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The story of Escha & Logy is but a simple story centered primarily around the themes of cooperation, ambition, caring for the natural environment and the perils of the unbridled lust for wealth. In fact, such are the themes that deeply pervade the Dusk series in the Atelier franchise of video games.
However, what differentiates this anime adaptation from the video game is that the game focuses more on establishing and developing the setting of the world of Dusk while less so on the individual characters themselves. The characters themselves do have many interesting, heart-warming and heart-felt moments, but they are all ultimately overshadowed by the melancholic bleakness of the seemingly never-ending Age of Dusk which has continued to go on for many millennia.
Which contrasts it with the anime, whereby the story instead places greater emphasis on the characters and how their individual motivations are deeply connected to the aforementioned themes; thus, while the games are a fair bit more complex as it seeks to further elaborate upon the world of Dusk, the anime's story line is more simplified and the core themes of the Dusk series are constantly reinforced via individual plot points that are developed based off the characters for a thematically stronger, more concise narrative. This is true for the tone of the narrative as well, for just as the games are bleaker and much more melancholic and aims to inspire awe at the grandiosity of the ancient alchemic civilization, the anime is much more lighthearted and optimistic in return.
In regards to the overall scripting of the anime, many events and character arcs have been rewritten to a significant extent in order to promote this alternative narrative focus. The anime features many original and altered plot points that are actually creative, well-constructed and cohesive while paying homage to the first 2 games. The anime also features additional lines of dialogue that are exclusive to the anime, as well as integrating many lines that were originally found within the game and reworking some of them to better fit the altered events and character arcs. And while this does lessen the poignancy of several plot points within the game, the anime however manages to compensate for that by ensuring that its new and altered plot points and dialogue are up to par and faithful to the source material.
Very impressive work indeed, I must say.
Narrative, Thematic & Scripting Design/Direction (Rating: 8)
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The visual qualities of the anime adaptation are well-made and many of the artistic designs from the game are faithfully recreated and adapted. This can be found in some of the backgrounds which feature solid watercolor and pastel work. In general, the color scheme of the anime is much lighter and softer than what can be found within the game where it is very deep, rich and vibrant, but this change in color scheme helps to further accentuate the lighthearted tone that the anime adaptation opts for- thus sufficiently differentiating it from the game and providing it a distinct identity.
Animation wise, the show is overall decently-animated with hand drawn and computer-rendered animation being used in tandem. The hand drawn animation is rather decent, however it frequently suffers from characters being off-model when they're portrayed at a distance (especially the details on their faces- eyes specifically), but the computer-rendered animation on the other hand is surprisingly well-made and very well integrated with the aesthetics of the show, wherein it adopts the same color scheme. There's no choppiness in the frame rate of the computer-generated models either which only serves to enhance the seamlessness of the viewing experience- minus the off-model characters.
The particle effects, lighting effects and camera work overall are also well-done, and can be quite impressive at times. The shot composition and editing of the material is very creative in several scenes, but can sometimes be uninspired or sub par during conversational scenes where the characters are mostly static.
Finally, the OP sequence is easily the best animated aspect of the show, what with fluid animation, energetic editing, and stellar camera and effects work. The ED sequence however is slower-paced, focusing on developing a calm, wistful atmosphere when an episode comes to an end.
And therefore based on the points that I brought up, I can unreservedly say that this adaptation is without a doubt, competently produced... Just work on those faces alright? Please?
Visual & Animation Design/Direction (Rating: 7)
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The sound design in the anime adaptation is well-done overall. Sound effects are very varied and adequately depicts the action on screen, in addition to being professionally made. The anime's approach to the soundtrack on the other hand consists of original material that are faithful to the style of music found within the more recent Atelier games, in addition to incorporating a few of the tracks found within them as well.
The voice acting is once again well-done with the voice actors from the game reprising their roles in the anime adaptation. There are simply no complaints in that regard or even to the overall aspect of the sound design, for the standards are high and the quality assured.
Sound Design/Direction (Rating: 8)
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{See P.S.}
Characters Rating: N/A
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To conclude, I would like to express that I personally found this adaptation to be quite enjoyable, and am delighted that it's a creative and well-made alternative retelling of the overall story of the video game. It's just that perhaps due to many constraints, the anime adaptation was just simply unable to greatly expand upon and incorporate both the character-focused and setting-focused narratives into a larger whole. This is disappointing but regardless of such constraints, I can very easily recommend this anime to anyone who's a fan of the Atelier games or even to those who are interested in history and fantasy in general.
Personal Enjoyment/Appreciation (Rating: 6)
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And with that, I shall bid all of you farewell and thank you for reading- till next time then!
(Personal Rating: 6)
(Critical Rating: 7)
P.S.: I have stopped using the 'Characters' dimension as a separate category of analysis in my reviews, as I have found it to be redundant since incorporating discussions on character design as part of the first analytical category.
