Ravens are birds of poetry and dark magic. Throughout recorded literature, they have played important roles in everything from mythology to contemporary fiction. Ravens are also extremely intelligent animals in reality, so it’s not hard to become fascinated with these silky black birds. I love ravens. That’s why I’m excited to try this new anime, Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master.

In the future, episodes of this anime will be discussed only briefly in my weekly episode review collections. For these first two episodes, though, I decided to make some more in-depth notes and responses.

Additional Note: I have referred to this series before as The Crow Does Not Choose The Lord, which was a translation I found on MAL (MyAnimeList.net). I agree that the official translation using “raven” sounds better, so I’ll use that from now on.

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Episode 1: A Lady Out of Place

If I had to give a rating for the first episode, it would probably be 7/10 because the pacing is slow and a bit boring. The first episode focused mostly on Lady Asebi and her interactions with the other candidates for the next Queen of Yamauchi. Although I personally liked Asebi and a few other characters, their social lives could certainly be viewed as boring. It’s also strange that our main character, Yukiya, only appeared in the last few minutes of the pilot.

Aside from the unusual episode structure and slow pacing, the first episode was excellent. The opening scene where the golden raven saved Yukiya felt very cinematic. The setting is magical: a heavenly mountain civilization where the people can transform into gigantic three-legged ravens. Although the initial world-building has all been narrated exposition, I can’t help but enjoy it. Ideally, a series should “show and not tell,” but I also like the classic vibe of an old lady narrator telling us the basics.

Let’s go over some other positives. Some of the female characters appealed to me, and I hope they remain relevant to the story. For example, despite her initial coldness, I liked Lady Hamayu. In addition, I appreciate the social politics scene so far. It’s not boring for me. The music has been good thus far, and I recognized a couple of talented seiyuus like Rie Kugimiya (voice of Lady Shiratama) and Atsuko Tanaka (voice of the current Queen).

The last item for today is visual quality. Although I feel like the artists did their best with what they had, there is only so much budget for this anime. As a result, things don’t look quite right in some cases. The buildings and houses, for example, are fairly plain and simple. When you compare the sets in this anime to the beautiful indoor backgrounds in The Apothecary Diaries, you’ll see what I mean. (That being said, some of the robes and fabrics do look amazing.)

Speaking more generally, the art-style as a whole looks unusual. I like distinct and unique art, but it may be off-putting to some. The facial proprtions of the characters look a little wonky. The animation studio is Pierrot, which famously produced shows like Naruto, Bleach, and Black Clover. If you’re familiar with the studio’s work, you probably won’t have any issue with the visual style. On a final note, the three-legged ravens look stunning.

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Episode 2: The Blockhead Second Son

In the second episode, due to some funny circumstances, Yukiya is chosen to be an attendant for the Crown Prince. He doesn’t want to leave his family in Taruhi, the northern province. But if he doesn’t go and learn manners in the service of the Prince, Yukiya’s father will send him to a Monastery for extremely harsh training. With little choice in the matter, Yukiya agrees. The episode ends with him finally meeting the Crown Prince.

Yukiya is proving to be a good male protagonist despite his young age. It’s not hard to understand his feelings and desires. Throughout his life, Yukiya’s family was the subject of gossip and social censure, all because he was born of a different woman than his brothers. He’s already sick to death of drama and wants his older brother to peacefully lead the family. Although many regard Yukiya as a rude troublemaker, the truth is that he’s a normal, rambunctious boy who places little importance on social norms or formalities.

The previous episode focused on the social lives and drama of the four ladies. This episode was a nice contrast because it showed the social lives and drama of the young men. Their lives are much simpler and grittier. For example, kendo fights are a common pastime. The lives of the boys were fairly interesting, but I doubt they will continue to matter in the plot. After all, Yukiya is starting a new life in the royal court.

There were a few quick scenes of the four ladies and what they are doing. I don’t care about Susuki (the Lady of the West), but Asebi’s sweetness and innocence is very cute, and Shiratama is mysterious. Of the four, my favorite is still Hamayu. She is seen briefly in this episode lying on the deck and drinking a lot of sake. I really like androgynous characters, and Hamayu seems quite masculine compared to the other ladies.

Now that we’re in the second week, we have seen the opening and ending songs for this anime. “Poi” by Saucy Dog is the opening song. While it’s a very cool rock song in my opinion, it really doesn’t seem to fit with the atmosphere of the show. The ending song, “Tokoshie” by Akiko Shikata, is much more traditional Japanese and very old-timey. I think the outro would have worked better for the opening song in this case. Anyway, that’s all for today.

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~Thanks for reading~

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