Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Reign of the Seven Spellblades
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Aaronrules380
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It should be added that not all demihuman that can talk have been given rights. There's a bit from early in volume 1 that was skipped where they explain that only 3 demihuman species have rights in this world (Elves, Dwarves, and Centaurs) and of those 3 Centaur rights are less than two decades old. On the other have, other species like goblins are generally less intelligent but still capable of speech but still don't have rights |
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MFrontier
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Looks like we're slowly unveiling what's up with Oliver with what his protector is implying and his sister/cousin finally showing up.
Poor Katie. She makes some headway with the troll but ends up watching other girls getting close to the guy she's crushing hard on and then gets kidnapped by the Senpai she admired who wants to dissect her and find out that she's...just a genuinely nice and empathetic person. Because something bad always has to happen to Katie. Though it was cute watching Nanao get a kiss from Oliver. Too bad she lost her change to get it reciprocated. Of course there is a Potions class with a high probability of killing students if they're not careful and being taught by a Snape stand-in. Thank goodness Oliver is both knowledgeable and looking out for the well-being of his fellow students. I doubt the rumors about Darius are true (much like Snape having layers) but I still wonder where his interest in Oliver will lead. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone who comes from a family that thinks it's okay to sacrifice your children for the sake of one getting Basilisk powers would think it's okay to commit experiments on living things, demi-human and human, for a perceived greater good. |
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NeverConvex
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The 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' affectations are kind of driving me nuts. That is my deepest thought about this latest episode.
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Leviathonlx1
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Yea not sure why they don't use 'Lord' and 'Lady' given those characters are nobles. |
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Iron Maw
Posts: 492 |
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Old European custom that is still alive certain countries. Yelgland, where Spellblades actually models itself of 19 or 20th century fantasy version England. I don't think any more of an issue than having -san, -kun or cultural prefixes or suffixes. |
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Andrew Cunningham
 Posts: 451 Location: Seattle |
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Chela and Richard Andrews are certainly from old, powerful magic clans with lots of money, but there's no mention of any titles or noble classes. Mr. and Ms. are simply the standard address for anyone you aren't friends with, and unrelated to the individual's status in society. |
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borisdrakoni
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Because the characters aren't really "nobles" in the sense of being a titled class of aristocracy. It's more just a designation applied to individuals born into magic families with a suitably long history. While bloodline and tradition are treated importantly, the magic world also seems to give equal weight to meritocracy, so the usage of the standard Mr./Ms. between characters of various backgrounds is perfectly suitable. Additionally, the honorifics being used here are primarily just to help the audience gauge the sense of distance between the characters, the same as in any other Japanese story. |
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druv
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I think this series might just not be doing what I want. But it keeps being close enough that I want to keep giving it a shot. I just hope they're going to start clarifying some stuff soon.
The demi-human rights thing it feels just got more confused for me with the latest episode. Like brain surgery to give them language? I would guess they already have language, since normal animals have something that can be called language, and trolls, for instance, live in some kind of social structure and wear clothes (though maybe just while enslaved?), which would definitely suggest having their own language. But no one seems to give that as a reason for the experiments being real dumb, but only mention that it's unethical. In general, demi-humans' capabilities and society is just very unclear, and seemingly not only to us but also to a character like Katie, who despite a deep interest in demi-humans' rights don't actually seem to know anything about them (and characters in this show do have knowledge about stuff, compare, for instance, her knowledge about demi-humans and the politics surrounding them, coming from a well-known activist family, to Oliver's level of knowledge about, say, potions, politics in and outside of school, sword fighting, magical beasts, and magical artifacts). |
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2344 |
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re: Mr/Mrs -- I don't mind the use of honorifics to indicate distance. My aversion is much more shallow than that
 I just sort've cringe inwardly every time a character says 'Mr. Andrews' (etc); it sounds utterly goofy. I don't think it's really fair of me on any serious literary level and it isn't meant as a serious critique (the show has tons of other flaws, if I wanted to talk about those); it just uhh kind of piques me on a silly completely personal level.
