MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH
Still shorter than most RPGs
(Ed's note: Which is why its video game RPG was short...)
Review by: Craig “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Norris
Length: 49 episodes
Genre: Fantasy, drama, magical girl
Watched: All, subbed
Here’s another one of those old-time classics of anime that I put off watching for way too long, simply because I couldn’t clear enough time to watch it all in one mega coffee-swilling, bladder-bursting, eye spasm-inducing marathon. Lucky for you guys, I was able to cash in on some vacation time. So, I finally gathered my Folgers and my portable urinal, raised my Visine high to the heavens, and shouted, “It’s go time!”
Plot synopsis: After a chance encounter at Tokyo Tower during a class trip, Hikaru Shido, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji are transported to the realm of Cephiro, where they learn that they are to become the legendary Magic Knights and save the kingdom from ruin. Standing in their way is the powerful High Priest Zagato, who has imprisoned Emeraude, the princess of Cephiro, whose will holds the world together. It’s up to the Magic Knights to awaken the mythical Rune Gods and stop Zagato before Cephiro crumbles into nothingness. Season two has the girls return to Cephiro to stave off invading countries who seek to claim the Pillar System, which would grant them almost godlike power over Cephiro. However, another evil force arises that does not seek control over the land, but its total annihilation.
Artwork: Let’s just say the visuals are obsolete. The backgrounds especially look particularly rough, recalling to my mind some of the watercolor projects I handed in while I was in grade school. Battle scenes run a wide gamut, from respectable to severely uninspired. Character designs are adequate, but they are definitely showing their age. Even considering that it was created over ten years ago, the artwork comes across as passable at best, only during the few instances where it is not sloppy or just plain horrid.
Music: It’s pretty much a tale of two seasons. The music for the first season was exceedingly bland and uninteresting. Even the opening and closing themes were barely worth remembering. The second season, however, had a much more inspired score, with markedly improved opening and closing songs, couples with well orchestrated in-episode music. However, even the second season’s soundtrack fell well short of excellent, falling somewhere into that gray area between serviceable and very good. Taken as a whole, the soundtrack is fair to midland. Although not technically part of the music, some of the sound effects were horrible. A lot of them were either barely audible or missing altogether. Which is a shame, because there were lots of cool explosions and stuff. I would have loved to hear the sounds of carnage, but I guess that wasn’t what the series was all about.
Characters: I’m not sure what it is about schoolgirls in short skirts, but they sure take to the whole hero thing a lot quicker than most people I’ve ever met. No sooner did Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu plop down in a strange land filled with monsters, when they were told they had to undertake a hazardous, life- threatening journey to become legendary heroes and defeat a ridiculously powerful enemy to restore peace to a land they never even heard of before. And so they did. And there was much rejoicing (...yaaaaay). Hikaru has the greatest sense of justice out of the girls, and believes in helping because she was told that she, Umi and Fuu were the only ones who could save Cephiro. Umi has a rather uptight personality, and only goes along with everything because she wants to defeat Zagato and return to Tokyo. Fuu has a reasonable demeanor, and decides to just go with the flow, realizing that she, along with Hikaru and Umi, are pretty much clueless regarding this new world. As expected, dealing with hardships together causes the bonds of friendship to grow extremely strong between the three. Master Mage Clef is the first person that the three girls meet in their travels, and he is the one who reveals their destiny and puts them on the path to becoming Magic Knights. Then he is promptly turned into stone. But fear not, as he is still able to communicate with the girls through Mokona, who is their small, fuzzy guide that looks like a really fat rabbit and jumps around saying “Puu! Puu!” all the time. Sort of like a severely retarded Pokemon. Presea is the master weapons smith of Cephira, who forges the weapons of the Magic Knights, special swords that only they can use. Ferio is a traveling swordsman who seems to bring mischief and deceit, but nevertheless always lends a helping hand to the Magic Knights (especially Fuu). Zagato is the high priest who once served at Emeraude’s side, but now holds her captive. Now that he’s gone all villain on us, he has his obligatory gaggle of henchmen/ henchwomen. Alcyone is a powerful sorceress that was trained by Clef, but betrayed him in order to serve Zagato. Ascot is a young child who can summon horrific beasts that do his bidding. Caldina is a dancer who is also a skilled (and greedy) illusionist. Lafarga is a former captain of Princess Emeraude’s guard who was brainwashed by Zagato, and now does his bidding. Inouva is an enigmatic sorcerer who is Zagato’s most trusted servant. At the center of everything is Emeraude, the princess whose imprisonment prevents her from praying for the stability of Cephiro. Thus, the very world itself begins to crumble. Season two marks the appearance of Lantis, Zagato’s younger brother, who has returned to Cephiro after many years of traveling. The second season also gives us even more villains, this time from other nations. First is the mechanized nation of Autozam, and its commander, Eagle Vision, who captains the ship NSX along with his first officer Geo and his chief mechanic Zazu. Then, there is the China-like nation of Fahren, led by the young and headstrong princess Aska, who has the most annoying laugh this side of Naga the White Serpent. The third invading nation is Chizeta, which bears resemblance to India, led by the sister princesses Tarta and Tatra. However, the true evil that emerges is Lady Debonair, along with her exceedingly psychotic henchwoman Nova. They want nothing less than death and destruction to just about everyone and everything. Typical super villain stuff, really. As you can see, there are more characters to keep track of than you can shake a sword at, so it might be a good idea to take notes as you go along, just to keep track of who’s who.
