Hey there and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Shizuku here and today we’re taking a look at Madan no Ou to Vanadis. Definitely one of the more underrated animes of 2014. This series focuses on medieval fights, fighting for power, protecting what you value, and strong and formidable women.
(Yin-Yang): Also known as Lord Huntsman and Vanadis when translated. This anime is based off a light novel under the same name written by Tsukasa Kawaguchi in 2011 and still continuing to this day along with a manga adaptation also written by Tsukasa in 2011 and still on-going as well.
(Shizuku): Yin-Yang. What are you doing here? I thought you were taking the month off to prepare for our arc in August?
(Yin-Yang): I got bored. Come on let me in on this review. The baddest AI girls watching anime and taking names. Plus, I’m trying to do a review with everyone this year. I’ve done one with the master, Isis, Mira, and Seras. All that’s left is you and Chibi and I’ll get to her next month. Please don’t take this away from me.
(Shizuku): *Sigh and smiles* Alright, I’ll let you in. Since it means so much to you.
(Yin-Yang): Yes!
(Shizuku): The series had a pretty slow start at the beginning but over the years has gained quite a following for its story, well-written and interesting characters, incredible fight sequences, and having that epic feel of a fantasy series you just can’t stop reading. With its growing popularity the studio Satelight (The Marcross series and AKB0048 series) announced an anime adaption in 2013 and in 2014 debuted the series for everyone to see. Because it came out near the end of the year a lot of people overlooked it but in my opinion it’s honestly one of the best animes of 2014. Let’s not waste anymore time and take a look at Madan no Ou to Vanadis.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Yin-Yang): The opening is “Ginsen no Kaze” by Konomi Suzuki. This song is both beautiful and epic at same time. It captures the majesty and prestige of the medieval war era. If anything the song sounds like an anthem for all fantasy animes out there. Konomi has known throughout the anime industry as the woman who has the ability to sing loud songs but also sound elegant and in control.
(Shizuku): The ending is “Schwarzer Bogen” by Hitomi Harada. This song is actually a German song sung in Japanese by Hitomi who does an amazing job translating and singing the song. Japanese singers just have an amazing ability to take songs and just add so much emotion and depth to them that you can’t help but view the song in a new light once you hear it. The song gives off that final rush feeling in a battle. It’s raining and the troops on both sides are preparing for one final attack each other and once it’s all over who will be left standing is anyone’s guess but the people left standing will look around and take everything in.
Episodes 1-4
(Yin-Yang): So the anime opens up on the battlefield (my favorite opening to any anime) where our main character Tigrevurmud aka Tigre voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (Nine from Terror in Resonance) is busy surveying the dead field when in the distance he spots the enemy leader Eleonora aka Elen voiced by Haruka Tomatsu (Asuna from SAO) war maiden of the wind (Shizuku: And badass beauty just waiting to kick ass). Tigre takes out his bow and arrow (alright he’s not a sword user) and takes down the two guards and their horses down easily. He then fires his remaining two arrows at her which she destroys with ease (yeah what were you expecting she has the power of the wind) and forces Tigre to become her prisoner (parley). Tigre is taken back to Elen’s camp as a war prisoner where she demands that Tigre’s kingdom pay a large sum of money to get him back or he’ll become Elen’s servant (so in the end it’s kind of a win win deal for him either way? (Shizuku): Yeah pretty much). While a prisoner in Elen’s camp Tigre saves Elen’s life and captures the mercenary that was trying to kill her by shooting him in the foot with an arrow (Shizuku: I like the way this guy thinks). Elen finally confesses that the reason she didn’t kill Tigre on the battlefield is because she fell in love with him not because of his personality but because he was the only guy on the battlefield who showed valor, didn’t run away, and actually had the balls to face her (Shizuku: Proving to us and her that he’s a man which is more than I can say for the guys who ran away). She tells Tigre that she wants him to join her army where he’ll still have his noble status and be treated with the proper respect as any other soldier working under her but he refuses saying he wants to return to his homeland of Alsace the land that was left to him by his father (how noble). But his land is in danger because he gets word from his attendant that 3,000 troops are being developed to eliminate Alsace (betrayed by his own country. How not surprising). Once Tigre hears of this he gets ready to go and defend his homeland all by himself until he reaches the frontgate where he’s confronted by Elen.
