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Radiant (Anime) add (All reviews)
Feb 10, 2019
Preliminary (19/21 eps)
Radiant is a solid series that starts to shine during it's main arc. It is a shame that the first volume of the even better french comic was stretched out to the first 10 episodes. A lot of bland filler content makes the beginning of the anime a rather boring and only mildly funny watch - but it's worth it when the real adventure begins at episode 11.

The basic story is that sorceres hunt beings that fall from the sky called the Nemesis. However, it takes depths that other shonen anime with similar premisses do not have: The sorcerers are considered tainted outcasts, barely better than the monsters they hunt. Acceptance, finding one's place in the world and human error are only a fraction of what themes this anime coveres. However, because of the rather slow pacing and it's toning down the intensity of the comic the first 10 episodes just scratch the surface - the real story begins ep 11 with the main arc - and it's good.

The sound and art direction is alright. It's design doesn't stand out too much compared to other shonen - it's strength is definitely the colorful character design and the world design itself. It has a solid magic system and, what I personally always enjoy, a political hierarchy with a couple plot twists here and there.
Other than that the anime has not the best fighting scenes but it's doing enough to make it look interesting and flashy, if not always polished.

Sadly the main character is the most bland of the cast. He has a generic goal and is more on the annoying side at the beginning of the story but as he powers up even he gets more interesting. The rest of the group is totally different and actually has interesting personalities. Friends and foes alike have funny quirks and great designs.
There are a couple characters who are on the grey side, either with political or personal interests. It's a bliss to watch them interact with each other and see layers of depth revealed as backgrounds get explained and the story continues.

The target audience is younger kids but as the story grows it starts to talk about more mature themes as well. The original comic handles this better with a faster pacing and adding more mature jokes that the anime looses for most parts.

However: If you can get past a slow beginning I recommend checking this out. There is always the option to skip the filler (and only watch ep 1-3, maybe 9 and then 11+) but I actually enjoyed the funny parts and the character interactions.
Overall it's a good watch and has a lot more depth than the beginning of the series shows.

At the time I've written this review the anime is not quite at it's end (at ep 19/21) but the main arc is finished. This leaves the last 2 eps with a bit of epilogue filler that won't change this rating.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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