The wild ride comes to a close.
So ever since I saw Chaika’s Season 1 end, I saw the rise in number of these fantasy shows that finally decided to move away from highschools. Granted, a lot of them were some harems, I still enjoyed the fact we wouldn’t be see any “student council presidents” and the likes for a bit. Hell, considering what I watched this entire season, I don’t think a single highschool series got in this time. Ain’t that just quaint. Strange to think that this series happens to be one of the most entertaining things I watched this season, and probably this year.
So how in the world did a card game do it? Stay awhile, you may learn something.
The final episode was able to clearly showcase that Martinet was really behind everything. Beelzebub gets killed off pretty quickly and Martinet turns out to be the guy behind this entire thing just because he wants to see everything burn. Kaisar and Favaro get their sexy hair undone and bro it out by revealing that Kaisar had put the antidote on the arrowhead when he shot Favaro an episode back. Favaro and Kaisar feign a fight in front of good ol’ Marty and Favaro cuts off Kaisar’s hand but they screw over Martinet when the bounty bracelet reacts to Martinet’s demon form and captures him. With only one thing left to do, Favaro and Kaisar heads toward Bahamut where both gods and demons unite to inhibit its power. Kaisar helps balance Favaro who stabs Bahamut’s glowing seal with its nail and Favaro loses balance and hovers before Bahamut’s eye where he meets Amira again. Favaro once again has to console his childish companion but they finally share a kiss that he asked for (you know, before they learned she was 5) and Bahamut is sealed once again as Favaro and Kaisar are blown away. God knows how long later, we see that Favaro has survived the fall and that Kaisar has finally restored his family name. Favaro reveals to an unknowing shopkeeper that the hero who slayed Bahamut’s fate is best left a mystery but he’s sure that Bahamut will return again. As Favaro rides away, he is joined by Kaisar who seems to have quit his job as a knight after living his dream for a bit, and the tale of two bros lives on.
Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis came down as my greatest surprise during its run. Based on the apparently popular mobile game of the same name, I had no idea that something based off a cardgame would resemble anything decent. While it games are known for its multitude of female characters, I expected something around the likes of just a regular cash-grab fanservice show. Then I was greeted to the stellar first episode were we are introduced to the principal duo of Favaro and Kaisar and realized that this, is a character driven story. The story in itself is “cookie cutter” in a sense but when was the last time this actually happened?
The series mostly favors Favaro’s point of view so he could technically be called the main character, while everyone else is actually pretty important as well. Favaro’s character greatly entertained me and his behavior towards his companions moreso. Even in his design, Favaro is completely “outward”. He’s a got a sword with a clock at the end of the handle, a hat he never wears, and the noticeable afro. What got me the most is his preparation and foresight when he actually prepared to face a town of zombies with the magic mist and went out of his way to prepare himself and Amira to counteract its effects. Kaisar is extremely straight-laced but his honorable character meshed well with Favaro’s unorthodox style. While Amira was mostly one-sided, she was a literal plot device but she was endearing enough by the end of the series to feel some sympathy for her. Rita on the other hand was extremely enjoyable to watch with her endless amounts of utility in both her zombified form and her knowledge in medicine and tonics.
The supporting cast deserve some mention and that falls upon different categories. The first are the human side characters like Jeanne and Lavalley. Jeanne actually doesn’t end up being too cutesy and this is probably one of the more accurate depictions of her character I’ve seen. Lavalley was a cool supporting character and I was sad to see him in his true light. Bacchus and Hamsa constantly show up as aides for transport but never really showed their strengths until the last stretch when Bacchus goes toe to toe with the corrupt Jeanne and Hamsa shows the ability to fly. On the demon’s side we primarily got Azazel who makes the most prominent appearance and holds the villain title for around half the series. Beelzebub gets the honors but like any powerful being who ends up trusting a shady character to bring them even bigger power under his control, he gets offed. So the main villain role goes to Martinet who I enjoyed mostly because of his voice actor. Other than that, not too many other demons are significant. We got a glimpse of prettyboy Lucifer but he really doesn’t do anything. The postergirl Cerberus shows up too but they gave her a role that was for pure fanservice. Thankfully, she doesn’t show up that much to detract too much attention.
The story itself is rather basic. Amira has the God Key and she is sought out by Angels to prevent Bahamut’s reawakening and a sect of demons who wish to control it. While it first takes the resemblance of an adventure series (and it certainly is), the journey to Helheim becomes cut short when the crew end up in the human capital where they spend a bit of time there before heading off to another destination that actually leads them to Helheim and the crew realize that they got tricked. However, the short adventure between the castle and the endgame only last half an episode so the endgame, for me, started around the castle part. The good thing is, all this preparation led to a satisfying conclusion. The only thing I complain about is that we needed a few more adventure scenes. Bahamut felt so far away and I thought it would take longer for them to make the journey to see Amira’s “mother” but oh well.
Being that it is a character driven show, Shingeki no Bahamut exceeded my expectations in both its visuals and characters. While the plot was a very basic, the different environments the characters journeyed (at least, before the extended time in the castle) were very interesting and reminded me of old adventure series like Slayers. While that sense of adventure somewhat died during the middle parts in the castle, I can’t say that was a bad thing since prepping for the endgame that early really left little to complain about for me. The ending itself was a thing to behold and while it didn’t completely blow me away, the journey was well worth it and I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the ride.
Lair of the Idle 