Plot: Once again, it’s really a tale of two seasons. The first season seems to not take itself one hundred percent seriously, and often pauses from the sword-slashing and spell-casting for chibified silliness. It even pokes a little fun at itself by repeatedly comparing the plot to the typical storyline in an RPG video game. Not totally unwelcome, mind you, but it can serve to break up the mood a bit. However, the end of season one has some of the best and most well-kept plot twists I have ever seen. Season two has a much more serious tone and a more predictable pace, despite a few twists thrown in here and there. And it is also where all the ultra-complicated love triangles/ trapezoids/ octagons/ rhombi pop up. Because nothing says “I love you” like monsters trying to tear people asunder. However, season two wraps up in a very satisfying conclusion that makes the whole series worthwhile. So, while it can be a bit schizophrenic and cliché at times, it is actually an excellent product, and those 49 episodes will fly by before you know it.
CHICKS!: Okay, maybe they are middle-schoolers, but the appeal of the main protagonists is very apparent and hard to ignore. Hikaru is a very pure-hearted girl who is loyal to her friends. She has expressive red eyes and pink hair cutely braided. Umi is confrontational, but her outward showings of annoyance are usually superficial and don’t reflect her true feelings. She has a lithe figure with blue eyes and long blue hair. Fuu is level-headed and logical, and has short light brown hair with hazel eyes. Plus, she wears glasses and smiles a lot, which alone probably makes her my favorite out of the three. However, if you can’t get past those middle-school uniforms, there are plenty of other chicks to be had. Zagato has a couple of pretty decent-looking henchwomen in the bondage mistress-influenced Alcyone and the exotic, tan-skinned Caldina with the Osaka accent. Presea isn’t too harsh on the eyes, with her kind face and long, flowing blonde hair. However, one can’t help but notice a general uneasiness with her. I bet a good roll in the hay will clear that right up! Season two brings us Nova, who is quite possibly the most adorable little psycho you ever laid eyes on. She has long pink hair, adorable elf ears, and a homicidal streak that makes Ted Bundy look like Al Bundy. So approach with caution (and a very large serrated blade). In my opinion, the real prizes are the Chizetian princesses, Tatra and Tarta, who are voiced by our favorite seiyuu, Kikuko Inoue and Aya Hisakawa, respectively. Inoue pretty much reprises her role as Belldandy in her portrayal of the sweet and easygoing elder sister Tatra. Hisakawa, however, does an about-face from her usual role of meek, shy waif and brings Tarta to life as a confrontational, argumentative firebrand. They pretty much keep each other in check, and their outfits are even skimpy enough to showcase impressive dimensions. While the cast seemed to tip toward the side of bishounen, I was still pleased by the number and quality of chicks offered up.
Overall: This anime helped to prove two of my theories: 1) Tokyo Tower is a virtual lightning rod for supernatural activity, and 2) a good plot and likeable characters can overcome shoddy production values. While the substandard artwork and sound did hold it back, it was the story and the people in it that were most important in deciding the final grade. So, try to fight through the audio and visual unpleasantries and appreciate this anime for what it is: a truly fantastic story.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Excellent story
+ Likable characters
+ 49 episodes pass quickly
- Outdated production values
- Sound problems
Rating: 8/10
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