Dances with the Dragons

This is what you get when you have an elaborate and complicated fantasy world that features different nations with complicated relationships. However, you have very little screen time to present it all. Take all that combined with a sophisticated narrative focusing not only on the characters but also on the politics, the fight scenes, the love story, and who knows what else? In summary - this show is a mess! This project had a lot of potential, and this could have been an above-average fantasy anime series, at least. Suppose there was room and opportunity to introduce us in the plot correctly and have good exposition. Suppose it had a complex and adult narrative with all the politics and relationships between factions, nations, and even individual characters. Perhaps it would have then been better. In its paper version, i.e., the original novella, this narrative may possibly have those qualities, although that being said, the anime adaptation is a failure. There is too much information crammed into a small space. A lot of things are poorly explained, and some are not explained at all. I was lost in the layout of the world it is set in, the different factions and their motivations, and I was supposed to be following the politics and scheming, too? They  introduced the characters rather poorly and the world it is set in and its rules still largely escape me too. In other words, I have been left confused, and I doubt a second viewing would help me sort it out; furthermore, I do not think I would want to watch it again. It could have been great - the main protagonists, narrative, and setting had potential, but in the end - meh... 4.3/10. (06/22/2018)