I didn't mean to do two reviews like this in a row, but it is kind of funny my review of Shironeko Project follows directly after it's video game equivalent of Chronus Arc. It's a show that's hard to talk about in too much detail because it's just kind of bare-bones and boring. At the same time though, it's hard to find anything that wrong with it.
The world is split between two groups, the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Dark. For reasons that aren't touched upon, the balance must be kept between the two, and they are in a constant state of war. The two main characters are the soon to be appointed King of Darkness and the current Queen of Light, and of course, throughout the story, they fall in love. It's a story with themes of prejudice and racism without any real reason given for these groups to be opposed, it just kind of is this way. That's the biggest problem I have with the story is this is just kind of accepted with no real reason for it, and it leads to the story feeling a bit hollow.
It's not helped by a cast of characters that barely feel like characters, and are more just kind of walking tropes. Every so often you get glimpses of real character from them, but it's not a whole lot. They feel just enough like actual people to not make them feel too stale, but not nearly vibrant enough for anyone to stand out. Otherwise, it's a pretty basic story, though I will say that once the end comes around there are a few things that kind of hold your attention to make you interested in season two.
The best parts are the few action scenes you get because they are well animated and rather intense for the brief periods they come up. Anytime you see the King of Darkness in action, for instance, really stands out because of how different he fights compared to anyone else in the show. For a show about two warring nations, there is surprisingly little action to be had. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since they wanted to focus on the interactions between characters, but they just aren't all that interesting at any point. This is made all the worse by the show not having anything interesting or unique to say about any of its themes.
I don't like writing these short reviews about a series, because I feel most shows a lot more than this. But sometimes you get shows like this or games like Chronus Arc that simply don't give you a whole lot to talk about, and honestly, that ends up being one of the worst things that can be said about any kind of medium. If nothing is interesting about the show to discuss, there is inevitably nothing about the show that warrants watching it. If you just need a show to fill some time, it's a fine enough watch, just don't expect to walk away with any strong feelings.
always coming up with a good review! so many on the waiting list.