Feb 23, 2022
The world is fun, engaging and simply nice to look at. The time period is pretty vague considering the involvement of magic, but that itself doesn't seem so important.
If I were to have read this series years ago, perhaps I would've given it an 8 or 9. However, there's a few things of note that are a little... Off.
The story is wonderful. I wouldn't say I'm at the edge of my seat, but it's enough for me to want to continue in spite of the other shortcomings.
The art- while gorgeous, has a problem. Size, scale and perspective, particularly for the first enemy are wonky. I
...
wish I could say it was done for the purposes of exaggeration, but even that wouldn't excuse it. It's too severe and jarring for me to excuse it as a dramatic effect. If you aren't paying attention to the panels, you likely won't spot it, but it would be poor judgement to rate the art while not closely observing it.
The characters are the real meat of where my problem lies. The character of Agete displays symptoms of psychopathic behaviour atypical even for a young angsty teenage anime girl. As if it didn't stop there, she also tries to murder the main character indirectly through negligence. Think: dropping your nephew or niece on a shady alley and telling them to make their way home.
There's also the uncomfortable racial angle to view things from. It's probably just me drawing unnecessary parallels, but the whole idea of being "born with magic" in the sense that these girls were writing from when they were young, as opposed to our mc, somehow makes them superior doesn't sit right with me.
The cherry on the cake is that her actions are underplayed and chocked up to banter and laughs. She tells the mc to- in effect- kill herself, and then a couple panels later she's being teased and played with. It's complete tonal wilhiplash and what the author's trying to convey through emotions isn't landing. It seems unfortunate but I doubt she's going to be met with the consequences she deserves.
If you're looking for something unique and anything I've written has resonated with you, skip this. The inability to treat Agete with the seriousness her character warrants seems to be a result of trying to mimick or being influenced by peers in the same genre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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