Curiosity and cuteness didn’t kill the cat, but it did lull me into a state of begrudging affection. When I originally decided to keep up with this show, the decision came about from a genuine interest in the main character’s new life and how she might grow up with her gift. What I didn’t expect, but probably should have in hindsight, was the latter half’s focus on the politics and drama in relation to the beasts that occupy “their” kingdoms. Neema situates herself right in between them, “helping” in the unique way that she can, but really coming across as a little girl with a savior complex.
With a protagonist who attains reincarnation after dying at the too-early age of 27 due to overwork, you’d expect to follow a fully-grown adult woman rather than the child that we’re presented. The child exterior is just that, a facade for the woman within, but you’d barely know that with the way that Nefertima (a.k.a. Neema) thinks and acts. For all intents and purposes, she is a little girl, completely with a juvenile attention span and knack for trouble. She gets to play everything off of her age, which is convenient for many reasons, most of all being the relationships she forms with various beasts and beings.
With Neema forming strong bonds early on with not only the royal family’s holy beast, but also a red dragon, any following bonds and contracts she forms feel lackluster in comparison. Oh, I’m supposed to be impressed she basically adopts an entire herd of lesser dragons? Nah, they’re nothing compared to Sol, her very own personal red dragon bodyguard. There is a bit of a surprise when she names the leader of the nearby goblins, after which he evolves into a Demi-human loyal only to her, but that’s about it for the remainder of my good will.
The rest of the show devolves into a fairly large operation Neema stages with several supporters, including her kingdom’s royal family, to save a region’s kobold population and help them migrate to a safe area they can call their home. As much as I sympathize with the kobolds and their struggles with the humans in the area who have very little interest in peaceful negotiations, the role that Neema takes smacks of a savior mentality. She is the outsider with the magical ability to charm “fluffy” creatures, and thus must save them from an otherwise sad fate. The kobolds chafe at first, as they should, but then ultimately give in to her generosity and superior intellect. They defer to her as their leader, rather than operating more as allies and equals.
So, in the end, I forced myself to finish the show while on vacation whenever there was downtime. I didn’t particularly need to see the final episodes, and accurately guessed about where we’d end up. Predictable, disappointing, but, not totally unenjoyable.
Rating: 0 dango
*Rating system:
- 0 dango – average and forgettable.
- 1 dango – very good in its category.
- 2 dango – excellent show that is worth a try.
- 3 dango – exceptional show one must watch.
Anime B&B 