What are your associations with the word shonen ? I associate it with something viscous, slow and pathetic. And with a huge number of episodes. But it’s true that once upon a time the anime of the shonen genre was exactly like this: with long and tedious battles in which enemies exchange pretentious phrases, and a very slow development of the storyline. But time passes, viewer demands grow, and the shonen genre evolves. I decided to dedicate the current review to one of the representatives of the new generation of shounens: this will be a story about the anime Nanatsu no Taizai : The Seven Deadly Sins (“Seven Deadly Sins”, “7 Deadly Sins”).
Brief information
“The Seven Deadly Sins” is a twenty-four-episode anime released by A -1 Pictures in late 2014 - early 2015. The original was a manga published from 2012 to the present day. The manga has sold more than ten million copies so far, so it can easily be called popular. Many motifs in the anime are taken from English culture and mythology: the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the names of the characters. And the action takes place in an alternative medieval Britain.
The anime tells the story of a world in which knightly orders still exist, and magic is not just fiction. And there are seven strongest knights in this world, who were nicknamed the Seven Deadly Sins for their character traits and unprecedented power. Once, during a coup, many famous knights were massacred by unknown people, and all the blame was placed on the Seven Deadly Sins, which is why they had to hide from retribution.
Ten years have passed, but rumors about the all-powerful warriors from the Seven Deadly Sins do not subside. And the kingdom is still uneasy - the knights staged a coup and seized power, taking the entire royal family captive. Only Elizabeth , the king's youngest daughter, managed to escape. She decided to go in search of the Seven Deadly Sins, since only they can restore justice and restore order in the kingdom. Luckily for her, very soon she meets the head of the Seven Deadly Sins - a young guy Meliodas , the strongest among them. True, his appearance is not the most appropriate, but who would dare to condemn him? As a result, Meliodas decides to help the fragile girl, and together they go in search of the remaining sins.
Escanor: who is this?
The anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” originates in the kingdom of Lyonesse, where almost all of its guards, the Holy Knights, are exterminated. The strongest of the warriors, the Seven Deadly Sins, are declared guilty. But as a result of a coup, the knights of the kingdom seize power, and the king and his family are sent to prison. The ruler's daughter managed to escape and find the Seven Deadly Sins to save Lyonesse.
Before Escanor became the most charismatic and cool character in anime and manga, he was an ordinary prince in the country of Castellio. As a child, he was always bullied by his older brother Daymond until Escanor managed to stand up to him. Then he accidentally broke his brother's arm, after which he was expelled from the country and called a monster.
Photo: imdb.com, A-1 Pictures: UGC
Wandering and hiding from the royal knights, Escanor met the woman Rosa, who took pity on the boy, put him in a barrel and sent him to the sea. Escanor, whose death was desired by the king, survived and began to help people, but everyone considered him a monster. This continued until the guy met Merlin and Meliodas. The guys invited him to become one of the warriors of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Do you like Escanor? The Seven Deadly Sins gave him the opportunity to know himself. It turns out that the character consists of two personalities: at night he is a frail and thin man with red hair and a mustache. He is cowardly, sickly and shy. During the day, the hero is saturated with the rays of the sun, grows to enormous size and becomes arrogant and proud. Escanor always considers himself stronger than his opponent, no matter who stands in front of him.
A character like Escanor, whose tattoo can be found on the Internet, brought new colors to the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins.”
Photo: youtube.com/Friends Forever: UGC
Plot
The plot of The Seven Deadly Sins is simple, but interesting. Meliodas moves around the kingdom, gathering his comrades scattered to the farthest corners of the earth, while simultaneously fighting enemies in the form of holy knights. The idea of a plot in which the main character assembles his team over long episodes is not new. However, in the case of The Seven Deadly Sins , the plot does not slow down and is constantly developing. In four episodes you will be shown the same amount as in any other shonen in twenty episodes.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by the Light (Part 2) - plot description, ending explanation
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by the Light is the 2nd installment of the anime film in the vast fantasy franchise The Seven Deadly Sins. The anime film is based on an original story created by Nakaba Suzuki, who also wrote and illustrated the original manga series.
