Shadow Skills-Review
26 Episodes
Ratings:
Art/Animation: B
Shadow Skills Weakest Point.The Overall Style Looks Similar To Record Of Lodoss War In Its Simplicity. Some Of The Later Special Effects Are Fairly Good.
Story: B+
The Story Is a Good Mix Of Action And Drama With Some Comical Elements.The Character Development Is Very Interesting.Some Of The Character's Names And Titles Get Confusing.There Are Some Over- Simplifications Such As Light/Shadow Techniques Opposing Each Other As Well As White Lightning/Black Howling Dueling.
Voice Acting: A
This Is Where The Anime Shines.Many Veterans Make Up The Great Cast.Luci Christian Finally Has a Leading Role And Does Not Disappoint.This Is The Best Performance From Christine Auten In My Experience And Greg Ayres Shows Off His Range.The Voice Acting Talent Pool Is Tremendous;Featuring Several Big-Named Voice Actors.
Music: B+
While The Opening Theme And Male Version Of The Ending Theme Are Pretty Poor.The Female Version (Last Quarter) Is Much Better And The Background Sounds and Music Pieces Are Very Well Done, Particularly The Heart wrenching Flashback Flute In Episode 18 and Latino-Style Guitar Piece In Episodes 22 to 26.
Fan Service: D
The Female Characters Almost All Look Like She-Males And The Two Characters That Do Have Large Breasts Are Covered Up In Breastplates/Armor.
The Series Starts Out Fairly Weak With The First 6 Episodes As An Introduction To The 4 Main Characters And The Fighting Style Unique To Shadow Skill.The Spiritual Warriors Are Valles And The Greatest Of These Are Then Named "Sevalle".
Martial Arts Language Commences:"....".
The 7th and 8th Episodes Deepen The Plot Using Several Flashbacks,The 9th a Welcomed Hilarious Festival.The Episodes Leading To 14 Explain Why The World Is In Danger And War Preparations For Both Main Factions,Kurudans And Solfans.Episode 14 Features a Light Exploration Mission By a Young Girl and Boy Played by Kyra Vincent Davies and Tiffany Grant,Both Excellent.The Rest Of The Episodes Detail The War Among Nations As Well As Individuals.The Fate Of The World Is Also Threatened.
I Liked The Wording and Use of Language As Martial Arts,Although For The Entire First Half Of The Series, Only 2 Dark And Light Techniques Are Used.On Top Of That,The Technique Shouted By The Voice Actors Is Not The Same As What Appears On Screen.It Gets Frustrating.There Are Also Several Typos ON The Screen:"My White Lightning IS Never DEFEAT." Repeated Several Times In Episode 11.An Obvious Lack Of Post-Production.The Talismans Used By Energists (Mages In The Series) Only Have 1 Different Name For The 4 Elements And Others Called "Healing" And "Undeath".The Lack Of Originality Moves The Story Score From a B+ To a B.There Are Strong Themes Of Honor,Friendship,Family As Well As Many Discussions About What Being a Warrior Truly Is.I Have Saved Of Few Of These Gems:
"Engage an Opponent Fairly and With the Utmost Respect so that Force and Skill Will Prevail.That Is The Rule Sevalles Live By."
"You Call This Nonsense? What I Call Nonsense Is When Warriors Such As Ourselves Suddenly Forget Who They Are and Start Pretending To Be Polite."
"There Is No Dream That Is Worth Going to War Over.Nothing Is That Good.Nothing."
Also Of Note Is a Very Weak Point In The First Episode Where Folli Warns Gau About a Spy Then Gau Addresses Said Spy a Second Later With:"I Have Heard You Are a Spy.".The Rest Of The Script Is Devoid Of Such Weaknesses,Thankfully...Sadly,Monica Rial Only Has a Minor Part As An Inn Keeper.
Elle Ragu Has Recently Became The 59th Sevalle And We Follow Her Travels Through Ashlianna As She Struggles to Come Up With Funds To Continue,Drinking All Their Profits.Accompanying Her Are Folli,Her Energist Friend/Adviser,Gau Ban,Her Adopted Brother And Kyuo Lyu,a Strange Girl.Elle Hones Her Skills And Teaches Gau The Ways Of The Sevalle By Sparring With Him.The Land Soon Comes Under Attack From Friends and Foes Alike And The Battles Commence.Brightening up The Story Are Elle's Mischief and Social "faux-pas" Corrected By Her Companions.
