REVIEW: ‘New Saga’ Episode 1

With New Saga Episode 1, the series joins the large list of fantasy anime released this season. And like the others, it admittedly doesn’t have much going for it so far. The characters and tropes are much like you’ll find in other fantasy anime. The only distinguishing factor is its major time travel plot point. However, despite this, New Saga Episode 1 is one of the most engaging premieres of the season, thanks to its emotional impact, high production quality, and foreboding mysteries.

New Saga Episode 1 starts with a detailed but short exposition dump. It explains the thousands of years of conflicts between humanoids and demonic creatures, their nature, and history. After thousands of years, the races coexisted for quite some time, but the reign of a new demon lord eventually disrupted this peace. This prompts another war, forcing the protagonist, Kyle (Yuma Uchida), and his friends to participate.

Kyle makes it to the end of the demon lord’s fortress and even defeats him, but not before losing all his friends, family, and loved ones in the long battle. Despite being the grand hero, Kyle laments over his tribulations as he prepares to succumb to his wounds. Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t happen as he instead finds a relic on the demon lord’s throne, which takes him four years back in time. He happily reunites with his friends and his mom, then proclaims his goal of preventing the same future, no matter what.

New Saga Episode 1 sets the stage for the future of the series.

Despite not much happening in New Saga Episode 1, the episode managed to be engaging and entertaining throughout. The first part of the episode, after the exposition, shows Kyle and many of his friends in the future. It’s solemn and lacking in energy, but it also conveys the gravity of their situation as they all valiantly, yet almost sluggishly, charged to their deaths in battle.

These moments are emotional but don’t linger long enough for us to know the full details of their journey so far. However, the final fight with the demon lord showcases amazing animation and production quality from Sotsu and Studio Clutch. The movements are fluid, the special effects are mesmerizing, and the soundtrack is incredible. However, the character designs are quite typical and don’t stand out as unique for the genre at all.

The animation shines in the final fight with the demon lord.

The other intriguing aspect of New Saga Episode 1 is the mystery surrounding the time travel element and the demon lord himself. Kyle’s final encounter with the demon lord is unlike most in other fantasy anime and almost feels hollow. There is no exchange between hero and villain, only silence, and we don’t even see his face. He gets introduced as quickly as he is killed, all in a way that makes it seem purposeful.

This mystery, along with the origin of the relic, the reason for the death of half the nation to power it, and whether the war was started for this relic, all make New Saga Episode 1 incredibly engaging. Despite feeling hollow, the opening ironically makes the mystery that much more interesting as it leaves these questions and more unanswered. It also provides a reason to return for subsequent episodes. 

While the concept is not unique, New Saga Episode 1 is certainly interesting, especially when matched with its well-developed world-building. The anime is emotionally impactful, has a lot of promise, and could easily be one of the best fantasy anime of the season.