Six months after the battle between the Seven Deadly Sins and the Demon King, the world was at peace. Meliodas and Elizabeth went on a trip to Britain together. The king marries Diana in the presence of their respective clans, Ban, Gowther, and human allies. Suddenly, groups of fairies and giants attack everyone who took part in the Holy War and played a role in its completion. Now Meliodas and the rest of the Sins must find the real reason for the attack before the wars between the clans begin again. Here's everything you need to know about the ending of The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by the Light. There will be spoilers ahead.
Brief description of the plot
In the prologue, a squad of demons guarding the entrance to the Demon Realm are destroyed by Dahlia, the second king of the Forest, and Dubs, one of the greatest masters of all time, belonging to the Giant Clan. After promising Batra that they would think about marriage and coronation as the new King and Queen of Liones, Meliodas and Elizabeth would revisit the places they had visited in Britain over the past 3,000 years. During their journey, they encounter Zeldris and Gelda, who also spend some time together before Zeldris takes the throne of the Demon Realm.
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Although the brothers argue constantly, they are happy to see each other. Suddenly they sense a faint presence of magic and realize that the magical creature's life is about to end. They find the source and discover that it is a demon. Before dying, he reveals what happened in the Demon Realm, prompting the brothers to hastily return to their birthplace. They discover that the world has changed significantly. Dubs and Dahlia attack them, and the brothers soon realize that their opponents are much stronger than they should be. Dahlia almost kills Zeldris, but Gelda saves him. Meanwhile, Meliodas and Elizabeth are trapped among Dubs' henchmen.
In the Fairy King's Forest, an attacking army of giants and fairies interrupts the celebration following Diane and the King's wedding. Similar things happen in Liones and Camelot. The Sins soon realize that their attackers are being controlled by the magic emitted by their weapons. Ban uses Charge to take the weapon while the King Casts Seeds of Awakening, freeing the giants and fairies from mind control. Afterwards, they visit Liones to help their allies. In the Demon Realm, Zeldris frees his brother and Elizabeth from Dubs' minions.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by the Light - trailer in Russian
Anime ending: who is behind the attacks? Why do they attack the warriors of the holy war?
It is later revealed that behind the attacks is the Supreme Deity, a primordial being created by Chaos itself along with the Demon King and the Sacred Tree. She created the Goddess Clan and is its ruler. When the mind-controlled giants and fairies attack, they manage to avoid harming those who have nothing to do with the Holy War, but only target the people who ended the war. This confuses the Sins as they realize that none of the attackers were in the war, so they have no reason to start it again.
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Meanwhile, the Sins and the others remember that neither Dubs nor Dahlia had any interest in the Holy War. So they are stunned to see that they are leading the effort to restart it. It is only after Meliodas and Zeldris defeat Dahlia and Dubs that they realize that the latter two are also under the control of someone much more powerful than them.
Mael, the archangel of the Goddess Clan, figures out that the Supreme Deity himself is behind the attacks and tries to reach Earth to warn his friends. The Supreme Deity appears before Liones and causes complete destruction. No magical or physical abilities are effective against her. Even the Royal True Spirit Spear is ineffective against her. Eventually, Meliodas and Zeldris return to Earth and work together to bring down the Supreme Deity.
The Supreme Deity wants to start the Holy War again because she believes that the eternal battle between good and evil maintains balance and does not allow Chaos. She thinks that without the Holy War, Chaos will return to the world again. However, Meliodas has other ideas. When the Demon King took control of his body, he was able to look into his father's mind. He discovered that the Demon King and the Supreme Deity were gods born with the sole purpose of fighting each other forever. To them, the Holy War is just a game, and everyone involved in it is their pawns.
