2014-12-29

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (神撃のバハムート GENESIS) is a 12 episode fantasy series based on the mobile card game Shingeki no Bahamut.  The series originally aired in Japan during the Fall of 2014.

    Favaro Leone is a bounty hunter and the son of a bandit.  He's cocky, slippery and full of himself.  The only things that interest him are drinking and women, both of which he does with gusto.  While bragging at an inn one evening, a woman over hears him boast about traveling to the remote city of Helheim.  The woman, named Amira, is headed to Helheim in search of her mother.  She confronts Favoro, who doesn't know when to tell the truth, and asks him to take her there.  He agrees but doesn't realize what he's getting into with his lie.  Amira, half demon and half angel, is heading to find her mother.  She is being manipulated by power people working to change the world.  Amira holds within her one of two keys that help to seal the ancient world destroying dragon Bahamut.  She puts a curse on Favaro that forces him to help her.  As they begin to find out whats actually going on Favaro starts to do his best to help her, if only to remove the curse. 

    I don't generally like high fantasy anime.  There is just something about them that usually bothers my.  I grew up reading mostly fantasy novels and playing all sorts of Dungeons & Dragons, but the anime worlds representation of fantasy never struck a cord with me.  This show on the other hand, is fantastically entertaining and I rank it as my favorite show of the year.  The animation is slick, the character designs are fantastic and the background story is pretty entertaining.  There are equal amounts of action and humor and both are done very well.  My biggest complaint would be that the Demon characters looked stupid and some of them seemed to be pointless.  But lets talk more about how awesome this show was!

    It really reminded me of the spirit and pace of Cowboy Bebop.  Favaro and the other characters in the band of heroes are entertaining and unique.  They keep the real mastermind hidden until the very end.  With the exception of the annoying recap episode in the middle of the show it was well paced and told the story well, ending when it should have instead of stretching it out unnecessarily.  The show wraps up nicely with a tease that it may return.  Lets hope so!

    The series was simulcast on Hulu and is licensed by FUNimation, so expect a disc release at some point.  I plan on picking it up myself!

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