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
