Seven Deadly Sins (Anime)
Hello all! Sorry I’ve been personally quiet on the review front, it’s personally been a very busy month! That said, I did manage to get in the much anticipated Season 2 (3?) of Seven Deadly Sins on Netflix.
This is an anime that I started watching some time ago now, watching season 1 shortly after it became available on Netflix. Like with most Anime, the gap between seasons was long, and the way Netflix labels the seasons is…odd. Season 2 on Netflix is more of a trailer for Season 3, which is the real Season 2…not quite as confusing as Final Fantasy titles, but it’s getting there!
So, Seven Deadly Sins, imagine England, but in an alternate reality where high fantasy reigns supreme, and the time of Camelot and Arthur are COMPLETELY different to any previous imaginings of said stories. Heck, their mention in this story is mostly a side arch, and that’s foreshadowed from episode one as one of the Seven Deadly Sins is called Merlin.
We’re given an opening narration to each episode that sets the mood for the kind of world you’re thrown into, but it doesn’t quite prepare you for what you get. With young Princess Elizabeth wondering into a strange tavern that seems to shift where it is, and besieging the help of its lecherous owner, whom reportedly knows the location of the Seven Deadly Sins, the only force capable of saving her kingdom from utmost peril!
Pretty standard sounding story telling right? Well, that’s pretty much where the standard ends, because though the anime does somewhat follow a generic fight anime type arch, what it does differently is develop a set of characters that are deep, each with a complete past of their own, and as the story unfolds, so do their mysteries.
Having now seen all of the episodes available on Netflix, I can see how the series is set out in acts. Season 1 didn’t see the end of the “arch” but merely the conclusion of a specific battle leading up to that point. Season 2/3 build upon the same story, and builds on the conflicts, and the characters that it established so well.
If I haven’t sold you already, let’s talk about the art style. Though a little odd on some of the eyes, it’s actually REALLY well animated, with some of the nicest fight scenes I’ve seen in an anime, giving you a real sense of the power that these characters wield. That coupled with the music, and every fight feels epic, and they do a good job at building suspense without dragging it out.
Full disclosure though, when I call the tavern owner lecherous, he is a down right perv, but he does get swiftly punished for his actions by the other characters, and this perhaps balances it? It’s odd, because I don’t like seeing the behaviour glorified, but there is something about the way they develop the character, and his interactions that make it seem…less bad? It’s the only part of the show that’s made me uncomfortable, and I have thought a long time on it. Fan service is common in Anime, but I feel that modern Anime should really be used to try and teach respectful behaviour towards others.
Ah well, it’s still a great Anime, and I’ve loved watching it, and hopefully you will too! As usual, I leave you with the Opening sequence to season 1 😀
~ Rezal
