For a while, Kyoto Animation’s recent effort on their in-house adaptations has left me with mixed feelings, except for the first season of Chuunibyou and Free Eternal Summer. Besides the animation, the stories in particular did not impress me as much. However, when they announced that they would be making Amagi Brilliant Park by Shoji Gatoh, who also wrote Full Metal Panic into an Anime, I became somewhat excited. With that, did this show live up to expectations? Let’s find out!
The story focuses on a former child star named Kanie Seiya who wants to lead a normal life. After school, a girl named Sento Izusu threatens him with her musket in order to convince him to save a run-down amusement park. After Seiya takes a tour of the park with her and gains special powers from Princess Latfia through a kiss, he finds out that it’s not just a park. Most of the employees who work there is fairy folk that came from a fantasy land called Mapleland. They depend on the visitors’ happiness for their livelihood or otherwise, they would eventually disappear. After he realizes that, he decides to take the role as manager in order to save the park within three months.
While some people had mixed feelings about the comedy of the show, I find it very entertaining and humorous. Most of it comes from the three mascots (Moffle, Macaron and Tiramie) as they try to cause trouble or talk about perverted stuff. For instance, Isuzu and the mascots took turns each day to pretend to be Seiya by using a special suit while he was sick and eventually, they caused trouble over a girl who became attracted to him. Of course, there were other fun moments besides that such as pirates trying to take over the park, the interview of three girls that Isuzu seen in her dream and of course, the elemental fairies going through a series of trials to disarm the castle’s security that they accidentally activated.
As for the characters, while there is a sizable cast, most of the cast and Seiya were enjoyable. To me, I felt that the main draw was the female cast. To me, Isuzu looks very attractive. Not only that, some of her reactions is hilarious mostly because she doesn’t show any emotion most of the time. Moreover, the Elemental Fairies were also enjoyable as each has their own personality. Lastly, there is Princess Latfia who is probably the most adorable character out of the whole the cast. Although I felt bad for her since she was inflicted with a curse that causes her memories and biological clock to reset, I still like her personality. Thankfully, she kept her memories after reaching the goal.
Overall, although Amagi Brilliant Park is not a complete masterpiece and some may have mixed feelings about the comedy, the show was still very enjoyable to watch and I liked every moment of it. However, there was one thing that left me scratching my head. I felt that they revealed very little of Seiya’s past, mostly due to the lack of time although he revealed his promise to save Latfia. Even so, I still think that Amagi Brilliant Park is still a very enjoyable show, which made up some of the disappointment aspects of Chuunibyou Ren in the first half of 2014. I think the show benefited greatly with the author working with the production team for this show.
Overall Rating: 9.3/10, A, Very Good
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