Seven Mortal Sins, Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Seven Mortal Sins, Episodes 1 & 2

Produced by: Genco, Lantis, AT-X, Hobby Japan, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan, Kanon Sound, Orchid Seed
Studio: Artland, TNK
Genre(s): Ecchi, Fantasy
Episode length: 23 minutes per episode

Synopsis: Will you be a worshipper of the devil lords? These beautiful lords lead humans to the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. A revealing fantasy that craves to corrupt and steal true happiness starts now. Based on the popuar fantasy collectible figures line by Hobby Japan. – MyAnimeList

Okay, yes; Seven Mortal Sins (Sin: Nanatsu no Taizai in Japanese) is a fantasy ecchi anime series, so expect a lot of nudity and fan service. That is the biggest draw of the series for me so far. Far be it from me to turn away from some sexy and scantily drawn anime women… and what a beautiful bunch they are. The designs of the women in the series are all wonderful. Some may be a bit too busty for their particular body frames, but most are proportioned just right. Leviathan, Satan and Lust in particular are beautifully rendered in the series. But in all seriousness, Seven Mortal Sins is relying primarily on the ecchi portions of the series to draw in an audience. Whether you stay with the series after that is up to you… as for me, I am actually pretty wrapped up by the story so far to ditch it after just two episodes.

The basics of the story are these: Lucifer has been cast out of Heaven and been sent down to Hell. Before she reaches Hell, however, she appears briefly on Earth before the human girl Maria Totsuka, who can see Celestial and Demonic beings. When she finally reaches Hell, she comes across Leviathan (Levi for short, and the Demon Lord Envy) who decides to follow her in the hopes that Lucifer can help make her a Mortal Sin, one of theruling Demon Lords of Hell. After meeting the six other Demon Lords, Asmodeus (Lust), Beelzebub (Gluttony), Mammon (Greed), Belphegor (Sloth), Satan (Wrath), and Belial (Vanity), Lucifer challenges them for control of Hell. Outmatched after all six Lords rally against her, she loses what left of her Celestial self as her wings are severed and she grows a pair of Demonic horns (thus becoming the Demon Lord Pride), before being cast back to Earth where she again comes into contact with Maria, whom she now has taken control over.

The story can be a bit too much for a series that is just starting out, but it has a good premise that I am willing to stick it out with. Ugh, as long as there are no more singing sequences in the series the way there was half-way through episode 2. That was a bloody bore. I mean, I get that it was meant to move the story along through song, but the song was insipidly annoying that I almost stopped playing the episode partway through the song. I stuck it through because of the comedy presented through the sequence but I don’t know if I can handle another song if it comes up in an episode again. But since we are on the subject of songs for Seven Mortal Sins, I find that the opening and closing songs (“My Sweet Maiden” and “Welcome to Our Diabolic Paradise”, both by Mia REGINA) fit the series rather nicely. Especially the closing song. I believe that Mia REGINA also did the song that Levi sings in that horrid singing sequence, but even if she did not, the opening and closing songs are far superior to that one song.

A decent story, interesting characters, beautiful animation, and some interesting choices for the songs presented in the series (with the exception of that bloody song in episode 2), will probably keep Seven Mortal Sins an interesting series for me to keep up with as it winds through its twelve-episode run. Yes, I will probably watch it mostly for the ecchi nature of the series, but I am liking the story to a certain degree as well. Whether I will feel the same at the end of the twelve episodes is another thing, but for now I am willing to continue enjoying the series at face value until it can show me that it is more than just tits & ass and some bloody battles every now and then.