I had my doubts. Honestly. This anime feels like one of those "tell me it is written by a female author without telling me that it is written by a female author" vibe.
(Picture Source: IMDb thru' Google Image Search)Just a quick synopsis of what this anime is about. The main female protagonist, Charlotte Evans, escaped into a forest from her pursuers where she was rescued by Allen Crawford, the prodigy magician who lives in the mansion in the forest. Not entirely sure how true his backstory about being betrayed really is, but he relates to Charlotte, and also learned that she grew up not knowing the joys of the world which could be seen as a normal thing for many of us. Because of that, Allen was determined to let Charlotte enjoy them, but called them "naughty things".... Yeah... there are lots of misunderstandings in the series because of that term...
(Picture Source: Anime Motivation thru' Google Image Search)First of all, the story was surprisingly good. If you look at the plot, it is honestly quite "meh". But the way that the story flows in the series actually keeps you on your toes. I think what really carries the series is the blossoming romantic relationship between Allen and Charlotte. However, those two are so awkward with each other that they refused to acknowledge the emotion they feel towards each other. It can be quite funny, and also quite painful, to watch.
(Picture Source: CBR thru' Google Image Search)Next, the story started out fine. But it started to get really annoying when the side characters were meddling. While it could be fun to watch them meddle at first, it became rather irritating that the side characters were trying to meddle with the relationship between Allen and Charlotte. To clarify, those side characters weren't trying to pry them apart. On the contrary, they were trying to get them together, just as we see in the series on how their relationship turned into a romantic one.
Their romance, so far, was doing quite well where they both just needed time to figure out their emotions and finally coming together. But the side characters seems to be so impatient to the point that it felt as though they were meddling too much. In the second part of the series, I was practically screaming at the side characters to leave them be.
(Picture Source: Crunchyroll thru' Google Image Search)This is actually one of the major reasons why I rated the series lower than expected.
Thirdly, the lack of prominent male characters in the series. So far, the entire anime only has three key male characters: Allen, the main male protagonist, Harvey Crawford, the current Headmaster of the magician's academy, and Prince Cecil, the alleged main antagonist of the story. However, the Headmaster and the antagonist of the story only appeared in a small part of the series, which makes the show more inclined to be a harem rather than what I believe it is not.
I mean, there were definitely male characters in the show such as the snake guy (I forgot his name), the rock golem guy (I also forgot his name), and the dragon editor (yes, I forgot his name too), and some other background characters who doesn't make much impact in the storyline. For now...
Whether or not those two other male characters, and possibly some of the "background" characters, would play an important role in the series later does not exactly reflect in this current season. Okay, probably Cecil but he only appeared at the beginning and at the end of the entire thing. If, let's say, the next part of the series after the last episode has got something to do with Cecil, I would rather this anime become a 24-episodes series than a 12-episodes. At least, to give some closure and to reiterate that this show, despite how it looks, is not a harem genre.
(Picture Source: AnteikuAnimeReviews on Reddit thru' Google Image Search)And finally, the seiyuu casting... oh my gosh...
First, every other characters' seiyuu casting fits them perfectly. But, man! Allen's seiyuu is just cringe!
I mean, I don't mind deep voice. I feel like deep voice do give the characters a type of mysterious vibe, especially if associated with darkness. But given how Allen's character is, and the theme of this anime?? Why? Why would you give Allen a deep voice?? I'd rather Cecil has the deep voice.
I really hope if they do a season two, PLEASE! Get another seiyuu whose voice is not that deep! I mean, yes, Allen can have the deep voice, but probably when he is angry?? Those few times he was sharing moments with Charlotte, gosh! it is just cringes!
(GIF Source: Sarah Silverman Eww Gif by HULU on Giphy thru' Google Image Search)11.5 out of 14 users liked this review
