Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Sunderfolk Phone Players

    10 ‘Sunderfolk’ Tips To Help You And Your Party Thrive

    05/02/2025
    Bob in Thunderbolts But Why Tho

    ‘Thunderbolts*’ Visualizes Depression As Only A Superhero Movie Can

    05/02/2025
    Games to Play After Expedition 33

    5 Games to Play After Beating ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’

    05/01/2025
    Lily James in Cinderella (2015)

    ‘Cinderella’ (2015) 10 Years Later: Disney’s Live-Action Jubilant Peak

    04/28/2025
    One of the spirits seen in Grave Encounters

    ‘Grave Encounters’ Is Still One Of The Best Found Footage Horror Films

    04/26/2025
  • GDC
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2
  • MCU
But Why Tho?
Home » Anime » REVIEW: ‘Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness And The Secret Hideout The Animation’ Is A Pleasant Fantasy Adventure

REVIEW: ‘Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness And The Secret Hideout The Animation’ Is A Pleasant Fantasy Adventure

Charles HartfordBy Charles Hartford09/16/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:09/17/2023
Atelier Ryza anime
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Atelier Ryza anime focuses on Reisalin Stout (Yuri Noguchi), who has spent her whole life helping her parents tend their farm in the quiet town she grew up in. Based on the long-running series of games, we see Reisalin longs for more than just plowing fields and picking crops. She yearns for adventure. When a pair of explorers arrive on the island and introduce Reisalin to the wonderous craft of alchemy, her world soon grows far larger than it felt like it ever could. Now, with her friends Tao (Yui Kondô), Lent (Takuma Terashima), and Klaudia (Hitomi Ôwada), she searches for adventure outside the confines of her sleepy little town, and the island it sits on in Atelier Ryza The Animation.

Reisalin’s story of a simple farm girl turned would-be adventurer presents its unfolding narrative at a leisurely pace. As she discovers her new obsession with alchemy, the series explores her early experiments with her new craft with an unwavering focus on fun and enjoyment. There is never any sense of danger or threat in the series, no matter how big the monster the group faces is. This lack of tension allows the Atelier Ryza anime to be a purely enjoyable ride for the viewer. But while the lack of danger in its action sequences doesn’t doom the show to mediocrity, the execution of the show’s dialogue does.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

The thing that hurts this series the most is its weak dialogue. I’ve never seen so many discussions formed purely through declarative statements in my life. So much of the series’ conversations are individuals simply declaring things to each other that the conversations feel ridiculous much of the time. While this odd dialogue formatting never makes the purpose of the conversations hard to follow, it is so jarring that it always pulls the viewer out of the moment.

While the dialogue is often jarring, Atelier Ryza The Animation‘s story is smooth enough to follow. The steps Reisalin and her friends take on their journey to adventure are smooth and filled with light-hearted adventure. The show surrounds the main protagonists with a variety of characters who all have their own motivations and provide solid opportunities for different interactions, filling the series with a colorful set of personalities.

Atelier Ryza anime

While the story provides a solid avenue for our heroes to grow into the adventurers they dream of being, none of the beats are overly memorable. One challenge after another rises before our fledgling adventurers, and one by one they find a way to overcome them. Whether it is a mundane task like clearing debris from the town square or facing packs of monsters in a cave, the show never manages to deliver any moments that are able to linger in the viewer’s memory. Even the final climatic battle that pits the group against a rampaging Red Dragon never truly sticks the landing.

Like much of the rest of the elements that make up the Atelier Ryza anime, the visuals that deliver the story are solid, but never truly impactful. The battles are simple affairs of sword swings and minor magical effects that lack the pop to stick in viewers’ memories. The one place where the show manages to score a victory in the visual department is in the character designs. Several characters have unique looks that help them stand out against the rest of the world superbly.

By contrast, the one major misstep the show’s visuals deliver is in Reisalin’s alchemy animation. After throwing the desired items into her alchemy pot and giving it a stir, the show cuts to an animation sequence that sees the protagonist skipping on disks of light and cheering. What this has to do with her stirring a pot of ingredients is unclear, but it always felt weird every time it occurred. Like the show knows what its lead is doing is boring so they threw together a nonsensical sequence to try to liven it up.

Atelier Ryza The Animation is a fine show. While it rarely excels in its storytelling and presentation, it rarely fails horribly either. Fans of the games or viewers looking for a laid-back fantasy tale will have something to enjoy here.

Atelier Ryza The Animation is streaming on Crunchyroll.

  • 6/10
    Rating - 6/10
6/10

TL;DR

Atelier Ryza The Animation is a fine show. While it rarely excels in its storytelling and presentation, it rarely fails horribly either. Fans of the games or viewers looking for a laid-back fantasy tale will have something to enjoy here.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleTIFF 2023: ‘Reptile’ Is A Derivative Whodunit
Next Article TIFF 2023: ‘KILL’ Brutally And Gloriously Lives Up To Its Title
Charles Hartford
  • X (Twitter)

Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I’ve taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing. I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!

Related Posts

Still from Witch Watch Episode 5
7.0

REVIEW: ‘Witch Watch’ Episode 5 — “My Student Is My Favorite Fan Artist/My Tummy Is Tender Today/Cat Scout”

05/05/2025
Arthur in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 5
4.5

REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 5 — “A Chance Meeting with an Archenemy”

05/02/2025
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 4
8.0

REVIEW ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX’ Episode 4 — “The Witch’s War”

04/30/2025
My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 4 But Why Tho
7.0

REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Episode 4 – “Top Runner “

04/29/2025
Urino in SHOSHIMIN Season 2 Episodes 1-4
8.0

REVIEW: ‘SHOSHIMIN: How To Become Ordinary’ Episodes 1-4

04/28/2025
Witch Watch Episode 4
7.5

REVIEW: ‘Witch Watch’ Episode 4 —”Kanshi Kazamatsuri, The Tengu”

04/27/2025
TRENDING POSTS
The Eternaut promotional image from Netflix
8.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The Eternaut’ Is Another International Sci-Fi Hit

By Kate Sánchez05/03/2025

The Eternaut tackles genre staples through an Argentine lens and winds up being one of the best sci-fi series on Netflix.

Hen in 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16
8.5
TV

RECAP: ‘9-1-1’ Season 8 Episode 16 — “The Last Alarm”

By Katey Stoetzel05/01/2025Updated:05/03/2025

9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16 is an emotional ringer, perfectly setting the tone for what 9-1-1 can look like without Bobby Nash.

Jeanne Goursaud as Sarah in Netflix Original Film The Exterritorial
7.0
Film

REVIEW: ‘Exterritorial’ Is A Netflix Action Movie Worth Watching

By Kate Sánchez05/03/2025Updated:05/03/2025

Exterritorial scratches that mid-budget action itch that is finally starting to come into focus in the action landscape again.

Will Forte and Tina Fey in The Four Seasons on Netflix
9.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘The Four Seasons’ Is As Relatable As It Is Messy

By Kate Sánchez05/03/2025

The Four Seasons is a romantic comedy, a dramedy, and the perfect love story for those who have been with our partners for a long time.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here