Madan no Ou to Vanadis

Are unmanned horses supposed to be that easy to control?

I felt the same way about how stabbed hand got away.

Well, in that case, it's a herd, and herds tend to group up relatively smoothly.

The action was a tad on the dull side.

Oh look it's the potato.. I mean Ludmila.

Boobs galore.

Pretty boring episode, but I guess that happens when you clean up one part of an arc and start another. Next one should be better.

Episode 4. In which a rival appears.

She's making that into a routine. How... nice of her.

Kind of odd to see her among people who're not all subordinate to her. And she's not quite as smooth then.

I find that stating she was merely hired is understating it a fair bit, and not really making it better for her position. And all in all, the scene feels rather stiff and unnatural.

Because boob size means everything. Especially if you're above ridiculous size. And especially to someone who for once wouldn't look twice as good with half as much. Allow me to roll my eyes.

They like those down-panning shots while narrating what's happening in the world.

Momentum of flying bodies? No such thing.

Yeah, have to introduce her powers.

Not even a mention of the position of the wound. Or his hand. Well, they can save that for the next episode if necessary. Still unusual to actually think about what's practical first.

Yeah, not terribly interesting episode, relatively speaking. But probably necessary.

This series takes the boob-angst to ludicrous levels: As well as boob-size.

Also, was kind ofsurprised the boob-pison sucknig didn't even get a mention or harem antic blushing. Neat.

More indepth since Im not so tired:

They kind of missed wthe point of the audience scene hich was that King didn't really care she got involved in Burne internal affairs but rather just wanted to see how much he can get out of it. The scolding was a farce since any "punishment" would be slap on the wrist at most.

We decide what normal by comparing ourselves with people around us. When a her peers are those two it's no wonder that Ludmila feels she doesn't stack up. Also she harbors inferiority complex towards Ellen and not only in regards to boobs.

The arrow sending that guy flying back was pretty funny.

I actually liked that he didn't spend five minutes just starring at her chest before saving her.

This was pretty weak episode probably because it's a transition from one part of the story to the next. Next episode should be better with some Vanadis on Vanadis action.

That's kind of what I wanted out of the audience scene. "What's in it for me?" is a far more reasonable response than, "You took action without waiting for an answer when waiting probably would've made the answer a moot point anyway." Look forward, not backward. Of course, he might not be a reasonable king, and more of a vain one who only cares about his own power. On the other hand, since it was a public scene, it's kind of expected, what with the whole saving face thing.

Still, "I got an offer to expand our territory," would sound better than, "I took a job a prisoner offered."

Felt like doing a running commentary for episode 4:

Expected an Accidental Pervert moment from Tigre when Titta opened the door. Did not expect to see a certain war maiden trying to stick a sword down his throat...

Lim, wouldn't you be confident in a guy with overpowered archery skills?

Yes maid assert your hold over Tigre's affections howver futile your efforts may be

Sound strategy to pit a war maiden against a war maiden. But unfortunately that also means sending a girl to fight a harem protagonist.

Stone igloos!

Fancy palace is fancy. And I think the king has the stronger argument. There's trouble in being too whimsical, Elen. Whole scene sucked anyway, writing-wise.

Translucent. Skirt. Somewhere a costume designer is crying... Then Sofy shows her even more unfashionable outfit.

He's actually going on the offensive! Sweet.

I like how the Zchted king thinks.

HEADSHOT

Not this suck out the poison thing again. And do you really have to hold her breast for that?

Man those assassins suck. For trying to attack Tigre WHILE he's with two war maidens. Plus points for style though. Snakes should be weaponized more often.

edited 28th Oct '14 2:17:26 AM by fillerdude

This is such videogamey writing. When watching I keep getting the feeling that I should be mashing a button to make the dialog go faster and when it zooms to the map I'm expecting to be handed control.

This isn't a good thing.

With JRP Gs and the like I can excuse the simplistic writing and mediocre pacing because that's not all I'm there for. There's the gameplay to keep me invested as well. That's not the case here. Instead the comparison just draws attention to the flaws because they're so familiar.

I've sat trough worse series than this without dropping, but I just can't get over this exact blend of storytelling. It just pushes all the wrong buttons.

Episode 5:

Ellen has almost too much fun when Ludmila is around. But it's just so easy.

When I'm watching Ellen and Tigre i just have to groan. Not because their interactions are bad but because they are so good. Just kiss already.

Yes, yes long history of enmity. But mostly just plain jealousy. Because if you haven't noticed yet, Vanadis aren't exactly mature people.

Ludmila is almost painfully naive. I bet this random hunter who is amazing bowman, refuses to take his mask and is mucking around on the back path to your castle while a siege is going on, has nothing to do with Tigre.

