Dantalian no Shoka – 12 (Finale)

Preseason expectations provide a reference point when judging an anime once the final episode has aired.  It’s a basic way of evaluating an anime, seeing how well it performed over the course of the season compared to how you initially expected it to be.  And from here, we can begin to formulate a grade or score for the anime.  Besides developing an overall opinion, it’s also fun is to see what expectations were right, wrong, and what came as a surprise.  And the purpose of this post will be to examine the latter.  So let’s see what went right, wrong, and surprised for Dantalian no Shoka.

Dantalian no Shoka – 11

Why do many anime wait until the end of the series before showing us episodes like this?  This episode showed important moments in Huey’s past, adding some detail and depth to our protagonist, while also providing a proper introduction and story for the malevolent library Raziel and her partner, the Professor.  Had this been placed earlier in the series, it would’ve improved these characters since this story and these details would be in our minds for most of the series, allowing us to better understand their actions and draw clearer conclusions on their true forms.  But alas, the most appropriate story in the series comes at the end which is a mistake all too common in anime.

Dantalian no Shoka – 10

I could be negative again about this episode of Dantalian no Shoka.  Like the past few, this episode had (surprise!) another uninteresting and meaningless plot, likely the worst yet in the series.  And each episode continues to reiterate the embarrassing absence of a central plot, too, like it wants to be remembered solely for this weakness.  But instead, I want to focus on the positives of this series and revisit what makes this anime enjoyable and watchable.  It’s time to see what’s right in Dantalian no Shoka, rather than being like the series and continuing on what’s wrong (oops, think positive).

Dantalian no Shoka – 9

I always like it when an art style drastically changes like this (and only for an episode, too).  For one thing, it’s amazing to watch an anime series through the eyes of another director/staff and see what they do with the material.  It also enchants you, catching you off-guard and grabbing your attention by providing the same anime but in a completely different and unfamiliar style.  And episodes like this also infuse a bit of vitality, a jolt of energy, or something lively into the series for doing something strange like this.  Not my favorite or best episode in the series but one of the more eye-opening, especially artistically, of the anime.

Steins;Gate – 22, Usagi Drop – 9, Dantalian no Shoka – 8

Back from vacation meaning a full week of anime to catch up on.  And since I’m already days late on all my weekly posts, I’ll borrow a format that has worked so well for tomphile over at Ani-Philes and combine this week’s shows into one post.  Hope you’re enjoying all of these shows as much as I am!

Dantalian no Shoka – 7

My interest in Dantalian no Shoka is disappearing.  While the episodes are still entertaining and have well written dialogue and content, the complete absence of a central story has carefully gnawed away at my fascination and patience with this series leaving me dissatisfied with the series overall.  Like every other anime, it needs a strong backbone to provide the series structure and direction.  But Dantalian no Shoka has no such foundation to base the series off of and this missing piece is a blatant weakness.  Presently, the entire series is a string of random, yet exciting events with no clear progression or development between them.  I am almost reaching the point where I’ll finish each episode and ask myself, “So what?”

Dantalian no Shoka – 6

Well, that was unexpected.

Dantalian no Shoka continues to evade any form of established story in favor of darting between various storylines with minimal overlap.  And with the entire episode lacking our normal heroes, or any character from any previous episode, it seemed like another random episode with no connection to any previous content.  But that might be wrong in the long run.  The sixth episode of Dantalin no Shoka did provide a chance to introduce two other sets of keykeepers and libraries allowing us the chance to discover who will be playing the roles of good, neutral, and evil in perhaps the eventual story of this anime.