Sunday, 14 July 2013

Animes I recommend: Wakfu.



I first watched Wakfu 4 years ago back in 2009 and I didn't get a chance to finish it. Sadly not all the episodes could be found online  and because of that I only got to watch till episode 10 much to my misfortune.

This long holiday I decided to pick up this show again and finish it this time, and while I only just finished season 1 today ( I still have season 2 to review) I saw enough to recognize that Wakfu is one of the best anime/cartoons anyone could pick up.
Wakfu is a french anime that is based on a game of the same name, the anime doesn't really take much from the game though so you wont be missing out much if you haven't played the game. The story follows the adventures of Yugo, a young boy who finds out he is adopted and is trying to meet his real parents. Along the way he picks up friends, has adventures and tries to save the world from a madman.

Probably one of the cutest heroes ever.
The cast of Wakfu is really quite impressive, not for its scale but because of the depth each character gets. In a series with only 5 main characters and one villain, we get to explore each of them a lot and the show does an excellent job of making sure that in every episode all the characters do something meaningful and contribute to the story, so if you have a favorite then don't worry, all of them will get the attention they deserve.

A very rag-tag group indeed.
You cant talk about the first season without mentioning the villain that terrorizes the heroes from the first episode. Nox is one of the most insane ( and I mean that literally, he's crazy) and fascinating villains to appear on any show, he's crafty, strong and has the very impressive ability to control time. The story pits two very impressive opposites of a child who can teleport ( controls space) against a crazy old man who can control time.

"If you could redeem yourself for a terrible mistake for the price of some lives, would you do it?"
 Besides the impressive character development, another thing the story does really well is how it blends action, humor and story all together without making any of them feel forced or pointless. The story flows smoothly and the dialogue really sells just how intelligently written this show is.


Wakfu is amazingly accessible to all audience, I watched it with my 4 year old nephew and my 28 year old brother who all enjoyed it, it has action and slapstick humor for the younger audience as well as a very witty cast and heartwarming moments for the parents. I also enjoyed the fact that the show is in french which sounds downright awesome, I haven't watched anything french before but Wakfu definitely demonstrated to me what a nice sounding language it is.

Speaking of sounds the Music in this show is phenomenal. In fact the entire series has a really high production quality, looking beautiful from the moment the intro starts till the episode finishes.



Still while a very impressive show Wakfu does have a few issues, mainly late in the first season the pacing speeds up considerably, making the story quite difficult to follow at times. Perhaps its just me but I would have preferred if we had an episode or two more to pan out the story a little so that it doesn't feel as rushed. Still the show ends on a very high note and I cant wait to start season 2.

To anyone thinking of picking up a new show to pass the time, I cannot recommend Wakfu enough, you'll just have to watch it and enjoy it as I have.

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