This is my first review and Ill try and keep it short and to the point I stumbled across this anime when I was randomly browsing an anime list to watch as I usually do. I expected not much to come out of it and it would be some random thing I watch a few episodes of when Im bored as usual. To my surprise this genuinely became one of my favourite anime. spoilers ahead The Story The plot as I see it is almost divided into two. And as I see it most people like the first part but dont think that the second part makes sense when put together with the other one. While I can definitely understand this sentiment I dont agree with it. I think that they both play into each other pretty well to produce a coherent overall narrative. The time is out of jointO cursd spite That ever I was born to set it right This is quoted from Hamlet throughout the anime multiple times. It embodies the overarching theme of the show: chaos. This chaos is something that must be resolved so that the world starts to be rational again. So that the time is no more out of joint. Zetsuen No Tempest is a story about getting over your past experiences and traumas. Mahiro and Yoshino must get over the death of Fuwa Aika. This is told parallelly with the story of the conflict between the two trees. In the start it seems that one tree brings harmony and the other chaos but as the show goes on the true nature of the two are revealed along with the reason for them being there in the first place. The mystery of Aikas death and the slow unravelling of the truth kept me interested and I was grasped by it throughout the entire show. This is developed alongside the revealling of the true nature of the two trees the Tree of Exodus and the Tree of Genesis. In the conclusion the two play into each other to create the final story. To finally solve the mysteries and give answers. While I cant speak for the faithfulness to the source material since I have not read it I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the ending. Characters Aika is the character which bridges everything. She bridges the past and the future the tale of her death and the tale of saving the world through her death. She is the single most interesting and captivating throughout the series yet she doesnt even appear by herself much. It always seems like she says so little but the implications are big. Her beautiful character design and voice capture this very well and amplify this portrayal of her. The character development of Mahiro and Yoshino is definitely interesting as well including the dynamic between them. I found them quite memorable. The only other character I found particualrly good is Hakaze and honestly not much can be said about the other side characters. Mahiro overcomes his trauma and the bond between them isnt broken when revealed that Yoshino was Aikas boyfriend. Yoshino however only overcomes his past a bit later in the anime. In this aspect maybe I felt that the 24 episodes werent enough to capture it but also it worked just fine. As another reviewer put it the best way I could describe the character writing of this show is that The characters in this show are written as if they were actors in a play I completely agree with this statement though I dont hold the opinion that this is a bad thing as the other reviewer did. and it fits with its usage of quotations from different plays of Shakespeare. Speaking of which for some reason I saw some reviewers complaining about this but to me this was one of the best parts of the show. In fact even though I am not one to read classical literature or anything this show made me want to read the plays Hamlet and Tempest. Ultimately I was very involved with the characters in this show. Technical Aspects The art style of this is anime is pretty pleasing and the characters look very nice. Ill say that the fight scenes arent anything very impressive but they arent an eyesore either. They get the job done just fine. The same can be said for the audio design not particularly remarkable but works just fine. The animation otherwise is very beautiful and I never felt like anything was cheaped out on. The character design was also something that captivated me. Fuwa Aika left me in love with her beautiful design. The other characters also are very interesting and nothing feels copy pasted like they do in some other anime that Ive watched. The show has its flaws though dont get me wrong it is by no means perfect but it is coherent and good nevertheless. That about concludes my review of this show. Its something that I think everyone should definitely give a watch I can guarantee its something you wont be disappointed by.
90 /100
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