Anime Review | Trinity Seven - Complete Season (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Trinity Seven - Complete Season (UK Rating: 15)

Right from the get-go, it's easy to guess what you are getting with this show, as when protagonist Arata wakes up, his hand reaches out of bed and gropes a handful of his cousin Hijiri's boob. Yup! It's an ecchi series! Hijiri is actually the one who bestows Arata with the grimoire he used to make his own personal reality in her final act before she vanishes; filling Arata with a drive to find his lost cousin. To that end, Arata finds himself enrolled in the Royal Biblia Academy, an almost all girl school where the titular "Trinity Seven" are in residence. A male lead surrounded by women in a school? With a small number of special women? Yup! It's a harem anime, too!

These Trinity Seven are seven powerful female mages and the introduction of each makes up the majority of the show, with most of the stories relegated to a single episode or two episodes, at a push. The story may just be a shallow backdrop for the T&A, but it's decent enough to keep the attention of the audience. The first of the Trinity Seven is actually the girl who saves Arata from his own personal world, Lilith. She is the token straight-laced tsundere of the series; a busty redhead with magical guns who is often the target of Arata's pervy advances. The rest of the cast, thankfully, aren't just the usual harem tropes and instead there are some strong, enjoyable characters. Levi is a sexy and naughty ninja who encourages Arata's urges and even indulges herself. Even the protagonist isn't the typical ecchi harem show lead - he's not terrified of his libido - instead Arata is strong, smart, and confident.

There may be ecchi moments throughout the episodes, but that doesn't mean there isn't a story here. Arata's quest to save his cousin has a strange twist when a mage with eerily similar features appears before Arata. She just happens to be another of the Trinity Seven. Arata is one of few male mages, and is, in fact, more than just a mage - he's a prospective demon lord! He's not the only prospective demon lord on campus, though, as a dark mage known as Lieselotte Sherlock, once one of the Trinity Seven, returns and battles against her former friends. There are plenty of stores to keep the audience entertained, and, of course, there are plenty of magical battles, too, whether it is Arata taking on the Trinity Seven to develop his powers, or the numerous big battles at the end of the series that are fantastic.

The battles themselves look great, with smooth animation and cool are… that is when it doesn't rely on shabby looking CGI. The magic used in combat is designed to have a complex system behind it, with each mage able to connect to a specific archive and a "thema," which fits with their magic and character. There are even the signature magical transformations in combat. Despite these promising aspects, most of the battles end up feeling less than dramatic because of the amount of talking during the combat. It's almost Yu-Gi-Oh! level as every spell and counter-spell seems to require copious amounts of exposition.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Yes, Trinity Seven is yet another ecchi harem series, but it's a very decent one indeed. There is a strong enough story to enjoy, and the characters are likeable enough, not relying on old tropes too much. Even the fan-service moments aren't too over the top. For fans of ecchi comedy series, this is worth a watch and those who do enjoy this series would be wise to pick up the manga, as well. This is a fairly close adaptation of the first seven volumes or so, but more than double that have now been released in the still ongoing manga.