Not a manga reader, but from what we've seen so far, I kind of expect the series to continue to deliver at most middling execution on what seem like, at the level of a very abstract broad outline, decent ideas (including the demi-human rights one, but there are plenty of examples; e.g., the labyrinth and danger to students issue also often seems quite half-baked if you think about it too much). Also, for it to continue to evoke 'scary' Harry Potter in ways that is kind of tediously familiar. I don't have much hope it will ever become anything more than this, but still think it's pretty lazily watchable and entertaining enough to keep up with, I guess. I mostly think this because this sort of pattern seems very common for anime. Without any real justification, I suspect it is because there's a ton of highly noticeable variation in directorial quality/expertise. |
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Iron Maw
Posts: 492 |
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TBH, as LN reader the comparisons to HP are more obnoxious, but why some people might feel this way in beginning. Don't get me wrong there some warranted ones to made but they are more skin deep than anything else.
No your definitely misunderstanding.There was once an part of the pro-civil rights movement attempted to make it easier for demi-human to gain human rights by raising their intellectual compatibly so they would able to speak and understand human language at least better than they do now. In other words to bring demi-humans up human standards of culture that so populace could accept that they mere beasts like Fafnir. You remember how the conservative folk like Mackley describable the troll as dimwitted, brutish and smelly and couldn't understand why Katie associated with that thing last episode? That is view a lot of mages hold towards demi-humans, primitive species with no culture or real language. That biased human-centric viewis what the mainstream civil-rights groups are fighting against, but some members of faction sought means make demi-human more palpable to the magekind even if ran counter to movement on ethical level. Anime left one tidbit that only 3 races of demi-human with recognized rights, that elves, dwarves and centaurs, the last was 20 years ago. Some believed these races with granted human rights because their life-styles, language close to humans that made them acceptable as non-resources. A part pro-rights faction seized on that theory to make other demi-humans more human-ike. But knowing this isn't necessary to point out the flaws of this path extremists like Milligan trying. But Millgan is largely way she is because justified what her parents did to her as love growing up and she doesn't know how express kindness in a normal way. Classic ends justify the means.
Don't know where you got the idea that Kati doesn't know anything about demi-humans when she literally revealed that she grew up and lived harmoniously with one. Like that and her parents influences is whole basis for interest in demi-humans. She was one who outlined the views of mages relationships with demi-humans. Oliver hasn't shown that he knows more than she does either, he's only spoken about a specific history with pro-right faction that isn't even relevant anymore. That something eh read in a newspaper for all you know. That said while Oliver's plenty knowledge subjects the other characters no little about, but his knowledge about things they do hasn't shown to much better. For example see him and Guy discussing the dragon in the parade in episode 1 like nerds. That been general pattern with him.
Personally seeing what find half-baked anything of things you mentioned. The demi-human issue has been presented pretty solidly and largely in Katie's favor. Its explained the general conflict that exist outside of the school, i.e mages view anything without human rights as resources for their research in advancements in magic but a counterculture has emerged in recent years in opposition to that successful enough to change public opinion and get things like kobold hunts to fall out of favor. Even then has been even some nuanced opposition from characters who aren't conservationists, Guy noted for example said where he lived trolls tended to destroy their farms and attack people while Katie understand but point out that trolls originally owned those lands. Her bit backstory revealed demi-humans are capable living in harmoniously with humans which alongside her parent naturally shaped her advocacy for them. The newest episode put a little winkle on the civil right side display not all activists are aligned in how fight for human rights for demi-humans themselves and want faster results even if is unethical. So while the anime hasn't gotten super deep on it (i mean its only 6 episodes) its presented the issue done so decently enough its allotted time to paint as fairly complex which examines ways on how callous the mage society in Spellblade can be. Similarly I don't see that issues with school and the danger it has unless your trying force standard human morals on society that more hinted at don't put much importance on it. The very first episode introduced Kimberly as school with 20% causality rate coming from school policy have prioritizing freedom and results to build the self-reliance necessary to serve in the pursuit of magic which often paved with the dead, because the risks are worth it. Nobody comes