"Beast Tamer"
Wow. After watching this show my first reaction was relief. As the credits roll on the 13th episode I found myself surprised after letting out a good sigh and finally relieving the unnoticed stiff shoulders and lousy position I had while watching the show. It is quite peculiar though as I consider myself one of the most avid enjoyers of the "MC-Gets-Cheat-Sheet-To-Becoming-Strongest" story formulas and I admit to the instances where we find ourselves 'self-inserting' in some cases whenever a certain "scene" goes the way it was supposed to be - or better, in this case.
But why? Why is it that somehow with the passable visuals, arguably-good choice of voice actors/actresses, actually nice music and somewhat a plausible and workable storyline, is it that I am profoundly unimpressed yet satisfied with this mediocre "Overpowered MC + Harem" show?
Shall we try to break it down?
Story: 5/10
The story in itself isn't entirely terrible, it is a new attempt - for one of which deserves an applause - unto once again the "Hero, the party, the allies, the plot twist, and of course -- The Demon Lord" While it is a new attempt on what is already considered to be a overjuiced genre deconstruction trope it still is a new approach towards what is considered good, bad, just and evil. On how can someone who was supposed to be pursuing the path of righetousness, nobility and justice become someone that becomes the very antonym of his very own trademarked insignia.
As far as the premise of the story goes it actually hit the nail, but as to how it delivered it in general? Yeah, I know. It sucked. The only thing that worked for me in here is how the story was slowly portraying on how much the Hero's party actually despises their ex-scout and recon member - that of which whom they kicked, please remember that as it will be showed a lot in this show - and it just conveniently grows throughout the series.
In summary, the story's premise looked nice and that's why it's still a passable thing for me but it is the only thing that is holding that score of 5 alone. The rest of the show was never carried by anything else, everything was convenient incluiding the evergrowing rage that the hero has for his former teammate. If we were to notice the story's progression by itself though you'd see that we were all just going in a wide straight line that was supposed to be "cool and exciting" as it gave us another trope where with the convenient casting of characters, majority of them would be women-- and in that case, let's make them become "r*p*able and ab*s*ble! if ever the MC messes up!
Seriously, if the show just stuck to the part where there is tension between the two of them but no convenient character development twists then I think it'd actually be passable on its own.
Character: 3/10
There is no actual backstory to any character and everyone involved in that show is if anything else, they were simply just plot conveniences; personified and animated. Look at it this way dear reader, asides from the kidnapping of Luna what else did they possibly have that was supposed to move the hearts of the viewers and see them more asides from the generic flat-loli-cutie-patooties with personalities that conviently match their name, do you recall of one? Their convenience to the story only shows up later in the show where it is revealed that they possess the power to multiply one's incantation abilities -- mind you, as if our MC Reid wasn't doing that already! Reid already showcased this prowess by taming more than 1 beast whenever he needs it! But sure, for the sake of plot convenience let's let that one slide. But asides from that even Reid has trouble knowing the worth of the two fairies he formed a contract with. And Tania being the Deus Ex Machina of tropes that is the convenient "onee-tsun-kuu-dere" being the strong type that also wants to be pampered but also wants to be strong but also wants to be proud but also wants to be inlove -- I mean seriously man how many cliches do you want to write into this thing?
The design is cute though this rating belongs to the art segment of this review. As for the actual characters in itself there is barely anything, but it is to be understood since this after all wasn't really a show that was meant to be deep nor intriguing; if anything I'm starting to believe that after the string of coincidences that arise from each character, this might simply be another way to profit some extra income by appealing to the things that can trigger every enjoyer and whatnot.
Art: 6/10
The art is as best as it gets in this show. I like the repetitive designs of the characters and their colours. I am particualarly biased about Reid and the Twins' designs and colors as they make me feel like I should've designed them all myself. The show also utilized a bunch of different chibi and expression cards that they made for the characters but didn't go Jojo on them. Kind of like Blend S in that case?
The simple design of the characters and how it portrays a burning city, a a burnt city and a post-war city. everything else was just a good "eh" at best but those ones latter really did well to complement a story telling, It fit the event that was happening and it didn't do much to complicate the scenes shown.
Overall: 5
Like how my scores are for this show it is without a doubt, conveniently balanced.
Kidding aside, it is not a show I'd like to recommend to people though personally would recommend to those that are looking for a show to simply pass the time. It also isn't particularly a show where people will have a fun time watching as I literally almost wanted to punch my TV after seeing the cliches and conveniences but admittedly it is also kind of refreshing to see a show look so expensive yet deliver so cheap.
For an honest tl;dr on this:
If you want to watch this show but you also want it to be a bit more interesting compared to this -- take my advice, just watch "Redo of Healer" I think that would be at least a bit more "spicy" compared to the constant threats of slavery and NTRism.
