Meeting Date: 10/7/2017
Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!
Mike Ferreira: Hey everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club. I’m Mike Ferreira, and I’m joined by Lydia Rivers and Anthony Simpson
Lydia Rivers: Hiii everyone!
Anthony Simpson: Evening
Lydia Rivers: It’s a brand new day ~
Mike Ferreira: It’s a new day and a new season. Time to wash the stink from Classroom of the Elite off with a promising show
Mike Ferreira: This week, we’re starting off The Ancient Magus’ Bride
Lydia Rivers: It’s absolutely gorgeous. 100 points for art.
Mike Ferreira: Agreed. Mag Garden did beautiful work on the art with this one
Anthony Simpson: It’s a pretty show to look at.
Lydia Rivers: I do like shows that don’t skimp on backgrounds and also pay attention to eyes a lot.
Lydia Rivers: This fits that bill.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. There’s some real money behind this one – the artwork, the backgrounds, even the core animation is just gorgeous
Mike Ferreira: The concept itself was pretty daring, too – it could have easily gone somewhere awful with the setup.
Lydia Rivers: They’re becoming more subtle with crossing over CG look with cell look, and nowhere is it more appreciated than with magical shows.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed.
Mike Ferreira: We’re past those days with the *OBVIOUS CGI RING OF ENERGY* setups, thank god.
Mike Ferreira: Well.. not entirely, but we’re getting there
Anthony Simpson: True. Anime CGI is starting to get really good, well for the most part.
Lydia Rivers: I’m not going to lie though, I went into this series with my jaw clenched and expecting to be angry.
Mike Ferreira: Honestly, this concept could have been another disaster – it opens with the lead putting herself up for auction, for chrissakes
Anthony Simpson: This show wasn’t on my radar initially.
Lydia Rivers: We have a setup of a 15 year old girl, who sold herself into slavery, bought by an old guy, to be a wife…
Anthony Simpson: From what I’m told, the OVAs that were just released going into why she is up for auction.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah… they allude to it in the show, but they don’t explicitly state it in the TV series yet
Lydia Rivers: Regardless, we have a child with even less power than normal being bought by an old powerful wizard, who is also rich. Like…
Mike Ferreira: There were a million places where it could go wrong
I’ll take “Places where this could have gone wrong” for 400, Alex.
Lydia Rivers: And it did go wrong in one place, but I’m generally pleased with the rest, as I could write that off with cultural differences.
Mike Ferreira: Which place would you say?
Anthony Simpson: Personally I could have done with the dude stripper the main girl to tell her to get a bath.
Lydia Rivers: When he brought her home, he stripped her and dumped her into the bathtub. He used the assumption of her ignorance of baths (really?) to sexually harass her. There was a female servant there, so that excuse is stupid, even if it could be considered valid to begin with…
Lydia Rivers: And I know
Anthony Simpson: without.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah, that was kind of fucked up.
Lydia Rivers: I know that the writers just wanted to show how blundering and socially clumsy with care he is, but they did that scene with as much finesse as the character himself possesses…
Lydia Rivers: And I know it was supposed to be a comedic moment because of that…but it was just kind of NOPE.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed – that whole moment felt pretty out-of-place for the rest of the episode. Like “Time to do a double-take, because that is *not* right.”
Lydia Rivers: “I’m going to treat you like a cherished member of society, and my family. Hold still while I ignore your protests and strip you.”
Lydia Rivers: Really, god. ~.~
Anthony Simpson: Now I say this from I’ve seen other say and that the first episode is pretty close to a 1:1 adaptation of the first chapter of the manga so its likely that was part of the manga as well.
Mike Ferreira: “Hold your head up high and respect yourself. Now let me strip you of that dignity I told you to have”
Lydia Rivers: Exactly.
Mike Ferreira: And it’s a friggin’ shame, because it takes away from the rest of the episode, which was charming and very well-done on the whole
Lydia Rivers: And pretty, powerless, innately talented girl meets beastly powerful rich guy who takes care of her and shows her stuff is a trope that is abused a lot.
Lydia Rivers: But yes, exactly, it is attempting to be charming and I think that if the rest of the “humor” in the series doesn’t follow that bath scene, it’ll be good.
