Grimoire of Zero
ゼロから始める魔法の書Year 526 of the Liturgical Calendar. The world knew that witches existed, and that they practiced the notorious art of sorcery. Nevertheless, the world did not know anything about the study of magic. Our story follows a half-man, half-beast mercenary; humans mockingly call his kind the “fallen beasts”. He always dreamt of becoming a human, but one day, he met a witch who would change his life forever. “Do you desire a human form? Then be my escort, mercenary!” The witch introduced herself as “Zero”, and explained that she was searching for a one-of-a-kind magical tome that bandits had stolen from her lair. Entitled “The Book of Zero”, the grimoire supposedly contained valuable magical knowledge that could be used to effortlessly bring the world to its knees. Thus, in order to realize his dream of becoming a human, the mercenary must accompany Zero on her journey—despite her being one of the witches he so loathed. This is the story of a haughty sorceress and a kindhearted beast. (Source: Nanodesu)
Reviews
johnnie.deckow - 2017-07-24 03:28:52
My overall impression of #zeronosyo in a few short sentences:
A story about companionship and witchcraft (or the other way around) featuring lovely characters; with potential for more story development.
If somebody ever asks me to choose my fave anime duos, I’ll have them watch Zeronosyo! That being sad, I really… really like the (moe-stry between the) two main characters.
Zeronosyo would have been a different show without its unforgettable characters; the plot is actually mediocre, there’s nothing ground-shaking here!
The characters (absolutely) made the story for me!
I hope for a second season, though I know its unlikely to happen anytime soon! Someday, maybe? There’s still the game! 💙
altenwerth.lily - 2017-07-08 18:39:44
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” A phrase that implies you should not judge something by its outward appearance alone. The story of The Grimoire of Zero seems to be built on this tenant - the little girl is the creator of all magic, the giant beast-man is a gentle soul, the evil witch is actually a hero, and the like. If there is any rhyme or reason to the show that sticks out among its peers, it would be that recurring theme of deceptive appearance.
This makes it particularly unfortunate that the show itself fails to differentiate itself in any meaningful way from any other fantasy series. The creators seem to note this tongue-in-cheek, giving the main characters names based on their role; the main character is The Mercenary, his compatriot is Zero. Initially, this dynamic might give rise to some hope that the creators were intent on using the tropes of the genre to build something exciting in much the same way as Re:Zero did. This is not the case.
Zero Kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is a long title in a genre of long titles and it fails to differentiate itself in any way. The show is not bad by any metric, but you have seen it a thousand times already just with different faces. If there was one place where the show stepped close to becoming something more exceptional, it was in the relationship between the two main characters. Initially they play off each other very well - the dynamic of a lonely beastman afraid of being hurt and an innocent mage with little experience in the world is heartwarming and if the story had focused on a more episodic experience simply building the relationship of these characters a la Spice and Wolf I think we could have had something much more enjoyable. As it stands though, Grimoire of Zero took a turn towards a more serious threat and the introduction of more and more characters many of which simply weren’t well-developed at all despite the amount of time spent on them at the expense of the two leads.
There is more to be said about the series, to be sure. But nothing that really needs to be said. The series is generic and, like most generic shows, is fairly easy to watch. Nothing about it is particularly repellent for the same reason that nothing is particularly appealing: the show itself is saying very little to offend or excite. Put this one in the “genre fluff” bin.
walter.maeve - 2017-06-27 21:50:49
First half was good because of the Mercenary and Zero.