Grimoire of Zero (Zero kara Hajimeru Mahō no Sho) 2017
I finished this short series definitely thinking that I’d like to see a season 2 (so a certain unresolved plotline could be given some more attention) but I get the feeling Grimoire of Zero wasn’t popular enough for the studio to take the plunge.
Still, it has a nice blend of humour, action and magic, along with an engaging main character in Mercenary, the ‘beastfallen’ half-human/half-tiger searching for answers in a world that mostly wants him dead.
He was the main draw for me, whereas second lead Zero felt a little under-developed in comparison.
While there were some world building niggles for me, a somewhat flat villain, and some pretty odd choices re: Zero and her interactions with Mercenary, the art was great and the bits of character development (especially Holdem) were enough to keep me engaged.
Again, I will say that one thing I wasn’t sure about was the pacing as it seemed geared toward multiple seasons… or, as you must be tired of hearing form me, it seemed paced to lead folks into the manga rather than resolve big issues in these episodes.
Maybe worth a look if you like fantasy/quest/anime.
3 Stars
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