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Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (TV).


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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:31 pm Reply with quote


Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (TV)

Source: Video Game (Developed by Gust, Published by Koei Tecmo)

Demographic: Shounen

Animation Studio: Liden Films

Genres: adventure, comedy, fantasy, slice of life

Themes: alchemy, aristocracy, demi-humans, fan service, knights, medicine, medieval, monsters, sorcery

Plot Summary: The village of Rasenboden lies on Kurken Island, which is surrounded by a lake. Time travels slowly on this island that's on the outskirts of the Roteswasser Kingdom. In this quiet little village with very little excitement lived Ryza, a girl with entirely too much energy for this quiet village, whose main feature was that she was so ordinary that she has no outstanding features.

One day, she sneaks onto a little boat with her childhood friends Lent and Tao, and they have their first adventure to the opposite shore. There, she encounters a man who uses a mysterious power called alchemy. Ryza is completely enchanted by this power and asks him to teach it to her.

Air Date & Platform:
July 1, 2023 (Saturday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime: 12 episodes


Last edited by Tony K. on Mon Jan 15, 2024 6:35 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1586
PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 1:32 pm Reply with quote
Okay, so this is the first new anime that I've watched at the beginning of the summer season. I think I read or heard somewhere that the Atelier anime are based off a video game series, but even if they're not, the art, music, and beautiful coastal backgrounds reminded me of certain Final Fantasy games.

There's medium fan service, not that this is a deal maker or a deal breaker. Just to be clear, I only watched all 12 episodes of Harukana Receive out of a pure love for the sport of volleyball.

The anime has a couple of crossed wires. The characters are probably around 15 or 16 years old, have the bodies of 18 or 19 year olds, and they act like 8 or 9 year olds. Even to the point of going out into unknown wilderness without medical supplies, preserved foods, water, or any kind of map or compass. Their naive enthusiasm is probably supposed to reflect how innocent and sheltered their island life has been - they're like hobbits taking their first steps out of a fairy tale village into a darker world - but this is one of those anime that push the cutesy factor to the point of overload. Well, for me anyhow. Others might have higher or lower tolerances for that sort of thing. .

Strictly an easy breezy, relax your brain and escape from real world concerns kind of anime unless I'm missing something. but the show was watchable, and I'll probably check out episode 2 if there aren't a lot of other, stronger anime on next Saturday. .
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 3:17 pm Reply with quote
The first lengthy episode was a fun time. The world does indeed feel like one straight out of a game, given the source that makes sense. It seems like an interesting place with kingdoms of old, monsters and adventures to have. The overall mood seems like a chill one with some humor and a bit of action every now and then. That said, their adventure made clear how out of depth they were. Getting beaten up by slimes is not a great achievement. Nor is being very unprepared and just winging it.

Seems like a calm fantasy show that is not an isekai. The world plus the concept of having an alchemist as the main character is interesting enough for me to keep watching. Also, having just finished The Hero Is Dead!, Touka would have loved those thighs.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 9:19 am Reply with quote
Episode 1

I enjoyed that. If the tone remains the same, it doesn't seem like this show is gonna deliver, edge-of-your-seat, pulse-pounding action, but that's okay. I can deal with low-key as long as there's enough charm. I don't remember much from Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (hey, it was 9 years ago, cut me some slack!) other than enjoying it and it seems this comes from the same series of games, so that's a good sign, too.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 10:26 am Reply with quote
Yeah, it seems charming enough. the bits of action we will get are probably bashing up poor monsters for their parts. Plus there are not that many anime with a main character learning to be an alchemist. The most recent one before this was probably Management of a Novice Alchemist.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 1:07 pm Reply with quote
The second episode was fun and a small step forward towards the goal of each mc. I like how the alchemy component is very much like the game. I also like how it is indeed a small step forward, there will be no fast progression in this show from the looks of things. The world is charming, though it is not all cute with a lot of people wary of the visitors and a father that seems to like the bottle a bit too much.

Also, there is a bit too much thick thigh action going on.
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Edited for brutal spelling typo

Welp, based on the ending, it looks like Ryza's next alchemist request is going to be something along the lines of magical Viagra.

