evie09 - 2017-07-07 03:36:33

It’s a nice little series. The characters are charming and the episode of the week format hasn’t quite worn out its welcome before coming to the end of the season. Enjoyable music and animation.

All in all, a great series to work through on a slow weekend.

lexus17 - 2017-01-10 08:44:23

If I had to describe this show in one word, it would probably be “dignified”, or maybe “subdued”. It’s quiet, serious, and kind of contemplative. But it’s also episodic, sometimes with two stories per episode, following a loose continuity without having an overarching plot. The characters aren’t especially complex, but they do tend to be fairly mature and well spoken. It has twists, but it isn’t really a mystery show, and it has action scenes, but only a couple in it’s whole run, and they’re nothing special. The episodes aren’t in chronological order, but without a continuous narrative between stories it doesn’t really matter.

Honestly, writing it down, this show doesn’t sound particularly good to me, and it wasn’t surprising to read that it didn’t sell all that well, but there’s just something compelling about watching it all unfold. The soundtrack provides some stellar mood-pieces, and while the animation isn’t anything to write home about, the overall visual design is beautiful.

Even if it doesn’t sound like you’re kind of show, I’d recommend watching an episode or two to find out. I’ve never seen something quite like it since, so at the very least the show should be interesting as an oddity.

ndouglas - 2016-07-24 06:41:51

There are quite much terms not accustomed to be heard by us when watching the show. But, I'll try to explain few terms here in order to make the readers understand what I'm going to explain in my review below. It's necessary because understanding can not run smoothly when these things are not mentioned before.

    So, firstly, let's talk about "what exactly is the main heroine?" I didn't say it wrong, it is really "what is" not "who is". The pic above, is the main heroine named Dalian. A girl who wears sweet-gothic lolita dress and gorgeous long black hair--named Dalian-is a form of a gateway to Dantalian's bookshelf that lived along with the main hero's grandpa. She is well-known in the show as "Black Biblioprincess". The story starts when the main hero returns to his grandpa's mansion after the death of his grandpa and meet with Dalian in the basement of the mansion, dwelling herself in the library with a lot of books stored by his grandpa.
The second is, "the keykeeper". The main hero, Hugh Anthony Disward, called Huey for short, becomes the keykeeper of Dalian after pronounced the pledge. There are also minor characters as keykeeper as well as the biblioprincess. But majority of the cases the story face about are episodic.
Then, related to the biblioprincess, there are "Phantom Books", the prohibited books of the demons. The biblioprincess position itself as the guardian of those Phantom Books. They wander from one place to another to get those books. Of course there are biblioprincesses and keykeepers who aren't using they power for wisdom.

    I make the introduction for the story as short as possible lol. Since it's an episodic anime series, the viewers can't predict what kind of obstacle the hero(ine)s will bear. But really, it's awesome with its unique innate story. The probs viewers will face are the terms which are different each episodes. Gaze in awe to the terms! As complements for the story, the artworks are vital, and this series offers the details well-built. I can't say much about the artworks, since it's really captivating my eyes.

    Another aspects are characters and the music. The characters basically just around biblioprincesses and keykeepers such as Dalian and Huey. Together, on journey, obtain more and more Phantom Books to store to the bookshelf a.k.a biblioprincess. The characters give chills and enjoyment to the show. Kind of moe, gentle, funny (Huey's pals), tricky, temperamental etc. Then ta-da! The music review that makes me trembling, a bit just a bit really! The ending is damn terrifying yet fascinating while the opening theme is good and related to the theme of series.

I enjoy watching the series both the frightening and moe scenes. I give rate 8.5! ꒰(@｀꒳´)꒱
Pros:

• Unique story
• The old-fashion and good details artwork
• Remarkable music themes

• Episodic story
• Unrecognized terms

frederik.predovic - 2014-09-14 19:36:40

I really wanted this to be good but it squaders its potential to be a great story by meandering through book-of-the-day single episode plots to the point where I just stopped expecting it to become anything better.

bo79 - 2013-12-29 06:26:46

Premise

The Mystic Archives of Dantalian is a Gainax produced show about a man in post-World War I England named Huey who inherits a very large book collection from his grandfather. He soon learns that the collection is filled with books that have mystical powers called phantom books and must team up with Dalian, the small keeper of the library in order to try and find the phantom books still out in the world and stop their use.

