Story: Nice idea, but astoundingly lazy and uninterested implemented (4/10)
Phantom books, and any episode revolves around a new book is a good idea. It sounds entertaining to mix a little bit of reality with elements of fantasy and mystery. Unfortunately, the mysterious element is created by leaving the viewer in the dark. In addition, the little secrets are not connected, so that one cannot conclude on the final goal in the course of the series. To add insult to injury, the little puzzles, even if based in part on a good idea, do not bring any progress to the story as a whole. Overall, the episodic structure presents itself as a mistake, which manifests itself in particular in the delitarian storytelling and implementation. All in all, the creative crew seems to have had no idea where the story is supposed to go, and therefore the plot cannot arouse a convincing mystical atmosphere.
Character: weak, blunt copies, little background, poor development (3/10)
The story itself already lacks a common thread, and sadly, the characters, who could have been an improvement only make things worse.
Disward, Hugh Anthony (Huey):
He is the male protagonist of the series and initially presents himself as a friendly, reliable gentleman of the Victorian era. He is also his grandfather's heir and is given a country estate with a large library and, as a mysterious plus there is also a little female librarian in a Gothic Lolita costume. At this point, his character becomes lackluster, he doesn't seem surprised at all, and doesn't really want to find out why the little lady with the supernatural abilities was adopted by his grandfather. Well, that's pretty common, isn't it? Unfortunately, this lack of interest does not make his character mysterious, but rather unconvincing and degrades him to a colorless gentleman of the Victorian era.
Danlian:
Her character is an all too obvious allusion to another very popular mystery anime from 2011. She is a small, sophisticated, nifty and energetic Tsundere. But in contrast to the female protagonist in the anime "Gosick", she just seems artificial, not mysterious, but more like a spoiled child trying to get the attention of an uninterested supervisor. In another genre, it could be fun and entertaining, but here it is simply inappropriate and boringly predictable on top of that.
Keynes, Camilla
Camilla is a childhood friend of Hugh and runs a small school. She has a bright, almost playful character and is very fashion conscious, always with the latest trend from America. She has a friendly, polite and open-minded personality. However, it was precisely because of these virtues that I felt her character was out of place in this series. Her really endearing role was shamefully abused for most of the comedy, which also doesn't fit well into a mystery series. The sad result is that the female protagonist, who is not very interesting anyway, unfolds an even more disparaging style, and one inevitably develops sympathy for the actual supporting role, who at times cheekily but charmingly resists the gruff manner.
Shoka no Shoujo:
The girl with the purple hair lives in the Bibliotheca de Dantalian in a dimension that is unfortunately not further explained in more detail. Her character and role are interesting and at the same time the backbone of the story. So it is a catastrophic mistake that the deeper meaning, the who and what she is, remains unclear even at the end of the story. Although a very innocent, tender relationship is constructed between Hugh and her, the potential remains untapped and the story runs almost unnoticed alongside.
Jeremiah, Armand:
He is a military comrade from days at the Norfolk Air Force Base. Hugh was stationed there and Armand's superior officer. Armand is very dependent upon external help and also has the annoying habit of always having problems in tow that mostly concerning women. As if that wasn't bad enough, he also has a particular penchant for exaggerated theatrics and sentimentalism that even women find unattractive. What brings us back to the starting point. He only shows up with problems. He is not a bad person, but still not someone you like to be around.
Kamhout, Hal:
He could be an interesting character in the story, but just like his "companion", he is simply thrown into the narrative with no explanation or background. Actually, that wouldn't be that bad, it happens with many minor characters in many anime. But his character is simply used as a stylistic device for the mystery element. He doesn't get a background story, is not explained, is apathetic, unfriendly and unsympathetic, so that at first he is mistaken for an opponent. It's like a bad novel in which new characters are introduced on the last few pages, just to confuse the reader. This is exactly what happens here, the mysterious has not really worked so far, so let's try a new character. It is cheap, superficial and, on top of that, makes the antagonists look fairly pale. All in all, a potentially great figure was just wasted. Unfortunately, the same also applies to the figure Flamberge.