Characters:
Elle Ragu: The 59th Sevalle Nicknamed "Shadow Skill" Is a Strong,Independent,Reckless,Lazy Young Woman With Fiery Red Hair (It Seems Half The Characters Have Red Hair In Shadow Skill) And Beautiful Green Eyes.Her Somewhat Large Pointy Breasts Are Always Covered and Tied Up By a Belt.Luci Christian's Trademark Tomboyish Yet Enchanting Voice Gives Elle a Balance.She Spends All Of Her Prize Money On Drinking.She Once Refers To Herself As Such:"Being Cute Does Not Hurt Either" In a Deluded Moment Countered By One Scene Where She Wears a Cute Maid's Outfit:"Must I Wear a Dress that Exploits My Womanhood?".Her Journey Helps Her Become a Better Warrior,Friend,Sister And Leader.She Questions Her Existence Late In The Series:"What Good Is Winning If I Feel No Satisfaction.".Her Relationship With Gau Is Questioned By Kyuo Despite The Lack Of Actual Evidence.
Gau Ban: A 14 Year Old Boy Adopted By Elle Ragu That Slowly Becomes a Man.His Parents Were Brutally Killed Along With His Entire Village.Originally Elle's "Pack Mule" And Slave/Sparring Partner.He Becomes "Black Howling" And Wishes To Become The 60th Sevalle.His Refusal To Kill And Constant Guilt After Battles Lets His Emotions Get The Better Of Him.Other Characters Teach Him About Becoming a Better Man And Fighter.He Does Not Notice Kyuo's Attraction Towards Him,Although Frankly This Love Triangle Is Not Expanded Enough.It Should Have Been Removed All together.Like Elle,He Uses Shadow Type Techniques In Combat.His Hesitance and Valuing Of Human Life Over Orders Causes Many Deaths.
Folli: An Energist That Follows Elle and Gau Around.She Has a Weird Costume With Huge Shoulder Pads Along With a Rather Clumsy Costumes That Hide Her Large Breasts.She Could Have Been The Series Eye Candy.Her Talismans Are Usually For Backing Up Elle Or Gau With Ranged Attacks Or Healing Wounds. She Often Loses Her Patience With Elle:"Geeze,I Cannot Believe You.When Are You Going To Learn,Elle?" and Whenever a Tavern Is Destroyed,She Sighs:"Who ELSE Could It BE?"
When Elle Has a Ritual Ceremony To Attend In The Holy City of Julianess (Where Folli Was Born) and Makes a Mockery Of The Ceremony,She Loses It:"Eh,I Knew It! I F*** Knew It!"
Folli's True Motives Are Revealed In The Excellent Episode 7.
Diaz Ragu: Elle's Estranged Older Brother.One Of The More Poignant Characters In The Series Already Dying Of The Same Strange Illness That Killed His Parents.We Find Out He Sacrificed His Future As a Sevalle To Take Care Of Elle.He Works As a Blacksmith And His Masterwork Is The Black Wing,a Bladed Boomerang.Honorable,Caring and Loyal,Diaz Is Usually a Man Of Few Words,Opening a Little To Gau. When His King Demands His Help,He Comes Despite His Fragile State.In Episode 20,As He Dies,His Foe Praises Him:"Even In Death You Remain Standing,Riveted By The True Warrior Spirit Like None Other I Have Ever Known." as He Once Again Sacrifices Himself For One Of His Siblings.My FAVORITE Character In The Series.Jason Douglas Finds Just The Right Balance For His Voice.
Kyuo Lyu: This Mostly Useless Character Acts As Gau's Cheerleader And "Love Interest" Although As I Said Before That Part Of The Story Is Very Weak And,In My Opinion,Useless.She Hires Elle And Friends After Her Entire Group Of Septia (Demon-Beast Tamers) Are Killed By The Moon King.The Weapon She Eventually Masters Are Large Chained Gold Rings That Can Immobilize Foes.
Lowengren/Lo: The Effeminate "Rival" In Both Battle In Love To Gau Duels Him Twice In The Story And Ends Up Direly Hurt.This Event Causes Both Warriors To Wonder If They Fought With All Their Might Since They Were Friends(That Friendship Forms VERY Fast For My Tastes...).Lo Gives Gau His Big Gay Red Earrings So They Can "Journey" Together.Even Scarface Comments On Those "Homo-Erectile Feelings".Supposedly The Earrings Help Gau In His Final Fight.His Lavish and Creepy Poetic Love Letters To Kyou Do Cause a Funny Moment Where The Naive Duo Of Elle and Gau Try To Find Clues Of The "Would-Be Assassin's" Intentions Towards Kyou.His Nickname Is White Lightning.
