The Mystic Archive of Dantalian: B++
After I saw Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, I decided that Studio Gainax could do no wrong and resolved to watch everything they have ever produced. This led me to watching some works of true brilliance (Gunbuster, Diebuster), some things which were truly bizzare (Melody of Oblivion, Oruchuban Ebichu, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt), and a remarkable number of series which were about breasts, despite ostensibly having plots (Mahoromatic, He Is My Master). I hadn't looked over what Gainax had done in over a year, and so I was pleased to find that they had completed a series in 2011 titled "The Mystic Archive of Dantalian," or "Dantalian no Shoka," in Japanese. So I downloaded it and watched it.
It did not take long to realize that it was going to fall closer to the 'true brilliance' category than any other, but I was delighted by both the immersive victorianesque atmosphere of the series and by the sense of myth and wonder the story brings. Neil Gaiman, who I consider the master of the modern Fairy Tale, would probably like this series.
The eponymous Mystic Archive is a library of magical books, which do not truly belong in the world. The protagonist, Hugh Anthony Disward, or 'Huey,' who had been a pilot in WWI (the story takes place in the early 1920s), inherits his grandfather's mansion, title and responsibility to a girl named Dalian who looks after these magic books, which cause dramatic and often tragic changes to the world they are released into.
It is not a story of deep passions or incredible depths, but it is lovely, clever and well-paced series with a strong sense of fantasy that I would recommend to anyone interested in such a fairy tale.
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