A human should not try to fly.
What They Say:
Simon, who is assigned by the Church to keep an eye on Elias, visits with some business. One of his requests brings Chise and Elias to the ends of the earth, where they meet Elias’ mentor, Lindel, along with an old race on the verge of extinction. An old one, about to return to the earth, spends his last moments sharing a dream with Chise.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As it turns out, that cliffhanger was a little misleading. On the bright side, it means Chise needs no rescuing. After all, there’s nothing to be rescued from. The dragon that grabbed her and the man riding it are not enemies, and once it’s revealed that Elias never really left Chise’s side anyway, we learn that the two of them are friends, at least in the same rival-like sense as Elias has with Simon. What’s amusing is that, while we know that Elias is hundreds of years old, this new character with the appearance of a dashing young man thinks of him as a mere child, as he is in fact much older. In the world of mages, it’s not just the guys with animal skulls for heads who will surprise you. As with the other mystical creatures, dragons can communicate with humans, so they too are introduced as new characters that can share more about this magical new world with Chise, once she overcomes the initial shock of the situation and Elias dries her off a bit after bringing her back to her senses to avoid the end she might’ve met in the water she was thrown into. Okay, maybe that dragon was a bit rougher than he needed to be considering they didn’t mean her true harm, and Lindel probably could’ve tried helping, but he knew Elias was there.
The heart of the episode comes from the dragon elder Nevin, approaching his final moments before returning to the earth and becoming another magnificent tree for this last refuge of his kind. Chise enjoys playing with the fresh hatchlings, but Nevin is a much more fascinating specimen, one that can illuminate a great deal to Chise. He takes a moment to look into her mind and finds some disturbing history. It should come as no surprise that the hardship Chise has faced throughout her life had made her want to put it all to an end, and surely the image of her mother’s final moments painted a death by jumping as the appropriate method. Nevin combines his status as a wise old man with that of a dragon by pointing out that one blessed with life should not think to throw it away so easily, his words crafted to evoke the imagery of a human attempting to fly when they were never meant to. There’s nothing quite like looking into someone’s memory to give a character the right to speak so authoritatively about their life so soon after meeting them.
This leads into a climactic sequence of flying that Nevin is able to share with Chise through a mental connection despite his inability to physically do so on his deathbed. It’s a beautiful scene made all the greater by a wonderful insert song. The “three-episode rule” has become the law of the land for trying new anime series, and what’s more, these three episodes were in fact shown in theaters for months leading up to the show’s premiere. I can definitely see how this would make for a strong ending to that experience, and it’s exciting to think of where Chise’s character will go.
In Summary:
We’ve completed the three episodes Crunchyroll has been using to represent the series as a theatrical unit, and they form a fantastic introduction to the various aspects of this incredible world. There was no great conflict after the first episode, but what we got was far more powerful. In moments, Chise’s character can receive an immense amount of development thanks to some fantastical circumstances and a well-executed presentation. I’m looking forward to every episode.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Roku 3, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.