I'm not really a very big anime fan anymore. I certainly used to be; back during my teenage years I was one of those annoying, uncritical kids who operate under the illusion that if it's animated and comes from Japan, then it must be good, or must at least be viewed in a more charitable light than other types of shows. Oddly enough, it was in watching truly great anime that my interest in the genre began to wane: after seeing the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Miyazaki's work, and most of Gainax's stuff, I found it hard to take sludge like Yu-Gi-Oh seriously...and let's face it, most anime released in the U.S. these days is about as brainless and mediocre as that series. For every entertaining, engaging show like Outlaw Star or Rurouni Kenshin, there's a dozen inane monster-battling and robot-battling shows, to say nothing of the various series that are simply boringly adequate.





Ragnarok The Animation, a joint Japanese/Korean venture based on the hugely popular Ragnarok Online MMORPG, falls somewhere in the middle in terms of quality: it's not bad, and has some compelling features...but it's not outstanding either, and the word "derivative" came to my mind more than a few times while I was watching it. I've had this first episode on deck to review for several months now, but kept putting it off, mostly because I just didn't feel very strongly one way or the other about it and wasn't sure that I could wring much of a review out of it. And look: I already spent one whole paragraph griping about anime in general instead of actually writing about the episode itself. I'm off to a bad start here.

The series takes place in a stereotypical fantasy world called Rune-Midgard (as does the game the series is based on) and follows the adventures of a group of young travelers: Roan, an impetuous swordsman; his childhood friend and vague romantic interest Yufa, a healer; Takius, a blindfolded sorceress; and three others (Maya, Iruga, and Judia) who are introduced in later episodes. The setting seems hackneyed at first glance, but one gets the feeling that the producers of the series were aiming quite directly for this particular idiom: rather than attempt to shy away from the traditional swords-and-sorcery genre, they decided (as the makers of the game decided before them) to playfully embrace it. Much of the show's appeal lies in its unashamed resemblance to an old-school RPG: sword-wielding hero, monster-filled mazes, heroic quests. It's got a fun nostalgic kick to it.

The characters themselves are likewise somewhat clichéd, especially in their generic fantasy occupations, but their personalities are unique enough. Roan is less milquetoast than most fantasy heroes of this type, and spends as much time complaining about Yufa's spacey, girlish habits as he does yearning for her to see him as something more than a friend. Yufa herself, meanwhile, has a brighter, more outgoing personality than most of her ineffectual ilk (in one early scene, she cheerfully starts in on a shopping expedition at a bazaar shortly after solemnly visiting her brother's grave -- Roan is surprised at the sudden switch in her attitude, and so is the viewer; the show had seemed to earlier imply that she was a more emotionally vulnerable character). The other characters are similarly quirky, but still well within the standard conventions of fantasy anime.





The plot of this first episode is pretty straightforward; except for a climactic battle against a giant monster called a "Clockwork Guardian" towards the end (unleashed by some comic antagonists), the show doesn't offer much beyond simple introductions. We meet Roan and Yufa, who soon meet Takius, but don't learn much of anything about their backgrounds apart from some cursory information. We also get a feeling for the fantasy world of Rune-Midgard, which seems to have a tradition of wandering adventurers -- businesses cater to them, and there is some mention of a standardized concept of a "party" of travelers who wander around slaying monsters and looking for treasure.

In terms of design and animation, well, everything here is pretty top-notch. The series boasts a clean, colorful look, and doesn't skimp on the animation (as many newer anime series have an unfortunate habit of doing). The music is also surprisingly good, with some numbers utilizing exotic instruments and sounding downright orchestral.

All that said, there's really nothing in Ragnarok The Animation that folks familiar with swords-and-sorcery style fantasy anime haven't seen before. I'm not too familiar with the game, but I suppose if you are you might have some additional reason to check it out; otherwise...well, I wouldn't call it "boringly adequate", as the show's nostalgic charms are entertaining from time to time, but ultimately it's pretty unexceptional stuff.

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