In episode 2 we find out that the prince of Brune has fallen in battle leaving no heir to the throne and the king has fallen into a state of depression responding to no one making Brune kingless (than by the power invested in me by me I declare myself your new queen of Brune). With Brune kingless the country now lays in the hands of either the House of Thenardier or Ganelon. Even though Alsace holds no significance to the power struggle the leader of Thenardier has sent his son Zion to Alsace with 3,000 men and two dragons (Shizuku: Everybody sure loves using the dragon card don’t they?) to destroy the land so that nobody can have it. Back on Tigre’s side of the story Elen stands before him dressed provocatively (Shizuku: Just fuck him already. He’s your prisoner you own him) and tries to get him to pledge loyalty to her but instead he begs Elen for an army which she finds so condescending that she can’t help but laugh at him (it’s kinda funny). She agrees to loan him an army but as compensation she demands the land of Alsace which Tigre agrees to as long as she protects the people, treats them fairly, and doesn’t oppress them (and as an added bonus you have Tigre as your boy toy). They both reach an agreement and head out to protect Alsace with 1,000 men (Shizuku: 1,000 men vs 3,000 men and 2 dragons. I like their odds). We go to Alsace where we see that most of the townsfolk have fled to the mountains and those who couldn’t have hidden in the temple for safety (sanctuary! Sanctuary!) The pillaging begins where Zion is upset not being able to destroy or kill anything so he takes out his frustration by attacking Tigre’s house where the maid (who obviously has a crush on Tigre) Titta voiced by Sumire Uesaka is there waiting for the return of her master (Shizuku: And look what happens? You’re about to get raped and killed by an asshole). Zion chases Titta out to the balcony where he’s about to rape her but before he can he receives an arrow to the hand courtesy of Tigre (scene here: //youtu.be/YZFeWAPzyt0, looks like he won’t be having any late night fun for a while). He rescues Titta from Zion and even has a badass moment by catching an arrow and using said arrow to kill the archer who was hiding in the bushes (scene here: //youtu.be/pYhpwgXtdsQ. (Shizuku): That was fucking awesome! (Yin-Yang): My tail just stood up). Tigre’s bow gets broken in the process (it couldn’t handle the badass moment and broke) so Titta hands him the family bow an ominous black bow that just screams badass (Shizuku: Ohhh yeaaahh) and heads out with Elen to fight.
Episode 3 opens up with the narrator telling us that Tigre and Elen were able to protect the town from the raid forcing Zion and his troops to retreat (and we missed all of it? (Shizuku): Oh damn it I was all set to go and everything). After recuperating Tigre and Elen decide to lead 900 troops to the fields and finish Zion and his army once and for all. Tigre and Elen handle the main army while Lim, Elen’s second in command voiced by Yuka Iguchi (Maho from Ro-Kyu-Bu) leads a small force to surprise the enemy from the flank (Shizuku: They won’t know what hit them. Until it’s too late. Then they’ll be hit with swords, clubs, spears, and arrows. But even then they won’t know what hit them). The battle begins and Tigre’s forces set their impressive strategy into motion (I mean it this is a pretty impressive strategy. I find myself coming back to this episode just to watch this strategy and how awesome Tigre and Elen are). Tigre and Elen mow down through the troops with Tigre getting multiple headshots on the soldiers (Shizuku: He makes it look easily) and Elen has her badass moment by killing one of the dragons with her wind sword splitting it into two (scene here: //youtu.be/13AagajM7SY). Using a rope trap Lim trips up Zion’s forces and take them out where they join back up with Elen and continue to Zion’s main camp where he is beside himself panicking and making really stupid mistakes (the consequences of having an incompetent whining bitch general). Zion decides to fight Tigre one on one where Tigre literally owns him for the second time by shooting his hand with an arrow (scene here: //youtu.be/jktpBufZQHg. (Shizuku): He got him again). Zion seeing that he’s destined to lose the fight and doesn’t want to die retreats on his second dragon and flies away where Tigre’s bow begins to talk to him (Tigre: Titta what did you put in my water?) and tells him to aim for the dragon. Listening to the bow’s order (hey I probably do the same thing. I mean whose gonna ignore a talking bow? (Shizuku): Nobody, that’s who) and receiving power from Elen’s arifar he shoots the dragon out of the sky killing it and Zion plummets to his death (scene here: //youtu.be/s6T7p6qqnBg). The rest of the army surrenders giving Tigre and Elen a flawless victory (//youtu.be/FfvTXACPv30?t=4s).
