Zetsuen no Tempest Episode 1 Thoughts

This was originally posted by me here.

The second anime I will be reviewing this season is Zetsuen no Tempest.  Going into the anime I only knew 2 things; Studio bones is animating it and some plot elements/dialogue sequences play homage to William Shakespeare.  I love Studio Bones and Shakespeare so this should be pretty damn good, right?  The first episode blew me away, it was spectacular and I will get to that but first here is a plot synopsis.

“The point of view begins with Hakaze, a witch who ended up on a deserted island. Changing point of views, we now look at Yoshino and Mahiro. Yoshino and Mahiro were best friends, but one day Mahiro suddenly disappeared. Yoshino assumed that he found a clue to whoever murdered his family. Despite the close bond they had, Yoshino has no idea where Mahiro is. However, one day when Yoshino was putting flowers on Mahiros’ family’s grave, a woman questions Yoshino about Mahiro at gunpoint. According to the woman, Mahiro got involved with some serious issues that will inevitably put the human race in a catastrophic situation, and the Japanese government is desperately looking for Mahiro. Apparently some sort of “magic” is involved. What happened to Mahiro? And who is this Hakaze girl? What does Hakaze have to do with this?” (MyAnimeList)

Studio Bones is one of the best of the best when it comes to anime studios.  Everyone knows them for Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater.  Studio Bones has created countless hits until the most recent years.  Let forget Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean and look at Studio Bones latest three anime; Un-Go, No. 6, and Gosick.  A lot of people have complained about these 3 anime, and said that they don’t live up to what Studio Bones is capable of.  Zetsuen no Tempest has some big shows to fill so lets see if it can make the same impact as Studio Bones greats.

I don’t think I will be able to talk too much about the story at hand.  Zetsuen no Tempest throws a lot at you in the first episode.  There are a bunch of main characters doing their own thing and we are left with the big question, which character is the protagonist of this series.  We have Yoshino who is just your everyday average character; well for now be is just that.  I know there is more to him than what we have seen so far. We also have Mahiro Fuawa, a boy who lives for revenge, his goal is to kill his sister murderer.  I am guessing the story will revolve around him, but I am unsure if it is Mahiro or Yoshino whom will be our true protagonist.  We also have Hakaze Kusaribe, a powerful mage whom for the time being is our fan-service character.  She is stuck on a random island and for now can only communicate with Mahiro.  I hope she doesn’t spend most of the series on the island because I do want to see here in action.

I’m not sure if I am able to put the animation in words.  With the exception of one tiny little moment the animations was as good as any in the business.  One thing that really stuck out was the water.  Sometimes water in anime look crappy, but Zetsuen no Tempests water looked blue, sparling and refreshing, I wanted to go swimming in it.  Studio Bones character design is always excellent and Tempest is no exception. The fight scenes were also very smooth and fluent.  No inconsistences, it was wonderful.

Overall episode 1 of Zetsuen No Tempest was great.  I expect this series to be one of the best of the season.  Tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading!

-Xana