One ring to rule them all, one ring to bind them…only in this case, there are five, and when you double those, you end up with one guy and the five young women we see in the opening credits of Tales of Wedding Rings. But I’m jumping ahead of things, so let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
The facts:
- Format: TV
- Episode count: 12
- Studio: Staple Entertainment
- Source: Manga
- Genres: Comedy, fantasy, romance
My actual first reaction to this show was to the title, which had me wondering off hand if this was some Tales of games franchise adaptation about which I’d never heard, much less played. That is not the case. It’s too early to tell if that’s a bad or a good thing, given that there aren’t any notable game-to-anime adaptations of the aforementioned other than the Vesperia film.
As it is, the anime starts us off in the past with child Haruto Satou playing in the woods before witnessing an unmistakable supernatural event. First glances might misconstrue Hime and her grandfather’s appearances as some kind of alien invasion, but this is fantasy, not sci-fi. We end up waiting ten years with Satou to learn the truth of the matter.
“Hime” is a true princess for a nation from another world, and she came to Earth to grow up in safety away from those who would kill her. The reveal should come as no surprise to any viewer with eyes; it only makes sense for Satou to have forgotten given his young age at their first meeting and how easily children adapt and forget.
There’s just one major problem: in the course of those ten years growing up next door to one another and sharing every moment of their lives as friends, they’ve fallen into that dangerous place somewhere between friends and more than friends. It’s at that moment when Satou summons the courage to confess that all is laid bare and he is forced to choose between letting her go or leaping into the unknown.
The answer’s obvious, isn’t it? Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a show and some other poor (or lucky?) schmuck would be wearing all the wedding rings.
If this was simply a story about one guy and one girl, I might give this one a second chance. Heck, I’d even be interested in a polyamorous relationship involving more equality, say two or three guys to two or three girls. While the first episode focuses solely on Satou and Hime, it’s clear the direction this show will take and that he’ll end up with a ring for each finger with a girl to match each one of them. If you’re into that, have fun! I’ll look for my romance elsewhere.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Status: Dropped
Anime B&B 