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Is the Supreme Deity dead? Where does the film take place in the franchise's timeline?
Yes, the Supreme Deity is most likely dead. Elizabeth appears before her mother in her original form and tells her to leave and never return. She states that there was never love between them because otherwise the Supreme Deity would not have cursed her with Eternal Reincarnation. Subsequently, Meliodas and Zeldris use the Tyrant Kill Combo! to destroy the Supreme Deity. Unbeknownst to the other sins, Merlin is here too. She collects the essence of the Supreme Deity within her sacred treasure of Aldan. She declares that the age of the gods has come to an end.
In the timeline of the anime The Seven Deadly Sins, the film takes place between the events depicted in the series finale, after the Sins went their separate ways and before their reunion before Tristan, the son of Meliodas and Elizabeth. Additionally, the film depicts the wedding and coronation of Meliodas and Elizabeth.
Characters
There are many characters in the title. Who is there in the Seven Deadly Sins : here you have kings, and knights, and magicians, and ordinary residents, and sisters, and brothers, and distant relatives, and the dead who turned out to be alive, and the living who turned out to be dead, and also knights (their really a lot). Among all this diversity, about a dozen characters play a significant role in the plot, the rest appear for a maximum of two episodes. I will not give a detailed description of the main characters, since there is a detailed article on Wikipedia, and I don’t want to repeat myself. I’ll just describe my impressions.
It is clear that the central character is Meliodas . This is another super-strong hero with incredible strength, which, however, is known to few. Due to this, situations often occur when various villains underestimate the enemy, and rightly receive cabbage soup. An often used technique, but no less pleasant. I liked Meliodas as the main character. He was made to be calm, confident, but at the same time ready to fight seriously for his friends and loved ones. The only thing I didn't like about him was his pestering of Elizabeth. But more on that later.
Elizabeth . A typical main character in an anime whose main target audience is boys aged 14 and above. A slender, big-breasted blonde with a sweet character, and also a princess. It's hard to imagine a more fanservicey character. I wouldn't have any complaints about her if the writers made her character deeper, because it seemed too superficial to me. Yes, she is spontaneous, yes, honest and ready to sacrifice herself. And that, in fact, is all. Over time, the character does not develop at all, and this is noticeable. Therefore, I cannot attribute Elizabeth to the advantages of “The Seven Deadly Sins”.
If we talk about other mortal sins, then the writers did their best. They are truly original and unusual. I would especially like to mention Ban - I haven’t seen a more charismatic character in a long time. On the one hand, he was made a positive hero, but endowed with a large number of negative qualities, which draws even more attention to Ban. Plus, the writers came up with a high-quality and tragic backstory for him. It was not for nothing that I chose the one in which Ban and Meliodas are depicted together as the main image for the review, since they seemed to me the most interesting characters. However, the rest of the “deadly sins” are not inferior to them in originality.
But the villains didn't impress me. The truly evil heroes in The Seven Deadly Sins show with their entire appearance how bad they are, they look very caricatured. If the villain looks like an adequate person, then most likely it will turn out that he was forced to commit villainy, and in fact he is very nice and fluffy. In general, I expected more from negative characters.
Anime Fans
The presentation of Escanor, the Sin of Lion's Pride was a shocking turn for Nanatsu no Taizai. His monstrous strength and personality certainly make him one of the most interesting characters in the series.
Despite his unique abilities, there are opponents that even the Sin of Pride cannot defeat. Let's list five stronger than Escanor!
Supreme deity
Supreme deity of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The fact that the Supreme Deity has 10 wings is already a good example of his power. Compared, for example, with the Archangels, 6 more. In addition, she created the entire Heavenly Realm and the Goddess Clan.
Escanor's ability is a power that belonged to Mael and was intended for him by the Supreme Deity.
