“Argo Vesta – Heroic Slash of Holy Flame”
What They Say:
One of Bell’s trusted allies stands accused of the horrible crime after a brutal murder rocks the adventuring community! Now, it’s up to Bell and his friends to uncover a nefarious plot brewing in the Dungeon’s dark depths.
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Before their expedition began, Haruhime remembered being brought into an empty room of Hearthstone Manor by Aisha, with the shy renart questioning why they were here, only to then noticed a massive book on the nearby table, shuddering upon recognizing the significance of this imposing tome, with the assertive Amazon confirming what she feared, it was a grimoire. The beautiful woman bluntly stated this mystical item would forcibly awaken a new magic within the reader, and while they had no way of knowing what would be unlocked, it would also power up the hesitant fox who was useless if a level boost was the only thing she could do, and while the unsure girl berated herself for not being worthy of such a gift, it was her big sister figure who boldly reassured her it does not matter what sort of spell she received, whatever it is, it might save the lives of her friends. As her thoughts returned to the Dungeon, the newly emboldened renart cast her new enchantment called Kokonoe, and as her brave friends protected their magical companion with ferocious savagery, a dazzling golden light emanated from the serene young woman as she wove the gentle spell, with several ethereal tails dramatically growing from her backside and surrounding her in a celestial glow. As the injured dwarves and elves who encircled the caster stared on in sincere awe, her uplifting chant grew in intensity as the spell neared its end, with the now confident girl shouting forth the name of her completed magic Uchide no Kozuchi, its effect embedding itself within her extra appendages, only to then scatter forth in streamers of energy to envelope Welf, Daphne, Aisha, Mikoto and Ouka with a powerful boost and grant a temporary level up to all thus encased.
As these newly empowered adventurers rushed forward to turn the tide of what seemed like a hopeless monster party, the now exhausted renart looked on in satisfaction before collapsing in a heap before the astonished onlookers, but as a puzzled Dormul question what just happened and wondered if the young girl’s magic had multiplied, it was the ever serious prum commander who reminded them of the Amazon’s prior threat to keep everything they saw a secret, even as Lilly worried aloud that this was their last hope to get back alive. However, as the invigorated warriors continued to mercilessly slaughter anything that stood in their way, it was then when Aisha pondered what the Moss Huge had planned for them, only to be stunned as she noticed the hulking abomination standing behind the assembled Dungeon defenders, stooping down and gathering the crystallized resource which now littered the ground, the massive hand now grasping the remains of its fallen comrades, with the stunned woman now realizing they had been tricked into giving it what it wanted – magic stones. Pouring this much needed meal down its hungry throat, Aisha watched in horror as it crunched these mortal gems, power surging through its disgusting body as all witnessed the irregular drastically surged in size and grotesqueness, with new wooden growths spring forth to make a once fearsome giant into something ever more dreadful, its brutal cry announcing to the Dungeon a new terror had been born.
In Summary:
While the first half episode itself is heartwarming due to the development of Haruhime under the harsh disciple of a scolding big sister like Aisha, showing she can contribute to the party instead of being a useless follower according to the Amazon, once again the studio sacrificed what could have been stunning visuals in order to make the animation more streamlined, eliminating the hammers of light which are outlined in her new spell, and opting for a quicker dazzle of energetic magic. The effect is stunning for a general audience, but those who have read the light novel or paid attention to the subtitles will know something is missing during this moving scene, and though this substitution is adequate, it lacks what could have been a stunning impact of seeing literal mallets of power passed onto her friends. Even desperate scenes for each character have been cut out, for with their power-ups waning, each individual has their own moment of frantic bravery to show they have not given up, savagely displaying their battle skills to acknowledge they will not surrender without a fight, but with this adaptation, each person’s prideful chance is condensed into meaningless flashes on the screen, all leading up to the final confrontation between our hero and the Moss Huge.
But this climatic showdown is also rushed to save time, ignoring the frantic thoughts of the monster which fortified its panicked attacks, instead showing a monster who seems driven by instinct instead of the experience it had learned from past encounters, making it a more cunning opponent rather than a beast which is only pushed by frustration. These essential motivations are ignored to create an irregular which is pushed forward by primal needs in lieu of the tangible drive to better itself, and while the studio could have cast another actor to voice these internal drives, we are left with a hollow and mundane challenge for Cranel, and while this showing may be exciting on the surface, it lacks the grander influence necessary to separate it from an ordinary monster. As such, we have a final showdown which is lackluster, suitable on the surface as an exciting conclusion for this expedition, but missing the challenge of a worthy rival which was notably communicated within the light novel, showing a creature which could have been a Xenos if not for its savage need to devour everything in sight.
The resulting scene is once again a hurried frenzy, only showing off Bell’s overwhelming power and new Argo Vesta, but even this stunning moment is overblown to allow for more visual impact, melodramatically showing a bold adventurer who can explosively destroy anything he wishes, and while the thrilling showing from the light novel of a hero dashing forth and reducing the helpless beast into a pile of ash, its body disintegrating and only legs left behind, the underlying recognition of giving a worthy rival this type of death is lost due to the quickened pace of these episodes. With one book of about two hundred forty pages reduced to five episodes, I am afraid to see what they will do to the rest of the story arc of six hundred plus pages, and if it too will be squeezed down to fit this quickened pacing or will they allow for the audience to reflect on the hectic trials our heroes have yet to face.
Grade: A
Streamed By: HIDIVE
