10 Second Anime - Madan no Ou to Vanadis - Episode 13 [END]

Madan no Ou to Vanadis - Episode 13 [END]

Tigre uses his mettle to overcome his grief and defeats Thenardier in single combat. The king forges a new peace between Alsace and Leitmeritz. Series Finale.

Heh.

That was a nice conversation Elen had with Tigre to remind him how he continues through adversity. While Elen has pride in battle as a War Maiden, Tigre has mettle, battle tested resilience. Hunters have only themselves and their bow to rely on, and at heart, that's what Tigre the backwoods duke has always been.

 

Well, the prime minister making a surprise visit made all that work to prove Regin the princess seem unnecessary.

 

Mashas got a kick out of Tigre using his honest negotiating style to make the Prime Minister Badouin want to keep his land in the hands of Brune.

 

Whoo! Elen and Lim used to be mercenaries.

I like Lim's outfit from back then better, but I like Elen's present hairstyle.

Hah! I always love bringing back an old joke.

Apparently the wind goddess likes the tousled look more. So does the Princess, which bothers Titta just a little bit.

 

So, the king hadn't really been grief stricken crazy, just poisoned by Ganelon? Maybe it was the news that Regin was alive that brought him out of it, but the poison had done its work.

 

These feudal societies and their trial by champions. I will say that Thenardier facing Tigre in single combat was the most humane thing to do for his troops. Without his general Steed, the battle was turning into a brawl, and with Tigre's forces having better leadership and magical tactical weapons, ending the fight sooner than later was better for everyone.

 

Tigre, do not let the hate flow. Elen, show him how to stop that.

 

Having the wind goddess on your side because you asked nicely with the memory of one of your oldest friends is much easier on the body, and probably the soul too. I liked how Elen had to ask if her sword had helped because it had done so before with shooting down the dragon carrying Thenardier's son.

 

Okay, so we didn't have Tigre installed as King in the last episode, but having the princess pine for him while the King pretty much designated him his heir by naming him a Knight in the Order of the Moon leaves us room for some more story. I liked the reaction in the background. Meteors, storms, and now the moon? Why not? It's cool!

 

Hoh. Elen has a practical side too? Of course she does. She's ruling a province of her own. She started as a mercenary, so she doesn't have all the family connections that Mira and Elizaveta have outside Zchted. Why not go on a military expedition to forge alliances and bring commerce and trade to her country through this young duke who tried to shoot her with an arrow?

 

Even if Thenardier had is own political reasons for trying to burn down Alsace, he showed his human side in gaining a vendetta against Tigre for killing his son. It started out as business but then it also became personal. Lots of similarities between the old fiefdoms and crime boss territories.

 

Hmm.

We got a quick resolution to Tigre's war, and an even quicker resolution to what's going on with Ganelon and how Alsace, Leitmeritz, and Mira's Olmutz fare afterwards. It seemed like they needed an episode and a half, but all the dramatic beats were in the wrong places. Eh, what are you going to do? It's a light novel adaptation that seemed too heavy on the exposition and a bit light on the actual plot progression.

 

We got our open ended finale, because some people are hoping for another season. Like me. We didn't even get to see that 7th Vanadis running around. From the opening credits it looked like she was fighting Muozinel slaver kingdom forces, but her story got cut out of the series. We had enough lolis in Mira and Titta, so maybe we'll see her later.

 

Ganelon is boarding a ship and Thenardier has been killed, so what happened to their territories? I would expect the knightly orders to put some regional governors in charge, but we didn't get a resolution on that either.

 

Elen is back at her desk getting antsy while Tigre is off hunting. That's the best transitional ending for a second season we could hope for. Showing that magical bow twang and that war maiden, just like the name of the show.

 



Final Thoughts.

Madan no Ou to Vanadis started out strong, relying on its characters and how they related to each other. Also the comedy and sexy outfits. And the sexy situations. And the sexy girls. It was just a little spice to keep our attention while all the yacking was going on to explain things. The show also hit upon a nice idea in using chess pieces to explain the details of each particular battle.

 

Unfortunately, life in a military expedition force does not lend itself to sexy situations to explain stuff, so things started feeling rushed and barely making sense after the siege of Mira's stronghold. Some other vehicle to explain the geopolitics of Brune, Zchted, and Muozinel would have made things much more tolerable other than finding our loveable characters in another battle in which we don't know where they are, why it's important, or who they're fighting. There were only so many rivers and ponds to bathe in to explain stuff while the sexy girls played with each other.

 

A lack of imagination on how to explain the politics quickly like they did with the chess pieces for the battles was a definite problem in the last third of the show. By that point, I didn't really care how they got back to the capital, as long as they focused on our characters' relationships as they did so. The characters' portrayals, the story elements of their relationships, and just the fun fan service of the sexy war maidens made the show enjoyable, even if the rest of the story was barely understandable.

 

If this story gets another season, I hope the next production crew figures out a visual device to explain feudal politics that's still consistent with the chess piece graphics for the battlefield sets. Perhaps the mid episode cards could be used to that effect instead of the bits of relevant trivia we were given.

 

Those who like magical sexy warriors set in medieval times will appreciate this show, but only if they also like harem elements used for comedy. I have a high tolerance for confused story telling if the characters are well written, acted and drawn, so I enjoyed Madan no Ou to Vanadis. Elen's irrepressible confidence and spirit was the definite selling point. Plus, she was hot!