So I read Jessi's takedown of Tayutama and then Pete's rejoinder. She thinks it stinks; he's not so sure.

And that got me curious. I downloaded three episodes of it (so far) and watched the first. And my conclusion? I think Jessi is closer to right than Pete.

The voice acting is variable. The hero, Yuuri, has the same voice as Saito in Zero no Tsukaima and at least based on the first episode it's essentially the same character, too, in pretty close to the same situation. (Which is to say that he's been drafted by a magical girl to engage in combat for/with her.)

The voice of the goddess, Mashiro, grates. Not a good choice IMHO. It's her second major role and I predict a short and unremarkable career. Yuuri's father is voiced by Wakamoto Norio, in full-bore ham mode. It works for the character, but it's a pity he can't get serious roles any more. This one is a lot more Onsokumaru than Cell. (I wonder if Onsokumaru was a career wrecker for him?)

(John Vernon had a role like that. Vernon was an excellent actor, with great range, but after he performed as Dean Wormer in Animal House it seems that the only parts he could get required him to cuss like a sailor. At least for a long time. I felt sure his career was over after I saw him doing a role in the classic film "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" in which, again, he had to cuss like a sailor. Considering the sterling production values of that film, I bet he wasn't even paid that much for doing it, especially since he was the only name actor appearing in the film. I think they recruited the entire rest of the cast at the local bowling alley.)

Anyway, I digress. The Ameri character also grates. She's right out of the book of cliches: the childhood friend who secretly loves the hero, and he just thinks of her as a friend. I'm expecting her to become a tsundere any time now.

The animation is variable, but mostly I would rate it as sub-par.

The plot is also right out of the book of cliches -- the moldy part of it, where you have to pry the pages apart because of flooding damage. And then peer through the coffee stains.

Magical spirits are called "Tayutai". Effectively they're kami a la Shinto. 500 years ago one of them helped a priest to seal all the others inside a magical circle made of pieces of wood. She herself was sealed at the same time.

Yuuri, the hero, is the descendant of that priest. The circle has been dug up by construction workers, and the seal broken, and all the kami Tayutai released. But the original goddess was weakened by time, and has had to go through a phoenix death-rebirth cycle to get her power back. That's Mashiro, the doggy girl goddess.

Most of the released buggers are not going to cause trouble, but there are three bad ones who will eventually have to be taken down.

Have you heard anything in there that's new or innovative? I sure haven't. It's all well-trodden paths.

As Jessi said, fox-girls are all the rage now, so we've got the fifth one in the last couple of years. (Unless my count is off.)

So just based on the first episode (which is what Jessi and Pete also were talking about) this series doesn't seem particularly stellar. I have three eps downloaded, and I may watch another. But for the moment this one ranks three snores out of five.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 09:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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