I think I'm probably as surprised as anyone else that Shukufuku no Campanella is on my rewatch list now. I  just rewatched the whole thing, and really enjoyed it.

Fact is, they did a good job of scrubbing all the eroge stench out of it. But even more important, they came up with a decent story to replace it all.

So instead of it being about Leicester jumping into bed with everything near by that has tits, it's about a world-wide problem with the flow of magic, and about a magically-animated girl automaton.

One of my heuristics is that a harem show is worth watching in direct proportion to the extent that the guy in the middle gets his act together. And Leicester does have his act together. He isn't pushed around by the women. There aren't any tsunderes. He doesn't make stupid embarassing mistakes. He knows what he is, and he likes himself, and he cares about the people around him. He has a job to do, and he does it well. He really is pretty admirable, and that goes a long way towards making the show work.

On rewatch, the big problem is Ritos Tortilla, and I simply skipped almost every scene she was in. Watching her abuse her sister isn't funny.

There are a lot of things they did right. Carina does have a bit of a tendency towards possessiveness towards Leicester, but they didn't make her angsty. Indeed, no one in the show really comes off as angsty.

And though it clearly is a harem show, they actually deemphasized that aspect of it. Carina is madly in love with Leicester, but it's also evident that he's in love with her. And everyone else knows it. Other women may be attracted to Leicester, but none of them let themselves become serious about him because they know he's taken.

That is nice, too.

The art in the show is wonderful, and the animation generally is very good, and the underlying story of the series really is a lot better than I realized when I watched it for the first time. It's a comfortable show to watch.

The fan service is good, too, but I skipped those scenes on rewatch as well. They weren't what I was rewatching for.

I have no idea when, but I'm sure I'll rewatch it again some time.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 08:51 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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