New Saga TV Review: The anime adaptation of Masayuki Abe’s novel is an uneventful, offensive slog through familiar territory
Plot: After a brutal war, magic swordsman Kyle defeats the Demon King but is left dying; a crimson crystal sends him four years into the past to his once-destroyed hometown, where he finds his lost loved ones alive.
Review: Everyone wants the opportunity to start over. Maybe not from the beginning, but given the chance to fix a few pivotal mistakes, you’d likely take it. In the anime New Saga from Sotsu and Studio Clutch studios, based on the novel by Masayuki Abe, swordsman Kyle travels back in time after a powerful gem returns him to a time before a war between demons and humanoids can wipe his people off the planet. It’s a plot that typically lends itself to twists, turns, and surprises, so why does New Saga have none of those? How does something as intriguing as changing the past become a paint-by-numbers mission?
I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I did not like New Saga. Nothing upsets me more than watching something that feels like wasting my time, and New Saga remains relatively uneventful throughout, lacking even fun character chemistry to push through the boredom. My chief complaint about New Saga is how easy Kyle’s journey is from start to finish. Because he knows everything about his people’s downfall, he can sidestep any event that could throw a wrench into the works. Traditionally, changing the future has its own repercussions, but not here. Everything is so cut and dry that there’s never any sense of danger, whether it’s to the mission or Kyle’s traveling party.
New Saga isn’t all bad. The series is often peppered with dry humor, but not enough to keep the laughs coming throughout the 12-episode run. Each character represents an anime stereotype that feels all too familiar in a fantasy setting. Liese, Kyle’s monk brawler with A-Cup angst, is your garden-variety jealous type, making angry eyes at every girl in Kyle’s orbit despite never making any advances herself. Seran Leila is “the Big Guy.” Seran’s horny, clueless, and all-too-serious when battle gets hot. He never learns, repeatedly steps in his own s**t, but is as loyal as they come. Despite being considerably more potent than the others, Urza Ekses, the elf-girl summoner, routinely calls on the same two entities to power her most devastating attacks. Finally, there’s Sildonia Zeeles, the snack-happy humanoid version of Kyle’s magic weapon. Sildonia brings a fair amount of humor to the party, though they’re mostly talking with their mouth full of cookies for most of the series.
In addition to feeling like Kyle’s mission is far too easy to execute, the saga is relatively uneventful. Fights that look like they could pose a challenge are over before they begin, and there’s little flash to make them visually arresting in any meaningful way. There’s also an off sensation of abandon that comes with a pivotal fight toward the end of the series that I found confusing. Marching into “the toughest battle yet” with what is essentially a “meh” attitude is baffling.
To New Saga‘s credit, the show did make me laugh out loud on occasion. Most of the chuckles came from unexpectedly funny dialogue or line delivery, so at least there’s that. I’ll tell you what I don’t appreciate, though. There’s a smattering of homophobia and racism throughout the series, which, while not entirely out of the realm for anime, is always unnecessary. Do better. I can handle the blatant fan service, but once you’re openly mocking characters for being androgenous, it’s time for us to talk. Again, do better.
Ultimately, New Saga feels like a trudge of squandered potential. Time travel is such a fun story conceit. Still, what’s the point if you don’t do anything creative with the premise? Kyle’s mission could have taken him in unexpected directions, changed relationships within his party, and revealed new details that help him grow as a hero. None of that transpires. We’re along for the journey with little standing in our way of making sweeping changes to the world. That happens when you follow a well-worn path through familiar territory.
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