Anthony Simpson: Hopefully it won’t
Lydia Rivers: It is always nice to see character development and to meet people who can bring out our potential. As long as they follow that instead of playing up to egos, I’m sure I’ll like it just fine.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed.
Mike Ferreira: There’s a lot to like if they can hit that potential – the world is genuinely interesting, the characters are capable, likable, (seemingly) growing individuals, and really… this show is like cotton candy for the eyes.
Mike Ferreira: Like, I love the idea of this magical society that’s completely in the open for the elite, but hidden from the average individual.
Lydia Rivers: It’s so good! I grew up near woods and the way the Ariels glittered looked just like moonlight shining on dew. And the shafts of moonlight shining through the trees…!
Anthony Simpson: Its one of the most anticipated shows of the season. There is a lot of potential here for a strong series. Plus being a 2 cour series it will have to time to do a good adaption of the source material.
Mike Ferreira: I’m hoping so.
Mike Ferreira: This series had a LOT to live up to in its première. I mean, this is also the horse Crunchyroll tied themselves to this season, with numerous Anime Movie Night showings and a giant global launch at Anime Expo.
Mike Ferreira: They’ve been pushing this show hard.
Anthony Simpson: Yea, it has big shoes to fill.
Mike Ferreira: I’d like to say,a side from that one segment, it’s doing magnificently.
Anthony Simpson: In that vein where I’m also interested to see how the SimulDub for the show turns out.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. Good talent will make or break the dub.
Lydia Rivers: They don’t have to worry about mouth flaps for Magus. That will help a lot with freedom of expression.
Anthony Simpson: True.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. That has to be a big load off for the writers.
Mike Ferreira: And the actor.
Lydia Rivers: I liked how he let her experience things for herself a lot.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. Like the Ariels. He knew they’d try to drag her off.
Lydia Rivers: Instead of like “NO DON’T GO IT’S DANGEROUS I’LL PROTECT U”
Mike Ferreira: It’s more “here’s a necklace (which I’ll use to find you in the deep woods). Go. Have fun with the fairies.”
Mike Ferreira: Not literally, of course, but he didn’t just jump in and play hero.
Lydia Rivers: He actually waited until she solved it herself and then jumped in to guard her back.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah. That alone spoke volumes on how he viewed Chise.
Anthony Simpson: That was a good touch. He could have jump in solved the problem then lets go home.
Lydia Rivers: I wasn’t expecting that from the premise! It was pleasant to watch. I’ll enjoy watching the confidence she builds as a result of this type of management.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. I mean, at the start of the show, she was not a person in a good place. Her eyes showed the weariness of a world that turned its back on her
Mike Ferreira: The dark circles underneath and the little touches in her posture, etc. spoke volumes
Lydia Rivers: She’s obviously not there to set up Magus for displays of his power, which is so nice. >.<
Lydia Rivers: Well, gratuitously anyway…
Anthony Simpson: It would makes sense in regards to how the magic is handled in this world.
Lydia Rivers: I mean story-wise. Often the powerless characters are there as props for the powerful ones.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah… she could have easily been the usual damsel in distress.
Lydia Rivers: So yeah! I’m feeling pretty good about it. The premise is extremely sensitive, tired, and easy to abuse but overall I think it’s a good job.
Mike Ferreira: Likewise. I have a good feeling about this one.
Anthony Simpson: If they went that way and made her a damsel in distress it would have been detrimental to overall product.
Mike Ferreira: Oh god yeah. That’d just invalidate the show as a whole in my eyes
Mike Ferreira: Like… it’d just say “Yep, this doesn’t respect my time as a viewer”
Lydia Rivers: It’d be bland and exhausted as a soggy animal cracker to me.
Mike Ferreira: Amen to that
Mike Ferreira: I think we’d be pulling a mulligan if it did that.
Mike Ferreira: So, any closing thoughts on our new series?
Anthony Simpson: Hopefully it turns out better than Classroom of the Elite turned out to be.
Lydia Rivers: I am looking forward to next week and all the potential character development there.
Mike Ferreira: Agreed. I really want to see where this one goes.
Mike Ferreira: I might hunt down those chibi shorts on Twitter later
Mike Ferreira: Aniwho, that’s all the time we have this week. Thanks for joining everyone, and have a great night!
Lydia Rivers: Bye bye everyone, and stay shiny!
Anthony Simpson: Have a good night.