Len Fuma: The Main Antagonist Ordered By Mysterious Entity.He Starts Out By Destroying Towns And Gradually Inciting War Between The Kingdoms Of Kuruda And Solfan.Following His Orders To The Letter, He Enjoys Causing Pain And Destruction.As Kuruda Burns,He Rejoices:"Glorious! Look At How It Burns! Farewell Kuruda,Enjoy The Smell of Your Own Charred Flesh as You Roast On It Like The PIGS You Are!".During His Fight With Gau,He Continually Talks And Insults His Opponent With Foul Language To Distract Him.Len Uses The "Ultimate" Form Of Kurudan Shadow Skills,The Ying Style Invented To Counter All Others.Before Gau Uses His Secret Weapon And Finishes Him Off,He Calls Him a "Spineless Little Worm.".Blake Shepard Is Excellent As The Villain.
Vy Low/Scarface: The 57th Sevalle Is a Folk Hero To Most,Especially To Gau.They End Up In a Master-Student Relationship Where Scarface Slyly Manipulates The Events To Harness Gau's True Potential With Seedy Actions.Quite The Interesting Character.He Tells Gau:"You Will Forever Be a Wolf Without Fang!" Until He Accepts His Animal Instincts and Unleashes The Beast Within.The Fact That His Student Only Kills The Last Foe He Faces Proves Scarface Was Right All Along.The Ends Justify The Means.He Gives Gau His Bandanna As a Memento.
The Ending Is Excellent,Combining a Satisfying Completion Of The Main Story With Some Funny Moments Of What Becomes Of The Heroes.A Few Scenes Caught My Eyes.In Episode 25,Gau Has a Dream About The Circle Of Life,How The Hunter Becomes Prey,The Vulture Feeds On Those Remains And The Cycle Begins Anew;Showing Gau That He Must Take Life So Others Can Survive.Also In The Last Few Episodes Is a Cross-Screen Of Elle And Gau Calling Forth Their Martial Arts Language Simultaneously.Episode 18 Has a Touching Flashback Sequence With The Perfect Music For The Scene.Despite Several Flaws,The Series Is a Success Mostly Due To Voice Acting.
P.S: The Commentaries Are Hilarious And Offer Great Insight Into The "Craft" Of Voice Acting/Directing.
Ratings:
Art/Animation: B
Shadow Skills Weakest Point.The Overall Style Looks Similar To Record Of Lodoss War In Its Simplicity. Some Of The Later Special Effects Are Fairly Good.
Story: B+
The Story Is a Good Mix Of Action And Drama With Some Comical Elements.The Character Development Is Very Interesting.Some Of The Character's Names And Titles Get Confusing.There Are Some Over- Simplifications Such As Light/Shadow Techniques Opposing Each Other As Well As White Lightning/Black Howling Dueling.
Voice Acting: A
This Is Where The Anime Shines.Many Veterans Make Up The Great Cast.Luci Christian Finally Has a Leading Role And Does Not Disappoint.This Is The Best Performance From Christine Auten In My Experience And Greg Ayres Shows Off His Range.The Voice Acting Talent Pool Is Tremendous;Featuring Several Big-Named Voice Actors.
Music: B+
While The Opening Theme And Male Version Of The Ending Theme Are Pretty Poor.The Female Version (Last Quarter) Is Much Better And The Background Sounds and Music Pieces Are Very Well Done, Particularly The Heart wrenching Flashback Flute In Episode 18 and Latino-Style Guitar Piece In Episodes 22 to 26.
Fan Service: D
The Female Characters Almost All Look Like She-Males And The Two Characters That Do Have Large Breasts Are Covered Up In Breastplates/Armor.
The Series Starts Out Fairly Weak With The First 6 Episodes As An Introduction To The 4 Main Characters And The Fighting Style Unique To Shadow Skill.The Spiritual Warriors Are Valles And The Greatest Of These Are Then Named "Sevalle".
Martial Arts Language Commences:"....".
The 7th and 8th Episodes Deepen The Plot Using Several Flashbacks,The 9th a Welcomed Hilarious Festival.The Episodes Leading To 14 Explain Why The World Is In Danger And War Preparations For Both Main Factions,Kurudans And Solfans.Episode 14 Features a Light Exploration Mission By a Young Girl and Boy Played by Kyra Vincent Davies and Tiffany Grant,Both Excellent.The Rest Of The Episodes Detail The War Among Nations As Well As Individuals.The Fate Of The World Is Also Threatened.
