(Neo): Hello. . .and wel-welcome to Project Nitsuj. My name is Neo. I’m new to the team and to reviewing, but I promise to do my best. Thank you for having me!
(Nitsuj): *Chuckles* Easy there, Neo. Take a deep breath and remain calm. You’re doing fine, I’m here with you.
*Neo smiles and takes a deep breath*
(Nitsuj): When people think of the Renaissance era, the first people that come to mind are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Titian.
(Neo): Titian?
(Nitsuj): You’ve never heard of Titian? Master of using colors? Assumption Of The Virgin? The Rape of Europa?
*Neo stares at him in silence*
(Nitsuj): My God, am I the only one cultured here?
(Neo): What most people don’t know is that there were a lot of famous female artists during this time period as well. Women such as Saint Catherine of Bologna, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lucia Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana and Fede Galizia took up the brush and paper and would go on to be recognized as some of the first female western artists. At a time when women were very limited in what they could say and do, these women were brave enough to break the norm and show everyone that whatever a man could do a woman could do as well. They made scholars of the time rethink their stances on life and in the process opened the door for other women of that time period. One anime that shines the spotlight on the women of this period is Arte.
(Nitsuj): Based off a manga written by Kei Ohkubo in 2013 and still continuing to this day, Arte is based loosely off the life of Artemisia Gentileschi one of the few accomplished female artists of the Renaissance era who got their work recognized. When the pandemic hit us in the spring of 2020, a lot of anime were delayed and pushed back until the fall, but Arte was one of the few animes that aired during the spring to keep us from going insane. It was produced by Seven Arcs (Dog Days, Trinity Seven and Inukami) a studio known for their supernatural anime, so to see them take on a historical anime was interesting to say the least.
(Neo): Thankfully, the anime went over well as everyone praised it. While it may not have been one of the best animes last year, it was certainly one of the more enjoyable ones that told its story in a good way and gave us a character we could all root for. Let’s enjoy this beautiful anime and take a look at Arte.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Neo): Our opening is “Clover” by Maaya Sakamoto. While not the most memorable song I’ve heard the instrumental is really good here and I like Maaya’s singing. The song is very uplifting, cheerful, and inspires you to pursue what you love and what makes you happy.
(Nitsuj): The ending is “Hare Moyou” by Kiyono Yasuno. I do like how the song matches up with the tone and time frame of the era it’s taking place in. Kiyono’s soft and angelic voice really is relaxing to listen as well. One thing I didn’t notice when I started watching the anime is how they use still pictures from the episode in the ending. That’s was cool and plays into the whole this anime is work of art.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): So our story begins in 16th century Florence, Italy during the height of the Renaissance. We meet our main heroine Arte voiced by Mikako Komatsu, the daughter of a noble who passed away not too long ago (Neo: Sorry for your loss). Just like her name implies she loves art and she’s apparently very good at it, however her mother finds it pointless and says she should focus on making herself a proper woman so that men will notice her (Neo: I think men would love to have such a talented artist by their side) and she burns a lot of Arte’s drawings (the hell is wrong with you those look great. (Neo): It’s definitely a lot of better than what you can draw. (Nitsuj): I should be mad at that, but you are right). Arte takes the drawings she was able to save into town to show other artists in the hopes that they’ll take her on as an apprentice. Sadly, everyone rejects her because she’s a woman (which during that time was as ridiculous as say a woman voting in the 60s). Angered by this, Arte cuts her hair short (Neo: Oh~ nice. Just like me. Now just cover one side over your eye and we’ll match) and even goes as far as attempting to cut off her breasts (Neo: Dah! That’s taking it too far. (Nitsuj): Besides, she’ll still be missing the one thing that matters most in this time) until she’s stopped by an artist named Leo voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi (Laxus from Fairy Tail). Leo takes her back to his workshop where he looks over her drawings (Neo: He’s impressed. (Nitsuj): He didn’t say anything. (Neo): I can read between the lines) and agrees to make her his apprentice if she can prepare 20 wood panels for painting by tomorrow which is an impossible task according to others. The next day comes and somehow someway Arte did the impossible and finished 20 wood panels for painting (the determination is strong with this one). Leo seeing a little bit of himself in her, agrees to take her on as an apprentice. Arte leaves her home and moves into Leo’s workshop where she’s now living in a broken-down shed on the roof (Neo: That takes me back to my living arrangements with Kenji. Not some of my best memories).
