The sequel to last year’s Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya series starts off today. And might leave you seeing double.
What They Say:
Illya (Illyasviel von Einzbern) is a typical young girl attending Homurabara Academy who just happens to have a slight crush on her brother-in-law. Then, one night, a magic wand called Magical Ruby falls from the sky into her bath and tricks her into signing a contract…
Episode 1: “Illya Grow Up!?”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Following last summer’s 10-episode adaptation of Hiroshi Hiroyama’s manga, which is an alternate world spin-off from the Fate universe, we get the sequel series, 2wei (for those wondering what’s up with that, zwei is German for “two”). Animation continues to be handled by Silver Link, though first series director Shin Oonuma moves up to a more supervisory position while Masato Jinbo takes over directing duties.
We start with morning in the von Einzbern house as Shirou goes out the door (and possibly out of the series for a while) and the maids Sella and Liz get things started (well, Sella does…). Miyu Edelfelt, Illya’s friend comes over to get her as the two have class duty, but Illya is still asleep. A slow and gentle start to the second series after the dramatic battles that ended the first. We don’t get the regular opening theme either, instead an instrumental piece plays over the action while the opening credits appear on screen.
While Illya’s school friends plan a trip to the beach, Illya reminisces that it’s only been a month since “that weird stick” came and made her a magical girl and helped her meet Miyu. It seems we’re just going to get some slice-of-life school antics and yuri-flavoring, nothing directly touching upon the big events of the last series.
Or so one is meant to think.
That’s because we have an Ominous Stretch Limo of Ominousness rolling down the streets headed right for our lead pair. Miyu and Illya are grabbed and whisked away, to the surprise and confusion of Tatsuko, Mimi, Nanaki, and Suzuka. Inside the limo, of course, are Rin Tohsaka and Luvia Edelfelt, telling the younger girls that there is work to be done. The work involves injecting ley lines with mana to repair the damage done by all of the fighting that occurred before to gather the Class Cards.
So, we get more bickering between Rin and Luvia. A lethal bog trap that almost kills the pair. And a new transformation sequence for Illya and Miyu. With the aid of lots of computer generated images, the process of injecting mana into one of the damaged areas proceeds, this episode’s big set piece, is accomplished. Of course, don’t think it would all go without incident as trouble erupts. The girls survive, but a strange side effect occurs with Illya. That will be for the next episode to explain.
A slow start to the series, while at the same time feeling a bit rushed. That’s because they may have spent a little too much time playing at school and pandering to certain fetishes before rushing us into a new maelstrom of activity related to the world of magic. The exposition come on like a tidal wave in the second half and it feels like we, the audience, could barely come up for air before the reveal at the end of what’s likely the central focus of the series. Sure, the beginning parts were fun in their way, but that just made the sudden change of pace all the more jolting in the latter part of the episode. Hopefully, that can be smoothed out in later episodes.
As a mystery, the appearance of this sudden twin is potentially intriguing and many of the things that made the first series passable (the amusing bickering of Rin and Luvia; Illya’s cuteness) are still here, though they seem to have largely neutered the comedy routine that the magical sticks had going in the first series.
The animation is capable, though the heavy use of computer generated images was very noticeable during the major set piece, the injection of mana into the damaged ley line focus point. I do not have the same kind of objections that some viewers have to the use of CGI, but when it’s done in such a noticeable way, it does stand out a bit. The music is largely forgettable, as the ending theme just sort of was there while a fanservicey series of images floated by on the screen.
It’s a start, though not an amazing one. If one looks at this as just picking up from where the last series ended and not really as a major beginning point of a separate story, it’s not too bad. But after a long layoff, I would like to have been wowed a bit more.
In Summary:
After a long layoff, the continuing adventures of the alternate-universe Illya begins again. After some carefree times with her school friends, Illya and Miyu and drawn back into the world of magic and the troubles caused by it, as Rin and Luvia need their help in order to repair some of the damage done by the battles required to capture the Class Cards. During the first major repair job, something doesn’t go quite right…and the girls are left with a mystery on their hands. Well, it’s back, but it did not make me stand up and take notice.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard