Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
---Hyouka---
Hello ladies and gentlemen, let’s dive into our review of Dantalian no Shoka.
Story: 7
Characters: 9
Animation: 7.5
Soundtrack: 8
Romance: ?
Now let’s delve a bit deeper, starting with the negative points. Starting with what bothered me the most: everything feels way too rushed. It’s hard to explain properly, but every conflict is resolved extremely quickly. Moreover, the entire series struggles to fully explore its story in just 12 episodes. It’s obvious that much more could have been expanded upon or introduced.
Another downside is related to my personal preference as a romance enthusiast. The anime only hints at a romantic element but never develops it or gives us at least one moment with more direct romantic tension.
These were the only negative aspects that stood out to me. That s…
Read at the sourcePeach_Main
I don't watch mystery themed works most of the time, but I was lured by the visuals and the synopsis while browsing through mystery anime one night. The Mystic Archives of Dantalian had a wonderful first episode, but the more progress I made, the less impressed I got, and the ending was just an epic fail. I really wanted to not put this anime in the red zone, but after attempting a second chance at it, it's clear to me that I truly dislike it.
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian is a historical fiction anime that takes place in England after World War I. The main character Hugh (Huey) Anthony Disward received a letter informing him of his grandfather's death. According to his grandfather's will, Huey is entrusted to take care of his property, specifically his massive collection of books at h…
Read at the sourceChrisDC
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian has to be one of the most Jungian and unique animes ever, and if I were to describe this anime in one word, it would be "Poignant."
The premise reloves around books of unknown knowledge that grant supernatural powers to the readers and the reactive nature of what happens when you give a human forbidden knowledge and power.
Battles are fought using ancient poetry from various historical sources. Many of the "conflicts" are inspired by mythology and its interpretations, ideally suited for people interested in Carl Jung's psychoanalytic theory being heavily influenced by mythology.
This anime asks the viewer what they would do with such power and provides examples of possible outcomes in an episodic fashion; the results are often mixed; some people choose t…
Read at the sourcereizamundi
Story & Characters:
• Generic and basic story. Characters without any tension, climax, or development.
• Uses all the cheesiest plots for each episode with random supporting characters lacking depth and purpose.
• Some of the poems recited by the main character are very heart touching in relation to the plot and I appreciated that different writings were used for each episode. For that, I admire the historical and artistic value brought by the narrative.
Art & Sound:
• The art is beautiful, especially the environment art and early 20th century European atmosphere. The lighting is used appropriately and the colors are mesmerizing.
• The design of the episode pause is also stunningly captivating, one of the best that I have seen in all anime - it reminds me a bit of Shoujo Kakumei Utena
• I…
Read at the sourceFunnyCartoons
This is an anime I picked up from the library one day, on the notion that a two-disc box set could be knocked out in no time, and on the whole I found I rather liked the show, with a handful of caveats.
The characters run the gamut from "not offensive" to "is also on the show." That Dalian, resident plucky sidekick, manages to have a personality largely through catty insults and being easily bribed by sweets is a testament to the lack of sophistication on offer. Even the main character tends to fall into a vacuum of "main character," from which no discernible personality emerges that isn't at the whim of the plot. Honestly, the most interesting episode, in terms of character, is probably the one featuring the Libricide officer, who's relationship with his do-nothing plucky sidekick is the…
Read at the sourceAldebaran87
English Version
Dantalian no Shoka is a period anime, adventure and mystery where a military pilot receives a letter from his late grandfather, inheriting him a mansion, his library and leaving in his care a young woman who guards within her the power of countless writings with a variety of powers.
In each chapter several events will happen that at first involve fantastic beings such as dragons, golems and living mannequins, and later events that involve different aspects of human nature such as envy, sadness and greed, in my opinion these chapters are more interesting; in all of them involving various powers of books such as amazing knowledge, heal, give life, alter feelings; which are used by different characters to satisfy their needs and later by the protagonists to correct the conseq…
Read at the sourceASinfulPersonage
(You might be spoiled or maybe not?)
The plot's romance and its characters are damn cute (for gothic lolis) and lovely. I can properly say that this anime should be adapted to at least 26, no, 52 episodes.
Such heart warming story every episode, you can see different interesting books that has different powers that its not a redundant but a great way to pass the time while you are enlightened and enjoying every little moments of their friendships.
You can properly enjoy the story as they unfold each episode but the time came when you need to rush it a and was suddenly given conclusion may be hard for the author, I think the anime didn't get enough views so he was forced to shorten or rushed the story to give some kind of conclusion for the pink haired girl in another space. This will be…
Read at the sourceSesshomaru
Dantalian no Shoka mixes mystery, crime and supernatural elements and brings them together in Britain in a Victorian setting. A mysterious hunt for the so-called phantom books begins. These books, with their supernatural powers, could throw the earth off balance if they fall into the wrong hands.
Story: Nice idea, but astoundingly lazy and uninterested implemented (4/10)
Phantom books, and any episode revolves around a new book is a good idea. It sounds entertaining to mix a little bit of reality with elements of fantasy and mystery. Unfortunately, the mysterious element is created by leaving the viewer in the dark. In addition, the little secrets are not connected, so that one cannot conclude on the final goal in the course of the series. To add insult to injury, the little puzzles, even…
Read at the sourcererefye
Dantalion no Shoka is an anime telling the story of magical archives that seal thousands of books, some of which are prohibited and should not be read. Hugh "Huey" Anthony Disward received a letter informing him that his grandfather has died and Huey will inherit his estate on the condition that he must take a guardianship of Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian and Dantalian, and so their journey to collect the Phantom Books his grandfather loaned and other Phantom Books begins.
Plot:
The anime's concept of magical and mysterious books is what attracts me to watch it. Each episode offers new characters Huey and Dalian accidentally met in their journey of collecting the Phantom Books. Though I like the plot and setting, the episodes are kind of a hit and miss for me.
Character:
Okay, in gene…
Read at the sourceYKIR
It is not a perfect anime but it is certainly interesting. The story has weak points and this cannot be ignored, such as the lack of characterization of the characters or the brevity of the anime itself.
Giving my personal opinion:
Dantalian No Shoka speaks not only of magic books but of how these are experienced by the adult world, that sees them as forms of power, and by the infantile world, which sees them with curiosity and desire to know them. The beauty is that all of these things are not said, they must be intuited. In this sense, Dantalian No Shoka, is like poetry in movement, it is a story that must be interpreted. Even the backgrounds of the settings they look like paintings, probably to evoke a feeling of "dream".
Everything, in Dantalian No Shoka, awakens the imagination fro…
Read at the sourceEthan_07
" - I ask of thee, art thou human?
- No, I'm heaven. The heaven in the pot. "
It is a misconception to think that this anime is only about books. Packed with mystery and supernatural elements where the living characters and story become alive from the books just by reading it. Much to my surprise, it's a similar concept to some movies that I've watched which are Inkheart and Goosebumps. The anime centers around a key keeper which holds a key to her heart, literally, the dark reading princess and archiving each phantom books that is revealed and uncovering the truth behind it.
The dark reading princess, very knowledgeable on the phantom books, has a particular taste in sweet foods, especially friend breads covered with sugar serving with tea, and the like for stuffed bear, like a typical…
Read at the sourceArglos
First things first:
I liked Dantalian no Shoka quite a lot. BUT it is some sort of hate-love. At one point I almost threw my phone in pure anger at the wall.
Plot:
Dantalian no Shoka follows the story of our two two main characters Dalian, a seemingly childisch, tsundere like but very mysterious and intelligent girl and an ex-military pilot, Hugh Anthony Disward, also known as Huey. Huey unexpectedly inherits a giant mansion from his uncle. As a former book lover he decides to visit it as soon as possible and quits his piloting job. Within the endless towers of books he finds a young girl, dressed in Gothic/Victorian dresses. She explains him, that she is the "black princess of Dantalians mysterious library. On their quest to find and store socalled "phantombooks", Books and texts that c…
Read at the sourceshysaviorkun
I honestly have no recollection of how I found this anime or why I started it, but I can say with certainty that I am very glad I did.
Dantalian no Shoka is one of my all time favorite anime. Don't let that line fool you however, this is by no means a masterpiece. It is simply a show that for some reason, resonated deeply with me.
It has a fairly interesting story concept in the form of a mystical, mysterious, magical girl, who happens to be the personification of an ancient mystical archive. Each episode of the show is its own story, following our main characters as they solve mysteries and recover phantom books.
The stories told in each individual episode are exciting, fun, and engaging. These qualities are backed up by solid animation, good artwork, excellent music, and a very str…
Read at the sourceGrayRealm
This is an oddity.
At a glance it looks like it should be an amazing, melancholic story with gothic overtones. And it looks like the components are there - nice music, mystic stories, england in early 20th century.... except for some reason it doesn't work. At all. I finished the whole series and felt literally nothing. The events happen, sometimes they're clearly supposed to be dramatic, dark or fantastic, but they fail to deliver any impact properly. And I don't know why.
Detailed breakdown below:
Story: 5/10:
The story follows basic premise of finding and dealing with "forbidden books" which contain some secret knowledge which grant people strange abilities. Usually there's a caveat involved. In a sense, it is somewhat similar to Mushishi except that instead of Mushi there are books…
Read at the sourceJikishi
This history goes with Dalian (Black Biblioprincess) and Huey. It's about Victorian Age. The argument is acceptable, because is similar to another animes, so I liked it, is simple but curious. Both are connecting by Dalian's librarian. But nobody knows about that. Huey promised to the librarian rescue her. The relationship is cold and distant, but gradually they are approaching. The serie envolves you with the mistery and the tragedy -not much-, Dalian is a gotich lolita, in love with the books because grandfather's Huey adopted her when she was a little girl. I love this anime because mi favourite anime is Gosick and the genre is the best for me. You can apreciate the fantasy -little-, but is a magical and surprising. Temporarily the friendship is consolidated -but I think not only de fri…
Read at the sourceYuu_Masuhara
There are quite much terms not accustomed to be heard by us when watching the show. But, I'll try to explain few terms here in order to make the readers understand what I'm going to explain in my review below. It's necessary because understanding can not run smoothly when these things are not mentioned before.
So, firstly, let's talk about "what exactly is the main heroine?" I didn't say it wrong, it is really "what is" not "who is". The pic above, is the main heroine named Dalian. A girl who wears sweet-gothic lolita dress and gorgeous long black hair--named Dalian-is a form of a gateway to Dantalian's bookshelf that lived along with the main hero's grandpa. She is well-known in the show as "Black Biblioprincess". The story starts when the main hero returns to his grandpa's mansion afte…
Read at the sourceAhiruArima
This is a must watch anime. Everything is so perfect here. I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie. I love to read novels like Agatha Christie's Poirot and Miss Marple. I would gladly recommend this anime to any fan of Agatha Christie or anyone who likes detective novels and movies. But I have to say that it is not so good as Gosick and Death Note. Those two are on the top of my list.
First I'll start with the story. I give it a 9/10. It has a really interesting plot. After Huey's grandfather dies he was told to take the custody of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian in order to inherit his estate. He was also given a key. He later meets Dalian who is the Black Bibioprincess. It is also known that Huey's grandfather was a Keykeeper. So after his grandfather's death he becomes the keykeeper. T…
Read at the sourceGrowler
Some people agree that having all the answers in the universe our lives would have meaning, however some other people agree that ignorance is bliss. The only way we find out which ones make a better point is by experience.
The Story spins around these mysterious items called Phantom Books which contain forbbiden knowledge left behind by their writers. One could read them and tap into a well of unimaginable powers. Tempting as far as normal lives go yet forbidden knowledge comes with a great price. It is the job of the two protagonists to solve the mysteries that these books shroud and recover as many as possible.
Classical Artwork emphasizes this series and its characters yet notable would be the backgrounds wich act more like a cardboard greenscreen. From some points it can be better, e…
Read at the sourcePilar_S
[English and Spanish review]
[English]
Why you should watch Dantalian?
If you are a bookworm, like me, you must watch this show. The story, even though is simple and sometimes repetitive, leads you to increase your fascination about books, their magic and the wonderful worlds that are inside each one of them. Good short stories, with great character design, and the "lovely" Dalian, which is kind of my model to look up to.
The only thing I can complain about is that some of the characters are not well developed. I think it should have been a longer season, to fill up some holes in the story and in the link between characters, and to dig deeper in each one of them as well.
Why do I love it?
Because everyone makes fun of you when you are a chronic reader. This anime is able to represent…
Read at the sourceratchet573
Dantalian No Shoka is a Gainax anime. That’s all I really know about its background other than the fact it is based off of a light novel series, which seems readily apparent when watching any anime. It’s either based off of a manga, light novel, or visual novel. So either a book, a comic book, or a book with pictures that is a mixture of a manga and a book.
Is this anime worth your time? Well, let me tell you.
Story
Dantalian No Shoka is twelve episodes long and when I think of twelve episodes, I think of a cohesive plot that has a satisfying climax. Dantalian No Shoka is like the polar opposite of that. While the series does have a small amount of cohesive plot (a lot more during the final episode), most of the series is episodic in nature. The plot revolves around Hugh Anthony Disward,…
Read at the source
