New Anime Review - Senyuu

Anime Name - Senyuu
Aired - Jan 9, 2013 to Apr 3, 2013
Episodes - 13
Produced By - Ordet, LIDEN FILMS 
Staff - Yutaka Yamamoto (Director), Robinson Haruhara (Original Creator), Ushio Tazawa (Character Design), JAM Project (Theme Song Performance)

Shorts are quite rare in Anime, and as like majority of the shorts Senyuu is a gag or comedy short in its core. But what is unique about this show is that it is based on a fantasy settings which is even more rare in shorts. Unlike many other shorts Senyuu has one other criteria that is although it tries to parody the fantasy world setting in overall it also tries to have a continuity (rather then being self contained episodes) and tries to tell a short yet somewhat coherent (somewhat comes to mind mostly due to ridiculously comic sequences) story. And that is what I find enjoyable and also an appreciable effort for this series.


Story

Long ago, there lived an evil being who reigned over the world through fear, called Satan Rchimedes. He invaded the human world with his many demon underlings, spreading madness and chaos everywhere. One thousand years ago, this menace was sealed by the hero Creation, and peace returned to the world.
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/15751/Senyuu./#iSUxwDyhTeLJ0tFe.99

Long ago, there lived an evil being who reigned over the world through fear, called Satan Rchimedes. He invaded the human world with his many demon underlings, spreading madness and chaos everywhere. One thousand years ago, this menace was sealed by the hero Creation, and peace returned to the world.
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/15751/Senyuu./#iSUxwDyhTeLJ0tFe.99

The story is in a setting like old school rpgs but with a few funny twists. It goes something like long time ago the demon king Rchimedes was defeated and sealed by Hero Creation, but suddenly one day a huge hole appeared in the world and all kinds of demons started coming out of it. So naturally the king decides that the demon king has returned and tries to send the hero's descendant to fight him. and there comes the first funny twist as one thousand years had passed he found 75 candidates and sends them all and declares whoever defeats the demon lord will be deemed the "true hero" and will receive vast riches. This show particularly follows the hero Alba & soldier Ross in their quest to be the true heroes where they meets many funny characters and the writer also throws in various slapstick humor while also parodying various other typical Shounen anime/manga.
Overall the story is somewhat original and I enjoyed the humor very much so it gets 8 out of 10 from me.

Art/Animation
While the art is anything spectacular but I really enjoyed how the animation and art was used to convey humor and how they complemented the overall nature of the ridiculous humor of the show. And on a small note, I also quite enjoyed the varying opening sequences used.
This gets 7 out of 10.

Characters

While Alba is a typical Shounen character I really liked his comments/complains against various actions of the other characters and even the narrator. Ross is character with a very unique sense of humor which is quite enjoyable in a slapstick nature really. Other characters like the little girl and innocent demon lord; the elderly loli lover; the masochistic cat are very funny and unique. the rest are somewhat generic but still compliments the overall nature of the show nicely.

Long ago, there lived an evil being who reigned over the world through fear, called Satan Rchimedes. He invaded the human world with his many demon underlings, spreading madness and chaos everywhere. One thousand years ago, this menace was sealed by the hero Creation, and peace returned to the world.
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/15751/Senyuu./#iSUxwDyhTeLJ0tFe.99

This is another strong aspect and gets 8 out of 10.

Sound
The in-show music what not that noticeable at all and I was not impressed at all. The opening and ending theme is done by JAM Project which sadly I didn't find neither appropriate nor enjoyable. In short to me this is by far the weakest aspect of this anime and gets 5 out of 10.

For me who is relatively new at shorts actually this was really a unique experience to say the least, although there are a few faults like a bad overall music & a cliffhanger ending that was quite unexpected I would gladly watch the second season. I would recommend this to anyone who likes shorts or parody shows or to people who likes to have some good laughs occasionally with no string attached for bigger storyline or whatnot.

Overall Score -
                         7 out of 10.

"Believe ~Eien no Link~ (Believe ～永遠のLink～)" by JAM Project
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/15751/Senyuu./#DyIPv5e7CCR8hMqW.99

If you want more info and other reviews of this show check out it's MAL page -
http://myanimelist.net/anime/15751/Senyuu.