In episode 2 Leo gives Arte some money to fix up her shed. She goes to the marketplace and buys wood carting it back herself where many people mock her for doing the job instead of just seducing a guy to do it (oh and trust me she could. I’m not gonna sit here and pretend she’s not cute). She meets another apprentice named Angelo who’s an apprentice at another workshop and offers to help cart the wood, but she says no as she refuses to let the world define her by her gender (Neo: She’s way ahead of her time). In a week’s time she manages to fix her shed up nicely (I daresay it looks livable). After this, we learn that the road to becoming an artist has a number of steps. First off, they spend three years as trainees, doing prep work, cleaning, and running errands. After that, they spend another 3 years as journeymen and be in charge of the backgrounds or props of the pieces their master’s took on (Neo: Basically, the apprentice is responsible for the background while the master is responsible for the foreground). Finally, they register as a master of their guild and become a full-fledged artist free to open up their own workshop, work on the paintings they want to do and take on apprentices (and you thought being an intern was hard). We focus a little bit on Angelo throughout the episode where we see he lives with his 5 sisters and looks after them in place of his father who wants to wed them off to rich families, so they don’t have a hard life (and this does show good insight into how Angelo thinks. When he was trying to help Arte earlier in the episode he wasn’t doing it to look down on her, he was just doing what he was taught to believe). The next day Arte goes to the workshop Angelo works at in the hopes of drawing a sculpture (Neo: Which during that time apprentices were allowed to do), but the master there says no and kicks her out. Angelo offers to help her sneak in and draw the sculpture when nobody is around, but Arte says no saying that it means nothing if she can’t do it herself (Neo: She desires to be recognized as an artist just like everyone else. If she can’t earn that recognition, then it’s all pointless. It’s like beating a videogame when all you did was beat the last level while someone else did everything else. Big whoop). Arte asks the master again to let her draw the sculpture and he says he’ll allow it if she can move 10 bags of clay into the storage room (now for those of you who don’t know one gallon of clay is about 11 pounds and she’s being asked to carry a large bag of clay which is even difficult for 2 men to carry. So for the sake of argument we can assume that she’s being asked to carry at least 55 pound bags all by herself). Arte accepts the task where she struggles at first because it’s so heavy, but she doesn’t give up, digs deep, and manages to carry the bags one by one into the storage room all by herself (this woman is more man than anybody in this anime). After completing the task she’s allowed to draw the sculpture, but her hands are too exhausted to draw. However, she does earn the respect of the workshop’s master and is allowed to come back and draw. After this, Angelo invites her to come be an apprentice at the workshop he’s in saying how he’ll help her and everyone else as well because she’s a girl, but she says that she likes Leo. Leo is strict with her not because she’s a girl, but because she’s his apprentice and because it makes everything worth doing. Whenever she accomplishes a task that seems impossible, she grows as a person because of it and it makes her both strong and better (Neo: I totally get it). Arte’s view does seem to resonate with Angelo as when he goes home, he encourages his sisters to try and do things themselves instead of relying on him all the time (he’s learning).
Episode 3 starts off with Leo dressing Arte as a boy and sneaking her in to see a live human dissection. Back in those times the church outlawed audiences to see dissections, but during the time of Carnival (a popular festival at that time) people are allowed to view live dissections. Women are of course banned from the event (Neo: Like we would want to see something like this. (Nitsuj): You may if you were in the medical field) which is why Leo dressed up Arte as a boy, so she could get in and get better drawings of human intestines (scene here: https://youtu.be/YLTsxJN08sI). Arte gets discovered of course and the two make a run for it with Leo carrying Arte over his shoulder and grabbing her butt (Neo: That’s sexual harassment. (Nitsuj): It’s the Renaissance era, sexual harassment won’t be around for centuries). They escape their pursuers where Arte can’t help but feel pain in her chest from being close to Leo (scenes here: https://youtu.be/H9VffnC8Ozo and https://youtu.be/VB6dkEXD4nY, please don’t tell me she’s going to fall in love with Leo, that would just be wrong. It’s like watching a lion eat hummus. (Neo): That. . .doesn’t make sense. (Nitsuj): I know, that’s why I said it. It’s unnatural, weird, and wrong. Imagine if you and Kenji got together? (Neo): *Blushes* What! He’s totally not my type and it would just be awkward. Plus, we’re student and teacher). In the second half of the episode, Leo decides to make Arte a journeyman since she already knows the basics and having her start off as a trainee would be a waste of time. He gives her the assignment of drawing the background for a painting he’s working on and she’s ecstatic about the assignment. Arte goes out to draw the background which is a canal and does a good job on it, but it’s not good enough according to Leo. Arte draws the scenery dozens of times and each one gets turned down by Leo who asks Arte what the most important aspect of the painting is (Neo: Oh, I know, the foreground. Arte isn’t doing a bad job on the drawing she’s doing too good a job on the drawing that it’s distracting people from the foreground which is what everyone should be focusing on). Arte realizes the mistake she made and corrects it by making a background that’s good and detailed but doesn’t distract people from the foreground. Leo gives his approval and she draws the background on the painting (scene here: https://youtu.be/RCMgi_tFzNE). We end the episode with Leo saying he finds Arte more charming than any of the other girls who act like dolls and once again Arte begins to feel pain in her chest (stop it).
