Magic schools aren’t in short demand, as Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 1 becomes the latest show to join the genre. However, this one looks like it has got legs. Let’s see how it went in this review!
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 1 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 1.
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.
– Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru Episode 1 Review does not contain spoilers –
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 1 Review- Ceremony
First episodes are obviously not the best way to judge a show, for 22 minutes is not enough to form an opinion on most shows. You can tell if a show is really good or really bad, but all the ones besides the extreme ends of the spectrum take a little longer. The same goes for this show, which spent the entirety of its runtime trying to establish an identity while not being too similar to shows that have come before it. I’d say it was pretty successful in doing that, and it gets a lot of brownie points just for trying it in the first place.
Read More- Oshi No Ko Episode 11 Review: An Exciting Finale
We are introduced to a world that is frankly more realistic than most other magical school-based shows (or billion-dollar franchises). In most other shows, children get thrown into the absolute most dangerous situations where it is a miracle they come out alive, and the plot still expects us to believe the setting is anywhere near a normal school. No such illusion is maintained in Seven Spellblades, as the headmistress herself says something to the tune of “20% of you are going to die, and we are okay with that”. It is refreshing to hear a show be blunt about this trope for once.
The most interesting parts of the show so far have been its characters, or the seven spellblades as they will probably come to be known. The main character feels like anything but, as Oliver has more side character energy coming from him than most side characters in the show. He hasn’t revealed any of his personality traits yet, but he appears to be a kind and friendly guy who is out to have fun and learn some magic. Being generic does have a few perks, I guess.
Read More- Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Review: The Final Adventure
On the completely opposite end, the main female character, Nanao, is the most interesting in the show, and the more the show focuses on her as its canvas, the stories that are going to come out will be the best Reign of the Seven Spellblades can offer. You don’t often see a robe-wearing, sword-holding, scarred-to-the-bone, card-carrying member of a samurai family in a magical setting set in the British Isles, but when you do, you pay attention to her. This counts double if she seems to be the only person worthy of the attention so far.
The production quality of the show was also surprisingly high, as the Sakura-infused aesthetic was quite pleasant to the eyes and made the setting look not as dangerous as we would know it to be. However, that then led to a troll stomping a dog to death with the same Sakura aesthetic over those frames, and things became a little uncomfortable, but not too much. The worldbuilding so far has shown a lot of potential, and the show has kept the cards pretty close to its chest. It was only the first episode, so there’s plenty of time to find out who gets stomped to death in the later episodes!
Verdict
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 1 was a fine start to the show, which did a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions well. While it doesn’t have much personality yet, it is well on its way to crafting one.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!
One minor clarification. The “seven spellblades” are not the six main characters: their proper name is the “Sword Roses” (probably won’t be coined in the anime until around episode 8).
A “spellblade” in the lore of the series is a sword art technique executed within the “one-step, one-spell” distance that can neither be dodged nor blocked. The second episode skipped over Luther Garland’s explanation, I suspect in the interest of pacing.
Ah, I thought they were a power ranger kind of thing where six of the spellblades would go to the six protagonists, and there would be one rogue spellblade that would go to the villains. I did notice the explanation in the second episode!
Yeah, this series does not have the most indicative title lol.