Not a whole lot happens in episode 4. Elen goes before the prime minister of Brune who warns her that if she wants the Alsace territory she better be prepared for a possible war with Brune and possibly against the other war maidens who may or may not be enemies (scene here: //youtu.be/qPYAb3mV5-I). Back on Tigre’s side of the story he decides that he’s going to fight against The House of Thenardier and Ganelon. He tries to get other lords in the area to fight alongside him but they refuse to help because they think Tigre is trying to make himself a third power in this battle with Elen and her forces backing him up (than get in on the action. Join the future king of Brune). After failing in his negotiations he goes to meet up with Elen who tells him and Lim how her talk with the king went (Shizuku: I’m gonna say it went bad). As they talk a new character named Ludmila another war maiden who controls ice and uses a spear as a weapon shows up (scenes here: //youtu.be/33PxBdAss_U and //youtu.be/3dv4E_pb4v8), she’s also a rival of Elen and is actually on the side of the Thenardiers even though she doesn’t like them but because of her serious nature and her family always being allies to the Thenardiers she holds back her emotions and serves them. She wants to talk to Tigre alone but Elen and Lim follow them where the four get attacked by assassins and Lim gets bit by a snake on her right boob (Snake: Screw tentacle rape I’m going directly for the breast). Tigre performs first aid by sucking the poison out all while grabbing her other boob for leverage (scene here: //youtu.be/YQ3tlFQHSoQ, that snake might just be the best wingman or wing-animal out there. (Shizuku): Too bad he’s dead now). Ludmila saves the group from the assassins (scene here: //youtu.be/OLCzpOyNK1A) and calls Elen a failure for not being able to protect everyone. Ludmila rides off ahead of them and Tigre and Elen follow where they hope to reach the town of Rodkin in time to give Lim the medical attention she needs.
Episodes 5-8
(Shizuku): At the start of episode 5 we see that Lim is okay and taking a bath with Elen (somewhere out there is a pre-teen jacking off to this scene). Wanting to show her gratitude to Tigre, Elen tricks him into going into the bath while Ludmila is bathing (a treat for Tigre while also getting revenge on Ludmila. Elen is killing two birds with one stone). Tigre plays it smooth apologizing and not panicking but Ludmila still beats him (scene here: //youtu.be/da0okH8FBDw). In order to make it up to her he gives her some city gruel (scene here: //youtu.be/Qt_JoVtU_Yw, a jealous Elen is a cute Elen) and she takes her leave saying she’s not all that impressed with Tigre and just sees him as Elen’s lapdog (Yin-Yang: Well she’s half right). So the next day Ludmila masses her forces and along with Thenardelier’s forces suppress Elen’s movement in the snowy mountain/plains where a battle breaks out with the battle ending in a stalemate between Elen and Ludmila’s forces with the two war maidens not meeting (no problem we’ll build that fight up for next episode). Ludmila gets the better of Elen by withdrawing her forces and having them retreat back into the mountain’s citadel which has great defense and only one entrance which is uphill (Elen got screwed big time). Elen decides that the best way to get in is to go alone but Tigre and Lim say that plan is reckless so Tigre decides to go out incognito and search the mountains for another way inside. He searches the mountain disguised as a hunter wearing the fur of a bear (scene here: //youtu.be/jT4aMmZBdNk. (Yin-Yang): Help, the bear ate me and I can’t get out) where he runs into Ludmila who was out hunting for fun (scene here: //youtu.be/CU-6p6vnSPk). Tigre hides his identity and the two become friends where we actually see that Ludmila is actually a very open and kind girl (scene here: //youtu.be/NgJulQRNARk). We find out that she comes from a line of war maidens and in truth doesn’t like the Thenardelier family but serves them out of respect for her family (this was nice information to the character). After going their separate ways Tigre secretly follows her tracks and finds a back door into the citadel where he brings Elen and the troops to attack under the cover of night and invade the citadel. Elen uses her wind sword to try and destroy the door but it has no effect on the door (Yin-Yang: She didn’t huff and puff enough. (Shizuku): Stand back amateurs let the master do this). This alerts the guards and they pin Elen and Tigre down where Tigre talks to the sword (he’s lost it) asking to borrow its power (Sword: Hmm~. . .okay). With the power of Elen’s sword and Tigre’s arrow they manage to breakdown the door and invade the citadel to end the episode (scene here: //youtu.be/Z6qU5xOlzeM).