At the start of episode 4 we see Arte still has trouble relaxing around Leo whenever he’s close to her and can’t focus (you poor sheltered child). After that, Leo and Arte go to draw a portrait for Veronica a regular of Leo’s and a good friend of his. We met her briefly in episode 3 (scene here: https://youtu.be/HfSN4deZFZ8), but this gives us a proper introduction to her character. Veronica is a courtesan (Neo: A prostitute? (Nitsuj): Sort of, only better), a high-class prostitute whose clients are mostly people of wealth. Unlike a normal prostitute which didn’t have much education and rely on their charm to please the masses, the courtesan was actually educated to blend into high society. They were smart, could entertain, work as models, and knew how to manipulate people (Neo: Wow, even back then prostitution was a work of art. (Nitsuj): And now it’s a work of junk). Despite being a prostitute, Arte can’t help but respect Veronica because of all the hard work she puts herself through (which is a very mature stance from her). Taking a liking to Arte, Veronica asks Arte to draw and paint a portrait which Arte accepts (scene here: https://youtu.be/OdP_2liaG14). From there the two hit it off well with Arte even opening up to Veronica about how she feels whenever Leo is close to her (scene here: https://youtu.be/qe2oFWhj1Kc). Veronica tells her that she’s in love (https://youtu.be/31g0YE61PLQ) and takes her to an alleyway to show her a former courtesan who fell in love and lost everything, so she became just another prostitute. Veronica tells Arte not to go down this path and instead to remain focused on her dream. After this, the relationship does go sour as Veronica plays mind games with a count who comes to see her and she straight up ignores him. She keeps him waiting for hours each day not talking to him or even going to see him (Neo: That’s evil). Arte sees this and doesn’t like how Veronica is making someone suffer (scene here: https://youtu.be/lnvnqRQuvlg, it’s her job. The more forbidden the fruit is the more you want it), however, she eventually comes around and realizes that even though she doesn’t agree with Veronica’s methods she still respects her for how she’s able to walk down this path with a strong resolve. Arte finishes up the portrait and Veronica invites Arte to come back whenever she wants to have a chat (scene here: https://youtu.be/EZrRpyvQVZM. (Neo): That’s good. She could use more female friends).
Episodes 5-8
(Neo): In episode 5 Leo has been commissioned to do a painting at the request of Ubertino, an old merchant who was friends with Leo’s master and continues to look after Leo at the request of Leo’s master on his death bed. However, the two really can’t stand each other despite the fact that deep down they really do care for one another (hmm~, kind of reminds me of Seras and Isis). While Leo has no problem doing the painting the problem is the money Ubertino gave him isn’t enough and he’s being stubborn about giving Leo more money. Arte asks Leo if she can try and negotiate with him and Leo leaves it in her hands (Nitsuj: He’s fed her to the lions). Arte goes to negotiate with Ubertino where the negotiations failed because she was too scared of him. However, Arte doesn’t give up. She goes to Veronica for pointers on how to negotiate and approaches Ubertino again where this time the negotiations were a success. During her visit, Arte sees that Ubertino has a room full of paintings despite the fact that he doesn’t get art (that room is just a tool to trick people). To Ubertino art is just a means to earn favor with people and nothing else. He warns Arte that she’ll meet people like him who just don’t get art and she looks forward to it (as would I) as it gives her a chance to show them what art can truly be. After this, Leo and Arte manage to finish the painting and we learn a little bit about Leo’s past such as how he was a beggar and how his master was always harder on him then the other apprentices because unlike them Leo put in the time and effort to improve himself while the other students didn’t take it all that seriously. In time the gap between Leo and the others became noticeable that they had no choice but to give up becoming artists.
