A challenge has been made in Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4, which sees Oliver and Nanao go up against Mr Andres. Let’s see who wins the duel in this review!
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4 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 4.
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 4 Review does not contain spoilers –
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4 Review- Colosseum
The show is leaning harder into the “save all magical creatures” bit than anyone would have anticipated. In a subtle way, that was also what the plotline of this whole episode was centred around. While it may have started with Katie getting ridiculed for trying to get through to the troll and get him some food, it continued from there to become an episode where the creatures actually fight back against their captors and reign chaos upon the world in a manner that feels deserved by the humans.
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Now, kids can be horrible, mean, and nasty to each other, and it was portrayed well in this episode. Katie was being bullied just for having a kinder heart than most, and if Oliver hadn’t stepped up when he did, she could have faced something far harsher than some cutting words. The relationship dynamic in this group is developing nicely, and now you expect them to all be there for each other. There was another instance of this happening in the same episode, but that would constitute many more spoilers than this one.
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4 also featured a trope that is unfortunately far too common in media, essential at some times but not in most. I am, of course, talking about the good-old bait and switch. This is when shows offer you something on the platter, then take it away for no good reason and serve something else entirely. What this episode offered as a replacement wasn’t bad at all, and it was quite fun to experience in its own right, not to mention absolutely brutal in some aspects, but that wasn’t what the show told us was going to happen.
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This show is doing its best not to be very predictable and have too many tropes but inevitably falls into some of them despite trying. Another example- the said “duel” comes to pass, arranged by Mr Andrews, and is about an activity that most sane people would think is cowardly, unnecessary, and cruel. Something then occurs that would put a stop to this and fatally injure several students, and the protagonists only act up when the guy who set it all up, Andrews, is in danger. Why save him and not the others when he caused this mess to begin with?
He is also forgiven for doing too little and is given too many chances. If he doesn’t turn out to be a major character after all this, this entire thing would be a huge waste. Other than this, Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4 featured a fantastically animated fight scene that featured a surprising number of angles and moving shots than you would anticipate. All that made it a very fun experience to go through, even if it didn’t mean very good things for the show’s plot in the future.
Verdict
Reign of the Seven Spellblades Episode 4 had some missteps, but it was overall a very solid and entertaining episode that featured some great animation and action.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!
“Something then occurs that would put a stop to this and fatally injure several students, and the protagonists only act up when the guy who set it all up, Andrews, is in danger. Why save him and not the others when he caused this mess to begin with?”
Yeah, you missed a little bit here.
Dueling is largely considered the proper way to resolve student disputes (brawling in the classroom, not so much lol), but upperclassmen are expected to referee and keep things from getting out of hand, rather like Godfrey and Whitrow stopped the duel between Rivermoore and Salvadori last episode. And they were doing that: the students with green jackets are second-years.
In other words, it wasn’t actually Oliver and Nanao’s duty to protect ANYONE there, the second-years should have been doing that. But “somebody” interfered. Oliver and Nanao threw down because after the second-years all got taken out, there wasn’t any other choice. It was just narrative convenience that Andrews would have been next after the second-years.
I get it now. Thanks for the explanation. I must have missed it when the show explained that the green shirts were second-years and all the other stuff you mentioned. I just saw those guys getting slaughtered and thought, “Why, that’s convenient”!