UlasanAnime.com – It’s a peculiar sensation when watching a series and realizing it’s a blend of many things you’ve encountered before. This isn’t about falling into tropes or clichés; it’s more akin to channel surfing and landing on a Tarantino film, where you instinctively know it’s his work. In this case, the series is Zetsuen no Tempest, and the influences that come to mind are Okada, Ando, and countless others.
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Zetsuen no Tempest, also known as Blast of Tempest (or, as some might humorously refer to it, WHO IS CIVILIZATION BLASTER), is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. This shounen-style manga adaptation is challenging to categorize precisely because it is an adaptation, and it’s difficult to attribute specific elements to the original manga without having read it. While I could read it, the thought is somewhat daunting.
I want to highlight Okada’s influence because, for some reason, the somewhat relentless pace of Zetsuen no Tempest reminds me of how Book of Bantorra was presented. Both series tend to immerse you directly into a complex world and expect you to figure things out as you go. The fantasy technology and setting also share a similar characteristic of making little logical sense outside of their internal framework. Okada seems to be the primary link between these two works. Additionally, a character voiced by Sawashiro casting spells and communicating over vast distances could also be a contributing factor. It’s also worth noting the unusual introduction of a major character popping out of a barrel.
The first episode’s non-linear structure evokes memories of series like Rahxephon and E7. The standout, melancholic girls are reminiscent of those found in Star Driver, E7, and DTB. Nana Mizuki voicing an operative-agent also recalls her role in DTB. The male lead duo feels straight out of Soul Eater. And this is just the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised if wolf-people appeared in episode four, or if a Chinese mage wielding electrical power, riding a giant killer wasp, showed up later in the series.
Jokes aside, it’s gratifying to see Ando’s magic fully at play in this show. I thoroughly enjoyed his pilot episodes, and it’s interesting to see it here, clashing with an almost nonsensical arrangement that might not have garnered as much interest if it relied solely on a series of non-sequiturs, especially when trying to figure out WHO REALLY IS IMOUTO. It’s clear that the dearly departed sister/girlfriend plays a crucial role in everything, beyond being a sad Hanazawa Kana-voiced character on the back of a bicycle.
Given that the story so far revolves around WHO KILLED IMOUTO, we can expect to receive answers in due time. Perhaps we’ll finally get a strong conclusion for once! At the very least, we already know why they are called “civilization blaster” (and it’s not because they are big fans of XCOM from the makers of Civilization at Firaxis). All I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the first three episodes.
P.S. This post wouldn’t be nearly as humorous if you weren’t already familiar with the Who is IMOUTO jokes.