Episode 6 starts off at a funeral for a master where a few of the apprentices get into a fight over Arte being an apprentice (Nitsuj: A new chance to prove herself). This dispute reaches the masters of the painters’ guild who have decided to test her skills and determination. Arte must do a fresco (Nitsuj: I have no idea what that is. (Neo): A mural painting. The kind you see on walls) with a bunch of other painters in a grand hall. She’ll be working there as an apprentice of course and the masters of the guild will be watching how she performs. Throughout the episode we see Arte work harder than any of the other apprentices there that they have no choice but to acknowledge her hard work and determination (it’s very inspirational to be honest. (Nitsuj): I’ll say, she worked so hard that she basically passed out every day).
In episode 7 Arte catches the attention of Yuri a young noble from Venice who wants her to come to Venice for a job as well as be a tutor for his rebellious niece. She thinks about it long and hard and decides to turn down his offer as she believes she’s not ready for this kind of job yet (Nitsuj: Too bad. I really did want to see Venice). After this, Arte meets an old friend of Leo named Ruthanna who’s fallen on hard times. She’s pregnant, her husband is dead, and the husband’s family refuses to give her money which leaves her broke. After hearing all of this, Arte decides to help her out by accepting Yuri’s job proposition in exchange for him lending support to Ruthanna and staying for only six months. Yuri agrees to Arte’s demands, Ruthanna gets her money back, and Arte gets set to leave for Venice.
Nothing much really happens in episode 8. Arte arrives in Venice with Yuri where she meets Yuri’s sister in law (Nitsuj: Who he may or may not have a crush on) Sophia and her daughter Katarina who is a very outspoken girl (Nitsuj: Yeah we know what that’s code for. She’s a brat).
Episodes 9-12
(Nitsuj): Episode 9 is all about Arte and Katarina. Arte discovers that contrary to popular belief, Katarina has excellent manners and proper etiquette (Neo: I daresay she’s better than you. *Nitsuj stares at Neo for the shots fired at him* I was told not to be afraid to take shots at you). The problem is she refuses to show proper etiquette and manners in front of her parents. Throughout the episode we see how Katarina usually sleeps during Arte’s lessons (boy if it was me I would pour cold water on her face every time) and she does start to open up to Arte a little bit as the episode progresses. We learn from Sophia that her father never wanted a daughter. After she was born, Katarina’s dad sent her off to be raised in a villa. Normally, she would have returned to the family at the age of 2, but she wasn’t allowed to return until she was 6 years old. To Katarina’s father, Katarina’s only purpose is to get married to another noble and nothing more. Arte discovers that Katarina likes to cook, studies at night, and keeps this a secret from her parents out of fear of repercussions. The only other person who knows about her love for cooking is Yuri. Arte doesn’t tell the parents about Katarina’s passion for cooking and this opens the door for the two to connect with one another (in the end both girls are ahead of their time period and everyone around them thinks they’re strange for going against the norm).
In episode 10 we learn that the reason Katarina refuses to act like a proper lady is because she hates living in her current house (or rather she’s a stranger in her own house). When Katarina was raised in the villa the people taking care of her felt and acted like a real family. They played with her, taught her, cooked with her, and made her feel like she was a member of their family. Moving to her current housing we see how everyone completely ignores her and makes her feel lonely. She has a dad who wants nothing to do with her and a mom who has no idea how to act like a mom and is too afraid to speak up. When Arte overhears the parents talking about Katarina and how much trouble she is, Arte intervenes and gives them a piece of her mind for not thinking about Katarina’s own happiness and not facing her. With the help of Yuri, Arte is able to track down Gimo the son of the maid who took care of Katarina at the villa and they go to see him where he says he doesn’t want to see her not because he hates her but because she’s not moving forward in life with her head held high. Gimo’s mom died quickly when he was young, yet despite this he continues to face his hardships in life with his head held high and moving forward in honor of his mom (Neo: That’s the way she raised him). Katarina takes her leave, promising to become a fine noble and that when she does, she’ll come back to see Gimo again, which he looks forward to. They return to Venice where Katarina becomes bed-ridden for three days (I’m sure she was just crying on the first day and faking the second and third days). Katarina’s dad is mad about this (oh now you care about your daughter) and is about to dismiss Arte when Katarina comes in begging her dad to let Arte stay and even Sophia sides with Katarina disagreeing with her husband for the first time and speaking her mind. Malta (Neo: The dad) lets Arte stay and we end with Katarina and Sophia hugging each other for the first time a rather heartwarming scene of a mom and daughter finally connecting with each other for the first time.
