Eiyuuou, Bu wo Kiwameru Tame Tenseisu: Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kishi♀ – 12 (END)

「激突！英雄王vs虹の王」 (Gekitotsu! Eiyuuou Buiesu Niji no Ou)
“Clash! Hero-King vs. King of Rainbows”

And with that the tale of one fighty girl and two ravenous stomachs is now over. No serious surprises in the close for Eiyuuou: Highlanders were permanently yeeted; fighting with big giant monsters accomplished; and cute scenes had aplenty. Hell we even made some room to acknowledge the obvious in Inglis’ strength and have her turn down the resulting opportunity because obviously paperwork takes too much away from the punching and the kicking. Nothing really all that different from what we got before, and yet just enough to keep a smile on my face the entire way through. Personally I’ll take that as a win. Anyways, onto the final impressions!

Final Impressions

Eiyuuou in hindsight is one of those shows you know everything about right on the tin. It’s a superficial fantasy all about simple action and lighthearted comedy, where story is as much around to give reason for the whole shebang as it is to justify the next moment of cute and adorable. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination – far from it – but it’s also one of those series where if you like the material you most certainly won’t have a bad time.

The key strength of Eiyuuou as alluded to is its lackadaisical nature. Much like previous waves of slice of life focused fantasy/isekai, serious plot and overbearing story is sacrificed in the name of whimsical cuteness and moeblob goodness, making for a show that’s as relaxing to watch as it is fun. Whether it be Inglis’ simplistic goal of beating up bigger and more dangerous opponents or the, shall we say, bottomless relationship she and Rani share, there’s always something to chuckle at or otherwise derive a nice bit of entertainment fun. This is very much a show to turn your mind off at and let the current carry you, something you don’t want to put too much thought into or play up too strongly. Treat it as a relaxing lark and you can do worse when it comes to basic fantasy. Particularly a fantasy with surprisingly awesome art.

The caveat of course, however, is that such simplicity is also a weakness. While starting out strong thanks to that shiny new anime look, Eiyuuou did begin faltering in its latter half for the same reason a lot of these series do: repetitiveness. There’s only so many ways to tell the same jokes, play the same gags, or feature the same (admittedly adorable) faces before eyes start trending towards the episode timer and wondering when the latest weekly affair will end. This isn’t the direct fault of Eiyuuou either as much as its execution; underneath the fluff there were quite a few interesting tangents vis a vis Highlander politics and Eiyuuou’s magic system to explore, but thanks to the usual adaptation choices and constraints we barely touched on these in favour of cute and bubbly. Unless actively willing to expand their thematic horizons this is a point all slice of life series reach eventually, with Eiyuuou only hitting it sooner because it arguably started with shallower material. Again, doesn’t make the series objectively bad (I remain a sucker for these sorts of shows), but without a doubt limits any future potential it has for additional adaptations.

Overall while not as good as the first few episodes belied, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with and writing about Eiyuuou. It may feature more fluff than meat on its bones, but when you’re after relaxation first and gritty thinking second there’s definitely worse ways to spend your time. After all, sometimes cheap and tasty is exactly what’s needed to satisfy the anime appetite.

End Card