to this academy without knowing this risk and its because in the headmistress words, Kimberly's goals is produce tigers, i.e hardened mages who can accomplish great things with magic. Given what anime shown so far, all the danger comes from the labyrinth which is deliberately unregulated beyond basic patrols to find lost first year students to achieve that goal. Even then beyond Kimberly's walls this cutthroat approach seems to be the norm with Millgan detailing the fact that her parents implanting monster eyes in their children to boost their magic capabilities inspite of high risk of death. It shows Kimberly's high risk high reward policy is entirely acceptable to mage society because that ideology also permeates outside the school to an extent too. I supposed you have actually be interested in show's world-bulding and be willing to engaged with it earnestly to pick up on all these, but things do in fact make sense, at least for society that would let Kimberly exist. You will be learning plenty more how mage culture operates, and you haven't gotten by now then will soon this isn't really like Harry Potter outside a surface level. |
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NeverConvex
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My issue with the demi-human rights issue isn't that it has been presented one-dimensionally, but that it has been presented clumsily. I can feel the blunt points of the author's narrative intent punching me square in the nose each time it attempts to raise some kind of point. There's no natural world-building subtlety to it. i.e., it is directed and executed in a fairly mediocre way; not miserably, exactly -- it is watchable -- but certainly not with any level of art that makes me want to sit up and pay attention carefully, or invest deeply in the characters. Maybe that will change, but I doubt it.
I'm not imposing anything on it; the issue is that I think it is internally inconsistent and poorly explained, not that I think it is framing bad things as good things in an extra-narrative sense. I think that latter thing about other series, but this one seems so deeply focused on its own world that I don't think it has much of anything to say (good or bad, interesting or boring, gross or admirable) about the real world (EDIT: well, maybe there's some broad anti-discrimination point in the demi-human rights stuff, but it's so on-the-nose and generic I cannot imagine investing in it as 'social commentary'). Actually, maybe that's part of the thinnness I'm feeling in the execution, though I hadn't considered that before. As an example of internal inconsistency, why are so many of the students shocked to find out about how dangerous the school is? Society may be willing to bear the cost of some kind of hyper-deadly schooling (though I don't remember the show trying to explain why; maybe some kind of hazy Darwinian culling?), but it beggars belief to suggest that families would send their kids to this school without typically informing their kids of the risks. There's no benefit in that to anyone, as best I can tell, at least not any benefit the world has presented to us. Similarly -- for something undermotivated rather than outright internally inconsistent -- what purpose is there to letting the upper-tier students wander around the labyrinth capturing/murdering/experimenting on lower-tier students? The show tells us this is no big thing at this super-dangerous school, but I don't remember it ever really telling us why it is a normal thing. What purpose does it serve? Evidently the prefect or whatever tries to stop it, so it would seem the school has some interest in doing so. Why is it so hard to stop literal students at their own school from murdering other literal students at their own school, if they actually want to do so? EDIT: also, separately from both of those issues, I find Oliver as a character quite boring. He doesn't seem to have any interesting flaws. He's sort of a do-gooding potato-kun, if you will. Hopefully some of the hinted family fate in store for him creates more interesting challenges; watching him wander around building a harem while being a generally good but deeply vanilla aristocrat-ish bro is definitely more tedious than engaging. |
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
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Also I assume they just toss it all off with "well it happens in The Labyrinth" but it's pretty funny that Oliver and company (no not that one) got thrown into prison cells for starting a non-lethal fight, but apparently nobody will so much as give a warning to the evil corpse guy or the un-birth monster lady.
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Iron Maw
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Clumsily implies that issue has been done confusingly and not straightforward tho. Yeah show has you read behind the lines the but board strikes have been pretty clear without needing have take over narrative as whole. Most importantly feed into the theme of mage sacrificing almost anything in pursuit of advancing their magic. Sure might be on nose, but there nothing wrong with that either. After all these aren't front of conflict between conservationists and pro-rights its their parents are, but it does influence their interaction and tension between other factions in the school. I also find makes Katie a reasonably sympathetic character I can get behind.
