Close Menu
  • Login
  • 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
    EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Head Coach But Why Tho 5

    Dear EA Sports, Why Can’t I Make A Hot Coach?

    08/14/2025
    Blade in Marvel Rivals Season 3.5

    Blade Can Shut Down The Other Team In Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 If You Know How

    08/08/2025
    John Cena and Cody Rhodes during Summerslam 2025

    The SummerSlam 2025 Main Event Was A Fever Dream We All Needed

    08/08/2025
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Anime » REVIEW: ‘Leviathan’ Struggles To Engage

REVIEW: ‘Leviathan’ Struggles To Engage

Allyson JohnsonBy Allyson Johnson07/14/20255 Mins Read
Leviathan (2025) Season 1
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

There’s a lot about Leviathan that works on a technical level. Produced by studio Orange and based on the novel of the same name by Scott Westerfeld, the world depicted is vast and immersive, aided by lush visuals and, in particular, a rich score that envelops us into this particular narrative realm. However, despite the expansive universe and the way in which the source material is expanded upon, the series fails to truly stick the landing.

As has been the case with its previous productions, such as Land of the Lustrous, Beastars, and Trigun Stampede, the artistry of Leviathan (2025) is phenomenal. How the series captures the minutia of the human expression is masterful. While the 3D style of animation and directing, the series distinguishes itself against its contemporaries. If not another Orange production, there’s simply no other show that looks like this one. 

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

Leviathan (2025) reimagines World War I through a fantasy lens. Set in 1914, the series takes place on the eve of war as a fugitive prince and a girl disguising herself as a man meet aboard a bioengineered airship, the HMS Leviathan. It tracks how their friendship would change their trajectories as they learn how to trust one another and what their developing bond means to those around them and their individual agendas. 

Deryn/Dylan Sharp makes for a fantastic anime protagonist. 

Leviathan 2025 But Why Tho 1

Wartime seen through the eyes of innocents isn’t new, yet Leviathan (2025) still manages to find fresh perspectives through its protagonists and the setting. Deryn/Dylan Sharp (Natsumi Fujiwara) is a plucky, spirited protagonist. Disguising herself as a boy so that she can enlist, her competence and sense of adventure give us a genuinely fascinating pull into the world. Our first introduction to her, as she accidentally takes flight with one of the many bio-engineered creatures used as aircraft, is winsome, sweeping us off our feet just as she becomes airborne. 

Unfortunately, not both halves of the story are treated equally. It’s another moment where, in theory, Aleksandar ‘Alek’ von Hohenberg (Ayumu Murase) works as a character. We meet him just as his parents have been assassinated, leaving him in a desperately precarious situation as he’s smuggled out of his home and forced on the run by his handlers to keep his direct line to the throne safe. 

There’s vague interest in Alek’s storyline, primarily due to his interactions with Dylan and his slow development. Keyword slow. The writing clearly sees him as hopeful, yet naive, and perhaps younger viewers will see his actions as purely heroic.

But there are moments when you see him walk straight into danger or refuse to help, only to ask for the wisdom of others and wonder why. Because while we can see how and why he made his decisions, the writing fails to keep it cohesive or in character. 

The dynamic between Dylan and Alek gives Leviathan its only sense of heart.

Leviathan 2025 But Why Tho 2

But despite the shallow characterization, the dynamic between Dylan and Alek still works. And it helps flesh out the world around them as both help build a bridge between them while tensions rise in their respective countries. Alek comes from the world of The Clankers, countries that use high-tech machines such as the Walkers to fight battles and move around. Meanwhile, Dylan is fighting for the Darwinists, who instead use the bio-engineered creatures like the airbeast, the Leviathan, a giant airborne sky-whale.

 That said, it’s not enough to completely anchor the story, which, for all that it’s trying to accomplish, is rendered thin. Leviathan (2025), for all of its visual spectacle and grandiose production, lacks a lot of heart. It has such a promising start with an engaging and fast-paced premiere, but it loses steam almost immediately.

