3-7

What a strange ride. On the one hand, it's handling of subjects like social justice and revenge are trite, clumsy, and embarrassingly simple, but on the other hand... no show I've seen this season is more ambitious in its world building. Spellblade also tries to be consistant with its mechanics; some seeming deaths in ep4 not withstanding. The same set of basic spells are used over and over- as if they are the bread and butter of basic magic for first years, while we have seen a sampling of more advanced magics to keep our imagination pumped. This makes the fights more readable and interesting, even if the animation can't quite keep up (but it sure tries to). We are even finally given a proper explanation of what makes a Spellblade; an indefensible attack. Small battles, sparse character flashbacks, and the many moving paries at odds are a fine and serviceable tapestry to weave a sword and sorcery series around, so far.

Without going into specifics for those still on the fence, if you can hand wave some of the more eye rolling elements, kept to a precious minimum, this is really worth a look and is more than meets the eye, even if you aren't looking for a Harry Potter surrogate.