I don't know any non-parody series that doesn't take their own world seriously. As I already outlined demi-human stuff is one of conflicts going that paints picture of what kind of magic society this is in general, and it feeds in underlying theme how deep rotten parts of it are, how lives in general treated lightly. Take what almost happened with Oliver & co their first day in labyrinth, they themselves almost got used as by two upperclassmen(Ophelia and Rivermoore) as resources (they actually live in that place too btw), again for sake pursuing their own magic research. Even mages will use other mages as material in their experiments if it produces results. Its something comes up again with Milligan not just what she did with troll, what she plans to do with Katie but even how her own parents used her as guinea. The show is absolutely saying something about its own setting. Its core element, Kimbelry isn't isolated form this, it anything it embodies that ideology.
Its less that their shocked but after incident with the Garuda, that headmistress words from opening ceremony are finally sinking in. Yes obvious that mage society fine with it, hell headmistress said herself when through it is and product of school's teaching methods. Remember the haedmistress speech, she meant every word of what she said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEVQ4OZCGr4
Milligan just created breakthrough with the actualization of raising the intelligence of demi-human for the first time either. Its that allowed troll who consider lesser race to communicate human tongue... by sacrificing countless demi-humans lives through her research for it. A feat like that is worth it to mage society. Whether agree you with that or not relevant, point to understand in result orientated society who have historically not put much weight on ethics this great. That's boarder them at work, mages weight human morality much less than possibilities of magic.
Easy, its for sake advancing magic for betterment of society. Sacrificing classmates are permeated in the labyrinth if you can get away with it. Yes the school has not interest in doing stopping thing because as far they are concerned dangers like push students past their limits and harden them to better mages if they survive. It makes them more willing do anything achieve their own goals. That how labyrinth cuts wheat from cuff. Underneath the saccharine colors that setting is harsh and brutal almost unfairly so. That said Godfrey noted its rare for 4th year students show up on first floor to bother with underclassman since their workshops in the depths. Most clashes in first layer are between 2 and 3 year students. The school does do minimum to keep an eye for first years who get caught in the labyrinth by accident until they advance in years where they handle that environment. First years infact never have step into that place, so coming there is beingdone at there own peril. Basically you may thinking your finding flaws but your actually asking questions the story wants you ask because those issues are too obvious not be on purpose that what makes the setting interesting. Hell almost every 4th student we have seen seems have a screw lose somewhere from being Kimberly so long. If you think being a mage or the society itself somewhat mad then your getting the idea. This why Spellblades is less Harry Potter and more Fate only with the Mage tower being the whole country. To mage in this setting to be amoral. Its like a world built by Zouken Matou.
Well thats your own issue. But I like Oliver because he not potato-kun way that I hate "boring passive characters who needs people tell what to do or can't grasp the obvious which are a more common than his archetype. He straddles the line of competent without being OP or anti-social edgelord who puts airs. He's do-goodier? Cool, I can at least buy someone like that making friends especially with his parchment for looking out people in that of experienced older brother figure. Haven't seen many LN protagonist like that, certainly wouldn't describe Kirito. That fact he hinted at having some agenda that even hidden from audience despite us being in head most of time makes him interesting because we can't even trust everything he says about himself. So find pretty likable enough to follow. Even then none of makes him flawless, afterall a model student wouldn't launch magic in the middle of class in anger and would have handle the issue with Nanao better instead of relying on Chela to lead the discussion and defuse the problem. So think your glossing over too much.
