With so much stuff on Netflix, it can be a little overwhelming finding something to watch, especially when one scrolls through and half of what they see are foreign flicks and tv shows that they have absolutely no interest in. With that said, the purpose of these weekly posts is to share something that i watch on the service. Hopefully it will help someone find something new…or keep them from something they might have wasted their time with otherwise.
This week I’m going to cover…
Genre: Anime
Duration: 3 seasons (52 episodes; ~24 min each)
Cast: Bryce Papenbrook, Erika Harlacher, Erica Mendez, Cristina Vee, Ben Diskin, Max Mittleman, Erik Scott Kimerer, Lauren Landa
Not everyone is a fan of anime. For me, I prefer series that don’t take themselves too seriously, maybe show a bit of skin in a comedic manner, and don’t skimp on the action. The Seven Deadly Sins delivers on these prerequisites and more.
First off, no, this is not a religious anime. The use of the name Seven Deadly Sins is just for character purposes, same as with the rivals, the Ten Commandments. It is an interesting way to characterize our protagonists.
The series follows Elizabeth, the third princess of the Kingdom of Liones, who is in search of the Seven Deadly Sins, a group of former Holy Knights who were disbanded after the kingdom was overthrown. She enlists the help of Meliodas and Hawk, the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins and his talking pet pig, to assemble the remaining members of the Seven Deadly Sins and take back the kingdom from the Holy Knights.
As with almost every anime, the animation is beautifully done. I am not sure if this is hand drawn or a mix of hand and computer work, but I find myself at times being so distracted by the visuals that I lost sight of what is going on with the story. This is not complex animation, either. To be honest, it is quite simple save for a couple of special treats, which makes this all the more remarkable.
Violence is something that comes with action series such as this. A video about this series I watched the other day pointed out that it isn’t over done, though. Sure, we get limbs cut off, characters beaten within an inch of their lives, etc, but it is always just enough to get the point across. For example, Meliodas, the captain of the Sins, is engaged in a seemingly fight to the death in one episode. The animators chose to show him spitting out blood with certain punches, but nothing over the top. That level of restraint is what makes this series work, as it fits the tone perfectly.
As you can imagine, this is not a serious anime but, at the same time, it isn’t one that will have you laughing from start to finish, either. The comedy is thrown in at key moments to keep things light. A good chunk of these moments involve Meliodas “copping a feel” from Elizabeth and the other characters chastising him for doing so.
I still have half a season left of The Seven Deadly Sins, as well as the movie (which through Netflix constant recommendations piqued my initial interest in this series). While I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, I have been thoroughly entertained and enthralled in the ongoing saga. If you get the chance, especially if you’re a fan of animation, check this out!