Campione! / First Impressions

episode 07

「風よ、雨よ、狼よ」 (Kaze yo , Ame yo , Okami yo)
“Wind, Rain, Wolf”

Why Campione!, oh why? You actually had me going on for one episode there, yet here you’ve again shattered my illusions of expecting some kind of complexity from your characters. Okay, I’ll admit that the opening throw down between Erica and Liliana was quite possibly the best thing you have presented up till now, showcasing your flair for some incredible fight choreography and action, even though I still have misgivings about Liliana’s wonky looking flight magic. Truly, you deserve a pat on your back for keeping the action sequences this entertaining. But what the heck was up with the resolution to the fight? Yes, blackmailing Liliana was expected from manipulative Erica, and yes, it was a touch hilarious to see her completely destroy Liliana through this psychological attack, but did you really have to go on a stretch to make Liliana’s character as shallow as this? First off, she’s not even working for Voban on her own volition, but is instead being forced by her grandfather to do so, whose own reason for having done so is to have her compete with Erica. It almost sounds something you’d be more likely to find from some two-bit romantic comedy. (Oh wait.) Secondly, of all the things to pull out for blackmail, you’ll go with a self-penned wish-fulfillment romance novel from the chaste blue knight, just to pull an extremely arbitrary slapstick moment? And then you tell me Liliana actually fell for it? I don’t know about the folks out there, but this resolution just feels so detrimental to Liliana’s characterization to me, making her out to be a cheap person without any will or depth to her character.

The ensuing fight with Voban here is…well, I won’t go as far as to call it bad, but it never rises to be quite as impressive as the opening clash between the two girls. What we see mostly comprise of the two campiones engaging in some authorities one-upsmanship, and depending on how much you folks like you see two men throwing powers at each other while never engaging in direct combat, your enjoyment could range from “meh” to “it’s alright”. There are a couple of impressive scenes sprinkled about, such as both times Godou summons and manipulates a flurry of swords to destroy Voban’s authorities. But there are also a couple that are more miss than hit, such as with the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP trade of thundaga fisticuffs. There is honestly nothing in the show quite as cheesy as watching Godou gather the rainbow-colored auras of his companions to build his attack up. (Yes, not even Voban’s werewolf form.)

What I did like about the fight was the re-emphasis on the conditions of Godou’s powers, played to nice effect in the episode. It started simply with the pain from using the Bird of Prey authority far too much, (why did this not happen back in episode 2? Plot hole!) and also makes up for a large part of Godou’s fight with Voban. Since his golden sword requires knowledge of the god Voban’s authorities come from, he can’t do jack when they are in the dark about the identity of the god. It is an idea similar to one in Fate/Stay Night franchise, where the knowledge of a servant’s identity can compromise the usability of their noble phantasms. A scenario similar to the one this episode, where Godou and his team tries to piece together the clues to identify the god, would make the mythological drivel far more justifiable and enjoyable, and we do get to see a bit of the potential behind this idea. Unfortunately, it’s still just an idea; Erica’s intricate knowledge and Mariya’s clairvoyance along with kissy magick means that the show largely jumps the mystery and guesswork stage, and immediately identifies the god for us without much preamble, or otherwise make the exposition pointless since the identity of the god is already made know, such as with the Athena fight.

As I had last predicted, the fight ends in an unsurprising draw, bringing Voban’s arc to a close. I’d say that it turned out much better than Athena’s arc, with a much better realized antagonist in Voban and some really impressive clashes, typically with Erica at the forefront. (Why is it that the girl actually fights more than the guy?) It also does a much better job at setting some world facts straight with regards to the campiones and their abilities. Next up, if we’re following the girl route progression, we’re probably gonna be seeing much more of Liliana, which I had been looking forward to since the start of the series.

Additional Notes:

  • Mythology time! Wondering why a sun god like Apollo would manifest as a wolves authority? One of Apollo’s epithet is [Lyceus], a word which is derived from [Lukê], “giver of light”, representing his most recognized aspect as a god of light/sun, but the epithet could also be derived from [Lukos], “the wolf-slayer”, or alternatively [Leto], the mother of Apollo and patron goddess of Lycia, who was identified with wolves. In regions where Apollo was worshipped with this name, there are traditions involving the wolves as well. Hence Voban’s ability to absorb the Godou’s sun-element horse (light) and turn into a werewolf.

