First Impression – Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan
Sky Wizard’s Academy is not that bad….
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…goodness, but can the industry crank out the imitators? However, there might be a few reasons to think of this show as the cut above the pack….just a few… |
Wizard Buggisters
“I’m in yer sky, wizarding yer bugs”. Done.
We begin with a fairly good cold open as the Sky Wizards, Kanata Age, Yuri, Lloyd, and Chloe are in full flight and fight mode. They’ve got a massive amount of crazy bugs to defeat. They can’t retreat immediately, even with the overwhelming numbers facing them, as the bugs will follow them back home. It looks like it’s time for a hero to step up and make a sacrifice. Kanata heroically covers their retreat; good thing he is voiced by none other than Yoshitsugu “Mr. GAR Harem Master” Matsouka, or else we might have been worried, right? That was a pretty good two minutes to open with as we got exactly what we needed; the job the Sky Wizards are supposed to do, and what the opposition is in the broadest of possible strokes. Big Bugs and Struggling Wizards….good….done….
So, gotcha. Bugs below, Wizards above. Done.
I rather like Mystogan, as I’m a sucker for magical cities, and doubly so for magical floating ones. I hope it’s above the altitude (3000 feet with 6000 people) the big bugs can fly at or it would be in trouble (possible future plot point detected). It seems that not all of this societies’ people are created equal. Some have the capacity for magic, and some don’t. And, as it always the case, there are those with magic that have the moxy to make the grade, and there are those that suck at it badly. We’re gonna deal with the latter portion. Fireteam E106 is composed of the three girls that suck the most.
Rico, Lecty, and Misora. They are the worst….Got it. Done.
Misora Whitale is pretty much a walking trope all by herself. Besides carrying what looks to be a Gun x Sword, she’s the red-headed, tsundere, toast and jam in mouth late for school, quick to dish on the accidental pervert that just so happens to be our male lead; oh it never is “it just so happens, is it?”, character.
…and this stuff just writes itself….
Rico Flamel, has high connections in the Sky Wizards Academy(it’s hinted her sister is the Head Mistress/Commander), the main setting of our opening episode. She has her nose permanently in the air, homework is beneath her, and she is quick to blame her teammates for all of her own failings. She’s the pretender Oujo-sama type; looks to carry a big magic rifle.
She’s a bit in love with herself. And yes, he’s not wearing pants, thanks to the red-head…
Then we have my favorite, the quiet, cute, and clumsy Lecty Eisenach. Not much is known about her as of yet, besides her duel wielding gladius, but during her introduction we do get an interesting facet about life with the big bugs. It seems that when they take the life of a normal person, that person is forgotten by everyone else. The magic users remember everyone. How much of a burden this is, or the details they can develop from it is not yet explored. But since it came during her introduction….?
He winds up in the girl’s restroom…for reasons….
And then we come to our single male lead/hero. For some as yet unknown reason, the rest of the academy regards him as The Traitor. He did “save the day” during the cold open, and that was that. I suppose that will be explored in future episodes, but it’s enough to satisfy us in regards to his outsider status. Team that up with his being part of, having to teach, and leading Fireteam E106 and you have your Fantasy Harem Light Novel Adaptation Bingo Card filled out and ready to turn in…
Winner Winner! Chicken Bug Dinner! You feel him yet? Good. Done.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think this one is going to win any awards for originality any time soon. It is cast from tropes from start to finish, and doesn’t even seem remotely ashamed about it. When you can take into consideration Diomedea’s previous work, it looks like they are joining, in full, the Kadokawa publishing advertisement arm. Not that there is anything wrong with that, a studio has to eat…
But I felt this one, at least by the run of the first episode, went a touch, and just a touch further, than it’s tropey predecessors. It took it’s time and established it’s own pace. Usually these shows are falling all over themselves in exposition statuses. Here, we only know a few interesting facets about the Big Bugs, the school, the characters, and everyone’s raison d’etre. It’s set up, pure and simple, and in contrast to other shows that go tuckus over elbows, it works out to it’s advantage. No facet was overplayed to the point of annoyance; even with the accidental pervert bit, a groaner these days for sure, but at least it didn’t go for the full “don’t spare the ammunition” route that trope usually likes to employ.