Demon King
The Demon King is the opposite of Supreme Deity, being the one who created the Demon Realm. He is the leader of this clan and also the most powerful. The 10 Commandments are simply part of this character's abilities, meaning he cannot be compared to Escanor.
Meliodas
Meliodas and his father the Demon King
As the son of the Demon King, Meliodas was the only one who could replace his father as the leader of the clan, which shows that his level is no joke either. In the past, all clans and even 4 archangels were afraid of him.
Although Escanor won once, Meliodas was actually far ahead of Lion's Sin.
Kat
Kat is an ancient entity.
Kat is an ancient entity that gave birth to the world and all the creatures we know. Demons fear him, and Goddesses pray to him. It will take the combined powers of the Demon King and the Supreme Deity to seal it!
Mael
Mael of the Seven Deadly Sins
Mael is the most powerful Archangel, only the Supreme Deity can surpass him. He is the original recipient of Escanor's grace and the leader of the archangels. Even without grace, Mael is still quite strong, unlike Escanor, who is only human.
See also:
Beautiful photos of the seven deadly sins, sin of the fox Ban
There's a bug in The Seven Deadly Sins that few people have noticed
Artwork of the seven deadly sins Elaine and Ban
Top art Ban from the seven deadly sins
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Drawing and music
If I just liked the art, then I am indescribably delighted with the music. Great openings, great endings, great background music. I've said more than once that I don't often pay attention to background music while watching, but in the case of The Seven Deadly Sins, it instantly grabs my attention. The art is also good - clear, bright, perfect for shonen anime. Studio A-1 Pictures rarely disappoints in this regard.
Chronological order: in what order to watch the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins”
The Seven Deadly Sins were once inflicted on people. It was difficult to resist them and only strengthened souls were capable of this. But this was not enough for the higher powers. And therefore, seven knights appeared on Earth who personified these sins. They committed terrible atrocities.
The shonen anime The Seven Deadly Sins tells the story of these knights. It represents a new take on shonen. There are more dynamic battles and a fascinating plot designed for a mass audience.
Most of all, the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” is reminiscent of the English legends of King Arthur and Camelot. The creator of the work is the studio “A-1 Pictures”. The setting is Medieval England. Knights live in this world and magic is everywhere. Among them there are seven strongest warriors, who are called the Seven Deadly Sins. They did a lot during their ministry. At one point, many of the other knights died and the Seven Deadly Sins were to blame. After this, the knights went on the run.
Ten years after these events, a revolution occurred in the kingdom. The royal family was captured by the knights. But one representative of the royal dynasty managed to escape. This was the girl Elizabeth, who was the youngest son of the king. Wanting to restore her dynasty to the throne, a young woman sets out to search for the Seven Deadly Sins.
One day, during her wanderings, she enters a tavern run by a young guy. It turns out to be Meliodas himself, the head of the Knights of the Seven Deadly Sins. He decides to help the girl and they begin to look for the others.
The anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” lives up to its name. Meliodas himself looks like a completely young guy with tousled hair. Instead of knightly armor, he wears a modern business suit and tie. And behind him hangs a long sword. Periodically, justifying his membership in the Seven Deadly Sins, he begins to pester Elizabeth. At this time, a humanoid pig stands up for her. The last character is quite interesting. There is information that the talking pig is Meliodas's deceased but reborn parrot. The pig itself has the ability to resurrect. One day she dies, but is reborn as a small cub. Later it comes to its natural size. Hawk, as the pig is called, also has supernatural powers and sometimes saves anime characters. There are other charismatic characters in this work, but this is probably the most original of them all.
In general, the plot of the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” is banal. Meliodas, Elizabeth and other team members travel around the kingdom. They are looking for the other Knights of the Seven Deadly Sins. The enemies are the holy knights with whom you have to fight. But the heroes successfully resist them. What sets anime apart from others is the presence of original characters, like Hawk.
