Warlords of Sigrdrifa

Episodes 1-3

Right after finishing the Re:Zero streaming reviews, here I am again, covering another show written by Tappei Nagatsuki. I didn't actually go into this season thinking that it would be this way. I've been burned before by anime originals written by my favorite light novel authors (Qualidea Code, anyone?), and the military moe genre is not my cup of tea. And yet from the opening minutes of the first episode, I felt compelled to cover this show, just not for the reasons I expected.

Warlords of Sigrdrifa is one of the most lavishly-animated television anime productions of this year. It exceeds this season's Jujutsu Kaisen in my mind, because even outside the battlefield, Sigrdrifa's characters are vibrantly animated. The best scene in episode 1 wasn't even the opening action setpiece with its fantastic integration of 2D and 3D animation but a short scene where Miyako plays soccer. This is a clear case where the animation is the storytelling, because there are so many little character details that become evident when you watch them move, like Azuzu's social awkwardness and Miyako's reverence for the sword.

On the other hand, the script is honestly the least impressive part of this anime. It's serviceable for the most part, and there are moments of genuine pathos, but it also tends to be repetitive. I can perceive Tappei Nagatsuki's quirks in the tempo of the dialogue, which is snappy but still maintains a naturalistic feel, but overall, the story bears little resemblance to Re:Zero's mystery-fantasy epic. To be fair, Warlords of Sigrdrifa is going for a completely different mood, but I think that Nagatsuki's inexperience in writing for television is evident in the show's clumsy pacing. Episode 1 didn't need to be a double-length premiere in order to lay out its premise, and episode 2 ends up retreading the same ground that was in the latter half of episode 1.

There's also no getting around how derivative the show's concept is, and how it does very little to distinguish itself in this genre space within its first three episodes. The faceless Pillars are enemies of humankind, and it's up to a scrappy team of cute girls to take them down with their magic powers and retro fighter planes. If you didn't already know this, you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that Strike Witches military consultant and scriptwriter Takaaki Suzuki worked on Warlords of Sigrdrifa as well, and has co-writing credits on the scripts of every episode so far. Even beyond the military moe genre trappings, there are ham-fisted elements: Episode 3 features an extended tour of the landmarks of Tateyama, which is portrayed with very flimsy narrative justification. Overall, this anime gives off the impression that it was written in response to specific prompts rather than something that organically sprouted from the writer's mind.

Thankfully, the writing is just good enough that it doesn't feel like all that great animation is a waste. The Norse mythology inspirations are more than just window dressing; the story is centered on the idea of the Valkyrie, who see off the fallen on the battlefield to the afterlife. For our heroine Claudia, this is very literal. Having witnessed so many of her comrades perish, she suffers from the enormous weight of survivor's guilt. The beautifully animated ED sequence portrays this symbolically as a cycle that has continued from the trenches of World War I to the present; even as the technology of war evolves, the nature of life and death does not. In the end, Claudia is saved by having comrades who will survive with her and share her burden. Because the weight of her experiences is firmly established, there's catharsis to the light-hearted interactions with Miyako and crew that I wouldn't otherwise feel from such cookie-cutter anime girls.

Despite all the hurdles, Warlords of Sigrdrifa has ended up being one of my favorite shows this season so far, and I look forward to seeing where it goes. One last note: Since I'm in Japan, I've been watching the stream on AbemaTV without English subtitles. So if I ever get the spellings of names/terms wrong, you know why. Apologies in advance. Also, feel free to check out my Twitter account where I'll be sharing production-related trivia from the anime's audio commentaries and staff Twitter accounts.

Rating:

Warlords of Sigrdrifa is currently streaming on Funimation.