Wednesday, March 9, 2016

First impressions: Rokka no Yuusha

Here are my first impressions of Rokka no Yuusha (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers), after watching the first episode: The Strongest Man in the World.

When the Demon God awakes from the depths of darkness, the Goddess of Fate selects six heroes and bequeaths them with the power to save the world. Adlet, a boy who proclaims himself the strongest man in the world, has been selected among "The Heroes of the Six Flowers." However, as the heroes gather, they soon begin to suspect that someone amongst them is an imposter, as this time, there are seven of them.



Visuals

The character design is great! I must admit that what caught my attention, at first, was the design of the characters, especially Nashetania, The Saint of Blades, along with the visuals of this series. The costumes and locations are interesting, and the animation quality is also good. In addition, the fight on the first episode was cool and well choreographed. Furthermore, it features Aztec/Mayan based visuals, and it's great to have another style for a change.


Sound and music

For the voices, I liked them, but they aren't something memorable, at least until now. The same applies to the soundtrack, and I don't know if this is good or bad. Maybe it blended so well that I can't remember it? Anyway, this is something that needs more time to stick. It also has a nice OP/ED, although I usually skip them with the exception of the first episode.

Story

Not something new or unique, but good enough to draw my attention and make me want to watch it.

Characters

The MC is full of himself and overconfident, or he lacks self-esteem and is trying to prove something to himself.  Nashetania (The Saint of Blades) is interesting, but we don't see much of her on this episode.


Episode count

The bad thing is that it's only 12 episodes long. If the show is good, I'll be left wanting more. Also, it's based on a light novel series with 6 volumes already, so there's plenty of plot left for another season.
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 5, 2015 to Sep 20, 2015
Premiered: Summer 2015
Broadcast: Sundays at 02:58 (JST)
Producers: Pony Canyon
Licensors: Ponycan USA
Studios: Passione
Source: Light novel
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Mystery
Duration: 24 min. per ep.
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Overall, this was quite the start for an anime, and I expect to enjoy it.