When you've been watching
anime for a long time, you tend to just accept that a title can go either way when it comes to your viewing experience. There are series that start off strongly, then just disappoints you at the end, whether it's outright bad storytelling or inability to live up to a title's potential. I was worried that
Amagi Brilliant Park might go the same route, considering that I found the premise interesting and the animation pleasing to the eye.
Amagi Brilliant Park is on the verge of closure. Unless they obtain the target of 500,000 visitors by July 31, their operations will cease and their lands seized.
Kanie Seiya is approached (coerced/forced) by
Sento Isuzu to visit the ailing amusement park. What he initially thought was a date is actually a campaign to convince him to become the park's new manager. He meets the park's
Princess Latifah and he is told that
Amaburi is actually a facility staffed by creatures from
Maple Land, with the park functioning as a venue to harvest magical energy derived from the feelings of fun that humans experience. Despite his lack of interest in getting involved with other people, his narcissistic personality and the magical origins of the park, Seiya decides to take on the challenge of meeting the 500,000 visitor goal.
Considering its setting, it's only normal to expect that the cast would be large and that the personalities would be as varied as their appearances. In this particular amusement park, the mascots aren't just mere costumes and are their real appearance, requiring a special amulet so that they appear "human" when they leave the park for drinks. And drinking during their off time isn't the only contradiction to their cutesy appearances... the main bear mascot
Moffle is prone to violence, fairy of music and sheep mascot
Macaron is known to just laze around when feeling uninspired, and there's nothing innocent about the pink fur that covers dog mascot
Tirami who is a pervert. Those who are human or have human appearances have their own quirks, such as the luchador head of security, the rather disparate members of
Elementario, the normally sedate head of accounting
Ashe who has a passion for ironing clothes even while skydiving, and
Adachi Eiko, who seem to understand what animals are saying even if she didn't really originate from Maple Land.
But a cast as large as the one featured in
Amagi Brilliant Park could feel crowded if you don't have specific characters to use as an anchor in its storytelling. In Amagi Brilliant Park, those characters are Seiya, Sento and, to a lesser degree, Princess Latifah. Most of the series's run is from Seiya's outwardly arrogant point of view, with his struggles in finding ways for the park to meet its goals or in dealing with the craziness of its staff. His arrogance never crosses the line to off-putting levels, with the series tempering his rather strong personality with ridiculous situations to experience or provide solutions for. And it helps a lot that his arrogance is actually partnered with actual chops to deal with whatever problems Amaburi throws his way. It's always a good sign if the male lead isn't clueless or whiny about his role.
Sento is more of a reactionary character, one who gets to observe Seiya at work up close in her role as his assistant and guide in Amaburi. Her reserved appearance and her penchant for ending arguments by drawing (and shooting) her magical gun is usually cause for people to feel intimidated by her, but Sento is not above getting dragged into mischief or being the subject of pranks. Princess Latifah, on the other hand, originally came off as a background character, even with Seiya's insistence that he had met her before when he was young. But that would change in later episodes when the reason why Amaburi must continue to flourish is brought to the attention of Seiya and the anime's viewers.
Amagi Brilliant Park ran for thirteen episodes, and that short run was packed with mischief, occasional mayhem, threats of bodily harm, and what would be a compelling mythology that would cement my continued interest in watching the series. While most of the episodes are dedicated in showcasing the different characters of the amusement park and defining their roles in it, the series features a larger mystery that would highlight the importance of reaching the 500,000 visitor goal.
In the end, it turned out that
Amagi Brilliant Park wasn't just about ensuring that the park's employees continue with their livelihood. Throughout its run, pieces of the anime's larger puzzle would be dropped, providing a moment or two of seriousness amidst all the craziness. When the truth is finally revealed to both Seiya and the viewers, the goal of the park is suddenly more urgent. And every visitor that passes through its gates and adds to the counter normally manned by a security personnel with an affinity with wearing a luchador mask is one that adds to your fervent desire for the number to reach 500,000.
While I won't share that revelation (in my own goal not to include spoilers, even if you can easily find that out elsewhere on the internet), I can at least tell you that it opens
Amagi Brilliant Park to a potentially more enriching story to tell... if it gets another season. Considering the series's short run and the original light novel's ongoing run, it makes sense for the series to end where it did. I felt that the larger
mystery was one that would attract viewers if another season was aired, or at least give them the inspiration to check out the source material it was
adapted from.
Despite the fact that I don't know if I'll ever find out what's next for Amaburi and its crazy cast of characters, in the end, I was glad that my initial impression of Amagi Brilliant Park was proven right.
Happy viewing!!
