"Everyone has to die someday. But what they believed in will never fade away as long as someone protects it. Once you've resolved to take on those principles, no matter how much blood and tears you shed, you follow through with it! That's what it means to be a knight."
Seven Deadly Sins (Nanatsu no Taizai) is an action, adventure, ecchi, fantasy, magic, shounen, and supernatural anime originally released in October 2014 by A-1 Pictures with 24 episodes. The series has three continuing seasons, a movie, and two specials.
General Rating: 8.2/10
My Rating: 10/10
As an otaku, I have hear much talk about this anime, especially in 2014 when it first came out. However, Fullmetal Alchemist was fresh on my mind that year and I first viewed this anime as the knockoff seven deadly sins from FMA, and was quite against watching it. However, eventually it was led back to my mind in 2019, so I thought why not give it a try, and finally watched the anime that I marathoned in a day and landed at spot #6 on my top anime list ever!
Seven Deadly Sins is the type of anime you would get if you took Fullmetal Alchemist and Fairy Tail and mashed them together, resulting in an even more masterpiece quality of an anime. Seven Deadly Sins is a franchise worth watching due to the fact that it hits its mark wherever it aims. The Sins are nicknamed by the people based on deeds they have done in the past - whether misinterpreted or true - and those names have stuck with them over the years. They each possess a different type of magic and some are different class types (giants, fairies, etc). However, unlike in Fairy Tail, the Sins do not have the strongest sense of unity, especially certain characters, and for some it is not unthinkable for them to turn against their own comrade for something they believe in. This is something I greatly enjoyed in this anime because it doesn't follow the typical hero vs villain troupe, and the anime never labels which side is which. This is one of my absolute favorite story types in anime and is an absolute blast to watch. Another thing this anime has that I absolutely love, is its use of multiple factions against a larger enemy, and factions within the factions. This troupe strongly reminds me of Code Geass, and even though the animes are very different from eachother, the setup is very familiar.
Another huge strength of this anime, is its romance, believe it or not. If you are a fan of cross-class romance in fantasy settings or powerful male character protecting girly female character romance, there's quite a few pairings you will probably love to death in this anime. While I would never recommend someone seeking a romance anime to watch it, it is a fairly prominent part of the story. There is a lot of heartbreak, involved so be warned. I felt quite a bit of PAMDS after this anime due to some of the romance, especially more than I expected.
Seven Deadly Sins begins with the revered Holy Knights of Britannia that protect Britannia and its kingdoms with their immensely powerful and unrivaled magic. However, a small subset of the Knights were rumored to have betrayed their homeland, turning their blades against their comrades in an attempt to overthrow the ruler. They Holy Knights declared them defeated, but other rumors continued to persist that these legendary knights, called the "Seven Deadly Sins," were still alive and wrecking havoc. Ten years later, the Holy Knights were now more feared than revered, as they became the new, tyrannical rulers of the Kingdom. In a separate, peaceful countryside, Elizabeth, the third princess of the Kingdom of Liones, searches for the Seven Deadly Sins, as she believes with their help, she can take back her kingdom from the Holy Knights and seek justice in an unjust world.
I have often heard Elizabeth called a useless character in this anime, however I do not believe this to be true. Elizabeth is no Sakura or Lucy. She's not a fighter, nor supposed to be. She is a princess, and fits that role phenomenally. Although she travels with them, she is not one of the Sins and should not be compared to them. She plays her role well for what she is given in the anime and does still contribute to the team in that way. She's also fanservice material, so there's that too.
Story: The fully engrossing world of the Seven Deadly Sins is an experience like no other. Each of the seasons adds new elements to the fully developing story, much like a FMA style, and the world is ever-changing and twisting at every point you feel like you are on steady ground. I can't remember an episode where something major didn't happen, or important backstory wasn't revealed.
Characters: The characters in this anime are outstanding, as I said before, and one of the best parts of it. Lots of different uses and extremes of magic, unique character designs, and above all, engrossing backstory. Unlike Naruto where it seems like every character has a sob story attached to them, Seven Deadly Sins backstory is an important part of the story. Not just understanding a character or their motives, but Seven Deadly Sins is an anime where the backstory contains vital information to the currently progressing story, and the backstory was honestly some of my favorite parts.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is a hit or miss - in the way that it is sometimes breathtaking, and sometimes it just fades into the background. This is often not fault of the soundtrack itself, but rather so much going on in the anime that your attention draws away from the soundtrack. I have listened to many OSTs, opening, and endings from this anime on youtube and I love every single one - just more for some than others. The first opening of this anime is one of my favorites and was what led me to eventually see this anime back in 2019.
Art: I absolutely love the art in Seven Deadly Sins. It's crisp and beautiful, and has a slight resemblance to mid-late 2000s art versus modern anime art - which is a fact I absolutely love about this anime. The character designs are spot on masterpieces and unique to the anime, especially in body types. Also, the characters that rely on physical strength have the muscles to back it up, which seems to have vanished a lot in modern anime with flimsy looking characters who are secretly strong taking centerstage. Seven Deadly Sins is an exception to that, and it is one of my favorite factors of the show.
There is so very little that I disliked about this anime, that it is mostly unnotable, and for that reason it sits high on my top animes list. It has fanservice, sure, but on a very minimal level, especially in comparing it to similar anime like Fairy Tail. All in all, this anime is a masterpiece, and if you haven't already seen it, I fully recommend. It has everything from badass fights, plot twists you could never expect (even if you are Lelouch), lots of good romance, and a unique cast of characters that don't seem to fit any box. Fans of animes like Code Geass, Hunter x Hunter, Akatsuki no Yona, Akame ga Kill, Magi, My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, Gurren Lagann, or Fairy Tail will definitely love this anime and so should any fan who can recognize good anime when they see it!
Seven Deadly Sins is an anime I wish there were more like in the world and I found myself wishing it wasn't over as soon as it was.
Comments