So far, this basically seems like your run-of-the-mill fantasy storyline – not to say that it’s necessarily a bad thing. A basic rundown of the premise: long ago, the peoples of Deltora fought a war against a shadow lord, who was eventually banished by a hero wearing a belt with seven gems, one coming from each of the tribes of Deltora. That hero became the first king of Deltora; however, as time went on, the kings became increasingly complacent, and eventually stopped wearing the belt, which apparently nullified the protection against the shadow lord it granted. One day, the shadow lord raids the castle, takes the belt, and scatters the gems across the land. Now, flash forward sixteen years. The show’s main character, Lief, obtains the belt from his father, who turns out to have been one of the king’s childhood friends. He, accompanied with former castle guard Barda, leave to try and assemble the gems, replace them in the belt, and once again banish the shadow lord.

This show looks like it could go either way as far as watchability. The storyline and characters seem fairly “cookie cutter,” but there’s still potential for them to be likable and well-developed. The animation is fairly dated in quality and style, but it’s not really bothersome. There’s a couple CG sequences in there too, but nothing spectacular. The OP and ED were both good, fitting well with the show’s style and genre.

I’ll probably stick with this for at least a few more episodes. It could end up being decent… or end up disappointingly underwhelming like Nishi no Yoki Majo.