Dhruv Sharma
The third season of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins‘, which aired in 2018, was very well received by most fans of the anime and soon after it ended, everyone was hyped up for its new season. If you’re new to this anime, you’ll probably go by its name and assume that it has something to do with “sins”. But that’s not the case here and it’s more about a group of heroes, known as “the Sins”, who set out on a journey to make their fantasy world a better place. So far, what has made this anime a huge success is its perfect depiction of how action scenes are not always a “flashy trip” where everything lacks meaning. Though it does have all the cliches that you would expect from a typical shounen, what makes it stand out is the sense of reasoning that it brings to the table with all of its action.
That being said, the much-awaited season 4 is already here and this time around, it has been animated by the well-known Studio Deen. The first three seasons of the anime were produced by A-1 Pictures which is quite a controversial Studio because of its not-so-loyal adaptations. But surprisingly, so far, the Studio has done a pretty decent job with all of its season, especially when it comes to the art style and consistency in its animation quality. But that itself could be an issue for Season 4 since most viewers are now used to the animation style that was adopted by A-1 Pictures; we’ll certainly get back to this later. After watching episode 1 of season 4, my first impression is more of a mixed bag and though this episode only acts as an introduction to the entire seasons, there are certain issues that I could not overlook.
Recap
Somewhere around the end of Season 3, Meliodas returns from the dead and ends up killing Farudrin, the commander of the Ten Commandments. It is also revealed that Meliodas is actually the son of the Demon King and it’s the scheme of the demon to later feed on his emotions to take over the human realm. Following the events of Farudrin’s death, Ban shows some concern towards Maliodas’ merciless behavior towards his opponents. Disturbed by Ban’s reaction, Meliodas decides to celebrate all by himself but is later joined by Elizabeth who consoles him that he is going to be okay and also assures him that she will never leave his side.
At the beginning of the first episode, we see a brutal battle between the Blue demons from the Demon clan and two of the Deadly Sins—Meliodas and Ban. After freeing a bunch of villagers from the Demon clan, Meliodas and Ban ask them who they are and where did they come from. To this, one of the villagers replies that they’re all travelers who were trapped in a village. Realizing that the looming fear of the Demon clan still exists in many different villages, the two of them head there to investigate what’s going on. Almost the entire first half of the episode introduces you to a very basic recap of what has happened so far.
The next scene then brings light on how the Kingdom of Liones is still recovering from the aftermath of the war and it is also hinted that a new Commander of the Holy Knight will be appointed. The first episode also gives a glimpse of how Zeldris is still recovering from his loss and how Estarossa is still unconscious because of all of his previous injuries. The second half of the episode is all about a ferocious battle that ensues between the Demon clan and five members of the Sins. Somewhere around the end, Howzer is appointed as the Commander of the Holy Knights and the remaining two members of the Sins, King and Diane, are introduced.
Review
When it comes to the storyline, it has surely never been so interesting and at this point of time, I don’t want to pass any judgments on this aspect of the series as its only warming up the viewers with all the necessary details of the past seasons. What really did get my attention in this episode is its heavy emphasis on the relationship between Meliodas and Elizabeth. So a lot more development of these two characters can be expected later. While Meliodas will probably take more risks to keep Elizabeth safe, she will have to watch him succumb to his true demonic form. This is one major plot point of season 4 that most fans will be looking out for.
The sound is as brilliant as it ever was and perfectly fits with every scene it is played with. From the uplifting brassy music that hypes you for the battle scenes to the mellow yet intense beats that heighten the impact of the drama, all the background scores are as good as they used to be. The action scenes are very well choreographed and also encapsulate the current relative powers of the main characters.
Getting to the negatives of this season, it may be a bit too soon to say this but there’s something about the animation that really feels off. Also, just to make it suitable for a wider audience, the color of blood in the battle scenes has been changed to white and even the fan service moments now have the annoying “fog” censorship. While the fan service part is still acceptable, the fight scenes are just a little less entertaining because of the lack of gore. Overall, ‘The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods’ is off for a decent start and hopefully, as viewers, we will be able to adapt to its new animation style.
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Rating: 3.5/5