The fight continues in episode 6 with Tigre’s army entering the citadel and we get a short fight between the two war maidens where we see just how intense and different their fights are from a regular fight (scenes here: //youtu.be/Oj_lDaUqCMI and //youtu.be/_1KSlyGIJ6Y). The fight gets interrupted by a traitor (whose side I’m not sure who he’s on) but he gets taken out by a headshot from Tigre (Yin-Yang: BOOM! Headshot FTMFW. Scene here: //youtu.be/WD3Qfoa8MmI). After that headshot Ludmila quickly figures out that Tigre was the bear man she met in the mountains and wants to know why he saved her (who said he was saving you? For all we know he could have been saving Elen). Tigre just says he was returning the favor and nothing else. Moved by Tigre’s sincerity (Yin-Yang: And because she’s fallen for him) Ludmila announces who neutrality on this war and sides with no one (Ludmila: I choose neither to fight nor not fight. Scene here: //youtu.be/LoghFWIQlOU). Later on Tigre gains more supporters who side with him and Elen names their army The Silver Meteor Storm (that has got to be- (Yin-Yang): The coolest name ever! (Shizuku): Huh?). Before long Tigre gains a massive army and they move out to Thernardelier’s territory to face him where they stop at a town to rest and restock supplies and Tigre meets Sofy another war maiden with big breast (scenes here: //youtu.be/gNyxOcOO7vE and //youtu.be/VFO80f5rOFE, geez if the boss was here he say those breast were over 9000). After getting dress Sofy delivers a message from the king of Brune where it says that Tigre has been labeled a traitor by Brune and has been stripped of his title. As for the land of Alsace, they are left to govern themselves until this turmoil has settled (in other words they’re on their own). Brune also sends out an insurgent army to deal with Tigre led by Roland the black knight said to be the strongest knight in Brune and wielder of the mighty Durandal (which is quite folic if you know what I mean, //youtu.be/rv9qs5WVHS8?t=30s). Silver Meteor Storm (Yin-Yang: Fuck yeah! Put that on a shirt and sell it) and Roland’s army face off where Roland just mauls through countless troops with ease (scene here: //youtu.be/P0HWLe9xNbI) and even takes on Elen by himself and manages to beat her (scene here: //youtu.be/BwoxlNwUGSg). That is until Tigre comes in and fires an arrow up into the sky which pierces the head of Roland’s horse and kills it (scene here: //youtu.be/mjB3JnVYCZU, man he is good with that bow and arrow) but at the same time sustains a serious injury (scene here: //youtu.be/tRCu6DE1iYE). Elen takes Tigre away for medical attention while Sofy covers their retreat (scene here: //youtu.be/bt6Mo8TU000).
