This show is visually stunning. The characters, the magic and the fae were depicted beautifully. The soundtracks are marvelous and the first opening score simply won me over! We also get to know the characters well and towards the end we see them for what they are... flawed beings trying to live and grow in the process.
Yet this show was very forgettable. While rewatching this after two or three years, I could remember almost nothing. It felt like watching a brand new show. Why is that?
The leads do have a quiet personality. The background is English countryside and the matching relaxing atmosphere of the filler episodes could have played a part. All that plus the lack of emotional payoff for the viewers might have given this forgettable quality to the show.
All of this points to the show's biggest weakness: the inability to captivate its audience. The viewers' emotional investment towards the story was minimal. One reason could be the flat affect both the leads showcase which unfortunately transfers to the viewers as well. Their unfeeling nature could be the result of their traumas or personalities. But if the MCs don't care, how can the viewer?
The anime made another whoopsie with the setting and how the world was introduced to us. It took many episodes to get some of the necessary background information. This way of knowing the world bit by bit, if done well, can be extremely satisfying. But here, the viewer had to make up their own conclusions which likely created many misunderstandings for a good portion of the series and affected the viewing pleasure.
In the problematic OG Beauty and the Beast, why was the beastly form which made the prince grow as a person considered a curse? Why was his handsomeness which made him arrogant and shallow considered a blessing?
This anime is an excellent rendition of Beauty and the Beast because instead of a transformation, we have acceptance. Here Elias is accepted by Chise for exactly what he is, bone-head and all.
Is it all good then?
Far from it.
Why did the bride have to be a 15 year old girl? Why was her depression and unhealthy codependency made use of by grown adults? Why does the emotionally abused young girl have to accept and teach the powerful old man? Why is the Beauty still being Stockholmed into loving the Beast?
No matter how the creators rationalize this, it is a deeply unsettling dynamic. Shrek fixed all of this ugliness in 2001! Even if the creators don't want to move forward, atleast try not to go back?
A good story with interesting plot-lines. We get to know the characters quite well. The overarching theme of dealing with trauma and growing slowly was depicted nicely through the characters' lives in the slow-paced English countryside.
This gets a solid 69/100.
I am watching the next season and have high expectations for them. The leads have more to grow and hopefully the next one captures it well.
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