Helck Anime Review- One Helck of an Anime
Written by Rei Caldombra 1/14/2024 Video version: https://youtu.be/tgx8qaxLtuw
This review will not have direct story spoilers. I appreciate that we’ve been getting more fantasy anime lately that are not isekai. Helck among others recently like Mashle and Frieren stand out more by not bringing themselves down with tired isekai elements.
I quite enjoyed Helck, but I would not say it does anything in particular amazingly well. There were multiple points where I really considered dropping it, but I am glad I stuck with it. Every joke doesn’t land but there are a lot that do. Visually the animation can be a bit stiff, but the art is solid and does get better once the story picks up. The action is not great by any means either, but it is serviceable enough for me. If you have a very high standard when it comes to the action and/or find action to be the most appealing part of a show, then it may not appeal to you enough. But the action is not really the main focus over the comedy and story. The world itself isn’t super deep but it is interesting enough that going from place to place still feels like it has some value. The pacing is also fairly slow and is long at 24 episodes, which could be an issue for some people. It only bothered me a little at points. But I do feel the long journey helps to build a strong bond between the main characters and brings some fun antics. The aspects where the anime stands strongest are the endearing characters and the mysteries in the story.
Even if the worldbuilding isn’t notable, the world is at least filled with likable characters. Vermillio is easily my favorite character. She is a major reason I continued watching as she is very entertaining. She has a ton of personality and does a great job usually playing the straight man to the other characters that are almost always silly to some degree. I really like her voice acting and her explosions of anger from everyone’s straightforward enthusiasm for whatever silliness is going on. She bounces off of the general goofy tone of the world very well, keeping it somewhat grounded while adding to the comedy. She also grows a lot as the series goes on to be a more well-rounded and kinder person. Her design is fantastic too. Helck is an example of great simple character designs. Many of the character designs are not especially novel or complex, but they’re very clean and simple designs that are really appealing to me.
Helck also builds into an endearing and interesting character. He is very simple and straightforward intentionally, with the main intrigue being how he is so freakishly strong and why he wants to do what he says he wants to while having a smile on his face 24/7. He is very simple and straightforward, both from a literary and in character standpoint. Most of the mysteries are related to him in some way, so you do have to accept that it will take awhile to get to the meaty details of our main character. But even as a very simple character, he is genuinely likable. He is the wholesome optimistic teddy bear type of person that goes all the way on that energy. He is a fun character to see react to adversity.
I really buy into Vermilio and Helck becoming genuine comrades over the course of their journey. You get to see them go through all kinds of situations and learn to trust each other. You spend a lot of time watching them journey together and during that time there are lots of hijinks. Most of them are not incredibly compelling, hilarious or deep but I like the banter between those two. Helck is stoic, unwaveringly positive and very straightforward while Vermillio is easy to anger, very rational and the strategic one. Piwi is also a great addition that makes for the main trio. Piwi seems like he would be annoying but for me he never was. His dialogue is silly and funny, and he changes the dynamic between the two by being more gung-ho along with Helck and therefore giving Vermilio less control. If these three did not have a good dynamic, then it would have been very hard to get through this show. The side characters are also solid, keeping the show entertaining even when the titular main three are being cut away from. One super funny moment I won’t spoil is in the first screenshot I use, that is my absolute favorite moment in the show. That was super unexpected, and the funny but sweet dynamic of the characters at its finest.
When it comes to the standard action-comedy fantasy show I believe the mystery angle is quite novel. That is the biggest draw of the show in my opinion. There are multiple levels to the mystery and intrigue that you do have to sit with for quite a while. When it comes to the mysteries that we get answers to pretty far in, they are not mind blowing but are compelling. A lot of it did genuinely tug on my heartstrings even if it wasn't mind blowing or entirely unexpected. I think you can see a bit of what happens coming but it does not change the impact. The serious story aspects are also where the worldbuilding gets its most interesting aspects. Without being specific the way at which the enemy is as threatening as they are is pretty interesting. The deeper story does get quite dark and, in my opinion to its benefit. I think it managed to get itself close to that sweet spot I like of drama and comedy, as the general tone of the show is very silly. The more serious elements are done well enough that it makes the goofiness not detract from what is happening. One aspect of the reveal I will mention without being specific is that you do get the majority of the story’s questions answered all in one long sequence. Rather than giving you one answer then making you wait a bit for the next, you get Helck’s whole backstory in one long stretch. Whether this is good execution or not I think comes down to personal preference. I like that we got the answers given to us as they were. With how long it took to get answers, I think it is for the best that we got most of our answers and did not get teased with info. It also fits with the moment that initiates the backstory reveal. With the backstory revealed, it genuinely feels like both you and the characters take a step forward with new feelings. The execution along with the reveals being compelling made me want to continue watching even after the suspense from the mysteries largely dissipated. Helck successfully got me invested enough that I do want to see how this story ends.
Helck is a show that is decent but generally does not go far above that. It has a lot of good aspects with very little bad, but there's no one moment I can say is amazing either. It is not one I would really recommend to a lot of people due to the length, pacing and lack of extremely good aspects. If you just want great fantasy action and worldbuilding this is probably a bit middling, and you would be better off watching other shows that focus more on that. I also think it’s understandable if you get bored before you get the answers to the mysteries. But I do not regret watching it as I did genuinely enjoy these characters and their growth. It was a nice, fun journey with solid intrigue that had decent payoff. If you like mysteries or just want to follow likable goofy characters I do think you should give it a shot. So far there is no announcement of a season 2, but based on how things play out I am under the impression they will adapt it all the way. I hope they do as I want to see how this journey ends in color and with more great voice acting. Thank you for reading!
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