I was sorely mislead by the pictures at the website of Shikabane Hime: Aka. The animation designs were much coarser than I thought they would be. In an action focused monster-of-the-week show such as Shikabane Hime: Aka, the animation details becomes a major factor in its ability to entertain, because well drawn and imaginative main characters and monsters palliate the often repetitive nature of such shows. The anime had neither in the first episode. The lack of sophistication and polish of Makina’s animation design fails to bring out her beauty. This is disappointing, as a female lead that is easy on the eyes goes a long way towards enticing male viewers (such as Rin in Mnemosyne). The monster in the first episode was an ever so common vampire, whose rendering was so crude that his skin was shaded with shifting thick black and grey lines. However, there are hints of substantial character background and development, which could somewhat offset the show’s lackluster animation.
