***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Junketsu no Maria. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
It is the Hundred Years War. The French rally to rid their country of the English invaders. Both sides look to shift the fight into their favor and the fervor of battle has grown strong.
Yet each confrontation gets interrupted. Interrupted by the powerful witch, Maria (voiced by Hisako Kanemoto). Unlike her fellow witches, Maria has a strong disdain for violence and wishes for peace.
As a witch, people have trouble accepting Maria. But her actions have started to see a following. Prompting the Church to label her a heretic. One they must eliminate.
Caring little for the consequences, Maria continues to disrupt the fighting. Unfortunately, this has not gone unnoticed by Heaven. They deem Maria's actions to be a disruption in the natural order.
The Archangel Michael (voiced by Kikuko Inoue) confronts Maria. Declaring that should Maria lose her virginity, she would also lose her magic. Maria is also forbidden to use her powers in public.
Despite the warning, Maria has no intention of following the will of Heaven. She decides to continue doing what she feels is right.
Series Positives
It’s fine.
The show was addicting enough and could get watch it in one sitting. It’s better than mediocre. There were some pretty good and interesting ideas that the series played with.
Faith
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I'm by no means a religious person. But the idea of faith has always been a powerful concept to me.
Believing in something with no question. Even the most arduous temptations can't shake one's fortitude. Making the choice to continue forward down a virtuous path. Rationalizing the existence of senseless tragedies because of the certainty of some righteous grand plan. To look into the face of injustice and ignore it for the promise of a better future.
Where did that philosophical nonsense come from? The point is I've always found the theme of faith to be fascinating. Particularly when it’s challenged. Junketsu no Maria, to my surprise, did this quite well.
You could say setting the story in Medieval Europe was an easy setup. I would agree. I'd go even further to say that it was pretty heavy handed. And in one sequence hilarious in its absurdity. Thank you, Father Bernard. More on that in a bit.
That aside, Junketsu no Maria did a great done job portraying when someone’s faith wavered. As seen with the character Ezekiel (voiced by Kana Hanazawa).
Ezekiel was a servant of Michael. She was in charge with keeping an eye on Maria. Yet by the end, Ezekiel began to doubt all she had known.
Maria thought through emotion. If something she believed was wrong was happening, she was going to fix it. Her actions were big, meaningful, and concrete. They demonstrated something getting done. But she was also brash, impulsive, and sometimes only offered a short-term solution to a much deeper problem.
Heaven, and by extension Ezekiel, thought through logic. Things happened for a reason. Even if what was happening wasn't very nice. What was chaos for some, was salvation for others. The world isn't black and white. Yet, Heaven came off cold. Even heartless at times.
While Ezekiel didn't know why Maria was so adamant in her approach, she felt its influence. By the finale, Ezekiel needed to make a choice. How the series went about resolving this came out of nowhere. But it was neat and it is the reason why I would get excited for a season two.Series Negatives
Junketsu no Maria was full of things that were average and passable. There were a few things that got done well. Then there were the moments where all I could think was, “What?”
The Witches
I accept the idea that Maria was a witch that lived during this period. Her existence wasn't over the top. She looked like she belonged here. The same wasn't true for the other witches.
Every other witch in this series was cliché. That's not to say Maria didn't have some of these traits as well, but they at least worked for the story. Everyone appeared as though they belonged in some twenty-first-century anime. Not Medieval Europe.
...um, Odyssey...
I know what I said. I stand by it.
The Violence
Violence in anime is completely okay and in some cases, it’s the only thing that saves an otherwise doomed show. In this series though, it’s not needed for any real reason. That said, if Junketsu no Maria did want to go down this road, then it didn’t go far enough.
Violence just appeared whenever it wanted. Everything can go from lighthearted and upbeat to BLOOD EVERYWHERE! But not only was this random, it was also subdued. To the point where you need to ask, "Why was it even bothered with in the first place?"If you're going to do it, why not do it throughout? Or have it be as ridiculous as possible when it is around?
In Fractale, the violence was shock value. Its suddenness helped illustrate the weight of the situation. In Junketsu no Maria it was silly and not worth anything.
Where’d the Bad Guy Go?
If there was one person who could be the bad guy, it would be Father Bernard (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai).
He was your typical close-minded priest that twisted Maria’s actions into a negative light. All so the Church could benefit. Much like the rest of the show, he was functional. But then he simply went away.
How he went away was interesting in itself. I don’t know if it was the worse scene or the greatest. Without any warning or provocation, Father Bernard lost his damn mind.
He had Maria jailed, ready for the inquisition and he asked her why she was doing what she was doing. I’m paraphrasing, but all Maria said was, “Because you’re wrong”.
As logic would dictate, Father Bernard responded with, “Oh my God you’re right. Everything I’ve ever known is a lie.” Excuse me, what?
From there he went into a rant. He convinced himself why he should forgo all he had ever done and planned to create his own teachings. Poor Maria was all like, “What the f@#$ are you on about?”
This scene was so bat-s@#$ insane because nothing, absolutely nothing brought it about. This was the stupidest, funniest thing in the entire show. I could not believe what I was seeing.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t be against watching this again. And, as I said, a sequel would have my interest. Yet, the more time that passes after this review, I suspect that I'll have forgotten much of Junketsu no Maria.
It was entertaining. But a tad underwhelming at parts. It was exciting. But not gripping. It did a few things well. But then there were moments that were “What the hell?”
It was fun. It’s worth watching when you have the time to spare. Though you’re not going to miss anything special.
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