Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis (Genesis) proved to be a solid high fantasy show a few seasons ago. It had that teen atmosphere with a tale that involved demons, angels, humans, and an ultimate all-powerful enemy, yet it also boasted a cunning protagonist, consolidated a stunning visual identity, and had an awesome medieval fantasy design.
Now comes Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul (Virgin Soul), a bigger, longer, and more important sequence of that one. Once again the results are satisfying. This new chapter narrates the events occurring ten years after the sealing of Bahamut and five years after the king of humans, Charioce, stole a secret power from the gods and subjugated all demons, enslaving them in order give the humans a prosperity never seen before.
- Nina
These events unfolds around our new protagonist: Nina. She is a cheerful girl with blood of the dragonfolk, which gives her the ability to turn into a powerful rampaging red dragon. Her power, however, is beyond her control, and it seems to trigger only when she is close to handsome men capable of making her heart race.Yeah...
Favaro was a major hit in Genesis. The carefree man ready for some comedy time was a refresher for sure, but Nina is not exactly the same. The comedy factor being the trigger to her great power is cheesy and although her carefree behavior can be amusing form time to time, it mostly works against the attempt of the show to create scenes of tension and moments of pause and contemplation. She is only decently used when her romance is put in the spotlight, yet with all the gods, demons, and greedy humans around this seems kinda of out of place.It's a bit political too
Nina's cuteness and tomboy behavior is sometimes removed from screen in favor of the tale that links us to the events of Genesis. Jeanne D'Arc (damn name) is imprisoned, Favaro's yet to be seen, Kaisar is commanding the holy knights, and Charioce is a greedy king with a secret agenda that no one seems capable of defeating, even the gods and demons. The first half of the show focus a lot on the demon enslaving along with Azazel trying to stir up a rebellion and kill the king. It's a big improvement of thematic from the previous show considering its more mature take, yet it never manages to build something truly deep and shaking from it. In the end it is all about fighting and unmeasured rebel behavior.And it turns into a romance?
Yeah. Nina ends up making her love interest the major issue of this show in its second half. We still have a lot of great fights, an amazing visual fest of special effects, big enemies fighting, a traditional large-scale finale combat, and so on, but the tale is moved by how Nina and Charioce behave. This has two consequences: the first is a better Nina, one that loses all that cheerful nonsensical behavior in place of a teen girl deeply in love, and the second is a major change of pace, where the big combats and fights give room to a bit more character interaction.So...
Slowing turning a bit more meaningful can be a good thing for Virgin Soul, it makes the setting more enticing than simply your stupid war between humans, demons, and gods, yet it also loses something: impact. Nina is not a good enough lead to take us through this mess by herself, and so having a Romeo x Juliet romance in the middle of a raging war between overpowerful beings takes perhaps the most important identity of the show. It also doesn't help that as the episodes go on some of the dramatic scenes start to feel absurdly bland, emotionless, and sometimes even misplaced, as if the urge to finish things forced to narrative to run through sad scenes in favor of the final action.It is still enticing
Virgin Soul is yet another solid presentation of a medieval fantasy setting. Despite the overly cheerful Nina, the character design is amazing, the colors are serious, the special effects are great, and the overall visual identity of the show is superb. Compared to recent shows this is something completely different, taking us back to past years yet with top-quality animation and coloring. The sound-direction is also a step up from Genesis, mainly because much of the themes and sound-tracks match Nina's presence and weight to show.
Virgin Soul is a must see for medieval fantasy fans. Its protagonist can be far more annoying than tolerable, yet it is a show with a solid foundation and a enjoyable series of events using our everyday elements of angels, demons, and magic. At times it seems deeper and more meaningful than the previous Genesis, yet overall it is a lighter experience with more room for comedy, some bits of romance, and the expected fights and warfare of the medieval genre.
I could say this approach makes Virgin Soul look more like our everyday medieval fantasy shows, which are sadly plagued by annoying comedy and terrible representation of western aspects, but there's a portion of it that still gets it right. The knights, the amazing city, dragons, weapons, and the seriousness of the support cast are still here. Favaro may give room for a female version of his with an even bigger lack of common sense, but the charm is not completely gone.
