Madan no Ou to Vanadis
Lord Marksman and Vanadis


Description: Set in a Fantasy counterpart of Western Europe, Tigrevurmud Vorn, Count of Alsace in the service of the country of Brune, got a taste of the power of one of the seven War Maidens known as Vanadis, those granted the power of the dragons. After he was defeated on the battlefield by Eleonora Viltaria, she decided to spare his life after seeing his skills, and declared that she now owns him.

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[HorribleSubs] Madan no Ou to Vanadis - 01



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Now this is a proper fantasy series.

Or at the very least a promising one.

Putting the fanservice aside, it really does have that nice balance between Record of the Lodoss War and Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, without being super dry like Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu. It has the right amount of atmosphere. Not too silly or absurd, and doesn't try to take itself too serious when it has no right to do so.

The characters are equally balanced. Eleonora gives excessively harsh punishments out, but relents on them just as easily. She's meant to be a warrior, and as such doesn't shriek in terror when someone sees her naked or react violently. Her attitude is fitting for someone who has enough power to do whatever the hell they want.

Limalisha, her second, is stern and very cold as Eleonora is flighty.

Tigre is thankfully neither weak, nor cocky. He's a just lord who cares for his people, and has loyalty. He wasn't willing to throw in with Eleonora because she's strong and asked him to. He was willing to wait for the ransom to be paid so he could return to his own lands. He isn't some sort of Übermensch either, capable of taking down divinely blessed war maidens with his skill. He specializes in one area, and shows that skill accordingly. He's considered trash by his peers for it, but thinks big picture.

The animation was good, the cast is good, and while the character design is a little...top heavy, it's not that overt or too much of a focus.