In what order should I watch the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins”
- The Seven Deadly Sins, anime series, 2014;
- The Seven Deadly Sins, adaptation of the series for video media, 2015;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of Holy War, series of 4 episodes, 2016;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Rebirth of the Commandments - Introduction, special edition, which talks about the first season of the series, 2018;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Rebirth of the Commandments, 2021, second season of the anime series;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Prisoner in Heaven, 2021, full-length anime film, continuing with a second season;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Rebirth of the Commandments 2021 adaptation of the second season of the anime series;
- The Seven Deadly Sins: When the Gods Are Wrathed is the third season of the anime series.
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Humor
The last plus that I would like to note is humor. Meliodas' harassment aside, the jokes in the anime are funny and original. Just look at the arm wrestling between Meliodas and Ban, after which the most powerful protective spells begin to break down. Thanks to humor, dramatic moments are balanced, which adds variety to the emotional background of “The Seven Deadly Sins.” And the more diverse the anime, the more interesting it is to watch, right?
Flaws
The first is fan service . Meliodas's harassment of Elizabeth is funny for one, well, two episodes at most. Then I felt nothing but irritation. And it would be okay if she fought back and fought back, but on the contrary, Elizabeth reacts to harassment as something taken for granted. The second drawback is unjustified cruelty. Moreover, I noticed this paradox: despite the fact that blood is constantly being shed on the screen, no one dies! Even if it seems that the character has died, after a few minutes it turns out that he was miraculously saved. Do you show the viewer blood, but at the same time you don’t want to traumatize him with the death of the hero? So what? And the third drawback is chatter during battles. Although this manifests itself to a lesser extent than in other shonen anime, it was not possible to completely get rid of pretentious phrases.
A moment of reflection
A few boring thoughts that are not directly related to “The Seven Deadly Sins” . I think it's obvious from the introduction to this review that I have a generally negative view of shonen. The reason is simple: very often, when writing a script, the authors openly mess around, which leads to a sharp decline in quality. You don’t have to look far for an example - take Naruto or Bleach . I'm not saying that this anime is bad, but one fact is undeniable: it is simply impossible to make an anime rich and interesting when its length exceeds five hundred episodes. In the works I have listed, the plot is generally not bad, but it is so diluted with useless chatter and fillers (branches of the plot) that it becomes, as it were, secondary.
Now imagine Naruto, but consisting not of five hundred episodes, but of fifty, even a hundred episodes. Throw out the pretentious conversations during battles, throw out the episodes that are not related to the main plot - and you will get a very high-quality and rich series that will be interesting to watch not only for ardent fans, but also for anyone who cares about anime. But, unfortunately, it is more profitable for studios to release five hundred episodes of a popular shonen, because there will still be an audience, so you don’t have to worry about the quality. Money, money decides everything...
It's actually not that bad. I can think of only four shonen anime whose length exceeded 300 episodes: the well-known Naruto, One Peace, Fairy Tail and Bleach. They just seem so dominant that when the word “shounen” is mentioned, these are the titles that come to mind. However, shonen has long ceased to be slow and boring. It’s no longer so easy for viewers to feed themselves on sluggish anime. Therefore, studios have to come up with new tricks when releasing shonen anime in order to gain the attention of the viewer. And in the example of The Seven Deadly Sins this can be seen in all its glory - the competent work of the screenwriters and directors is obvious.
Ratings
Characters – 7.0. As in any other shonen, there are a huge number of characters, but only a dozen important to the plot. High-quality positive characters, stereotyped negative ones.
Plot – 7.0. It's banal, but catchy and looks surprisingly easy. You don’t notice how you swallow episode after episode. The main interest is not the main storyline, but some side ones.
Drawing – 8.0. Beautiful and bright. Perfect for shonen anime.
Music – 10.0. Very high quality background music, and wonderful opening and ending songs.
Humor – 8.0. If we put aside the harassment towards the unfortunate Elizabeth, there were many funny moments.