The series simply doesn’t possess the right energy or sense of stakes to push the narrative forward in an interesting way. From the major, overarching conflicts to the more personal ones, things get lost along the way due to a poorly structured narrative.

It’s a shame that it doesn’t take more from its apparent influence, the many wonderful works of Studio Ghibli. Beyond the opening theme being composed by Ghibli regular, composer Joe Hisaishi, the series finds little touchstones reminiscent of some of the studio’s most constant thematic notes. From its interest in tech and machinery, especially in wartime, to the massive scale of how these otherworldly beasts are designed, the influence is apparent. 

Netflix and Studio Orange delivers a visual spectacle with a story that can’t reach those heights.

Leviathan 2025 But Why Tho 3

And it’s even there in how the two leads are two kids out of their depth yet determined as they face a world asking too much of them, their adolescence weaponized. But again, it simply lacks the necessary soul and narrative push to make it land. The burgeoning romance at the center has its moments and sparks, but it can’t carry the entire 12-episode series. 

Orange delivers superb, large-scale visuals as we take in the fantastic beasts and militant machinery that roam the world. Anything airborne is truly spectacular, and there’s clear care in the rendering of the Leviathan that highlights its scale. A shot of it bleeding and plummeting through the sky beautifully captures the best of the series. The smaller character animation is sublime too, with Dylan’s facial expressions in particular adding to her character’s immense charm. 

Leviathan (2025) has so much promise, but it can’t ever fully manage to be completely engaging. We care about Dylan and Alek on a surface level. While the series touts an epic-scale, expansive world to build a story around, the story itself can never reach those same, bombastic heights. It’s pretty to look at, but a bit of a bore. 

Leviathan (2025) is out now on Netflix.

Leviathan (2025)
  • 6/10
    Rating - 6/10
6/10

TL;DR

Leviathan (2025) has so much promise but can’t ever fully manage to be completely engaging. It’s pretty to look at, but a bit of a bore.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleStarRupture Opens First New Public Playtest Sign Ups
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Kowloon Generic Romance’ Delivers An Abundance of Style
Allyson Johnson

Allyson Johnson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.

Related Posts

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 7 Marin
7.5

REVIEW: ‘My Dress-Up Darling’ Season 2 Episode 7 — “Capture Those Delicious Moments”

08/16/2025
DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 7
8.0

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode 7 – “Feeling Kinda Gloomy”

08/15/2025
Slur / X in Sakamoto Days Episode 16
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Sakamoto Days’ Episode 16 – “Slice Slice Dance”

08/12/2025
Still from See You Tomorrow At The Food Court
8.0

REVIEW: ‘See You Tomorrow At The Food Court’ Is A Delightful Slice-Of-Life

08/11/2025
Gojo's Nerves in My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 6
10.0

REVIEW: ‘My Dress-Up Darling’ Season 2 Episode 6 — “I’ll Make It Happen. No Matter What, With These Two Hands”

08/10/2025
DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 6
8.5

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode 6 – “We Became A Family”

08/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Still from Shin Godzilla
8.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Shin Godzilla’ Is More Relevant Than Ever

By Sarah Musnicky08/16/2025Updated:08/17/2025

It is understandable how Shin Godzilla succeeded at the box office nearly a decade ago. The strength of its story still stands today.

Botanical Bliss Update Palia But Why Tho 5 News

Palia’s New Botanical Bliss Update Brings New Flora, Decorations, And Quest Mechanic

By Matt Donahue08/18/2025Updated:08/18/2025

The Botanical Bliss update adds new event, more plushes, and a host of quality-of-life improvements and more to celebrate 2 years of Palia.

BOOTS Netflix First Look promotional images News

First Look at Coming-of-Age Story BOOTS, Coming to Netflix This October

By But Why Tho?08/17/2025

Netflix is reporting for duty this fall with the new eight-episode series BOOTS, a comedic drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga

Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art Interviews

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

By Kate Sánchez08/15/2025Updated:08/15/2025

We spoke with Ovidio Cartagena about Magic: The Gathering’s Nuestra Magia Secret Lair drop, its impact, and the real treasure within.

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