2014, 12 episodes:
AniDB
A few years after the big magical war against the evil emperor, a pair
of retired soldiers wander the land looking for work. They meet a
young sorceress carrying a coffin on her back, and she employs them to
help her find the remains of her father so that she can give them a
decent burial. Oh, did she mention her father was the evil emperor?
Very reminiscent in style of 2003's
Scrapped Princess,
and that's not surprising given that it's also based on a light novel
series by Sakaki Ichirō and directed by Masui Souichi for Bones. But
that also means solid animation, decent character designs, and
generally competent work all round. It's always easy to follow what's
going on in action scenes, even with the kinetic fighting styles used
by some of the characters.
The world background feels pretty random, one must admit. Sorcerers
cast their spells using something that looks an awful lot like a
bolt-action rifle. There are magically-driven wagons, and a flying
castle used in battle, but mostly it's standard fantasy
pseudo-mediæval stuff. The plot is just a series of collect-the-object
quests, though in the final sequence our heroes get briefly embroiled
with politics and an attempt to re-start the war.
There's definitely nothing like a conclusion here. A second series is
to be aired in the 2014 autumn season. I'm starting to get the feeling
that at least some of the people who want to make a 24-episode series
are now making it as a 12-parter, to be followed by another 12-parter
if the viewing figures are high enough. What there is already gets my
recommendation.
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