Full-length images: 08, 16, 17, 21.

episode 08

「英雄推参」 (Eiyu Suisan)
“A Hero Arrives”

In the overly grandiose words of narrator Fumihiko Tachiki, “Umi da, Mizugi da, Onsen da, ONSEN DAAAAAA!”. How can anyone not like this guy? Seriously though, I wonder if it’s still appropriate to call this a beach and hot springs episode when the scenes in question lasted no more than a third of the episode. Scenes that weren’t terribly interesting to watch either. Fanservice is typically fine, but I like a dressing of plot to go with it, which Campione! does nothing about. Instead, what we get here is all your standard romantic comedy fluff; Erica being Erica, Mariya getting all hot, angry and bothered, and Godou pulling off his best gynophobic-protagonist impression, all while side characters Lucrezia and Arianna join in on the fanservice train. What you see is what you get, though it did get a good laugh out of me when Godou’s secret escape to Italy was foiled on both counts, first with Mariya tagging along, and then with him finding Erica waiting at the very place he escaped to. Where ever Godou goes, you can be sure that the estrogen brigade follows suit!

Thankfully, the fanservice material is kept to a minimal, and we get to the meat of the plot fairly quickly this time around, instead of having to spend an entire episode plodding around again like with episode 5. Campione! wastes no time jumping into the thick of things; we’re thrust into a situation that has Liliana searching for Doni, who is supposed to be appraising a divine instrument. The guy’s not one for subtlety or patience though, because he promptly cuts the thing in half, and next thing you know out pops a dragon. Just like many had suspected, Athena also makes her reappearance this episode, dragging Godou along to scope things out for as of yet unclear purposes.

It’s all setting up for a showdown between Godou and greek god Perseus with blessing from the loli goddess. Some of you might remember the name from movie Clash/Wrath of the Titans, the estranged son of Zeus who heroically defeated Medusa and the Kraken. While portrayed as a heratic god in Campione!, Perseus is a mortal demigod in the original mythologies, so I’m wondering this is another one of Campione!’s connected myths where Perseus’s true identity ends up being another god altogether. Having Athena play a significant role next to Perseus in this arc is proving to be really intriguing as well, as she was the god who guided him to kill Medusa in the original mythos. Since she’s both Athena and Medusa in Campione!’s world, it makes for an unusual relationship between the two gods, made further complicated by the fact that Perseus is also the “Dragon-Slayer”, enemies with yet another mythological creature associated with Athena in Campione!’s story. The setup we see shows deft use of both Campione!’s own established mythos and the originals lores, weaving them smartly together to put an interesting spin on the stories. I just hope it plays out better than the last few times, because Campione! has shown itself to be pretty weak when it comes to the execution of its ideas. I also can’t say I’m all that positive about Campione!‘s depiction of Perseus, illustrated here as a blond bishousen so fabulous I swear it could have negated all fanservice from the show’s first few minutes.

The star of this arc is of course the latest girl in line to be conquered by Godou’s kingly ways, Liliana. I’m not gonna hold out hopes on this one though, not after the complete bastardization of her character last episode. Still, she makes for a more entertaining haremette to watch compared to Mariya since she actually partakes in the action. And yep, why is it always endearing to see tsunderes act flustered? (Bonus points since it’s Kitamura Eri as well!)

Full-length images: 03, 05, 06, 09, 11, 19, 30, 31.

This will be the last in what has been a string of very unintended double posts for the series. If you’ve been sticking around the whole time, thanks for always coming back! I really appreciate it! Now that the bulk of my personal project has been over and done with, my schedule should return to normal and you’ll see the posts out in much better time.

End Card

31 Comments

    1. Right you are, I remember Tenchi Masaki, that dude deserves the death plenty for the amount of tail he ran away from!

      Tenchi in Tokyo was the last straw, it was like getting slapped in the face with a dead fish! and other shows followed the same path as if it was a GOOD thing…

      My favorite motto to live by is “nothing good will ever come with staying with normal people” (internet cookie for whoever gets the reference) so why would they long for such a dull existence when a hot chick from outer space crashes trough your roof!?

      The secondary/supporting characters are ‘unique’ but the main character is DULL, this kind of portrayal HAVE to stop, when this season of (harem) shows are done I’ll be hard pressed to convince myself to watch another harem anime for a VERY LONG TIME…

      FantomOmega
      Reply

      1. Yeah, well we all know why. Its cuz he was really secretly in love with ryoko. Besides, that loli was too loli and the princess was too princess….now the space police……………thats another story. ASOBI i agree 110% with ur opening statement….what a chore this show is starting to be..i’ll take that demon lord anime that aired a season or two back anyday over this. It was more outrageous and the charecters way more interesting. ..p.s- these bad guys are really crappy.

