Giant Beasts of Ars
Episodes 1-3
Giant Beasts of Ars gets off to a strong start with just enough personality to grab my attention. These days, the idea is not unusual: enormous animals terrorise the planet, and hunters must slay them. The finest of them are paladins, who defeat the enormous animals with the aid of strong powers. The typical Ars citizen is also at risk from a conquest war that is looming in the distance. A young prototype named Kumi escapes the jail where she was being confined in the middle of this turbulent background and meets Jiro, a quiet and accomplished hunter.
It’s a very conventional start to a series in its genre, but that’s not always a bad thing. I’m interested to see where it leads since, obviously, a good romp usually involves super-powered individuals battling enormous animals. We just have the premise to go on, which is an issue.
The distinctive variation in the formula is our young cleric escapee. Having an escapee on the run in episode one was a bit of a surprise since often, tales in this body of work include evil plots from cunning people or organisations. I had first expected to see more of the monster-hunting action-adventure material, but it only occupies a minor fraction of the premiere in comparison to her trip. The prophesy material was as expected, but the lovely tiny shopkeeper who loved cat puns was a joy. In all honesty, the dialogue’s absurd puns were the genuine high point of the show for me. Since the primary narrative and cast appear to be extremely depressing, I hope we see a lot more of this small pal and/or other amusing secondary characters.
The latest episode of Giant Beasts of Ars was excellent. Although the stakes are still very low and extremely personal, we are becoming more familiar with the people and their reactions to stress.
It really helps that Jiro and Kumi are likeable protagonists. Finding the ideal balance of salt and sweetness may be challenging if there is conflict between the co-leads. I hope Jiro and Kumi maintain this dynamic as the series progresses. They find a wonderful balance between being comedically at odds with one another and showing affection for one another. Myaa is a great third wheel; while her pushing and prodding may be tiresome, her humorous beats more than make up for any possible annoyances.
The graphics were this episode’s true star. The idea of the paladin and cleric fusing together is an interesting one, and the accompanying graphics are rather thrilling. The cruciform slits running through Jiro’s torso when Kumi joins with him look fantastic in his Son Wukong enhanced ability phase, and they are just unsettling enough to seem foreign and unusual. It was a large, crooked, unyielding-looking arcanitech ship, and I also really liked the enormous floating battleship thing. With its enormous top-heavy shape, it seemed like something right out of the Zeon playbook.
The programme hasn’t really gone for the kill, but it hasn’t exactly struck out either. All is OK thus far.
Compared to the other two episodes, this one dragged a little. Although I can respect a narrative’s choice to slow down and allow for character development, I’m not sure I found the information in this article very engaging.
It seems like Jiro is cranky and Kumi is curious sums up the whole show. Although I wish I had felt like I had learnt more about them through all of this, it’s not always a negative thing. The hamlet lacked any suspense or original world-building, and it seemed a touch ho-hum. Meran is a new character for us, although I’m not sure what to make of him just yet. He could become more memorable over time.
I also didn’t get any help from the monster(s). The design lacked a serious amount of energy, and this week’s monsters were wicked elephants. The goal may have been to transform a recognisable creature into something unsettling and alien-looking, but the final product was merely a strangely smooth elephant that resembled a sketch made from memory. In essence, it was simply a huge grey blob, but later on, there was another one with red eyes. To be honest, neither stunning nor scary.
At least more funny lines and excellent Myaa moments are provided, and the episode’s climax teases interesting events. But because this episode was just mediocre, either the narrative has to pick up, or we need to go a little further into the character development.
Giant Beasts of Ars
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
