The Wind Blows Towards Tomorrow!

Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul Introduction and Story (Spoilers)

Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul’s story is set 10 years after the events of the first season, Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis. Much like its predecessor, this new season starts things off quickly with a dark undertone. While the first season began with a snippet of the gods and demons and humans facing off against Bahamut for the first time, this latest season starts off with humans killing off gods in order to steal an ancient power. This scene is immediately followed by a demon vigilante, the Rag Demon (actually Azazel), freeing demon slaves from human hands. It is at this moment, that we finally see the familiar face of Kaisar, who is trying to apprehend the Rag Demon. Both scenes are quite bloody and action packed.

Nonetheless, it is only a quick introduction to leave a sense of bad tidings as we are then thrown into a new day for the lively and prosperous human capital of Anatae. It is during this part that we are introduced to several of the players in this story (many of which are familiar to the fans), including Bacchus, Hamsa, Rita, and the main character of this season, Nina, who quickly displays incredible strength and speed as she helps out with various jobs throughout the city. Though no one knows this, her strength and speed come from the fact that she’s dragonfolk and can turn into a dragon. However, she can’t control her transformation yet, and only transforms when flustered by handsome men.

This lively tone is removed as night settles and human forces are out and about trying to capture the Rag Demon, Azazel. A few important relationships are developed in this scene. First we see that Kaisar, despite wanting to protect the king, does not believe in killing Azazel. He desires peace between all races and will essentially insert himself between opposing forces to prevent bloodshed (BIG SPOILER: a trait that gets him killed in the end). This creates tension between himself and his king and himself and Azazel. We also see Azazel meet Nina, who turns into a dragon while Azazel tries to rescue her. Her power overwhelms the human forces and Azazel starts planning a way to use her in a demon revolt.

Let’s fast forward to the time of the demon revolt, which fails, because Nina isn’t able to turn into a dragon for Azazel. She can’t because she has now experienced true love with a mysterious man, who happens to actually be the king. The end of this scene marks essentially the end of the first arc as all our characters get displaced. Kaisar and Nina are sent to jail, Mugaro (a boy who has been at Azazel’s side) is revealed to be a holy child and is captured by angels, and Azazel gets sent to the gladiator arena after being tortured.
With Kaisar and Nina in prison, we are introduced to two more familiar faces: Jeanne D’Arc and Favaro. An escape is planned, which luckily coincides with the day that Rita, our undead specialist, decides to break them out as well. The escape goes quite well. Howeer, they come to the surface to see all-out war between the humans and gods, with Mugaro, also known as El, (who is actually the son of Jeanne D’Arc and the angel Michael) leading the forces of the gods.

The humans win barely by using the ancient technology, which is shown to interact with a bracelet on the king’s hand as well as shown to have powerful repercussions for using. Our main band of heroes regroup and plan a way to steal that bracelet, but the plan fails. After that El/Mugaro is killed, and another all-out attack is in the making, because Jeanne and Azazel are pissed!

While war breaks out with demons and angels pitted against humans, Favarro and Nina finally learn that King Charioce XVII has been doing everything in order to obtain the power to fully eliminate Bahamut, who has been slowly coming back to life. This will cost him his life, but Nina might have a thing or two to say on that matter as she decides she will protect him first and foremost before anyone else.

What We Liked about Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Souls

There is a lot to like about Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Souls. However, let’s stick to the main two aspects of the show. To start things off, MAPPA does a fantastic job with the animation. If you don't believe that 3D CG can ever work, then watch this anime. Though its CG is only incorporated in small doses, it does a fantastic job in setting an ethereal aura about certain characters. The 2D animation overall is exceptional as well, with epic moments of magic might and fluid battles that are mesmerizing to watch. The concept and design of each character is also immaculate. This can be seen perfectly through the outfits of Azazel alone, who owns sleek black armor and nobleman’s clothes that both capture his roguish nature.

The next thing to love about this anime is the overwhelming sense of adventure that it imparts on the viewer. Few shows are able to capture the sense of excitement and bumpiness that truly follow an adventure. Luckily for us, Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Souls is one of those shows as it literally jolts us through an incredible adventure. Every single moment of action is filled with its own twists and turns and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. You never know which way the events will turn, especially as this season and last are both notorious for having exceptionally long battle/escape scenes. In this season, we experience a getaway that involves a whole lot of running, necromancy, rock pelting, exploding false hands, and a speeding mine cart. In case that wasn’t enough, this entire scene is occurring during and is followed by a battle between the gods and humans.

