Story: Clichéd but with potential, unfortunately both manga and anime leave much of it unused (6/10)
The fragments of an emerald tablet grant various magical abilities and enormous spiritual power. With the arrival of a parallel world called the Red Night, the idyllic town of Ayamegaoka, where a small group of students live and go to school, becomes a nightmarish battlefield. To survive, they must fight for their lives and find an explanation for the phenomenon, hoping to put an end to the nightmare. This sounds exciting, and one wonders why the anime's prologue as well as the episode titles, e.g. "Piros éjszaka" (Red Night), are in Hungarian? In connection with the character descriptions, I will return to this point. Unfortunately, neither the manga nor the anime make use of the full potential that the story has to offer. Surprisingly, though, the manga and anime have different shortcomings. The manga follows the visual novel. Although this is not innovative, it is less confusing thanks to a clearer structure. On the other hand, the reader is initially deprived of essential background information about the characters, so that their motives can only be guessed at. The anime, on the other hand, lacks a red thread running through the story. Furthermore, viewers unfamiliar with the story will be confused by the brutal introduction to the anime, followed by short fillers. Unfortunately, the confusing narration continues throughout the anime. This has a major impact on character development and is also distracting.
Characters: portraits are insufficient, so they remain more or less clichéd (5/10).
All the characters had both potential and backstories, but only the bare minimum is portrayed.
Minase Yuka:
She is the most misunderstood of the characters. In the manga, she is a normal childhood friend who grew up in the same orphanage as Kakeru and his older sister. In the anime, however, Yuka's memories are hidden by an amnesia triggered by a traumatic event at the orphanage. This flashback at the beginning is the brutal introduction to the anime I mentioned above. On top of that, the direction and storytelling turn Yuka into an obsessive yandere in order to increase the tension. This is not pretty, and the only thing it has in common with the manga is the strong attachment to Kakeru, either out of genuine love or a great sense of guilt.
Verard:
The mysterious man appears in Kakeru's dreams. His appearance and name (Verard = Vlad), as well as the fictional country of Drasuvania, suggest a reference to Eastern Europe. The medieval clothing and weapons point to around the 15th century, and the Hungarian language suggests the land of "Transylvania" in the Carpathians, modern-day Romania. The official language at the time was Hungarian, which would explain the language of the prologue and the episode titles. The Middle Ages, power, regency, battles, the Eye of Aeon, what does all this have to do with Kakeru, Verard and the fairy-like girl in the crystal? This question brings us to the central character of the story.
Lisette Vertorre: (the sweet, fragile girl in the giant crystal).
The historical references make her the most interesting character and the heart of the story. Born in the year of our Lord 1195, her destiny was overshadowed by the atrocities of a medieval crusade by the Roman Catholic Church against the Cathars (Albigensian Crusade) from 1209 to 1229. In particular, Episode 10 makes a clear reference to the Occitan city of Béziers that was destroyed in 1209. Verard and the love of his life both look at the burning capital of Drasuvania, whose silhouette resembles the city of Béziers. The resemblance in this scene is undeniable, with Béziers' Gothic Saint-Nazaire cathedral towering over the town's houses, and the Pont Vieux bridge over the tree-lined Orb river. And of course you are right that Béziers was destroyed in 1209, but the fictional King Verard lived from 1428-1459. But the suffering that Lisette went through and that caused her transformation is conveyed very well through the historical references.
Satsuki Kakeru:
At first glance he seems rather unmotivated, and in the anime this is reinforced by reducing him to the shounen trope of "I want to protect". His attempt to develop a little is delayed by introducing another character and comedy. His dreams of a former king are important, but he takes too long to realise that his eye (of Aeon) has secret powers. The name is well chosen because, as a Latin transliteration of the biblical Greek “ὁ αἰών”, it means roughly eternal. The owner possesses all the memories and abilities of all his predecessors, which on the one hand makes it possible to predict enemy attacks. It also explains why a medieval king appears in his dreams.
