Guin Saga
Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: Satelight
Fansub Release Viewed: AniYoshi
Likelihood of US Release: Medium
A mysterious amnesiac clad in a leopard mask becomes the savior of twin heirs to a kingdom in this anime based off of the long-running fantasy novel and manga series.
Episode Summary
Remus and Rinda, royal twins from Parro kingdom, awaken to find their castle under siege. They are rushed to the Tower of Janos, where they can be transported to safety. However, botched coordinates land them in the Forest of Rood, deep in enemy territory. When a group of Mongaul soldiers attack them and capture Remus, Rinda’s actions inadvertently awaken a warrior with a frightening leopard-masked visage. He dispatches the enemies, and then collapses to the ground, muttering the word “Guin,” which Rinda assumes is his name. She sends her brother to fetch some water for their rescuer.
During the night, the group is attacked by ghouls which have possessed the bodies of the dead soldiers. They hold the creatures off by using fire, but when the rain quenches the flames of their torches, they jump into the river to swim to safety. Unfortunately, their rest is short-lived, since a group of enemies are waiting for them when they exit the water.
Thoughts
Well, this is interesting. RPG-based fantasy series are a dime-a-dozen each anime season, but a true, honest-to-goodness low fantasy series? Definitely more of a rarity. And Guin Saga really is a rarity, in that great care seems to have been taken to bring all the elements to life on screen.
To begin with, the visuals are stunning. It’s a bit difficult to describe what sets them apart from other fantasy series, but I get the feeling that the locales have a sense of reality about them, and yet the color palette utilized by the artists brings them to life in a way that seems just out of reach of reality. A place that could have existed in some long-forgotten past, when the world had more magic, but which now only lives on as a visceral longing for magic of the past. The character designs are similarly striking, with the twins possessing an otherworldly beauty that almost makes them seem alien. One might complain that they are almost overly-pretty, but then all evidence seems to suggest that the majority of the characters are kind of pretty anyway. Guin himself is both frightening and majestic, much like the beast he is cursed to resemble.
I should also take a minute (just sit right there...) to note that the music is composed by none other than Nobuo Uematsu, most famous for his contributions to the Final Fantasy series of games until recently. If that fact doesn’t get a few anime fans to perk up and pay more attention, I don't know what will.
The story itself is set up quite simply which seems like it might be a minus, but when it seems like most fantasy series require a lot of exposition and use original terminology to the point where it gets obnoxious, a simple quest-based series is a welcome change. I find it admirable that the entire sequence with the attack on Parro and the transportation of the twins is boiled down to a few short minutes. I feel like in other cases the epic battle might become the focus of a greater portion of the first episode, but here we get to what’s really important — the twins meeting up with Guin. I have to mention that this show seems to avoid one of my pet peeves with series like this, in that there aren’t random injections of wacky humor that spoil the mood. This trait certainly isn’t isolated to fantasy stories, but I can’t tell you how irritating it is to be faced with a serious battle only to want to smack a character for breaking out of the situation and doing something wacky.
I’m not going to lie, there are a few things that bothered me about this episode. First of all, I’m rarely happy with amnesia being used to introduce a character. I feel that it removes a lot of the responsibility from the creators to give reasoning to a character’s actions and emotions. At least in this case it’s not used for moe purposes. I’m certainly not against having a character with a lot of secrets that aren’t revealed right away, but amnesia is such a rare condition in real life that its overuse in various media kind of rubs me the wrong way. Though in this case at least it could be explained by some sort of magical curse rather than just being hit in the head too hard. I also have to voice my undying hatred for Remus, who is a completely useless character. He and his sister are supposedly the two pearls of their kingdom; Rinda who has the power to become a great sorceress, and Remus who is in line to become ruler. I say, Rinda needs to get rid of the dead weight Remus brings to the party, and just become ruler herself, since she is obviously the competent, powerful, and brave one. But that’s just me. And perhaps Remus redeems himself later on (I dearly hope so, because right now he’s about as useful as a stuck turd).
If recent fantasy offerings based on games have left you unsatisfied with their convoluted stories and random doses of inappropriately-timed humor, give this visually striking, more serious offering a try.
Pros
- The artwork and character designs are very pretty
- The series avoids humor that spoils the illusion of the story
- So far, there’s little if any talky exposition
Cons
- Remus is so far a useless and annoying character
- Once again, amnesia is a plot device