I Liked The Wording and Use of Language As Martial Arts,Although For The Entire First Half Of The Series, Only 2 Dark And Light Techniques Are Used.On Top Of That,The Technique Shouted By The Voice Actors Is Not The Same As What Appears On Screen.It Gets Frustrating.There Are Also Several Typos ON The Screen:"My White Lightning IS Never DEFEAT." Repeated Several Times In Episode 11.An Obvious Lack Of Post-Production.The Talismans Used By Energists (Mages In The Series) Only Have 1 Different Name For The 4 Elements And Others Called "Healing" And "Undeath".The Lack Of Originality Moves The Story Score From a B+ To a B.There Are Strong Themes Of Honor,Friendship,Family As Well As Many Discussions About What Being a Warrior Truly Is.I Have Saved Of Few Of These Gems:
"Engage an Opponent Fairly and With the Utmost Respect so that Force and Skill Will Prevail.That Is The Rule Sevalles Live By."
"You Call This Nonsense? What I Call Nonsense Is When Warriors Such As Ourselves Suddenly Forget Who They Are and Start Pretending To Be Polite."
"There Is No Dream That Is Worth Going to War Over.Nothing Is That Good.Nothing."
Also Of Note Is a Very Weak Point In The First Episode Where Folli Warns Gau About a Spy Then Gau Addresses Said Spy a Second Later With:"I Have Heard You Are a Spy.".The Rest Of The Script Is Devoid Of Such Weaknesses,Thankfully...Sadly,Monica Rial Only Has a Minor Part As An Inn Keeper.
Elle Ragu Has Recently Became The 59th Sevalle And We Follow Her Travels Through Ashlianna As She Struggles to Come Up With Funds To Continue,Drinking All Their Profits.Accompanying Her Are Folli,Her Energist Friend/Adviser,Gau Ban,Her Adopted Brother And Kyuo Lyu,a Strange Girl.Elle Hones Her Skills And Teaches Gau The Ways Of The Sevalle By Sparring With Him.The Land Soon Comes Under Attack From Friends and Foes Alike And The Battles Commence.Brightening up The Story Are Elle's Mischief and Social "faux-pas" Corrected By Her Companions.
Characters:
Elle Ragu: The 59th Sevalle Nicknamed "Shadow Skill" Is a Strong,Independent,Reckless,Lazy Young Woman With Fiery Red Hair (It Seems Half The Characters Have Red Hair In Shadow Skill) And Beautiful Green Eyes.Her Somewhat Large Pointy Breasts Are Always Covered and Tied Up By a Belt.Luci Christian's Trademark Tomboyish Yet Enchanting Voice Gives Elle a Balance.She Spends All Of Her Prize Money On Drinking.She Once Refers To Herself As Such:"Being Cute Does Not Hurt Either" In a Deluded Moment Countered By One Scene Where She Wears a Cute Maid's Outfit:"Must I Wear a Dress that Exploits My Womanhood?".Her Journey Helps Her Become a Better Warrior,Friend,Sister And Leader.She Questions Her Existence Late In The Series:"What Good Is Winning If I Feel No Satisfaction.".Her Relationship With Gau Is Questioned By Kyuo Despite The Lack Of Actual Evidence.
Gau Ban: A 14 Year Old Boy Adopted By Elle Ragu That Slowly Becomes a Man.His Parents Were Brutally Killed Along With His Entire Village.Originally Elle's "Pack Mule" And Slave/Sparring Partner.He Becomes "Black Howling" And Wishes To Become The 60th Sevalle.His Refusal To Kill And Constant Guilt After Battles Lets His Emotions Get The Better Of Him.Other Characters Teach Him About Becoming a Better Man And Fighter.He Does Not Notice Kyuo's Attraction Towards Him,Although Frankly This Love Triangle Is Not Expanded Enough.It Should Have Been Removed All together.Like Elle,He Uses Shadow Type Techniques In Combat.His Hesitance and Valuing Of Human Life Over Orders Causes Many Deaths.
Folli: An Energist That Follows Elle and Gau Around.She Has a Weird Costume With Huge Shoulder Pads Along With a Rather Clumsy Costumes That Hide Her Large Breasts.She Could Have Been The Series Eye Candy.Her Talismans Are Usually For Backing Up Elle Or Gau With Ranged Attacks Or Healing Wounds. She Often Loses Her Patience With Elle:"Geeze,I Cannot Believe You.When Are You Going To Learn,Elle?" and Whenever a Tavern Is Destroyed,She Sighs:"Who ELSE Could It BE?"
