Allison and Lillia (Roxche/Sou Beil may or may not declare war!!)

Of all the shows that have started for Spring 2008, so far, this has been a bright spot. Of course, that's because I haven't looked at Soul Eater or Kure-nai as of yet as well as a slew of other shows that have yet to be subbed. So let's get a move on to one of the more highly anticipated shows:

Synopsis: It's been 10 years since an armistice had been declared between the warring nations of Sou Beil and Roxche leading to a relatively calm period. The story begins with Wilhelm Schultz's anticipation of a lazy summer so that he could spend his time reading or teaching some of the younger students at the school. At least, that was the plan until one day, a Roxche plane flew over the school, piloted by his childhood friend Allison Whittington. The two spent the day catching up on old times and on the return trip home, they gave an old man a lift home and he invited Allison and Wil inside for some tea while he entertained them with tall tales. Towards the end, this man related a story about his experiences in the Sou Beil/Roxche conflict as well as the existence of a fabulous treasure that would stop the conflict once and for all. Before he could go further into detail, he was taken away by a stranger. Suspicious at this turn of events, Allison takes the initiative to rescue the old man, and in doing so, would end Wil's hope for a tranquil summer as the two plunge headlong into an action-filled adventure that would take them across the border from Roxche into Sou Beil.

Thoughts: The hype behind Allison and Lillia stems from the association with Keiichi Sigsawa who wrote Kino's Journey, but from the first episode, this show departs from the stand alone nature of Kino's episodes by trying to weave a continuous story. The potential for an epic storyline is very high and invites a lot of comparisons to Last Exile in the scope of the adventure as well as the basic premise.

However, the first few episodes for Allison and Lillia certainly differ from Last Exile in that I found the characters in Allison and Lillia to be a bit more appealing. Allison is the more reckless of the pair as she grabs life by the reins and usually forces Wil to follow her lead. Wil is the more passive of the two, and though he's not the pathetic introvert by any stretch (boasting photographic memory and sharpshooting skills), he just doesn't have quite the stage presence that Allison does.

At the end of the day, how well this series will do will depend heavily on the plot's execution. So far, the promise is there and the writing is pretty solid. So let's hope that this series will pan out into something great.

Download Links (Shinsen):
Episode 1: mkv | mp4
Episode 2: mkv | mp4

How ya doing, buddy?

Apparently this thread ran out of steam. Maybe it's for the best or something

Episode 4:

Well.... that was sudden. I wasn't aware that this was supposed to be some sort of a prologue. I had hoped that this whole conflict between Roxche and Sou Beil would be the foundation of the whole story culminating in some big ideological and physical battle at the end. Alas, that simply wasn't to be and the way they ended this really felt like a lot of buildup had been for naught.

The series is still good mind you, but its execution is definitely questionable now. I hope we don't see a dropoff in the quality of the narration from here on out since the war story just felt more compelling.

There's nowhere I can't reach.