Ragna Crimson

Episodes 1-4

Ah, Ragna Crimson! This is one of the seasonal shows I have been looking forward to for quite some time.

As far as background goes, I have been reading and reviewing the manga releases up until this point, so I am caught up at least as far as the physical volumes go (volume 10, at the time of writing). When the first volumes hit I was rather lukewarm on the premise but felt that the hook had potential while the art and action were out of this world good. As time went on I saw the work grow and evolve from strength to strength and evolve into one of my favorite ongoing series to review… well, probably since I've been writing for ANN. When this anime was announced last year I had super high hopes.

These first four episodes are a pretty good start, all things considered. We are introduced to Ragna, Leo, Crimson, Slime, and a bit about the setting. We get the time-travel hook and a slight preview into concepts like silver blades and Silverine Battle Arts. There is also a decent preview of the sorts of high-concept fights that will come to dominate the series as it goes forward.

If you are anything like me when I first read the manga, you might be thinking “This has some cool fights and neat characters, guess I'll stick around.” I sure hope so anyway, because what is coming down the pike for this series is really exciting stuff. That said, if you feel like a lot of the world details are kind of a generic big-monster-apocalypse setup with a few over-the-top characters for spice, well you're not wrong there.

My biggest gripe with these first four episodes is the same as the early volumes of the manga: the emotional hook is kind of weak and hinges on a character I don't care for. Leo is less of a complex character and more of a fixation for Ragna, and their relationship is uuuhhhhh… not my favorite, to put it mildly. Around episode three of this series you'll notice she doesn't feature as much as she did previously, and for my money that's a good thing. Ragna and Crimson are the true leads (their names make up the title after all) and their relationship/connection is far more interesting to me (and I imagine others as well). The supporting cast members improve immensely over time too; these early entries have a lot of expendable hunter mooks and vaguely scary dragons that just stand out either in the work or when compared to other works operating in this space. '

Ragna and Crimson, however, are excellent. They have a really interesting frenemies dynamic that rides the line between allies of convenience and the only real friend either of them has ever had. I enjoy watching them work together and bounce off one another in equal measure, especially when the plans get absurd (as so happens in episode 4 with the magically charged machine guns fighting dragons like a mystical Reign of Fire remake). Add in the fun flavor of goofballs like Slime and it's a winning formula for sure.

The world and monsters as presented in these early segments are basically just a backdrop. It is hard to get any sense of place or take any measure of the loss when it's a non-stop barrage of apocalyptic scenes in locations the audience hardly gets to see for more than a few seconds. This, too, will get better with time, but for now, the entire series is hanging on Ragna and Crimson being cool and fun to watch rather than any sense of true world-building or complicated plots.

The animation in these episodes was the biggest question mark I had going in. The manga is drop-dead gorgeous, and I knew it would be a challenge to bring Daiki Kobayashi's art to life. The team at SILVER LINK. has succeeded in delivering a solid rendition of the material, but it is nothing I would call exceptional. I understand the challenge facing the animators here and certainly do not envy them, but I hope that they can really stretch those muscles and hit major highs going forward. For now, I'd call the action sequences serviceable and the cinematography solid, but still within expectations for weekly television.

But a solid start is nothing to complain about, and I'm looking forward to what the rest of the season holds.

Rating: (Episode 1)
Rating: (Episode 2)
Rating: (Episode 3)
Rating: (Episode 4)

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Ragna Crimson is currently streaming on HIDIVE.