        BROOKLYN otaku
        Reply

      1. The reason why he looks that way and the strange powers he has will be develop in the coming episodes. Remember that a god can represent more than one deity, Athena for example represents 6 different godesses all in one. Perseus is not who he seems to be, at least not entirely.

        haseo0408
        Reply

  5. The bird of prey thing isn’t a plot hole at all. I went back to check. In episode 2, during the fight with Erica, Godou uses the BoP for about 20-30 seconds. Afterward, he’s seen breathing heavily and clutching his chest, so he’s pushing it by that point.

    Compare to episode 6-7, where it’s pretty damn clear he’s been running for a few minutes (Liliana comments on how far Erica has run at the start of episode 7). He’s shown to be reaching his limit by 30 seconds, so several minutes is definitely going to put him down. Perfectly consistent.

    Nutcase
    Reply

    1. Bah, mistyped part of that. Point of the Erica example is that she doesn’t move too fast, so provided they aren’t flashing back to Godou after the opening, she’s had to have traveled for a bit for Liliana to make that comment.

      Nutcase
      Reply

    2. You’ve got a point, it would make sense if the tradeoff is based on the time spent in the mode. I was under the impressions these conditions were pretty much strict, activation-based rules.

      Asobi
      Reply

  7. The thing is… is there enough time to actually go and find out clues? If there was, then I would have to say yes I agree with you, but with these kinda situations… it’s kinda hard. If Liliana and Godou manage to get away, and have Liliana explain, or at least piece clues of the puzzles, then it’d be interesting, yet Perseus caught up to them, which kinda kills any attempt to at this point unless they kiss >_>…

    Sora no Kaze
    Reply

    1. With the heretic gods, I concur there won’t be much of a chance for this, since their identities are pretty clear from the onset (Athena, Verathragna, Perseus, etc.) with the story just throwing a few twists in the mythos.

      With the campiones however, it’s a different ball game, since the identity of their authorities is purposefully kept hidden. What I’m suggesting is that it might’ve been better served to have it unfold in a manner akin to a mystery, with the mythos exposition replaced as clues leading up to the big reveal.

      Asobi
      Reply

  8. I think I had my expectations set too high after the second episode as I’ve been sorely disappointed with the past few episodes. I really enjoy the concept of the series, but for Godou who is supposedly a “Campione,” Erica (or other female lead) seems to be doing the brunt of the fighting. I understand there’s the whole mythology behind each god/authority that Godou has to reveal, but man, it’s quite anti-climatic when:
    *Godou encounters rouge god/other Campione*
    *Godou runs away with girl*
    Was there even one fight where Godou didn’t start by running away? Or perhaps that’s his strategy to building his harem?

    Anyway, anyone know if the original novel was this anti-climatic?

    Aoihoshikage
    Reply

    1. The first part is he’s a n00b Campione. Vorban has been around for 200ish years from memory, Athena is a goddess going back to pre-history, all his opponents are more kick-arse them him simply because they have good practice in the use of their powers.

      The second part is because (I don’t think this is actually explained in the anime) Godou’s powers have really specific trigger requirements. Raptor can’t proc unless he’s attacked by an insanely fast attack, the Boar unless the target is of massive weight, and so on. In terms of RPGs, he’s more the spellcasting-wizard, a jack of all trades/magical artillery whereas using his knights to run interference until he’s got the opportunity to launch an attack.

      As far as running goes, he’s sufficiently self aware about that he comments to himself in one of the novels (I think it’s volume 2 actually, when he’s running away with Yuri I think… or maybe it’s one of the later volumes?) that he always makes sure to go for a jog everyday to build up his stamina, since he seems to spend the first part of battle running away whilst devising a strategy to defeat whatever was attacking him.

      I actually found the battles really dragged in the novel actually, the Athena battle in the anime was definitely better. Though the Vorban battle has much less wordswordswords but was paced really weird (Yuri’s kiss should have been left like original as the prelude to the battle because it destroyed the flow of the fight). Honestly if the Vorban battle was done with the same length as the original it would probably have been an entire episode to itself.

      Really I think the entire episode 7 was pretty average. Even Erica and Lily’s blackmail routine was done far better in the novel.

