REVIEW: ‘Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness And The Secret Hideout The Animation,’ Episode 1 — “The Alchemist”

On the quiet island of Kurken, there lives a young girl named Reisalin “Ryza” Stout. While she has a good life living with her parents in the little town of Rasenboden, she longs for more. She desires adventure beyond the confines of her little world. But when she takes her first step into the unknown, it will lead her to more than she ever expected in Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1 produced by Liden Films.

It’s a classic fantasy trope to have a story begin with its star dreamily wishing for more than the simple, repetitive life they find themselves occupying. Dreams of adventure and the unknown inevitably spur the young protagonist on, triggering the series’ core narrative. This is the case for Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1 as well. All told, Ryza has a pretty good, if simple life. Her parents are hard-working farmers who treat her well. Her childhood friends, Lent and Tao, can always be counted on to spend what free time they have with her as she dodges doing the mundane chores that are her life. She even realizes that she doesn’t have much to complain about, be she nevertheless wants more.

To this classic fantasy setup, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1 delivers a serviceable rendition of the energy such a beginning creates, while not really bringing anything new to the concept. The world is laid out in an easily digestible way for the viewer as the show’s key concepts and personalities are introduced. From friendly characters like Ryza’s companions to more antagonistic personalities like Agatha, head of the town guard, the cast brings a familiar and competent set of personalities to the show.

While much of the episode’s extra-long runtime is spent setting up Ryza’s world, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1’s big moment comes when Ryza, Lent, and Tao set off on their first adventure. As a long-time fan of JRPGs, I couldn’t help but feel a wonderful hit of nostalgia at the first encounters and moments of this inexperienced new party finding themselves in. Seeing them flail away widly as they face off against tiny slimes and strangely threatening-looking pixies in a blind panic made me laugh. It felt like the most real representation of those early moments of RPG adventures I’d ever seen. The animation does a wonderful job of bringing the ridiculous energy of these first failing encounters to life, which adds tremendously to the moment.

But it is during these moments of panic that Ryza encounters the episode’s titular alchemist and her future path is set. When she learns of what alchemy can do, and how it can bring new uses to the boring items she has always taken for granted, her new goal is set. She will become an alchemist. Ryza’s unexpected new goal’s first step is handled well, as the alchemist administers a test to gauge Ryza’s aptitude in the field. Much like the main event of the episode, this sequence is handled with a fair amount of light-hearted energy.

Taken as a whole, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1 delivers an introduction that has its moments of fun, but largely fails to stand out noticeably from other entries in its genre. Fans of the video game series may welcome a more streamlined way to spend time with the franchise characters, but I can’t see this episode grabbing the attention of many who don’t already have a connection to the brand.

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout The Animation Episode 1 is streaming on Crunchyroll