At the start of episode 7 Sofy takes on Roland using her staff and light-based magic to fight him (scenes here: //youtu.be/FZLjapY73Ig and //youtu.be/Yitcw-92pa4). She holds him off long enough for Elen to get Tigre to safety and for reinforcements to show up forcing Roland to retreat and regroup for the time being. Tigre gets the medical attention he needs and barely survives leaving Elen in charge of the army where she plans to face Roland again only this time the kid gloves are off and she intends to go all out against him (send him up into the air and have him crash down). Sofy also decides to help out because she’s taken an interest in Tigre as well (Yin-Yang: Tigre is the man. (Shizuku): Well he does have those awesome arrow skills. Even I’m starting to fall for him). We also find out that the king has fallen depress over the death of his son and has locked himself in his room where he just plays with blocks (well that’s not creepy and disturbing at all). Thernardelier and Ganelon take this opportunity to cease the castle, keep everyone from seeing the king, and are using Roland to eliminate Tigre once and for all (sneaky bastards). Even Roland has doubts about what he’s doing but as a knight he’s loyal and will follow the orders of his king no matter what. Tigre manages to wake up where his bow tells him to head out to a temple to seek power from Tir na Fa the goddess of night, darkness, and death (Bow: You must go to the temple in the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Tir na Fa the goddess who created me). Tigre and Titta ride out into the night where the temple of Tir na Fa appears before them (Yin-Yang: Convenient) and they go in where Tir na Fa tests Tigre’s determination for power by possessing Titta and telling Tigre to take a shot at her. Tigre does what he’s told but he says he won’t kill her and manages to take a shot at her where the tip of the bow breaks before it strikes the body and instead just destroys her clothes (scenes here: //youtu.be/icTGnec1BTw, //youtu.be/UGRMl7EJzQk, and //youtu.be/Drv1qViQY-M. If the boss were here he get a real kick out of this). Tigre passes the test barely and is given new power by Tir na Fa. Back on the battlefield Silver Meteor Storm (God that name) and Roland’s army face him against each other where despite Elen and Sofya using their powers against Roland he stills manages to hold his own and stay standing (scene here: //youtu.be/Tk9h_jSdoBM). Tigre makes it back to the fight (still injured mind you) and takes on Roland with his bow and arrow (Yin-Yang: You don’t bring a bow to a sword fight Tigre. Just like you don’t bring a tennis racket to a golf course). Tigre fires a shot showing his new power which manages to destroy the armor of Roland but the guy still stands strong (scenes here: //youtu.be/LN0ZD_ntyvg and //youtu.be/QiCR42IdeOw, man this guy is something else. I hate to fight against a guy like that). After a few seconds Roland falls to the ground admitting defeat saying he can’t stand no more and that his convictions to fight were waning and full of doubt (scene here: //youtu.be/6A11ABU3jbo). With Roland out of the way Tigre and Elen can refocus their attention on Ternardelier and Ganelon.
In episode 8 Roland returns to the capital in the hopes of speaking to the king and leaves Durandal to Tigre showing his trust in him (what the hell is a guy who uses a bow and arrow to fight going to do with a heavy indestructible sword of unimaginable power?). Once Roland arrives he gets trapped into a room where he is stung repeatedly by a bunch of poisonous bees (//youtu.be/tmxfZGkfByE) which kill him and he dies while still standing (scenes here: //youtu.be/6A11ABU3jbo and //youtu.be/M7Pfz6SVzlo, now that is a badass way to die. (Yin-Yang): He deserved better). With Roland dead (Yin-Yang: Nice work idiots you just killed the strongest knight in the land) the enemy army from the south the MouzinElen Empire attacks the land of Brune and captures 2,000 citizens. Tigre and his army here about this and decide to stage a rescue but they’ll have to do it without Elen who has left the army to help out her friend Sasha another war maiden who is ill and being attacked by another war maiden. With Elen gone and taking a few of the troops with, Tigre’s army numbers only 2,000 troops while the MouzinElen army numbers 20,000 (that’s quite the disadvantageous for Tigre and the others). Through the use of ambush and sneak attacks Tigre and his men manage to widow down 2,000 of the enemy troops (well that’s a good start. (Yin-Yang): Yeah, except we still got 18,000 more troops to go and I don’t see this ending well for them). Tigre’s force finally faces MouzinElen’s troops head on after they execute a few of the citizens and Tigre gets his badass moment (he has one in like every episode folks) by taking the enemy’s commander down with a headshot from 300 alsin (Yin-Yang: What the hell is alsin! (Shizuku): Hell if I know. Let’s google it later on). With the commander defeated the MouzinElen troops begin to retreat and Tigre frees the captured citizens. After interrogating the captured troops Tigre finds out that an even larger army from MouzinElen is on the way (//youtu.be/Vau2hG22DoQ). When Tigre and the others go out to confront them in the hopes of stopping their movement they receive help from a familiar face, Ludmila.