What’s Awesome About It?
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian is definitely a very solid concept. Post-World War I England is a setting that isn’t really used in other anime and the concept of mystical books had a lot of potential. However, the usage of that potential was poorly executed upon. The show is split up into self-contained episodes with no real connection except for one or two recurring characters. While there are quite a few good episodes in the show, it starts to come apart by the last few episodes when plot is attempted to be introduced. This is done by adding in mysterious new characters that hint at a larger world and plot beyond that which is explored in the first 8 or so episodes. However, these characters’ relations to the phantom books, the main characters, and the world in general are never really given any explanation by the end of the show’s 12 episode run. While Gainax is famous for confusing endings, The Mystic Archives of Dantalian is especially bad, leaving viewers with plenty of questions and no real answers for any of them.
The characters in the show are also somewhat uninteresting. Huey is generally well-written, but almost all of the other characters end up falling flat. Dalian ends up being more or less a generic tsundere character with no backstory, as her origins are only vaguely hinted at and never actually explained by the end of the show. The other two recurring characters are also relatively one dimensional, with one being a flapper with no real character development and the other being a generic hopeless romantic. The show does, however, have good quality animation, soundtrack, and voice acting overall, as is to be expected in a Gainax show. It also has the obligatory Gainax art swap episode, where the art style changes dramatically for one episode, with The Mystic Archive of Dantalian’s being a sepia tone story book episode.

My Thoughts
I have very mixed feelings about The Mystic Archives of Dantalian. I definitely enjoyed the show’s concept and setting and though they both had a lot of potential, some of which was definitely well executed on. However, the show really fell flat as it continued on with a lack of coherent plot overall and no real character or setting development occurring. I really wanted to enjoy this show more than I did and I feel like they really wanted it to have a second season, but judging by the quality of the show in its current state, a second season is quite unlikely. If you really think the concept or setting are interesting, I definitely think you should give Mystic Archives of Dantalian a try, but otherwise this show can easily be skipped.

zlynch - 2013-06-06 07:03:25

I've always had this habit of picking up stuff to watch and read on a whim, and lately I have been doing that quite frequently. Without giving it a second thought, I put Dantalian no Shoka on download. Not that I was expecting anything much from it to begin with but to be honest, Dantalian no Shoka is a letdown. - STORY - Adapted from the light novel of the same, Dantalian no Shoka (also known as Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian or the Mystic Archives of Dantalian) is set in the backdrop of England after World War I. Hugh Anthony "Huey" Disward, a young man and ex-Pilot inherits a mansion including a vast library from his late grandfather. He encounters and soon befriends a mysterious, petite girl named Dalian who is the guardian of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian accommodating several thousands of 'phantom books'. Phantom books grant 'forbidden knowledge' which in the wrong hands can impose grave danger. Huey is proclaimed as the keykeeper to Dantalian's archives by Dalian, and together the pair must unravel incidents involving the misuse of the phantom books and restore peace and order.The first thing that struck me is how similar its premise is to that of Gosick. Dalian, one of the two leads, is nothing more than just a copycat of Victorique. But that's not where the problem lies. The series is episodic with each episode dealing with a particular phantom book and the threat it poses to people including its owner, and the duo ultimately saving the day using their ability to access Dantalian's Archives. Most of the episodes are boring to say the least. I occasionally paused the video to check Facebook notifications. In other words, it failed to keep me hooked. To boot, some of the episodes felt absolutely stupid. For instance, the latter half of the eighth episode (Book of Relationship). Another flaw is the ambiguity. Many of the things are either not explained clearly or they're left totally unexplained which results in confusion and you don't know what is exactly going on. In the entire anime, the only episode I can call decent is the one involving the perfumer. Which episode was it again? Let me check. Okay, the seventh one. The rest of the episodes are not even worth mentioning. I remember having the urge to skip a few parts of them. - CHARACTERS - The cast failed to leave any impression on me. To a small degree, Dalian is interesting but then again, she is an imitation of Victorique from Gosick. Huey is decent. Among the supporting characters, Armand is easily the most annoying character following Camilla. There is nothing to say about the rest of the characters as they only appear in their respective episode, play their role and exit. - VISUALS - There are some instances when the art is gorgeous with rich textures and lighting effects. The backgrounds are pretty well detailed too. I remember there was this particular episode in which the art resembled illustrations from storybook. I liked that innovative art style. The character designs, on the other hand, are above average. - AUDIO - The best thing about Dantalian no Shoka is the OP 'Cras Numquam Scire'. Besides that, I don't remember any other soundtrack. Did anything even play in the background in the entire anime? Maybe it did but I failed to notice. The ED 'Yes, Prisoner' is so-so. Sawashiro Miyuki as Dalian's voice actress did a good job. - CONCLUSION - I am at a loss of words here. I can't seem to find anything else other than 'mediocre' to describe Dantalian no Shoka because, well, that's what it is. Judging by the synopsis, you may expect something intriguing but to put it bluntly, that’s not the case. Well, you can still give it a shot if you can’t find anything better to watch.