Visuals: Overall, art and animation are unfortunately below average (4/10)
The art is nice in terms of character designs, though not outstanding, but the Victorian era with figures wearing classic frill dresses or gentleman`s clothing is well implemented. The background art is a hodgepodge. On the one hand, the painted backgrounds are beautiful and detailed, but on the other hand, much of the architecture is simply ugly. Photos of real buildings were filtered and manipulated using image editing software. The aim was to give the backgrounds a mystical charm and the scenery, as a whole a similar atmosphere. Unfortunately, it's cheaply made and doesn't look mystical at all. It would have been better to draw these backgrounds by hand too, maybe in a classic style, e.g. in the style of Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), a representative of dark Impressionism. The backgrounds should not be works of art, but a painted atmosphere with a slightly defused sharpness and the right light and shadow effects could have created a brilliant, mystical atmosphere. Overall, only a below-average visual enjoyment.
Unfortunately, the animation doesn't make the overall picture any better. On the contrary, the movements often appear stiff. One could still say that it should look "British", so it's basically just a homuristic oversubscription of the British ettiquette. This is countered by the fact that the style for magic simply never fits into the scenery. Even worse, it often completely ruins the mystical mood. The mystical ambience is sacrificed to action and tension, which is a pity. It was only in episode 9: "Tasogare no Sho" that the art variant was used sensibly. It should convey that you are in another world. Well, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
Sounds: merely average, reaching midrange only because of the good VA (5/10)
The background music was composed by Yô Tsuji and is relatively unspectacular. None of the musical arrangements has remained in my memory. The only thing that struck me was that I often found the music to be underrepresented. In general, the audio department could have done more to musically accompany and emphasize the moods of the series. The opposite is the case, the series lacked suitable music in many scenes, which was not because no suitable music have been available. The existing, mostly classic-looking arrangements are a nice selection, but are rarely used. Savings in the wrong place.
The opening sequence introduces the main and secondary characters and refers to the series' plot elements. The overall picture would actually be well done and typical for an anime, but even here the whole thing seems half-hearted. The action sequence with the classic vocals, additionally in Latin, unfortunately seems out of place. That's a pity because the music and the idea of having the lyrics sung in Latin really would have had a mystical touch. It doesn't help that I like the song "Cras Numquam Scire", which is sung by the Japanese singer Yucca. The singer from Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture) already has a nice discography. You might already know her beautiful voice for e.g. "The Slightly Chipped Full Moon" from the anime Kuroshitsuji II. The voice of Daisuke, Ono, who does the monologue of Hugh Anthony Disward in the opening, has also a pleasant sound. Unfortunately, image and sound don't really fit together and don't complement each other. It's also a bit of a shame that the beginning of the OP has been cut out. The melody actually starts with a sequence of notes, which sounds nicely, like a nostalgic music box melody.
The ED ist preformed by "maRIONnetTe". The formation was founded by Yoshihito Onda, known as "BANSHEE ALIOUXCE", the bassist of the groups "JUDY AND MARY" and "ZAMZA", to interpret the credits (ED) of the Anime Dantalian no Shouka. The song entitled "Yes, Prisoner" was composed by BANSHEE ALIOUXCE, the lyrics are by Takemoto, Novala and the voice is that of singer A.M.U. Well, an obscure mixture, the British punk rock and Shibuya pop undertone comes from "Judy and Mary" and on the other hand "Zamza" adds the more experimental rock, which also has a strong Gothic-note here. The video is unsettling, and although the lyrics fit well and also have a supposedly deeper meaning, the video of the credits is, as far as I am concerned, more suitable to use the skip button immediately.
Regarding the dubbing actors, it's not surprising that I really enjoyed the performance of Ono, Daisuke. He is already a very experienced seiyū and also has his own radio show. His voice fits well with the character and the intonation is very well hit.
Among the female Seiyū, I liked the voice of Sawashiro Miyuki. She speaks both the role of Dalian and that of Shoka no Shoujo, which is also a nice indication of the connection between the two roles. The voice of Koshimizu, Ami as spokeswoman for the figure of the Flamberge, was also very good. Her interpretation of the role has aptly something slightly rough, but also feminine and lascivious, a really good portrayal of Flamberge's character.
The series demands a sequel, but to be honest, even if there was a second season, I wouldn't watch it. All in all, I think the anime adaptation is just too flawed, so I wouldn't recommend it. If you still want to get into Dantalian no Shoka, I recommend the light novel, mainly because of the better ending. For those who prefer to watch an anime and like the genre, I recommend "ゴシック- Gosick".
As always, thanks for reading.