So for now, color me intrigued enough to give this a second and third look. It’s not the best show this season, that is for sure…it’s far from the worst. And, if I had to grade it now, I’d place it somewhere between the low bad derp of Fafnir, and the derpy charm of World Break.
So, are they ready to kick ass? You bet. Done.
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I agree that this show decided to go at its own speed. And it was not a bad speed for what it was. It didn’t cram in the exposition, although it probably will next time and ruin everything. It wasn’t as quirky as World Break was, and I didn’t like it as much as that, and it kinda felt like the first Grisaia series.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Until you mentioned it, I didn’t even think Grisaia….and now that you have, I have to squint to see it…Is it behind the rabbit?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Mostly the character designs remind me of Grisaia, plus the outcast nature of the main characters.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
This first episode was *meh* for me. I didn’t hate it; it didn’t grab me.
I actually winced when I saw the “running with toast in the mouth, bumping into the hero who accidently groped her” bit. And did he have to meet all three girls in circumstance that left them thinking he was a pervert? But on reflection I’ve decided to be generous and think that that was Diomedea’s mostly failed attempt at satirizing those tired tropes.
Since I’m a sucker for any show that has magicians in it, I’ll give it another episode or two.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, I will agree. Big Bucket of Meh. In the long run, it was better than a Big Bucket of Blah…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Diomedea should stick to tropes that are their opus mangum: Kojika and Lotte no Omocha. Which we sorely need more of… T_T Though Kancolle was okay…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I eat my words yet again. (*munch*addssauce*munch*munch*)
I did enjoy Mondaiji which they did a good job of.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
…I would say yes to more Lotte. But would prioritize Mondaiji…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Dibs on Shiroyasha! and Pest. 😛
And I found that someone is planning to try to finish the remaining chapters of Lotte.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I agree that it lacks the charm World Break had. Somehow the character execution didn’t work for me. All the characters seemed so lifeless and one-dimensional.
Misora was… moving on, Lecty seemed like a really weak female version of Seiya from Amagi Brilliant Park (and I really liked his character, that scene where he was talking to himself in the mirror killed me). Lecty seems the most interesting of them all, although that isn’t a high hurdle at this time.
After reading your review, I realized I got the episode wrong. I thought the initial fighting scene was in the future, and then we rewound to the past before the battle.
The bugs remind me of a cuter mecha version of the bugs in Terra Formars. Less revolting, although these ones still explode in a bubble of guts instead of exploding like normal like normal mechs. If they had gone the latter, then it would have been like fighting off a machine uprising! That seems a more plausible story than these mecha bugs right now.
Overall, the first episode was slightly above meh. I’ll stick around for a couple of more episodes to see how it pans out.
Bonus: Their uniforms are 100x better than the ones in ShimonetaSekai (too long so here’s a shorter version).
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Rico comes off as just too self absorbed to hold any real interest as of now. No other notes to her character at all.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Haha, yeah, meant Rico. =/
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Damn you spammy, seems like it’s on overdrive the past few days.
On a different note, I’ve been meaning to ask – who does the Metanorn banners? I’ve always noticed they’re always current with the airing shows, and always tastefully done. Very nice work!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s like they have one of these kinds of shows for every season. Most are lackluster and essentially forgettable. Despite the standard fantasy setting and types of characters, Kuusen’s opening was nice and easy-going enough. I felt it was much better than the first episode of Seiken Tsukai no World Break.
The blonde and red head girls are clichéd but I think those levels will be more or less minimal. One thing, though. The delusional brat who professes herself a goddess needs a serious attitude adjustment. I can already see her being a pet peeve until she gets straightened out.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
When the going gets tough, I wonder how much that Goddess talk of hers will come to the fore. Answer? Probably all the talk….