Category: Dantalian no Shoka

「ラジエルの書架」 (Rajieru no Shoka)
“Raisel’s Library”

Dantalian no Shoka continues to nibble around the edges of the truth, giving us tantalizing glimpses of the deeper reality behind the episodic stories we’ve been given so far and the characters that drive them.

「幻曲」 (Genkyoku)
“Phantom Score”

I like this series, but I’d really love to love it. It has style, it’s extremely smart and literate, the OP is beyond beautiful and it offers an engaging premise. But Dantalian no Shoka – at least the anime version – is a tease. It only lets you see so much of what it is, occasionally shows you brilliance, but always pulls away before you can get too close.

「黄昏の書」 (Tasogare no Sho)
“Book of Twilight”

I hope no one gave up on Dantalian no Shoka, because if you’ve stuck around through a somewhat uneven run you were rewarded with by the series’ best episode – a glorious burst of GAINAX ingenuity and a treat for the eyes.

「等価の書 / 連理の書」 (Tōka no Sho / Renri no Sho)
“Book of Equivalence / Book of Connectionr”

Well, there’s no denying that this was a pretty lightweight pair of stories for Dantalian no Shoka this week. But you know, I think this is a face that the series wears well – I find the series quite charmer when it shows its warmer, funnier side.

「調香師」 (Chōkō-shi)
“Parfumer”

Huey and Dalian are back in the saddle on Dantalian no Shoka this week, with no reference to the Flam and Hal interlude of last week whatsoever. And they deliver a solid if unspectacular episode, whose most impressive feature may be the body count.

「焚書官」 (Funsho-kan)
“The Book Burner”

I guess in judging this episode, one has to look at it both in context and in terms of pure stand-along entertainment value. To tackle the latter first, I guess I’d say it was pretty good. But to finally judge this ep in the context of the series as presented, I’m not overly pleased.

「魔術師の娘」 (Majutsu-shi no Musume)
“The Magician’s Daughter”

We’ve had six separate mysteries unraveled so far, but in terms of the main characters this one felt by far the most personal.

「換魂の書」 (Kan Kon no Sho)

"Book of Soul Exchange"

With two very solid and dramatically different episodes back-to-back, I can’t help but be encouraged about Dantalian no Shoka and where it’s headed. As a little bonus, both thematically and visually this felt more like GAINAX than any of the earlier episodes.