Ivan Fool and the Japanese. As we all know, Japan is one of our maritime neighbors. However, their cranberries are very little known. But unlike Western countries, she does it with respect for us, meaning she tries to put less stereotypes in her creations about Russians. And today we will consider an anime series from the types of OVA called the Flame Maze.
First of all, I will start with one drawback that does not spoil the evaluation of this anime series, namely, that in this series 2 episodes. No, I totally understand, OVA is a 6-episode maximum anime series, and 2-episode is the standard for this type of anime series. However, two episodes are not enough for me because I want at least 16 episodes and at most 26! It deserves a lot of money!
And who is the most embellished in this series? Of course, the main character is Galan. Yes, by all appearances he is Russian, but I have never met a person with that name. However, I learned that Galan is indeed a Slavic name (that's a twist), and the name is very rare, and possibly very old. The character himself is similar in appearance and character to Naruto from the anime series à la Santa Barbara (for a record number of episodes among anime series, that is, he is the longest anime series). Naruto (and 2 years before the release of the anime series, and a year after the release of the first manga) and Gauri Gabriel from the epic fantasy anime series Rubaki. However, for a Russian man, Galan is an anime version of our fairytale character Ivan Durac. Well, judging by the way he's dressed (soldier's boots, army pants, a veal and a red kimono with the letter G on his back), by his character and manner of demeanor it is. And I would like him to be called Ivan, because it is simpler, clearer and more familiar. However, I understand that this name is more commonplace for cranberries, and the Japanese decided to choose such a rare name to be more original. And yes, I almost forgot, he's a big fan of samurai.
Well, the plot is simple. Our hero, along with his girlfriend Natsu, goes from a Japanese college, where he works as a watchman, to a Japanese enclave on the territory of Russia (I never understood what kind of place this is, whether it is an island, or part of the mainland), in which she is the heir to the throne (the enclave was created after the end of the Tokugawa era in the mid-19th century, so it is an enclave with a feudal bias). And of course, she wants to marry him, and of course, the trouble of two women does not come in time. Another thing that can be said about the plot is that the Japanese even use Chekhov’s covenant. That is, they have a “gun” of 100 mm caliber, and it will definitely shoot.
With musical accompaniment, everything is average by the standards of anime, as well as with drawing in general. However, there are moments when the music in this anime is on a high level, and this is when the Klink-Malink song is played by a military choir (if I am not mistaken). And this song really fits those moments making them cooler.
In general, it turned out a cool humorous anime series with cranberries and etti elements. What a pity that there are so few episodes in it.
10 out of 10