Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan. Hannibal. Napoleon Bonaparte. All of these were great military strategists, that have fought wars with their armies and have won many of them through employing some briljant strategies. Wars in the past were always determined in the end, by the men that waged them, and through the commanders that gave the orders. Times have changed, and even though strategies are still important, these days wars at times feel like computergames. With the power to drop bombs on remote locations through the action of just flicking a switch, one has to wonder at the insanity of it all. Not that war has ever been sane anyway. The Animeseries Alderamin on the Sky can at times be compared to a game of chess. And unlike modern days, in this series we focus again on military strategies, and a man named Ikta Solork, who is destined to become a very important general.
Alderamin on the Sky takes place in a fantasy world, and focusses on two nations, the Kiorka Republic, and the Katjvarna Empire. Both of those nations have been embroiled in a war for a very long time, with apparently no end in sight. Ikta Solork is a man that pretty much despises the war. He has no taste for it, is lazy, and has far better uses for his time namely chasing women. One day while aboard a ship together with one of his long time friends, the fiery swordswoman Yatori, they both get caught up in the war in a very unpredicatable way. It is not before long that Ikta is in training for the Empire, and it is here that his true genius is beginning to take form. With the war closing in all around him, Ikta might become his countries greatest hero. And in the desperate times ahead, his military mind will be needed more than ever….
I have had a love/hate relationship with this series. The first few episodes were great. We got to learn the main characters, and I especially liked the two leads Ikta and Yatori. Ikta is just a very unlikely hero. In the beginning he is a skirtchasing man, who just doesn’t fit the bill to become this all important hero. Yatori is a very skilled swordswoman, with great fighting techniques, and a strength to her that is instantly likeable. We are teased with a storyline that supposedly will lead up to a future where great battles and things that will change the world are supposed to happen. As the series progressed however, more and more characters were being added. That in itself would not be a bad thing, were it not for the fact that these characters had so little screentime that you almost had no time to get an attachment to them.
The storyline also dragged on and on, especially in the middle segment of the series, where not much of anything happened. With so many characters that were pretty flat, and a storyline that made little progress, I found my initial interest in the series start to fade. The last few episodes were a bit better, but with a pretty open ending to the series, it also did not bring about a proper closure. This series feels very much as a prelude to great things that may yet come (perhaps if this series might get a second season). The animation and music are very good, and a few battles were really cool to watch, especially with Ikta’s strategies coming into the light. I really wanted to like this show, and honestly it isn’t all bad. In the end though there were just to many things in the show that I did not like, to fully recommend this one.
I give Alderamin on the Sky a 6 out 10 score.
Some of the support cast are pretty flat. I still found myself really enjoying this series though. I think because I went into it expecting nothing and found the beginning so interesting that helped me get through the middle and I really enjoyed the final few episodes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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To add to that, I feel as if our main cast (specifically Ikta, and Yattori) were strong enough to make up for the weak supporting cast.
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True, I really liked both Ikta and Yatori. They were both very strong (and fun 😀) characters 😀
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Great review. This doesn’t sound like a story that would really appeal to me, especially if it gets draggy with too many characters. Hopefully, your next show is more enjoyable for you 🙂
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Thank you 😀 Next up (for Anime shows that is) is Psycho Pass. I’m not too worried about that one. The show has received some great reviews already, and the story of that one, really appeals to me. Definitely looking forward to it 😀
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Yatori is awesome
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Totally agree with you on that 😀
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When I saw ‘Hannibal’, i thought of Hannibal Lecter instead of Hannibal of Carthage.Oops.
It’s a pity that the initial engagement didn’t last. I am interested to hear that it’s a chess-like war anime though. This one is on my list and I will get to it soon. maybe there’ll be a second season by that point.
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Haha, lol, funny thing that is what I myself thought as well, when I noted down that name 😂😂 Well, I guess Hannibal Lecter can also be called a briljant strategist, only in a somewhat different way. It is not all bad, and there are definitely things that are good about the show, most notably Ikta and Yatori. The show could turn into something good, so I am still hoping for a second season 😀
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Good post!!. I pretty much enjoyed alderamin and yeah it can be pretty slow at times. I liked Matthew, I felt he represented the everyday working guy. No notable skills, but worked his socks off in order to compete against Ikta and Yatori. Even Torway. I did love how Yatori always scolded Ikta for being the skirt chaser. Especially when she kicked him in the shins for making a remark on Haroma.
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Haha, yeah I agree. That is one of the things I did like about this show, the comic banner between those two characters. Honestly I hope this series does get a second season, as I feel this series could grow into something really good, if given some room.😀
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I’ve wavered with this show since it started airing. The synopsis was enough for me to want to give it a watch, but that first episode gave me no reason to want to go back for the second. It wasn’t even intentional to stop watching, I just never felt like it, and that’s when I remembered it was there at all. Going by your judgement, I doubt I’ll end up giving it another try, even though you make certain characters sound like I would have grown to like them.
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There is something in this series that just prevented it from turning this into a classic. I do feel that if there would maybe be a second season, it might give the series a new life and a chance to shine. As it is now though, even though Ikta and Yatori are great characters, it is just not enough.
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It seems a lot of series end up this way, with a cool premise that doesn’t meet the potential it sets up.
I was looking forward to starting this sometime, but I don’t think there is any hurry at this point. Might become one of those leisure shows I take in every now and again.
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I’ll have to chalk this one up to watch later on when I have the time. While it sounds interesting, I’m hesitant to get involved in anything right now that doesn’t really go anywhere.
Still, for the characters alone, it sounds like a good watch.
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True, as I said it really felt like this series was a prequel for something. But the two main characters were definitely the thing that made this show still good enough to watch 😀
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Chasing women sounds more productive than waging war to me. I believe this anime is based on a light novel series that is still running. That may well explain why the show feels like the start of a bigger story.
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Yeah, this one could have been a really good series, but I just wasn’t feeling it. There were also a lot of people that did enjoy it quite a lot. Karandi for instance 😀 But that said, it also wasn’t bad. Given the choice: I would always choose women over war, but I don’t think that is just me lol 😂😂
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