(Neo): A lot happens in episode 11. We see Katarina has warmed up to Arte so much that she practically wants to be around her all the time (how cute, they have a big sister little sister relationship). While touring an art workshop, Arte comes across an apprentice who instead of mocking her for being a female painter respects her for what she’s accomplished and admits that he’s a little envious of her. You would think this interaction would make Arte happy, but instead it kind of throws her off her game (Nitsuj: Up until this point she’s been looked down on by everyone because of her sex. Now, she’s being told that the only reason why she’s achieved so much right now is because of her gender and noble status. She just can’t win). Arte begins to engross herself in her studies to the point where she collapses (Nitsuj: Reminds me of a certain AI I found recently passed out at the table from studying to hard. *Neo stares at Nitsuj* Oh yeah, I can take shots too). Arte recovers and continues to get spied on by Katarina who was worried about her, but Arte assures her she’s fine. So fine in fact, that she was able to finish drawing Katarina’s portrait. Katarina loves the portrait so much that she goes to the workshop to show the male painter just how amazing Arte is (she’s basically saying Arte didn’t get this far because of her sex or noble status. She got this far because of her hard work and passion for art). Yuri is impressed with Arte’s work with Katarina and offers to have her stay in Venice with him paying for all of her expenses. This gives Arte a lot to think about as this is the offer of a lifetime, but at the same time a part of her misses Leo. Speaking of Leo, we see he also misses Arte (Nitsuj: In a lowkey way) as does everyone else.
In the final episode after careful consideration Arte decides to turn down Yuri’s offer as she wants to get work through her power and not by chance (Nitsuj: Respect). Arte and Katarina say their goodbyes to each other and become friends promising to write to each other as much as possible. Once Arte returns to Florence, she receives word that Leo has been bed-ridden with a fever for days. Ubertino has been watching over him and tells Arte that his life isn’t at risk (that’s good to know). However, Ubertino is worried about the job Leo left unfinished. Ubertino commissioned Leo to paint a mural for a church that was supposed to be done by Easter which is only a week away. Arte says she’ll complete the work in Leo’s place. Despite her best efforts there’s just no way she can get it done in time all by herself. Luckily, she receives help from Angelo and other apprentices who heard she was back in town and wanted to help (she’s become accepted by her peers). The mural gets finished on time and even Leo says she didn’t do a bad job (Nitsuj: That’s high praise coming from Leo). Even Arte’s mom comes to see the mural where even she praises Arte for her good work. We end the episode with Arte pointing out that all the people in the mural have the faces of all the people important to her including her parents (Nitsuj: Hey that’s cool).
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): Arte was a good watch. The story was enjoyable, the paintings were beautiful, and the main character of Arte was fantastic. Arte shows us how important it is to never give up, follow your dreams, and do what you love. Rather than get discouraged by everyone turning her away or looking down on her because of her gender, she uses that to motivate her to do better, and to continue to perfect her craft so that when people do see her paintings they don’t see it as the work of a female, but instead an artist who knows what they’re doing and is passionate about it.
(Neo): Throughout the anime you can see Arte’s growth as an artist and as a character. She’s always eager and ready to learn. Never complaining about the challenges or obstacles presented before her but instead stepping up to them and taking them on without fear. While the side characters don’t get as much screentime or explored as much as I would have liked, we get enough information and background about them to understand who they are, why they do the things they do, and what their views on the world are like. The animation is very nice. It does a good job giving off the feeling of stepping into a painting and exploring it. There are a few questionable inserts like the visible sweat drop that feels out of place but other than that I really have no complaints about the animation. The music is beautiful and matches up rather nicely with the time period the animation takes place in. The anime ended on a great note with Arte coming back home, receiving help from everyone important to her, and finally being recognized for her talents by both her master and her mom. It feels complete, heartfelt, and well-deserved.
Final Score
(Neo): My final score for Arte is a 7/10. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, related to the main character, and enjoyed the various works of art they showed throughout the anime.
(Nitsuj): I’m also giving it a 7/10. I liked Arte, liked the ending, and even though I’m not what you would call an art expert like my co-host here, even I have to admit the paintings in this anime are fantastic. If you’re looking for an anime with a good female lead, like art, and a fan of the Renaissance era then check this anime out. So, Neo what did you think of your first review?
(Neo): It was a lot of fun. I was a little nervous and scared at first, but I really enjoyed myself. Thank you so much for helping me out.
(Nitsuj): Anytime Neo. You did a good job today. Sign us out.
(Neo): Right! Thanks for reading! We’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.