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Plot Summary:
When a red moon rises, Emulators, creatures from a world contained within our own, descend to prey on man. The source of all Earth’s legends of magical monsters, they are only combatable by magical means: that is, the Night Wizards. Shihou Elis knows nothing of this-yet. Then an old tree by her new school seems to call her, and in the middle of the night, everything changes. A treasure awakens to her voice, an Emulator arises to stop her, and she is rescued by two young up and coming Wizards: Akabane Kureha, an all too enthusiastic girl a year older than Elis, and Hiragi Renji, a skilled swordsman who battles Emulators daily at a frenetic pace in the vain hope of attending school and curbing his steadily rising absent rate. Both good friends and good wizards, she’ll need both, because she hasn’t just become involved-she has become a focal point. The rate of invasion by Emulators has been increasing steadily(just ask Hiragi), and Anzelotte, eternal leader of the wizards, has decided to take action. Which means getting the Seven Jewels of Virtue, which will only respond to Elis, which means she will definitely need strong companions. And true ones. A turning point in the fate of the world is coming, and aside from faith in friends, few things are certain.

Studio:
Hal Film Maker(Aria the Animation, Boys be, Saber Marionette J)

Cast:
Yanagi Naoki as Hiragi Renji
Kogure Ema as Akari Himuro and Anzelotte
Satou Rina as Akabane Kureha
Miyazaki Ui as Elis Shihou
Goto Yuko as Bell Zephyr

Genre:
Fantasy, Action, Comedy.

Airtime:
Night Wizard aired from October 02, 2007 till December 25, 2007

DVD Availability:
None. You’ll have to use the donators section(heh)

Episodes:
Night Wizard is a thirteen episode series.

Review:
Some anime are comedies. Some are not. But every once in a while you get something special, a kind of transmutation, where the comedy of one episode brings tears to your eyes the next. I started watching Night Wizard for light relief from whatever heavier anime I was presently watching, but in the end I was treated to a pleasant surprise.

Characters aren’t especially dazzling, but they are very endearing and easy to like. Elis(Alice, possibly, in English) is your typical cute, short haired, timid, caring shoujo lead, but Night Wizard employs a special light touch to their characters that redeems the spark in every stereotype: without any real innovations, she will make you smile. Who wouldn’t want to protect her? Kureha’s your very bouncy, enthusiastic, energetic go getter. Long haired, long clothed(she dresses as a shrine maiden) and with a long history with Hiragi, she’s a large part of the anime’s comedy, and like everyone else, is very easy to like. Akari, who takes a little longer to show up, is your ‘balanced’ quiet girl-meaning, she doesn’t have a tragic past, or some other psychological issue. She doesn’t need a cure, she’s just monosyllabic. She actually talks a lot more than most of her type, and has a subtle but complete range of expression, lending her considerably more character. Rather than only say the minimum necessary, usually in response, she actually volunteers to speak, occasionally making low voiced observations or comments, and always speaks in full sentences, instead of the minimum necessary for comprehension. In any case, cast against Hiragi’s noisy nature and Kureha’s enthusiasm, she makes a good counter, as the final part of the core group. The villains are rendered with similar treatment; there’s a touch to their evil, which isn’t really innovative, which makes them enjoyable to watch. Maybe it’s that they don’t try to shoot the scene as if they actually are unique, tragic, or intense. They simply let them be. In any case, for the first eight episodes, thanks in no small part to this, a better light anime has never been.

Plot: ah, now here is where we get to the really good part. I usually mention flow, but Night Wizard did something a little special. Stories gain power by making you a part of them; they draw you in, make you part of the action, put you in the middle, and by doing this, make it meaningful. Most try to put you in the shoes of their characters, showing why the story matters to them, but there is another way: to make everything matter to you; to show you just what everything is, why it’s important and precious, so that when everything goes wrong, nothing matters more than that everything, in the end, be right. Utawarerumono did something similar. Because I wanted everyone to be okay, the plot itself only had to be adequate; I did the rest. For the first eight episodes, Night Wizard seems the model role for all light comedy action anime. Enjoyable with some slightly sweet moments, I was very satisfied. Then the transmutation occurred. Without my realizing it, a base had been laid, and the last five episodes became something else. It never felt like I had been suddenly dropped in another anime. Unlike Gurren Laggan, the essence itself didn’t feel changed. But…I was really, truly affected by it, and was much, much more involved I had expected. It was a pleasant surprise, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And so in the end, Night Wizard gives us the best of both, in a way that seems natural, and the thoroughly sunny ending is the icing on the cake. As a series that I would heartily recommend, this series rates a four.

Final Rating: 4/5

This review was brought to you by Z.N. Singer
Credits:
Info such as cast and airtime are courtesy of the ANN anime encyclopedia. All else is, and always will be, the origination of the author.

written by znsinger \\ tags: Action, anime, Comedy, Fantasy, Reviews