Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, greets you by immediately diving into the romance part of the Anime. It portrays the classic “love at first sight” narrative, which can be a major turn off for a lot of people.
The main character, Kal-el Albus, is the former crown prince of the Ballesteros Empire; his family was removed from power during a revolution. A major theme of the Anime revolves around Kal-el’s hate for the public figure, Nina Viento. Although he was taken in and loved by a warm and welcoming new family, he still has that desire for revenge for the girl who took everything away from him.
The pasts of each main character is revealed in the Anime through flashbacks that happen throughout the series. I quite liked them, they added a uniqueness to the Anime, it added a point of interest for the viewer. Each flashback I thought was very in depth and did well at explaining why our main characters act the way they do in the Anime.
However, all that being said, main characters’ development suffers as result along with supporting characters including some which held potential development but seemingly tossed out of the show for good. This is in large part because they bank a lot of their story telling and character development on those flashbacks.
There’s also a bit of disappointment relating to its setting. In essence, the setting the show takes place in embellishes itself with fantastic features for potential world building. Yet, the majority of the show chooses to focus on its character relationships and state of affairs with its main story. In retrospect, there’s a lack of depth in exploring what’s behind the scenes. Even some of the initial mysteries are pinned down when compared to our main characters’ thirst for revenge.
As this Anime is about nations at war, expect plenty of action both on land and in the air. The dogfights are coordinated with credible effort. From minute one, the show demonstrates that it can handle its exposition of war in fluid way. The dogfights are rapid with bullets raining from the sky but not in mindless action. Rather than just a full throttle spraying of bullets, we also get strategic movements, heroic sacrifices, and what it truly is like being a pilot. Similarly on land, there’s bloodshed and violence as action-oriented episodes presents every effort to demonstrate its cruel reality.
Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta covered in lush backgrounds with aesthetic designs with its aircrafts. Some of them holds a similar degree with historical vehicles while others (such as battleships) creates a feeling of intellectual depth. The flashbacks also illustrates to show, rather than tell the audience of what our main characters has gone through during their childhood with a black and white world quality. Character design also makes sense on most parts although some characters’ ages doesn’t match their appearance. Luckily, the show omits fan service even with the adaption of the classic beach episode; for training purposes (of course).
One thing, I did kind of enjoy about the Anime, Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, was its soundtrack, which was on point I must say. The OST demonstrates both an ethereal and vigorous way of presenting certain scenes to match the mood. On the other hand, some of the characters’ voices can be exasperating to the ears. Luckily, the OP “azurite” by petit milady and ED
“Kaze ga Shitteru” by Akai Kouen. Are songs that make up for that.
So what are my final thoughts on the Anime. I thought it was alright, like all things there will be Anime that hit and miss, or Anime that find themselves in between. If I were to place this Anime on a scale, I would probably place it in the middle leaning towards miss.
One response to “Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta | Opinion”
The aesthetics sounds like something I’d probably enjoy, but I really don’t like insta-love. So I’ll probably pass on watching it. But I loved your review!