interesting than any of the other heroines, though the season ends before really doing much with her. The rest of the cast so far is pretty much entirely flat. As a result of the weak character arcs so far, relationship development is also pretty weak, and in the end the cast just isn’t that interesting and is hard to get invested in.

On top of that, there are bunch of strange choices in how the anime was made that further contribute to the previously mentioned and issues and the anime in general often being not that enjoyable. The pacing is overtly fast, and thus character’s and their bonds don’t get fleshed out properly before reaching events that require said fleshing out. This actually isn’t that rare with light novel adaptations, but was especially bad here. For example, it’s brought up multiple times by other characters how Yuu seems to care for Iris so much, but literally all the viewer had seen of them together so far at that point was them making some small talk, so it definitely felt that some key parts were skipped over or improperly adapted.

I suppose the abruptness to things did help in terms of comedy though, in that it definitely added to the comedic timing of certain scenes. Still, the comedy overall felt less prominent than it usually is in the genre, and thus not all that strong overall. Also, this is a harem anime, but it doesn’t have all that much fanservice or romantic fluff, which are pretty much staples for the genre, though it has enough to put off people that are put off by such content so I have no idea what they were trying to do. I think this is part of why it’s hard to get as invested in the characters and their relationships, but it also results in the pacing in general feeling slow because there’s a lot less content of substance essentially.

The combat wasn’t that great, but wasn’t that bad either. There’s very little explanation given to characters powers, but most characters powers are incredibly simple so this isn’t that much of an issue, with the exception being the protagonist Yuu who seems to have a much more complicated power set, which it seems strange that no one really seems to want to question or explore in depth. The powers are also mostly just used for simple plans, but a lot of the fights being about executing plans made in advance made things somewhat interesting. There’s often some scientific explanation accompanying this, but it’s either completely wrong, or the explanation isn’t conveyed properly, though I don’t think anyone expects accurate science from such media so that’s not much of a demerit. And if it wasn’t already obvious, a lot of Nordic mythology related terms and named are used throughout, and I thought that was decently well implemented though whether it’ll go more in depth or just use them superficially remains to be seen.

In terms of art, the art style and designs I thought were pretty solid, but the art and animation quality was a mixed bag. The art used for backgrounds and such was pretty good throughout, but the art and animation used on the characters felt lacking pretty often. There were also some really weird repeated sequences, like shots that were kind of like character transformations where they change into new outfits, but they didn’t actually change clothes and it’s not like they were good as fanservice either so they felt completely pointless. The main enemies, the Dragons, are essentially entirely CG, but felt like they fit in decently enough to not be an issue. The OP has a pretty good song and decent visuals and the ED is decent enough in terms of both audio and visuals. The soundtrack had a lot of noticeably great tracks surprisingly enough, both of the epic and softer type.

Whilst I do agree with the other reviews stating it's general un-originality in terms of plot (both kinds), character design and development as well as overall art style there was at least one area in which I found some intrigue. This is because in most anime of this type the protagonist already has amnesia or just a particularly unremarkable background filled with plot holes and hastily hidden with distraction and plot armour. However, in this anime the main protagonist actually had a decent backstory, we found out when the creature affected him, when it affected his friend, when he decided to fight the dragons and ... further details about his past such as his previous affiliations with various countries and companies, furthermore they didn't make the overwhelming power he got seem as cheap as it otherwise would have, they gave reasons and costs for why he received the power and what would happen to him if he misused it. these aspects aren't usually included in most anime especially ones this short. I find it unfortunate to find that this series hasn't been concluded because whilst it may have been mainstream as hell, it would have been quite interesting to see how the cost of his memories would play out in the long run with his goals and the people around him.