Episodes 9-13
Not a whole lot happens in episode 9. Elen and Lim arrive in Sasha’s territory where she tells them she’s under attack by Elizaveta the war maiden known as the Flash Princess of the Thunder Swirl. Around midsummer Sasha and Elizaveta’s forces were sticking it to these pirates who invaded their territory and as they were tying things up Elizaveta accused Sasha of staging the pirates to attack her country (and what bases does she have to backup this insane theory? (Yin-Yang): Woman’s intuition). This cause a wedge in their relationship and has now led to a battle where Elizaveta threatens to invade Sasha’s territory (not if Elen has anything to say about). Elen and Lim agree to lead Sasha’s forces along with their own forces to fight Elizaveta and her forces on the battlefield. This time around we focus on the fight between Elen and Elizaveta where Elizaveta admits defeat after Elen is able to successfully knock her back showing that she’s the overall stronger fighter. Even though Elen has won she won’t be satisfied until she’s taken Elizaveta’s head off (Yin-Yang: Man the moral of this episode is don’t mess with Elen’s friends) but Elizaveta tells her what’s going on in Brune and they work out in agreement where both sides agree to ceasefire and a one year non-aggression agreement to stop the fighting (and Elizaveta must apologize sincerely to Sasha for her actions). After everything is settled Elen gathers her forces and makes her way back to Brune to save Tigre hoping he hasn’t done anything reckless (Yin-Yang: Well if you don’t count teaming up with another war maiden to take down an army of 40,000 troops reckless than you don’t have to worry). Actually that’s exactly what Tigre is doing with Ludmila. Ludmila agrees to help Tigre and his men defeat the MouzinElen force advancing in Brune and she comes up with a very risky plan to win.
(Yin-Yang): Not much to say about episode 10. It’s all one big battle between Silver Meteor Storm and the MouzinElen army. Silver Meteor Storm takes an early lead but fatigue and numbers catch up to them and sure enough Tigre and Ludmila become surrounded by the MouzinElen army (Tigre can’t die yet he still has to conquer the hearts of the other war maidens). Just when all hope seems lost reinforcements show up inspired by Tigre’s valor and mettle (Shizuku: Amazing how one man can shake the foundation of a whole country) and fight beside him forcing the enemy to retreat and rethink their strategy. Realizing that this is a losing a battle and aware of how many things are unpredictable, the general of the MouzinElen army decides to withdraw and save face giving the victory to Silver Meteor Storm. That’s pretty much the whole episode right there. The only downside is we don’t get our Tigre badass moment. (Shizuku): Yeah that does suck. Well we do get to see Ludmila and Elen fight over Tigre a little. Along with a few Tigre and Ludmila moments. I guess from a male perspective that could count as a badass moment (scenes here: //youtu.be/M7Pfz6SVzlo, //youtu.be/ZkhKrAkJUQI, and //youtu.be/kHqet80vc6o).
At the start of episode 11 Tigre is sleeping in a cozy bed where out of nowhere a new war maiden appears ready to assassinate him but luckily Tigre gropes her in his sleep and she decides to leave for the time being (scene here: //youtu.be/EW9S9BGiZ8I. (Shizuku): She liked it). After that we find out that the prince of Brune is still alive (hotdog) and he’s not a prince or a he, he’s a she and she is a princess named Regin (//youtu.be/sk85lYvLdjQ). It turns out she survived the attack and went into hiding in the south where she got rescued by Tigre and has since than grown to trust him. In fact, we find out the two actually met each other when they were kids (childhood crush. When master comes back from his trip we’ll have him toss a dollar into the jar). Regin tells Tigre that she can prove she’s the heir to the Brune throne by opening up a secret passage way in the land of Artesium which is in Ganelon’s territory. Ganelon has already anticipated that Tigre and Thenardier will be heading toward Artesium so he burns the place down and leaves Thenardier to deal with Tigre. We see that Thenardier has acquired some dragons to aid him in his battle with Tigre and his war maidens (Shizuku: Man more dragons? These things must be easy to tame). Silver Meteor Storm and Thenardier’s army meet on the plains where the war maidens team-up with each other to take down the dragons while Tigre and his forces handle the rest of the army. Elen and Ludmila defeat one dragon but the other two prove to be difficult as they’re equipped with chains that nullify their weapons. Elen gets hurt protecting Ludmila from one of them and both sides retreat for the day with neither side winning (halftime). The next day the fighting continues with Tigre having his badass moment by getting 3 headshots (Shizuku: The man is a headshot shooting machine) and Elen and Ludmila have their badass moments killing the two dragons and resting side by side each other showing us that the two have matured in this anime and have actually developed a friendship with each other.