That's exactly it. In fact in ep 2 Garland notes that one of rules of on schoolgrounds that duels are not allow without permission and an instructor present. They are also restricted to upperclassmen in LN and is there serve punishment for breaking them. But in the labyrinth? Go ahead as long as the faculty doesn't know. The school itself has regulations and we never see conflict happen there beyond petty fights. The school could regulate the labyrinth if the wanted to as seen how they handle disobedience on campus but choose deliberately not to do. They leave up to the students to handle their own mess there want do so bad but forces them responsibility for it. There is no other way not to think this isn't by design. |
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2344 |
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I don't like long quote-a-thons; I think they harm readability. But, to reply to a few select things:
By 'clumsily' I meant on-the-nose, not-deftly, bluntly, carelessly, etc. I explained this in my reply, in some detail. You're welcome to believe I said something else entirely, if you'd like, I guess. I disagree that writing a show in a way that can be described as 'on-the-nose' is not a problem. A standard interpretation of that idiom -- and why I used it -- is 'lacking subtlety or nuance'. Subtlety is a good thing; it is a necessary part of convincing me that I am engaged with a world and not just the artificial outline of one. My comment on the show being focused on its own setting very deeply wasn't a criticism, just a note. No, not every show is equally focused on its own world. I see no reason that the headmistress's words should 'finally sink in'. We have been given no reason this school killing 20% of its students would be a secret from its student body, but they are presented as if they're some kind of naive real-world incoming class. It's silly and inauthentic. Milligan's advancements are clearly not considered justification for her methods by the prefect, and the show has made no effort to explain that upper-tier students hunting lower-tier students is some kind of selective or scientific force. I don't doubt you can convince yourself that that's why it's there, but that doesn't make the storytelling forceful or full. No, Oliver being boring is not just my problem. He's been presented with no interesting traits to date. "Cool guy who casts magic and saves everyone while the ladies fall for him" is not an interesting character description. It's an indulgent fantasy. |
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Iron Maw
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-Tbh your criticism about demi-human is all over the place to me isn't and i'm not see much basis for. Yes the show doesn't go super deep with at point it is but does proved enough nuance on issue. I've highlight Guy and Katie disagree over matter due differ experiences with demi-humans in their hometown and he's not exactly shown himself to be conservative on the matter, but supports Katie enough because he respects standing up for her beliefs. Another one is Milligan who herself is pro-rights like Katie but uses questionable means achieve their advocacy rather respecting them fundamentally as their are even if humans can't understand them, which shows not all pro-rights people are righteous folks and in fact can be well-intentioned extremists. Then of course you have conservatists who hold traditional mage views all creatures aren't human resources to be used. There is enough different viewpoints provide naunces about situation. Maybe not best to do this but certainly not the worst and I appreciate wishy-washy on issue unlike Harry Potter. -Why? I've had moment in my life when I was younger when didn't take certain things seriously until reality of it hit and when experience those problems firsthand. We suppsoed to be dealing with humans differing thoughts and experiences in how respond to certain situations. Besides others like Oliver, Chela and Katie very took the danger the school held seriously. -Who says Millgan answers to the prefect tho? Its school who determines whether her breakthrough was worth sacrifices of those demi-humans. They would likely side with her over Godfrey because she used demi-humans whose rights weren't recognized to begin if they got involved and were shown the results. -Well 1) your not everyone. 2) Those aren't his actual traits, its that he's good natured, knowledgeable, sociable, a bit mysterious and slightly more mature than most kids his age. His actions and results are a byproduct of those traits. Which far cry for your average greenhorn shounen lead or an OP Kritio-clone beats everyone effortlessly. Oliver is very tame as competentance goes in this medium. So if this supposed to indulgent than have suspiciously pathetic definition of it. So this just feels like capping. 3) There is no harem, so this make no sense to me. Don't why you took the victory kiss scene seriously when it wasn't playing up any real romantic tension beyond prior established ones (Nano and Katie). For all the talk about nuance you don't seem to get Chela has no romance interest in Oliver, she did what she did to push Katie to kiss him because was she was the one to raise the issue that Oliver wasn't getting any attention for his efforts in the Garuda battle. And his cousin kissing him was just greeting. Its common custom in some European countries. Last edited by Iron Maw on Sun Aug 06, 2023 1:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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