Seven Deadly Sins
Season 1

The Fine Print:
Written By: Nakaba Suzuki
First Published: October 2012
Anime Written By: Shotaro Suga
Adapted for Anime: Fall 2014
Directed by: Tensai Okamura
Composers: Hiroyuki Sawano + Takafumi Wama
Source: Netflix
A great opening theme is always the indicator of an amazing Anime and it’s fair to say that Hiroyuki Sawano and Takafumi Wama took some time to stunt on us a little bit. We got multiple opening and ending themes and I haven’t been this impressed with an overall anime soundtrack since Gangsta.

Opening Theme #1: Nanatsu No Taizai

 

Seven Deadly Sins came highly recommended from my fellow anime watchers on the TL, so after putting it off for months purely because it looked too “light”, I decided to give it a try because they all couldn’t be wrong, right?

Seven Deadly Sins is set in Old Britannia and is the tale of the greatest Knights of the Holy Order. You follow Elizabeth, who escapes from the castle to find the Sins in hopes to convince them to rescue the Kingdom, which is now under siege.

The Princess, Elizabeth finds none other than the Captain of the infamous group Meliodas. After asking for help, she quickly becomes part of the team herself along with the King of Scraps, Hawk.

They set off on a journey to link with all of the Sins: Meliodas, Ban, Diane, Merlin, King, Gowther and Escanor to save the Kingdom, of course.

 

Together again, adventures won; we explore both the remaining Sins as well as the scope and source of their powers. Diane retrieves her magical item, Ban settles his score with King, Gowther learns the meaning of friendship, Meliodas gains a reason to fight and they all rally to the real problem; the rogue Holy Knights – Hendrikson as well as Hellbram; a former friend of the King of Fairies and an ally to the enemy.

PLOT TWIST: the bad guys aren’t actually bad, they’ve been set up. Guess who set them up? YUP, their own fellow Knights.

Step 1 of having an evil plan, don’t lie to the folks you have included in the plan.

Hendrikson’s plan to experiment with demon’s blood to harness power turned into a plot to take over the world. I’m sure you’re not surprised. The main issue with his plan is that it required too much deceit to maintain, this is always where anime villains seem to crumble.

A recurring theme in the show is memory loss. The Sins don’t know what happened leading up to the mutiny that got them banished from the Kingdom. Diane seems to have forgotten her childhood with Ban, Meliodas seems to have most of his memories of the distant past but recent memories are a bit less reliable.

There are 24 episodes in Season One, a great length for introduction to the lore and story.

It was interesting to explore the motivations of all the characters from their perspective. You’re able to put together the narrative with little to now issues. I really enjoyed the development and the variation of powers within the lore.

While Gowther’s development was the most fascinating to me, any character learning the nuances of emotion always tugs on the heartstrings. Camelot exists in Old Britannia so expect some names familiar to that lore.  I look forward to learning more about Merlin in S2.

The only slightly negative feelings I had for this anime was concerning the pervy scenes Yes, there are some. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Yes. This anime. I know it doesn’t seem like it from the rest of the review BUT it was the only thing in the “Con” section for me.

My thoughts of Elizabeth definitely evolved throughout the show. I was very nervous she was going to be another “save me pls senpai” character that would need a baby sitter but I was quite pleased with her growth. I was annoyed that a major part of her plot point was that she resembled Meliodas’ previous girlfriend but, I was soothed by her transformation and her early determination.

The women in the show are pretty well written, especially for an anime with random pervy scenes. Development is focused on the individual and within the group. It was a pleasure to watch.

I also enjoyed the various pairings and that they weren’t always inherently romantic. The tension between Elizabeth and Diane when they first met and how they worked through that was very endearing and is not something we get to see in this genre of anime often. Ban and Meliodas’ Bromance is definitely one for the books, their banter and ease together definitely lightens the heaviness of saving the world. The level of knowledge and friendship that builds with hundreds if not thousands of years of friendship is definitely the selling point of this for me.

Season 2 Premieres this Friday, February 17th so it will be our next Anime Monday Live Tweet!

TL:DR – This shit lit. Add it to your roster if you can get past the pervy scenes, they are few and far in between and the story really is worth it. Also, Meliodas is catfish.

Protip: Some episodes have poignant ending scenes, don’t miss them if you’re binge watching.

Opening Theme #2: Nanatsu No Taiza

 

Thank you for those of you who join me on Twitter for my #AnimeMonday live tweet series. You can find me on twitter here: @chasinglux

Interested in the Live Tweets? You can view the threads here:  Episode 1-7 | Episode 7-10 | Episode 11-17 | Episode 18-20 | Episode 21-24