When Elle Has a Ritual Ceremony To Attend In The Holy City of Julianess (Where Folli Was Born) and Makes a Mockery Of The Ceremony,She Loses It:"Eh,I Knew It! I F*** Knew It!"
Folli's True Motives Are Revealed In The Excellent Episode 7.
Diaz Ragu: Elle's Estranged Older Brother.One Of The More Poignant Characters In The Series Already Dying Of The Same Strange Illness That Killed His Parents.We Find Out He Sacrificed His Future As a Sevalle To Take Care Of Elle.He Works As a Blacksmith And His Masterwork Is The Black Wing,a Bladed Boomerang.Honorable,Caring and Loyal,Diaz Is Usually a Man Of Few Words,Opening a Little To Gau. When His King Demands His Help,He Comes Despite His Fragile State.In Episode 20,As He Dies,His Foe Praises Him:"Even In Death You Remain Standing,Riveted By The True Warrior Spirit Like None Other I Have Ever Known." as He Once Again Sacrifices Himself For One Of His Siblings.My FAVORITE Character In The Series.Jason Douglas Finds Just The Right Balance For His Voice.
Kyuo Lyu: This Mostly Useless Character Acts As Gau's Cheerleader And "Love Interest" Although As I Said Before That Part Of The Story Is Very Weak And,In My Opinion,Useless.She Hires Elle And Friends After Her Entire Group Of Septia (Demon-Beast Tamers) Are Killed By The Moon King.The Weapon She Eventually Masters Are Large Chained Gold Rings That Can Immobilize Foes.
Lowengren/Lo: The Effeminate "Rival" In Both Battle In Love To Gau Duels Him Twice In The Story And Ends Up Direly Hurt.This Event Causes Both Warriors To Wonder If They Fought With All Their Might Since They Were Friends(That Friendship Forms VERY Fast For My Tastes...).Lo Gives Gau His Big Gay Red Earrings So They Can "Journey" Together.Even Scarface Comments On Those "Homo-Erectile Feelings".Supposedly The Earrings Help Gau In His Final Fight.His Lavish and Creepy Poetic Love Letters To Kyou Do Cause a Funny Moment Where The Naive Duo Of Elle and Gau Try To Find Clues Of The "Would-Be Assassin's" Intentions Towards Kyou.His Nickname Is White Lightning.
Len Fuma: The Main Antagonist Ordered By Mysterious Entity.He Starts Out By Destroying Towns And Gradually Inciting War Between The Kingdoms Of Kuruda And Solfan.Following His Orders To The Letter, He Enjoys Causing Pain And Destruction.As Kuruda Burns,He Rejoices:"Glorious! Look At How It Burns! Farewell Kuruda,Enjoy The Smell of Your Own Charred Flesh as You Roast On It Like The PIGS You Are!".During His Fight With Gau,He Continually Talks And Insults His Opponent With Foul Language To Distract Him.Len Uses The "Ultimate" Form Of Kurudan Shadow Skills,The Ying Style Invented To Counter All Others.Before Gau Uses His Secret Weapon And Finishes Him Off,He Calls Him a "Spineless Little Worm.".Blake Shepard Is Excellent As The Villain.
Vy Low/Scarface: The 57th Sevalle Is a Folk Hero To Most,Especially To Gau.They End Up In a Master-Student Relationship Where Scarface Slyly Manipulates The Events To Harness Gau's True Potential With Seedy Actions.Quite The Interesting Character.He Tells Gau:"You Will Forever Be a Wolf Without Fang!" Until He Accepts His Animal Instincts and Unleashes The Beast Within.The Fact That His Student Only Kills The Last Foe He Faces Proves Scarface Was Right All Along.The Ends Justify The Means.He Gives Gau His Bandanna As a Memento.
The Ending Is Excellent,Combining a Satisfying Completion Of The Main Story With Some Funny Moments Of What Becomes Of The Heroes.A Few Scenes Caught My Eyes.In Episode 25,Gau Has a Dream About The Circle Of Life,How The Hunter Becomes Prey,The Vulture Feeds On Those Remains And The Cycle Begins Anew;Showing Gau That He Must Take Life So Others Can Survive.Also In The Last Few Episodes Is a Cross-Screen Of Elle And Gau Calling Forth Their Martial Arts Language Simultaneously.Episode 18 Has a Touching Flashback Sequence With The Perfect Music For The Scene.Despite Several Flaws,The Series Is a Success Mostly Due To Voice Acting.
P.S: The Commentaries Are Hilarious And Offer Great Insight Into The "Craft" Of Voice Acting/Directing.
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