marcelina25 - 2013-06-05 02:18:44

Dantalian no Shoka is potentially a polarizing anime. It has few downfalls, though some may be quick to point out that they impact the show heavily. It has many redeeming factors, which some may not like in the least. Overall, it is a great show if you know what you're getting into: an interesting (but at some points confusing) plot in an episodic nature, beautiful aesthetics, and incredibly likable characters.Story - GoodThe story of a girl who is the key to a library of magical books is not ground-breaking in the slightest. However, Dantalian no Shoka almost acknowledges this with its episodic nature. Instead of focusing on progressing an overarching plot, individual episodes are more concerned with providing entertainment. This is a double-edged sword, of course. You can argue that a nonprevelant story makes the show weaker. However, the individual episodes' stories are very interesting and captivating. In one episode, the duo enter a book. In another, a city is replaced with dolls. Each episode is unique and brings something new to the table.Character - GreatThe characters fit stereotypical anime roles, yet the small but significant divergences from the mold make then exceptional.Dalian: Everything about Dalian is done amazingly. The way she becomes visibly disheveled when eating sweets. The way her voice actor conveys emotion with a haughty voice. Her pretentious nature, which is accentuated by moments where she loses her composure. Dalian is a stereotypical female lead done right, for good or bad.Huey: A man in every definition of the word. He shoots first and asks questions later. He's always prepared to protect his lady, Dalian, when danger presents itself. He's never flustered or unsure about what to do next. Huey is a protagonist done right, though one could point out that lack of scenes of him failing is detrimental to his character development. I personally did not find this an issue.No other characters play as big of a role as Dalian and Huey. There are reoccuring characters such as Camilla and Armand, but they do not play a big role in either the episodes they appear in nor the overarching story. These episodic characters are often developed well, sometimes through flashbacks or monologues, and sometimes with a good ol' gunfight.Aesthetics - Great / Very GoodThe art style and music fit the setting very well. Characters are drawn in detail, with a noticeably large amount of attention paid to Dalian. Buildings and clothing not only look authentic, but also give the impression of age and even quaintness. The slow, almost classical music set to the historical Europe setting transitions into upbeat melodies when the action picks up. The OP has received a lot of criticism for not being the usual JPop techno dance mashup. Personally, I think the eerie combination of Yucca's voice and the bits of action shown work well. The art and animation quality is not as good, though. Details are sometimes skimped on when the scenes have smaller objects, and animation is choppy when fast-moving, though oddly it is not a problem in action scenes, which are fluid and beautiful.Enjoyment - GreatI will admit, I may be biased here. The way Dalian says "yes," the way she runs while holding up her dress, the way her porcelain white face portrays emotion are some of my favorite parts of Dantalian no Shoka. The action scenes with dramatic action sequences (and dramatic book-reading) are highlights of every episode. The brief comedy moments at the beginning and end of each episode keep the show fresh, and provide satisfying conclusions to each episode.Overall - GreatDantalian no Shoka is more than the sum of its parts. There's some strange "X factor" that made it the show I looked forward to the most each week. Could it be the characters with their detailed designs? The fluid, fast-paced action scenes? Or maybe it's simply Dalian?I think that overthinking why one likes a show is often a bad idea. Dantalian no Shoka goes with a tried and true formula. Dantalian no Shoka shows that you don't need to do things differently to be exceptional. You just need to do things right. If you don't mind a relatively weak story partially due to its episodic nature, Dantalian no Shoka is an amazing show with lovable characters, engaging plot, and blood-pumping action.