      Darke
      Reply

  9. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was detrimental to Liliana’s character. She’s got tons of pride as a knight and takes things way more seriously than Erica does. Having it come out that she writes romance novels as her hobby would ruin her reputation. And she knows Erica would really do it.

    Campione still isn’t anything earth shattering, but it’s been entertaining. As with Dog Days, as long as the show keeps me marginally entertained I won’t ask for any more.

    Frontier
    Reply

  12. Why is it that anime directors/producers feel compelled at times to change a well written LN for NO reason? I’m not talking about the problem of fitting in too much written material into 12 Eps, but rather changing the story markedly from the LN source where there’s no time condense issue (i.e. it would not take any longer to leave the LN material unchanged from what’s actually shown in the anime). Ex. Asobi’s comment in EP 07 about the “Power of Friendship.” In the LN, the “heroines” were on the ground struggling to keep conscious (and of course there was no corresponding Qi color coordination). That’s just one quick example of many.

    I’m an avid fan of the LN so I was glad to find out that Campione! was to be animated this season. In all honesty, the deviation and cheesy animation is at the point it’s almost unwatchable for me. If you like the concept, but not the execution, I strongly suggest you read the LN.

    @Tingster013 – Persues was a demi-god in GREEK Mythology,, but the way things work in Campione! is that if a mythological being in one religion is “borrowed” (i.e. has roots) from an older one, he/she/it has the attributes and powers going all the way back to the original source. It was shown with Athena. In Greek mythology, she was the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of wisdom/intelligence, just warfare, etc. However, in Campione, the Greeks adapted her from older religions and modified her attributes to fit their pantheon. That’s why she was portrayed a goddess of the earth and death/rebirth in addition to one of wisdom and warfare. I’ve no idea how historically accurate that is but the author does seem to do a pretty job of research.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    daikama
    Reply

  14. The only excuse they have for all the kissing in this is that he needs the knowledge about his opponent to fight. It could easily be solved with this dumbass going to a library and reading a few books on deities and gods. OR BETTER YET WHY DOESN’T HE USE THE INTERNET!!! He even has a cell phone so all he has to do is use the web browser on his PHONE!! If he does that the kisses would drop to zero and he would be your regular harem pussy faggot.

    Allen Walker
    Reply

    1. Actually, the real, or should I say extremely convenient, reason why there is kissing is because of the high magic resistance of Campiones. Any magic applied externally to them is useless, as is the case of Mariya using healing magic in ep7 and Doni waltzing in the room where the divine instrument is. The only way for them to be affected is for the magic to be injected in their body, in this case, by kissing. The magic for passing knowledge can actually be used without the kiss but it will just be negated by the magic resistance.

      And the Sword can’t be activated without full knowledge of the enemy god in question. Cramming all of their history in your head by reading isn’t enough for that. And these gods are a mixture of different mythologies. For example, Athena and Medusa are actually linked to each other, and the same goes for Apollo being a sun god yet can summon wolves. Too many details that can’t be picked up by reading or browsing. Also, it’s faster to inject the knowledge directly to the brain rather than memorizing stuff which would take hours or days to do.
      And really, the plot demands the kissing. Heck, it’s really all too convenient. Just rely on Erica or Mariya to get the enemy’s identity and presto, French kissing and instant win.

      tl;dr I watch this show for the mouth to mouth action.

      belatkuro
      Reply

      1. It makes me worried, both the LN and the anime, that the “main point”, it seems, are the scenes where he kisses the women. The author puts great detail on those scenes in the LN that I just can’t help think he specialized area are those types of scenes.

        Don’t deny it: there was plenty of example…

        Then there are the scenes where Godou is always man-handled by Erica, which has a sharp contrasting feel to the kissing scenes.

        The Moondoggie
        Reply

  15. I’m not sure what you mean by “bastardization” of Liliana’s character. She was like this in the LN too. Very prim, proper, and very easily embarrassed by the reveal of her romance novels.

    Regarding her working for Voban, I think it comes with the indoctrination that comes with being in a magic society that is aware of the existences of gods.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Rasen
    Reply

    1. I saw a possibility that Liliana’s character might had some complexity to her, and it’s disappointing to see that nothing came out of it. Her depiction, especially with the whole easily flustered part, was a stereotypical and shallow characterization. Of course, I just might be proven wrong in this arc which is suppose to focus on her, but like I said, I ain’t holding out any hope.

      That, and Campione hasn’t done a terribly good job shedding light on the magic society in its world, so I can’t quite see it that way.

      Asobi
      Reply

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