It’s nice that Koei Tecmo & Gust’s majorly successful JRPG entry, Atelier Ryza and its two other sequels, is getting an anime adaptation from Liden Films (Rurouni Kenshin, Tokyo Revengers). And it’s also kinda cool that the production house is working closely to make it as accurate to the game as possible, from the plot’s standpoint.

For those who don’t know, Atelier Ryza is about an energetic village girl who ends up becoming an alchemist because she doesn’t have any standout qualities. Save for these…

The anime is quick to remind everyone about Ryza’s hotpants, because frankly, there isn’t much going with the adaptation. The three episodes I’ve seen so far are pretty stiff and predictable, with the story just going through the motions of the game’s plot, introducing the main cast, and showcasing Ryza’s growing magical alchemic talent while solving village problems. All while inserting cuts of Ryza’s thighs/butt and Lila’s assets.

The problem is that new watchers will just view the cast as generic JRPG members; simple archetypes that aren’t too boring to watch but aren’t that deep or complex in the long run. That tends to make you lose interest pretty quickly; you have seen the “girl who aspires to go beyond her small village and aims to use [insert special skill] to do so” plotline, but with alchemy. I

n fact, this anime is tailored for fans who want to relive their moments from the game through an anime adaptation. At least it’s doing that just fine, but not outstanding as there aren’t that many crazily-animated scenes here. Some standout moments include Ryza’s alchemic process, and that one time her friend(?) Klaudia plays a flute in front of her at the village’s beautiful cliffside view.

But apart from the titillating bits, you can file this show under “typical anime adaptation” that’s burning through the money it got from the three JRPG entries because of Ryza’s dress sense. Hopefully the rest of the episodes can turn it from being maudlin.