Teruya Tadashi:
His character is less exaggerated in the manga, he also plays the comedian, but in the anime I found him a bit annoying. However, this is also a reflection of the fact that, in my opinion, this time could have been better used for characterisation or background information.
Hirohara Yukiko:
This adorable and communicative girl is suffering from a multiple personality disorder as a result of a traumatic childhood. A cute accessory helps her to control her personality. Her emotional world and her relationship with Takahisa would be very interesting, but the anime only has a brief touch on this. One little query: if anyone knows what language the her phrase "Faado sehteio frecse en tora" comes from, I'd like to know. Although it also comes from the fictional Drasuvania, it doesn't seem to be Hungarian.
Tajima Takahisa:
Due to the fact that the anime is different, he has to play the role of a school hooligan, rude, a bully, but still a good guy. The role of a cheeky hothead fits a pyromaniac perfectly, even though he is a cliché par excellence.
Kusakabe Misuzu:
The main force of the small group. In the manga, which focuses more on this character, it becomes clear that she is much more feminine than she appears. Unfortunately, in the anime, this comes across as a weakness. When the truth comes out, the rug is literally pulled out from under her.
Explaining the character of Liselotte Werkmeister and the six black knights would be too much and, on the one hand, there should still be some suspense, but they are also very interesting.
Visuals: The manga is graceful (7/10). The anime adaptation cannot reproduce this (4/10).
The manga has the characteristics of a professional manga-ka, with grace and its own charm. The anime, on the other hand, reveals another of its weaknesses in this respect. The character design is simplistic, the animation is sometimes sloppy and the proportions are, shall we say, deliberately obvious. And to add insult to injury: Even if the template suggests fanservice, it needn't have been so crude and direct that, for example, Yuka's skirt is damaged at the very point where it offers a deep insight. The overall visual impression was not helped by using such a generic approach. The fact that a CGI effect stands out as the highlight of the animation surprised me in a positive way. Actually, CGI is not my cup of tea, but I really liked the realisation of the five swords that Misuzu holds in her fingernails with the help of dimensional magic. A very successful visual effect and good computer graphics. Furthermore, these swords have some interesting historical references. There are seven swords in total, if you count Kusakabe-san's two, Onikiri and Kumokiri. At least two of them I would like to discuss. The "Tachibana Dousetsu Raikiri" is a reference to the legendary sword of "Tachibana Dousetsu", a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who owned a famous sword called "Chidori to Raikiri". The "Kannagiri Nagamitsu" refers to "Bizen Nagamitsu", a very famous Japanese sword maker and son of "Bizen Mitsutada", the founder of the Bizen Osafune school.
Sounds: Applies to the anime only (6/10).
The BGM was composed by Sakamoto Shoichiro, Hosoe Shinjii, Shimizu Tatsuya and Kurose Keisuke. The music is not a highlight, but it goes well with the action and does not interfere with the dubbing. A nice piece of music is "Akai Yoru", as it is not played on a piano or a grand piano as is usually the case, but rather on a spinet. Another pretty cool composition that combines organ music and techno pop is "Kou ni Tranarishimono".
The OP "Arrival of Tears" performed by Ayane (Hirata Junko) is great. The animation is typical but not bad and puts you in the right mood.
Asriel's ED "Sequentia" has a similar style and is a good match for the end of the episodes.
The list of voice actors leaves nothing to be desired. I particularly liked the dubbing of Kusakabe Misuzu, spoken by Asakawa Yû (Shikyûetsu Kitsune), whose voice and skills as a seiyû I greatly appreciate. Unfortunately, good actors can only dub what is in the script. This is the anime's other major weakness, the dialogues. It's so clichéd and overdone that it's a shame. Nevertheless, there is one highlight: Faragó András, the narrator, whose prologue at the beginning of each episode has a great appeal.
The manga has its weaknesses, but all in all it is at least entertaining (6/10).
The anime, on the other hand, suffers from serious flaws, especially the poor writing and the rather unpretentious visuals (4/10).
Thank you for reading, and enjoy the Manga.
