Jan 31, 2011
"Huh? What? I don't get it" was my reaction to the ending of this confusing, yet enjoyable series. After much speculation, I was able to vaguely understand the ending. What does this mean? It most likely means that I'm stupid, or The Legend of the Legendary Heroes made itself a lot more confusing than it needed to be. I'm leaning towards the latter. However, if you want to be a dick about it, then it'd be the first one. Anyways, besides the uh... intriguing(?) story, I enjoyed this series quite a lot. It just goes to show that you don't really NEED to know
...
what's going on (although it would be helpful) in order to enjoy a series.
One thing that caught my attention was the artwork. In almost every single episode, the visuals were like eye candy. In fact, this was a big reason why I decided to stick with it in the first place. No, there were no crazy 3D effects that popped out at the viewer and gave them a boner. However, the lighting, angles, and its ability to create its own tone and atmosphere were all aspects that are very hard to find in other anime you see today. Why is that? Well, unlike other studios, Zexcs decided that 3D effects were NOT the only way to make the visuals enjoyable. And boy, were they right. Overall, the art was outstanding.
Sound? Hmm...I can't really remember. Oh, right! That's because I tried erasing it from my brain due to its repetitiveness. In some scenes, the music didn't even match the atmosphere. The visuals were on a completely different level while the sound was produced by an elementary school band (no offense to you young'uns). During certain scenes with Ryner and Ferris happily cracking jokes at each other, ominous music would begin playing. Now normally, you'd expect something BAD to happen sometime soon. But in The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, it happened about 50% of the time. This was extremely misleading to me and therefore it ruined the mood that it had so successfully established through its visuals. Boohoo.
Well, I can't say that the characters looked ridiculous, because then I'd be lying to you (except for Sion, he just looked like a woman). But what is it with these people and their wide range of hair colors? Do they dye their hair at a young age or are they from different countries? I have no idea. Apparently, in Roland, you can have blonde, red, white, or brown hair. Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds awesome to me! I'll take the zebra stripes. Hair color aside, the characters were all developed quite well. Each one had a decent backstory, and it was quite a joy to watch. Although, they COULD have had childhoods in which their families WEREN'T completely murdered or in which they were orphans. But I guess I shouldn't complain...too much. One thing that was quite bothersome was the sudden transition to flashbacks. In the middle of a fight, Ryner would have flashbacks and at one point, took up an entire half of an episode. Now, really? In the middle of a fight? What was the opponent doing the ENTIRE time Ryner was spacing out? Drinking tea? Reading the paper? If I were going against a guy with an Alpha Stigma, which apparently allows him to BEAT the living shit out of you, I'd definitely go for any opening. I don't know, that's just me. Anyways, characters were decent and I appreciated the time spent animating these flashbacks.
Did I enjoy this? Hell yeah I did. In fact, It was one of the best anime (in my opinion) in the season. The humor was consistent, and although I have not read the light novel, the story seemed to be faithful to its original. Although I was utterly confused by the story, and completely annoyed by the sound, the breathtaking artwork and the dynamic characters were pluses. Seeing Ferris be able to feel emotions and express deeper feelings for Ryner was a good sight, and seeing Ryner be less of an emo was relieving. If this series were to have a sequel, you bet your pennies (is that even a phrase?) that I'll be watching it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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