Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Izetta: The Last Witch
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24124 |
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It all comes down to personal preference. I love the idea of Izetta having to fight the White Witch, but I'm way happier that the White Witch is present due to the Germanians advanced scientific skills. To me that fits in better with the science versus magic motif then conveniently coming across Sophie's suspended animation body.
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JAYOOD
Posts: 9 |
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Thats the thing tho. Izetta wasnt this overpowered figure. She was propagandized as an unstoppable force in order to garner support from the neighboring allies. Izetta despite being powerful cant win the war singlehandedly. At the rate the war was going Germania would have still conquered Edylstat despite Izetta intervention. A lot of the shows intrigue up until the twist was more about keeping Izetta's secret from the prying eyes of Germania while Izetta tears up the battlefield. This twist kind of makes all the other storytelling kind of pointless because its shifts the focus so dramatically after spending a few episode establishing its vibe as something of an espionage thriller. Like that guy who went in as a spy died for literally no [expletive] reason lol. why would u need to find out the weakness of izetta when u have a witch that kicks her ass. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18422 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Yeah, this right here is what irritated me the most. And I think this is a far less defensible storytelling gaffe. Now, despite my dislike for how they brought her into the picture, I am actually looking forward to the Sophie/Izetta head-to-head, both on an expected climactic battle level and on an emotional/intellectual level. |
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3670 |
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I'm pretty skeptical about that. What can Izetta bring to that struggle aside from "Fine is the bestest!"?
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18422 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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She's going to have a hard time refuting Sophie's arguments, to be sure. (And don't forget that she doesn't know about the "real" history like we do.) But this will be her big chance for her to make a statement for herself rather just acting in support of Finé.
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sharkjack
Posts: 43 |
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I actually don' t really care about the cloning bit. Cloning is techologically not that difficult that it is completely outside an WW2 alternative history Germany's grasp, and if you add magic/fate pushing the numbers ever in their favour it's pretty forgivable overall.
All you really need is some intact tissue(they had), a decently powerful microscope(they had), the tools to suck the nucleus of a single cell out of said cell (not too out there I'd say) and then just a lot of luck fertilizing someone with getting whatever zygote they place that nucleus in to actually insert itself into a uterus. Failure prone? Yes. A little far fetched? Sure! But does having cloned someone mean the German technology levels must be way off course? Not particularly. No, the real bummer for me was that Sophie started cackling and smiling a generic evil smile the moment Izetta rejected her offer. What a way to kill one of the main points of genuine conflict in the show. I don't care how she was revived, or even if she was revived (she might be brainwashed, so that she wasn't 'really' at fault) The point that Izetta is being used for a purpose she herself does not stand behind is one of the clear points of conflict this show, and an elder witch who has been in her shoes is one of the few people who might actually be able to drive that point home with her. That doesn't mean I need to see heel turns or something, but just, something to put a mirror in front of Izetta and make her face herself and her decisions. I can totally get behind why the cloning bothered people. Narrative convenience destroys investment in future outcomes, because if they can pull a clone out now, why not another? I know I no longer care for any of the larger political or moral conflicts this show has attempted to present, and they spent far too much time on that for it to fall this flat, but it has, at least for me. Of course no one has to be bothered by these things. By all means enjoy the show as much as you can. |
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Alternative Ice
 Posts: 96 |
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I'm predicting next episode the princess will go into hiding at coincidentally the same place she and Izetta first met, which will coincidentally turn out to be the same place where the white witch and the prince first met, Fine will find the other half of that gem hidden there, and Izetta will use it to beat Sophie.
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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I hoping you're wrong but I'm thinking you will prove prescient |
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Darthtabby
Posts: 21 |
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As another poster noted, nazi super science is a fairly common thing in fiction. There are plenty of settings where the Germans have advanced sci fi tech alongside real world WWII equipment. It’s not like the sci fi came out of nowhere with the latest episode either –there was the capsule in episode one and the show was hinting at an artificial witch even before Sophie’s appearance at the ball. The huge tech complex in episode six also makes it apparent that the Germanian Emperor invests a lot of resources in the development of advanced technology.
Despite his reputation among Western fans Yoshino has actually been pretty good at planting seeds and laying groundwork in advance in some of the other series he’s worked on -in fact I’d consider one of his past projects a masterpiece of that kind of storytelling. I’m not going to guarantee this series is going to turn out well as it does seem a bit shaky but I wouldn’t write it off just yet. I’m hoping the remaining episodes will tie back to things that were introduced early on in ways that strengthen the series as a whole. That said there are a couple things about this series I am critical of. Making Jonas look like an idiot at the start of episode six robbed his death of potential impact and the episode of potential tension. I also think the slow scenes in episodes four and six could have done a better job of fleshing out the cast, particularly since I’ve seen Yoshino do a great job of utilizing little moments to develop characters in one of the other series he worked on. As a sidenote, some of the series western anime fandom tends to use to define Yoshino as a writer strike me as being rather reflective of the co-creators he was working for/with on those particular projects. Guilty Crown is an example –it strikes me as highly reflective of the style of its director, and it surprises me that Yoshino gets all the blame for the writing issues when his co-writer on the project went on to write stuff like freaking Valverave (not that I want people to start nursing hate boners for that guy either, as like Yoshino his track record is more mixed rather than straight up bad). |
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Aerodynamic41
Posts: 236 |
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That reminds me, I need to go back and replay Wolfenstein: The New Order. That game takes the "technologically-advanced Nazis" up to eleven. |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5499 Location: Iscandar |
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Episode 10 did not do anything really surprising, but I am giving it 4.5 starts because it was well executed, and I was very invested throughout. I am hoping for a happy ending for Fine and Izetta, but things are looking bleak right know.
I am surprised Theron is not as upset this week. I was never bothered by the whole cloning business, but I don't think episode 10 did much to make cloning in the 1940's more believable. Also, this episode introduced more twists that could bother fans of good writing. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18422 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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You're right; it didn't. However, I saw it more as a "damage already done" scenario, so furthering that line didn't make it any more anachronistic.
Can't say that I agree here, though, as all of the twists shown here seemed pretty logical. Examples? |
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Angel M Cazares
Posts: 5499 Location: Iscandar |
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I was mostly referring to Sieg having part of the stone. Based on your review, you seem cool with it. But some of the biggest complainers on the suspense of disbelief might think that Sieg knowing so much about witches and the stone is too convenient. I also wonder if some might also characterize the revealing of the awesome powers of the stone this late in the game as lazy writing. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24124 |
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Given the tenor of some of the criticism in this thread, yes, I have no doubt some peeps will be stopping by to say, "Wait, the Magic Stone wasn't exquisitely set up in earlier episodes - lazy, bad, horrible writing!"
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11580 |
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I won't criticize that. The fact that there was something missing was signaled by the statue's empty hand in the underground room, so learning what it was isn't awful.
I also don't think it's terribly contrived that Sieg has family history in all this, especially since we don't yet know the details. In this sort of society you don't rise to his position without sitting next to the rulers for generations. Depending on his story, I could change my mind on that though. I will criticize the transport of Izetta being conveniently slipshod. Why didn't Sophie just fly her back to base herself? I'm sure she would've enjoyed oh-ho-ho-ing at her the whole way (somehow without opening her mouth). |
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