Orphen - episodes 13 to 24

The second half of Orphen has a twist at the very beginning that sets the tone for the rest of the series. It was a very good twist, but the episodes that surrounded the turning point were animated oddly, with Childman never looking quite right.

Cleao's relationship with Orphen becomes very important, not in a romantic way but in a caring way. In fact, so much so that Majic seems to have become rather extraneous to everything - that there is only room enough for four characters: Cleao, Orphen, Azalie and Childman. Majic does get to do some things, such as his time in the library, but the early promise he showed as a sorceror becomes ignored as the episodes progress.

Dortin's heart was always a nice thing to see, and her/his/its compassion for Bloody August was touching. Of course, the whole fake nudity thing is always annoying. The snowy mountains were a great setting for the last few episodes, and while some of the threats were dispatched of with no difficulty, it was a satisfying series. Even the giant tree episode didn't seem so bad.

When I watched this the first time I was obsessed with video quality, but I was able to appreciate the subtler nuance of Orphen this time around. At times there was a genuine sense of wonder about it. Its final bold move was to actually finish the story with half an episode to spare - which allowed for a very nice wrap up.

Orphen II might find its way here soon, and I hear that it's less of the same. If there's more Volcan and Dortin, I simply can not complain.