天下制覇

Look for it in a Disney Store near you.

New Season Disclaimer:

I’ll make a post for almost all new series (barring sequels) with a wrap-up and bullet point opinion of each once the premier week is over. Remember that these are just my kneejerk reactions to the first 20 minutes of shows, many of which in genres that I don’t even particularly like, but I do believe in giving every new series at least an episode to at least try and hook me.

Impressions:

I didn’t like the laborious pacing of Moribito at all, and Erin is certainly no Moribito. Far lower production values and a far simpler presentation, along with some truly questionable artistic direction and I think anybody would be hard pressed to call this a particularly strong successor. IG reverts back to their favored textureless style for this one, which I already despise, but they try to use a lot of period art for backgrounds and sceneries in general. The problem is that most of it doesn’t look good. Absolutely pristine stone walls warping in on themselves and fences that look like they were made by a team of drunk carpenters are only the beginning. There’s also the decision to convert violent scenes into a totally surreal style, full of bright contrasting colors and even less sense.

I also felt a little insulted by the 500 ton imagery hammer towards the end when they showed a weasel threatening a baby eagle while Erin was being threatened. Subtle is not the word I would use to describe that scene. It did really make me think that this show probably is aimed for at least a 5 year or so range younger audience than I had expected though. A full year of a show about watching a young girl run around and play with animals certainly reinforces that notion. If the OP’s any indication, this’ll be mostly about Erin and her mother (and apples), and far more of a Disney tale about being nice to animals (and owning a dog whistle) than another Moribito.

At any rate, animation was above average. No complaints about the music in general. Artistic direction needs to settle down into a style, and maybe just pick up a completely new design for the eyes since, ye lords, they look dead inside. If you’re expecting this to be the second coming of Moribito, you’re not getting it. I have no intentions to give this a second look until after the final verdict is in, and that’s a year off.

Opening Sequence

Preview:

Erin gets into more mischief. What a shocker.