I'm still enjoying the slow progression on their adventurer's path and the background art. There's not too much to think about except to maybe wonder why Klaudia's father doesn't want her to play any music. Could she be some kind of bard or siren? It would have been kind of funny if a ship had crashed on the rocks below her while she was playing...

And of course, to wait for that pair of elves to say, "Thanks for gathering all those ingredients my unwitting pawns...now for the final ingredient I need to open up the ancient ruins...your souls!"
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:40 am Reply with quote
Yeah, every episode so far is a nice comfy time without anything too complicated going on. It is also nice to see the path of adventuring/alchemy being one of small steps. Most anime usually blitz through the process and that is such a waste. As for the elves, they are hiding something, but I have a hard time imagining it to be something evil.
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Bargain Hunter



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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:27 am Reply with quote
Episode 3

When the big "mystery" of an episode is figuring out why a certain flower smelled a certain way, you know you are not in High Stakes territory. This show is so low key I wonder if it can be officially considered one of those so called "healing" anime... you know, something to lull you into a sense of fuzzy calm as a balm against the injuries of this cruel world.

I assume Mrs Barbara's dead husband was the third member of the original Brats. I also assume that Mr. Pat the Dyer didn't "forget" to sign his name to the congrats marriage letter because he was too "busy," but rather as a bit of passive-aggressive business designed to communicate that he was miffed she didn't pick him as her personal little squeeze weasel. In fact, do we know where Mr. Pat was when Mrs. Barbara's husband conveniently died? Hmmm, perhaps this show is a little darker than it seems...
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 1:27 pm Reply with quote
Geez, why are the monsters in this anime so cute? The slimes have smiles on their faces, and those little rock thingy juniors look like Pokemon. Look, it's Boulder-o! Since we've been speculating about whether this anime might be darker than anyone suspects, add my suspicion that the monsters might have their own stories about civilians living peacefully until those human invaders come in and start slaughtering everyone.

I'm also mildly curious about the "ever-darkness" and the "hiding place" from the title, I guess we'll find out when the elves start mounting their ruin explorations.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:51 am Reply with quote
Episode 4 was basically one big quest, which I liked. It showed the progress that each of the mc's has achieved, while also making clear that they are still far from their goal. Ryza in particular can no longer just synthesize something because it seems fun and not think about how it will work or if it is suited for what needs to be achieved. Using a bomb in a cave is already a bad idea, using a mega bomb is suicidal. On a sidenote: most of the people on the island seem kind of meh.
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 9:08 am Reply with quote
smurky turkey wrote:
Episode 4 was basically one big quest, which I liked. It showed the progress that each of the mc's has achieved, while also making clear that they are still far from their goal.

From a dungeon gaming viewpoint, I'm hoping the bookworm will get some magical spells or items so that he won't have to depend on noticing runic exit signs to make a contribution.

But yeah, I'm invested in that part of the show as well. They're not hobbits, but watching a bunch of naïve young villagers struggling to rise up to the challenge of a more serious world than they're used to is always a good hook.
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smurky turkey



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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 6:16 am Reply with quote
A beach episode this week. That means a lot of fanservice and a lot of fun... usually, in this case there were some trials to pass too though. I liked the episode in that it forced them to work together and make the most of their experiences thus far. It was also a time to unwind and have Klaudia be part of the fun. I would call knowing how to swim on an island pretty essential btw.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 7:29 am Reply with quote
Episode 5

A show can do worse than slap some swimwear on chicks, is all I'm sayin'. Blood- approves. Anyway, the title of this show finally becomes clear.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 1:00 pm Reply with quote
Never before has an episode been so titular when keeping in mind the title of the anime. This week the gang build their hideout, indeed, the Secret Hideout from the title. It required lots of collecting, alchemy and weirdly enough, making pudding. After the hideout was built it got the name Atelier Ryza, which is another part of the title. They then had a run in with some kind of special monster and I would guess that relates to the Ever Darkness.

Anyway, it was another fun episode with each mc showing what they are capable of and getting things done. We even had some more of what I assume to be the central storyline.
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