Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

Talk about anime version of Atelier Escha And Logy Alchemists Of The Dusk Sky. Please do refrain from discussing spoiler-ish contents from the game.

Just watched the first episode, and I loved it. I greatly enjoy this fantastic slice of life feeling the first episode gave. Also, I find the setting to be quite intriguing.

I like both of the main characters. Escha reminds me of Akazi Mizunashi and her outfit is...kind of odd, but I can't put my finger as on why. I do like her tail-like decoration.

Also, Logy. He seems pretty cool, but also very polite and expressive (although his facial expression doesn't change much). I like that.

I am definitely going to keep watching.

Having already played the game, the entire episode left me very unsurprised. This is literally all they could do with the source material. Atelier has always been more about atmosphere than story, so at least they've gotten that down.

Episode 1. In which there are apples.

I like how they make it obvious Clone is an automation of some sort even before we hear her name or see the key attached to her head.

Seeing how her name is spelled, I want to pronounce it the German way, rather than as eska.

It's very obviously a Video Game Fantasy setting.

I gave him a 50/50 chance of either being a cold, arrogant bastard, or a more humble, inexperienced servant. He passed.

I gave her a 50/50 chance of either failing, or producing something odd and innocent. She passed.

So the R&D branch fixes stuff? Is that just an odd translation, or is it just an excuse to have random quests?

Good sign: The character info given was age, height, and blood type; not the three sizes.

"Welcome home. Have you been fired already?" I like her.

And then they farm for ingredients for their quest.

Relaxing fantasy series like this is what I tend to always enjoy. Also a game series I've been wanting to play, but I lack the hardware.

edited 13th Apr '14 12:30:43 PM by AnotherDuck

R&D branch was not a mistranslation (thus Logy's complaint). The justification is that there just isn't much of anything for them to normally do. In the game, there's an optional sidequest involving actual R&D, but otherwise the name is a lie, unless you count their alchemy as R&D.

With no other posts for context, I'm now left wondering what, exactly, you could have said that merited a thump.

But no matter.

All I recall is saying I expected Logy to be edgy as hell but then it's nice he's not, and praising the OP/ED(not sure if it was here or another forum). Pretty sure it wasn't excessively profane either so I'm left fucked with no idea why. Guess I'll just continue following the animu without commenting on later episodes.

Use of the "F" word if I had to guess.

Episode 1:

• Characters are nice. I like Escha's tail accessory.
• I like Clone's voice. You can tell she's a automaton, yet at the same time, she's not fully robotic.
• Delicious Apple Tart, brought to you by alchemy.
• The Unexplored Ruins... Bet it's the final dungeon in the game.

I wish I could get into the game and franchise, but it's unattainable to me... So I'll just keep on watching!

edited 15th Apr '14 7:57:29 PM by Diamite

I have a feeling you won't need to play the game after this. As someone who has played this game before, this is going to be a good one.

Amusing fact about a character coming in the next episode for you non-game players that would normally be a spoiler but isn't due to how it was handled:

The preview implies they're introducing Nio and Wilbell in episode 2. These two are important characters from the previous game in the series, Atelier Ayesha. Except Nio's mere existence here is a spoiler to those who haven't played Atelier Ayesha, since she kinda sorta starts off dead in Ayesha, and this game clearly takes place later.

Yet they don't hesitate to show her in ads for the game or anime.

edited 15th Apr '14 9:11:17 AM by burnpsy

Yeah, this feels really game-like. Like you can almost see where the quests begin and end and some game mechanics and some dialogue that sounds like it's for the benefit of a player.

Compared whatever the Blaz Blue adaptation was trying to do though, this approach at least works.

Episode 1: I haven't played Escha & Logy in particular, but this is pretty much what I expected from an anime adaptation of an Atelier game. They nailed the atmosphere so well... damn I want to play the game.

The next episode is out for those who are following it.

Honestly, this probably better than playing the game. I bet the game consists entirely of silly fetch quests and you get to skip all those.

Not often you get a tail without the ears.

This reminds me of playing Skyrim. Pick stuff, random ruins....

Frigate boss battle next week! here's hoping they use its theme from the game.

Awesome theme I agree. And for more post-game bonus, look at what's given to Linca for rations. 1 quest item, all food consumables and one red medicine. I can certainly recognize all of them.

Also the items Escha was describing while searching for the recipe were in the Arland games, like the flying carpet.

Episode 2. In witch there's a which.

Linca seems interesting. Nice personality, nice looks, nice voice.

"We're alchemists, so anything's possible!" Well, she's certainly optimistic. A little too much, probably, as usual with such protagonists. But also, Video Game world.

Sure, his portion is huge, but hers isn't exactly small either.

Something tells me she's going to need a bigger backpack. Or he will, considering he seems to carry almost everything anyway.

Hints of a Dark and Troubled Past.

Why does the road curve that much? I mean, in a forest or hilly terrain I could see it, but in a flat stony desert?

Most people who introduce themselves as "Great" are anything but. Most.

I almost thought he'd climb up with the pack. Which would be somewhat stupid.

Oh, good thinking, shake the hand of the person doing magic with that very hand. There's no way that won't cause any trouble for anyone.

Escha definitely falls into the category of "surprisingly competent".

The girl on the rock Escha picked up is apparently the same girl in the ED, and has some relation to the ruins in the sky and probably the desertification as well.

The Myth Arc intrigues me.

edited 18th Apr '14 12:38:29 PM by allfictions

Geez, if you're gonna notice that already, why don't I just point out that she was also on the picture book in episode 1?

Err... Depends on what you call a fetch quest. You have to get materials to make items, but you rarely follow standard fetch quest conventions. (Getting the right ingredients is as simple as knowing where to find them and grabbing the, then going back to town.) Whenever the game asks you for certain amounts of an item, they're items you have to make with alchemy, so you don't have to go searching if you have the recipe.

Yep. It's less "fetch quest" and more "gathering materials" and if there's one thing I love in my RPGs it's getting lots of stuff.

I still call those basically fetch quests( go somewhere, get stuff, repeat).

Like I said, it kinda reminded me of Skyrim, which isn't a bad thing.

I like those miner games like Motherload, Glean, and that other obscure, blocky one in 3D I can't remember the name of, where the whole point is to gather materials. Well, and build in the last, but still.

Depending on how it's done in a game, it can be one of the most relaxing bits, I think. And relaxing is definitely a word that applies to this anime.

Since we're talking gameplay, something to note about this game's "fetch quests" if you want to call them that:

You have to think about your plan at least a little. Atelier games, with only a handful of exceptions across the entire series, have a time limit. Going to a field takes a few days at least, gathering materials takes a third of a day per point on the field searched (which rounds up to one if you leave without doing anything else), going back to town costs another few days, making an item can take up to a week later in the game, etc. You typically get three years to reach whatever goal the game set out, so time is important. (Though, to be perfectly honest you'll never run out unless you're really not trying. Escha & Logy is so linear an entry that you have to actively try to fail.)

This sums it up nicely.◊

On the subject of this anime... it seems to be skipping a few early jobs so they can invoke Debut Queue. Not a problem, but I don't know how they intend to get the remaining episode count out of the story.

edited 21st Apr '14 4:42:56 PM by burnpsy