Things continue to escalate in Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3, as we learn a little more about Nanao’s past and the magic used in this show. Let’s get right to it in this review!
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3 Overview
Reign of the Seven Spellblades, or Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru in original Japanese, is an action and fantasy anime set on the backdrop of a magical world that is being produced by anime studio J.C.Staff. The studio is also known for producing and animating popular shows such as Toradora and One Punch Man. This episode is also known as Nanatsuma Episode 3.
The series is based on a light novel written by Bokuto Uno and Ruria Miyuki and is directed by Masato Matsune. He has been behind several smaller-scale productions before this, even directing shows like Megido 72 and Chronos Ruler. Click here to read the review of the previous episode in the series.
– Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru Episode 3 Review does not contain spoilers –
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3 Review- Soldier
There are so many positive things to say about this episode that I am not even going to try doing anything else for this review. If there’s one bit of consistency I’ve noticed in the three episodes that we have seen from this series, it is that a lot happens in any given episode, so much so that it is hard to keep track of everything that happens or how it fits into the larger story the show is trying to tell. Let me elaborate on what I’m saying here with something I noticed and appreciated in Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3.
Read More- Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 Review: The Value of Life
Everything that we saw in the previous episode would suggest that Pete, Michela, and Oliver had been cornered by two people scheming together for nasty purposes. That wasn’t the case here, as the two people seemed to despise each other as much as they did the newbies and spent most of their time using absolutely vile powers to fight each other. That raised more questions than answers about what is going on in these dungeons, but the most important part of this is that this made the characters feel organic and the world a little more dynamic.
Too many times, the story of a show feels like it needs the protagonists or the main characters to function, which is always a sign of a poorly fleshed-out narrative. That’s very much not the case here so far, and I hope it continues to be. We also got some answers about Nanao’s past, and we went a little deeper into her psyche. She still doesn’t make much sense to me because characters with a death wish this early on never do, but the end of the confrontation between all six protagonists was promising. She totally could have just run away with the other three when the bad guys were fighting, though.
Read More- Mushoku Tensei Season 2 Episode 2 Review: The Forest in the Dead of the Night
Katie’s story of loving all magical creatures and believing they all deserve to live free still takes some screen time every episode, and while it is a fair story to tell, it is hard to see where it is going. In this episode, it coincided with the introduction of several new characters into the story, including the Student Body president, his compatriots, and other seniors who seem to be operating on the same wavelength as her. Good to know that the school has some sane people as well, alongside ones who want to lure first years into the catacombs to do God-knows-what to them.
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3 was a fun episode where so much happened that talking about everything is impossible, so I am not going to try. The six characters all got a chance to display some more of their chemistry, which was nice. We learned what “Spellblades” are and how the show’s title relates to them. It was a fun little wrench to throw on things. Overall, this was a great episode at about the same level of quality as last week’s.
Verdict
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 3 got into the show’s lore and showcased the dynamic and cohesive nature of the plot and characters. There is limitless potential for this one.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!
I was a little disappointed with this episode, personally. The pacing for the first part of the series has been all over the place. Admittedly some of that’s because the novels have kind of a weird story structure: I suspect they’re trying to adapt the first three volumes this season, and the problem with that (without giving any spoilers) is that volume 1 is basically a self-contained story, but then there’s a time skip of several months and then volume 2 ends on a cliffhanger that segues straight into volume 3. So, the books don’t lend themselves perfectly to a 12-episode anime season, but they’re making some cuts and changes that I find questionable.
For example, there was a little character moment between Nanao and Oliver in the second Sword Arts class that they left out of this episode (it would have been right before the confrontation with Richard Andrews): Nanao spars with Professor Garland so that he can get a sense for how to modify his curriculum to teach her (because Western mages usually prefer to use short one-handed swords rather than a katana), he kicks her ass up one side of the room and down the other, and Oliver wonders if that made her feel any differently about him, since Garland is clearly a better swordsman than either of them. Nanao replies (possibly overly optimistically but it’s in-character for her) basically that if you’re already in love for realsies with your best girl, then meeting the most incomparably beautiful woman in the world isn’t going to change your feelings for your current lover.
I was kind of surprised that they put Garland’s explanation about spellblades here. I mentioned in my comment on your episode 1 review that in the books, that conversation was in the first sword arts class, corresponding to episode 2. After they didn’t include it I was expecting them to move the explanation to the first time we actually get to see a spellblade (later this season). Although I guess the people in the audience who were wondering why there were “seven spellblades” but only six main characters have their explanation now. 🙂
Thank you very much for your comment. The thing is, both of us are coming from extremely different perspectives. My first view of the series has been through the anime, and I don’t know any other pacing. For me, it has been fine, except for the times when the show tries to do too much in a single episode. Maybe that is because it only has so many episodes to tell the story it wants to tell, but it won’t be fair to judge the show for it now before it has tried telling it.
Also, doesn’t the world believe there are only six spellblades? That is going to be interesting, I think!