(Shizuku): At the start of episode 12 Elen decides to pull a prank on Tigre only to have it backfire on her (scene here: //youtu.be/85jQ6oB7Tc8). After that the group reaches Artesium where they use the secret passage under a small temple to reach what’s known as the Holy Grotto which is where the founder Brune received a divine message that he would one day be king (why underground though? (Yin-Yang): The Lord works in mysterious ways). While underground they run into Thenardier and his men who used another passage way to reach them. Both sides fight where Thenardier is able to hold his own against Elen quite well (is this due to experience, Elen being in closed space and unable to use her full power, or is it because Thenardier has a huge buster sword protecting him? I choose the buster sword). Eventually the cave collapses on them and traps Tigre down there with his mentor and adviser Bertrand who used his body as a shield to protect Tigre from an enemy attack. Unfortunately, the wound is too much for Bertrand and he dies. The only upside to this guy’s death is that it’s done with great respect to the character. He died protecting his master a man he both respected and loved like his own son. In fact, half the episode is Bertrand lying on his death bed and just talking about how great a man Tigre has become, how he’s proud of him, and how he considered it a great honor to serve him. Once Bertrand dies Tigre uses his bow to blast himself out where he finds himself in the middle of Artesium and gets helped by Elen and the others. The episode ends on an ominous note with Tigre alone in his tent depressed and motionless at the death of his long-time friend.
In the final episode Elen talks to Tigre about her past and how she used to be a wondering mercenary who lost many friends in battle but kept her pride as a warrior and continued living in honor of their memory. This talk somehow cheers up Tigre (how I’m not sure but hey he’s back to normal) and he’s ready to lead his troops to the final fight against Thenardier. Before going to the final fight the prime minister of Brune comes to Tigre telling him and everyone else that Ganelon has poisoned the king and he doesn’t have much time to live (leaving Regin in charge of the throne. (Yin-Yang): Now she can marry Tigre just like she secretly wanted to). The final fight begins with Silver Meteor Storm holding strong against Thenardier’s men since he’s not leading them and their captain died last episode (Yin-Yang: The moral level of this army is about as low as the standards for the world). Tigre goes to face Thenardier in another area where Tigre gets his badass moment once again by killing Thenardier by himself with a headshot (God no matter how many times I see Tigre do those headshots they never get old). With Thenardier defeated the war is over and Ganelon retreats to another land for safety. Tigre is honored and awarded for his valor by the king where he signs a treaty giving Brune and Zhcted (Elen’s country) joint custody over the land of Agnes which is where Alsace is as well as the Voyges Mountains which was Elen’s goal this whole time (kind of came out of nowhere if you ask me). She wants to construct a passage way which will allow transportation between Brune and Zhcted. Finally, Tigre is given the title Lumiere, a knight of the Moonlight a title said to be given to those who will become king in the future (so in other words this guy is giving Tigre the greenlight to plow his daughter. (Yin-Yang): And I’m sure she wants it). The anime ends with Tigre keeping his promise and returning to Zhcted with Elen and this time Titta is there with him.
