A Tale of the Secret Saint Opens With Two Episodes
The reviewer's patience with a thin early plot rests on execution: directing, tone, and Shion Wakayama's performance carry a story whose premise reads as generic until it has room to move.
Reporting from 1 source: Beneath the Tangles.
The premiere of A Tale of the Secret Saint arrived with two episodes, and the reviewer says one alone would not have been enough to judge it. It follows Fia Ruud, a knight's daughter who learns during her rite of passage that she was a powerful saint in a previous life, and who now hides that identity while learning what her powers can do. It streams on Crunchyroll.
The reviewer singles out the voice work first. Shion Wakayama gives Fia her energy, and the directing holds a lighthearted tone while still staging the nightmarish visions of her past life. Plot-wise, the reviewer finds little to work with yet.
What keeps it watchable is the balance the writing strikes. Fia leans on her powers whenever she can, but the curse attached to them keeps the character from reading as an overpowered lead. Other characters are trying to work out how she pulls off what she does, and the reviewer expects none of them to guess right for a while, adding that more conflict would improve things.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Beneath the Tangles Beneath the Tangles