All this searching and in the end they just blow gate away. Simple is best.

Episode 5. In which there's chilling.

Well, not much was made of it even after the danger is over. Which was what I feared. Although it depends on how you interpret her "favour".

I'm going to agree with Elen there. Food cooked in large amounts like that tend to taste better than smaller portions. Also, totally not a troll.

That tickled her jealousy enough for her to get irate? That was just being polite. Because of her own mischief.

Bears usually don't walk upright or carry bows. Probably warm, though. Which is good when you're not moving. While actually travelling in snow, you need surprisingly little to keep you warm, since you'll generate a lot of heat anyway, and walking in snow takes a lot of endurance. And I'd say the amount of snow there seems a little low considering the weather.

Well, it makes sense she'd not be cold.

Urs. As in Ursa, I take it.

Sometimes suggesting what you are will turn away the doubts that you are. She was probably clever enough to realise he could still be a spy, which is why she beefed the defense there and pretended she didn't believe he was one.

She's not surprisingly got a different side to her.

Combinations attacks tend to be stronger just because they're combination attacks. Well, in a manner of speaking.

It wasn't that it was stronger, it was that they could do it at a much longer range from cover. Ellen's method was worryingly likely to get her filled with arrows.

The next two web specials are out, covering some events otherwise skipped in the first novel.

Oh, right, I should take the time to watch those things too.

Inhale the cheesy fantasy goodness.

Episode 6:

Vanadis fight are impressive. Their arguments on the other hand...

That got to be the worst assassin ever.

So all it took was thanking her for the tea? That was one pointless war.

Will Tigre meet even one Vanadis without seeing her naked?

Team Silver Meteor!

Hmm they cut the part where an envoy from duke Genon wants to recruit Tigre, and skipped straight to him being declared a traitor. They are speeding things up.

Ronald the black knight, the knight of cliche names.

Well shit, Tigre got shanked.

Maan, they are compressing this adaptation more and more.

Will Tigre meet even one Vanadis without seeing her naked?

Assuming all you need to be a vandis is one of those dragon weapons, Tigre seems to be one, so there probably one other one who is a guy(who may actually be a girl). And one who is a girl but is actually a guy. Possibly both of those. So....maybe. There is maybe a 30% chance there is a guy vandis who actually dresses like one, which he probably won't see naked.

edited 10th Nov '14 8:36:04 AM by kiukiuclk

All seven of the Vanadis are explicitly female. One of the unfortunate things about this adaption is that the LN is actually rather balanced in terms of the overall cast. The adaption, however, is cutting out most of the scenes with the older men in favor of focusing on the girls.

Yeah, I have no problem with that.

Episode 6. In which there are new enemies.

I wonder if anyone will butt into their obligatory duel. I wonder if anyone dares to. Well, I know one person who would dare taking a shot at it.

Normally, I'd say a Battle-Halting Duel like that is riduculous, but considering the two involved probably have more power than the rest of the armies combined, I'd say it's fair enough.

Of course. Can't show any of the girls winning in a fair duel.

He's not that bad of a diplomat. Well, diplomacy here isn't exactly stellar.

One man against a few. Whoever could win. I'm so eager to see who will absolutely curbstomp the larger group. Oh, wait, I think I gave it away there.

This is like it is in any game where you have to create a character or other type of entity to control. Coming up with a good name is the hard part.

That's a Trick Arrow that might actually work.

People fight over the silliest things. It's almost like they're people from an internet forum.

How do you not see someone lying so clearly in front of you like that? Maybe a lock of hair got in the way? Entirely plausible, considering.

That look on her face. "Hoh..."

There are heroes, and there are Red Shirts. There really isn't anything in between on the battlefield.

And his skill with the bow reaches new heights.

Some war maidens don't have the same compunctions to use their skills against normal people.

That's an odd place to end.

Havm't seen any kids matter yet in this. Of either gender.

x4 While all the Vanadis are female, there seem to be guys who basically are equivalent to one, even if they arn't called it. Tigre and Roland for example.

I do like that Tigre has a variety of trick shots rather than the standard "bounce off 8 things" you usually see.

edited 11th Nov '14 10:46:49 AM by kiukiuclk

When I say "younger men" I mean "anyone male that looks like they are in their early 20s or less" (and are probably designed to be androgynous), so Tigre himself counts for one. Because ew, old people.

Dunno guys. That thing he pulled off against Roland kind of crossed the line from 'good aim' to 'precognition' for me. Like, he aimed at the spot where Roland's horse was going to be in thirty seconds, but he only moved into that spot as a reaction to things that hadn't happened yet when Tigre fired the shot.