Review - Utawarerumono

Over the Christmas break, we watched the complete series (26 episodes) of Utawarerumono, a fantasy anime. Based on a manga which was based on a video game, overall very good. It follows a strong story arc as the main character, Hakuoro, who was found without memories and nearly dead is nursed back to health in a small village which he rises to defend the village. This defense leads to a revolt against the cruel lord of the land which, in turn, become a rebellion against the kingdom itself ending with Hakuoro as the new emperor. Along the way, he makes friends and allies. Then Hakuoro must protect all of his people from invasion and other threats. Very good, solid plots with interesting and well drawn characters, competent animation, and even good theme music (a rarity in modern anime). However, at the end, it has to draw in the back story from the game and it does so in a very incoherent fashion making the series end not as good as the rest and rather unsatisfying. That being said, still a fun and worthwhile series. My Grade: C+/B-