Discussion Time

Time to get to the good and the bad of Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul. Though there are a couple general reasons above as to why you should watch it, there are a few more particular reasons why you might want to watch this anime. Azazel, the animation, and death all play vital roles in keeping you on your feet throughout the entirety of the series. These factors are really hard to ignore and provide a lot of depth to every single moment of action. However, such epic moments can be stalled if you have a particular problem with plot holes. That’s not to say that the writing isn’t good. The dialogue between characters and the ways in which people are tied together is done quite fantastically. You should just expect luck and coincidence to play a vital role as well.

Reason 1: Azazel

Yes, there are a lot of characters in this series to love. Almost every character you are introduced to has a design or personality that you can fall head over heels for. This is especially true for Azazel. In spite of the fact that he was one of the biggest antagonists in the first season, he performs a complete 180 this season, and will be considered by many to be one of the most liked characters.

As mentioned earlier, his design is flawless and fits well with his fast-paced fighting style, which involves mainly daggers and magic that is materialized as black snakes. When he joins a battle, you can expect things to take a crazy and fantastic turn. However, his appearance and fighting style wouldn’t be enough to get him here.

What make him so vital to this season are his feelings of rage, frustration, and guilt. All of these emotions humanize him as well as set the stage for many of the major conflicts throughout the series. His rage in particular is a major catalyst for the initial demon rebellion against the king as well as helps initiate the final battle against the king. Overall, the creators did a great job making him a sympathetic character by spending quite a bit of time detailing the life-risking actions he takes in order to protect other demons. Though some might have distaste for his use of violence, his cause is a just one.

Reason 2: The Animation

As stated earlier, the animation is one of the things we loved about the show and it is definitely one of the reasons to watch it. It is absolutely gorgeous to the point that it is hard not to be drawn into the world, and this is a fantastic world to be caught in. Demons, angels, dragons, lush forests, massive cities, torn slums, ancient sites, and so much are depicted with impeccable detail.

The animation is used to its upmost though during wild action scenes. The movements, the angles that the creators use invoke a rambunctious nature, a nature akin to a train going off the rails. Everything has impact and everything is always running on a thin thread between beauty and chaos.

Reason 3: Death

Death plays an important role in this anime. All races suffered massive losses in the fight against Bahamut 10 years prior to the events of this season, and those losses impact the way many characters act now. It’s due to the loss of life that Kaisar wants to bridge the gap between races. It’s due to the loss of his mom that King Charioce will do anything to have the power to bring down Bahamut. It’s due to the loss of so many demons that Azazel wants to protect every single one who is still alive. It’s due to the death of Nina’s father that she has trouble controlling her transformation (at least that’s what her mom reveals).

However, death does more than set a backdrop for the actions of certain characters. It creates a world where there are real consequences. It creates a dark undertone that makes the audience feel for the characters and their struggles as they fight to live. The presence of death is ever-present in this show, which forces us to realize that we can lose the characters we love most. This hits really hard when Kaisar dies (despite the fact that Rita has started the process of making him a sentient undead human, much like herself). Such a powerful presence also makes each moment of living that much more wild and fun. In the end, the role death plays in Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul shows a tremendous amount of care and effort put in by the creators.

Reason 1: Plot Holes and Lucky Coincidences

There is a lot to love about the writing. The characters always have something to say and a lot of the time their words hit hard. However, there are some moments of convenience that can get quite frustrating. Jeanne and Favarro both being in prison served as a pretty easy way to reunite the whole cast. Admittedly, Jeanne’s story at least made sense as to why she was imprisoned. The same can’t be said though for Favaro’s story, which simply involved him getting drunk and then arrested by the Onyx Knights, who would only go after him if the king directed it. Anyone know why the king was after Favaro?

It’s easy enough to let go of coincidences like the one above, but there is one flaw that might bug some people for quite some time. Why doesn’t King Charioce XVII tell anyone (gods or demons) that Bahamut is coming back to life? Is it because he doesn’t believe the gods and demons have the power necessary to truly defeat the beast, especially now that Bahamut is about to come alive once again? Is it because he wants to spare as many of the lives of the gods and demons, who have sacrificed themselves time and time again?

It can’t be denied that it is fair to assume that the gods would have still been reluctant to give over such power to humans if told about Bahamut. The angel Gabriel seems to desire worship, and so would be extremely reluctant to let humans have a power that can compare to her own. Nonetheless, zero diplomacy is shown at any time. It seems that everyone just wants to put everything on his/her own shoulders.

Final Thoughts

Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul will take you on a romping adventure. It’s fun with a good mix of light and dark moments. If you want to dive into a world with fantastic characters this is the anime for you.

Writer

Author: Yoko Dev

Hello, my anime peers. I’m from the states, but have taken an indefinite leave to travel while freelancing. Outside of a deep admiration for anime that started long ago, I love to read, write, and play video games. The main issue of traveling so far has been not having a console.

Previous Articles

Top 5 Anime by Yoko Dev