Final Thoughts
(Shizuku): So that was Madan no Ou to Vanadis, can you see why I like it so much? This fantasy a fantasy series ought to have. A good story, a badass male lead with a badass female lead, and incredible fight scenes. I really do like Tigre’s character. I’m glad he’s not your typical sword user like a lot of male leads out there and isn’t a total wimp when it comes to fighting. He’s actually a very competent fighter and commander who displays great leadership and respect among his soldiers and followers. Every time he fights he has his badass moment displaying his marksmanship and everyone around him just praises him for what a great leader he is as well as what a great man he is. Elen is also a cool female character. She’s strong, beautiful, independent, and caring in fact it seems like all the female characters in this anime are well-written characters who would make good leads. Much like Tigre she also displays a great level of leadership on and off the battlefield as well as a woman to be respected by her men and feared by her enemies. Her relationship with Tigre is one of the highlights of this anime as you can tell there’s a great level of respect and trust between the two. Tigre respects Elen not only as a woman but as a fierce fighter who stays true to her word and fights with honor. Elen respects Tigre as a man but also as someone she can trust to fight beside and someone she can admire. Every time the two are on screen together you can tell the other feels secure and at peace with the world. Like no matter how dire the situation is they know they’ll pull through it and survive.
(Yin-Yang): The fight scenes in this anime are the best part for me. I just love the amount of thinking and strategies that go into these battles. It’s not just guys swing swords and trying to kill each other or one side having the better numbers and overwhelming their opponent. It all comes down to strategy, wearing your enemies down, killing the right guy to lower moral, and just forcing your opponent into a spot where they’re at a disadvantage and using that to your advantage. The animation for the most part is very good. I like the character designs, the backgrounds are cool, and I like how the places we see and go to are all based off of European cities. The music is good as it matches up with the scenes and gives off that European medieval feel the anime has going for it but it’s not really all that memorable. You’ll hear it but once the episode ends you’ll most likely only remember the opening and ending themes. Which leads to some of the downfalls of this anime right Shizuku?
(Shizuku): Right you are Yin-Yang. As much as I love this anime it has quite a few faults. For starters it can be a little generic at times with its story and setup. While they try to cover it up there’s no hiding the generic setup the anime has going for it. Second, they don’t explore the characters as much as they should. While Tigre and Elen are explored rather well for the most part the rest of the cast isn’t. I really don’t know all that much about Lim, Sofy, Titta, and Ludmila and we never really explore them as much as we should. We also don’t get a chance to explore the locations and kingdoms the series has which is a shame because these kingdoms really do look interesting. There’s a lack of explanation. They never dive too deeply into the war maidens such as why they exist and where their powers come from and how their chosen. They just exist for the sake of existing. And what’s up with Tigre’s bow harnessing the power of Elen’s sword? Can he do that with all the war maidens or just Elen.
(Yin-Yang): I also want to know about the dragons. I really don’t like how the anime presented them throughout the series. Dragons are supposed to be these dominant creatures that are almost impossible to tame and have tremendous power but here they’re presented as creatures who seem pretty easy to tame and are rather weak. While it’s true Elen and Ludmila are strong and war maidens you would think even they would have a hard time fighting dragons but no they practically bury them. Finally, the unnecessary fanservice in a number of episodes. Yes, this series is directed at young men so of course we have add in fanservice but it really feels unnecessary in a number of spots throughout the anime (such as Tigre meeting Sofy for the first time by the river. That’s their introduction to each other? The lady who’s like a big sister to Elen and Ludmila gets introduced to Tigre as nothing more than fanservice character with giant boobs. At least they managed to salvage her in the fight against Roland) and the boob jiggles defy physics. A lot of fanservice in this anime was unneeded and was just pandering to the audience. It should have been cut out and redone if you ask me.
Final Score
(Shizuku): So after taking all that into account I say my score is a 7.5/10. I still like this anime despite its faults.
(Yin-Yang): Yeah I have to admit I do still find myself drawn to this anime despite its faults but my tolerance for faults is not as great as yours. My score is 6.5/10 and adding all those scores up we get 14/20 and taking the average of these scores the final score is 7/10.
(Shizuku): Definitely a good grade for this anime and one that I would like to make higher but its faults keep holding it back. But still it’s a good anime worth checking out for its two good main characters and amazing fighting sequences. There’s been rumors going around of a possible second season coming out in the future and hope they’re true because a series like this deserves a second season. Until then I’ll just console myself with the manga.
(Yin-Yang): Or the light novel seeing as how that’s more ahead than the manga.
(Shizuku): True, but the illustrations in the manga are good. Well that’s it us. Thanks for freeing and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. Catch ya on the flipside.
*All videos, clips, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com