Marinate1016

Niehime is one of the most underrated anime of 2023 and it’s an absolute shame. This show has one of the best female MCs in recent memory. Along with a fantastic cast, rich world, political drama and a very well written romance. Admittedly, Niehime grew on me. I wasn’t in love with it from the start. I liked the world, but the age gap between the two leads was.. a bit odd to say the least. However, as they were both developed and more contextual information revealed I honestly forgot I was ever even upset about it. Life is not always black and white and contextmatters in these situations. Sariphi and Leo’s forbidden love is so well developed and grounded that I’d go out on a limb and call it one of the best in modern shoujo. Romance aside, the biggest selling point of Niehime is how strong and compelling a protagonist Sariphi is. Despite her being a human in a kingdom of beasts that despise her, she stands tall in the face of racism and wants not to abandon the kingdom, but make it a better place. Even though she has no magical abilities and lacks the physical strength that beasts have, she never backs down and is determined to change the culture of the kingdom. It’s always nice to see a female protagonist who isn’t waiting on someone to come save or bail her out, but making active strides to improve her situation and that of those around her. Little by little, Sariphi melts the hearts of even the most steadfast bigoted beasts and recruits ally after ally to her side. Can’t stress enough how much I appreciate her character. She’s not a damsel in distress but the driving force behind so many events in the story. Acting as the perfect pillar of support for Leo. Speaking of Leo, as I began to touch on earlier, he and Sariphi’s relationship is extremely well done. They both compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses perfectly. Despite coming from totally different backgrounds, we see that they have so much in common and are able to relate to each other in a way that no one else has before. Obviously there’s shades of beauty and the beast with their relationship, but it quickly separates itself from the Disney classic with its depth. Think of it as Belle and the Beast but with an actually well written relationship with way more substance. I loved seeing Sari and Leo’s teamwork develop over the course of the series. They have such a profound sense of trust with one another based on mutually shared hardship that makes it all feel more natural. The world of Niehime is also extremely rich. The beast kingdom is diverse and full of various races who have been traditionally segregated and discriminated against. It’s not until Leo’s reign that equality was guaranteed for all. The political intrigue and negotiations between Ozmargo and other constituent domains was fun to watch. It’s hard being king when not everyone respects you. It creates some unique challenges for Leo that with Sariphi’s help, he’s able to overcome. The human realm was only briefly touched on in the anime, but also has its own unique history, culture and political situation that I wish we got more of. Hopefully in a second season that will be expanded upon especially with the lore drops that we got towards the end. There’s a ton of really good supporting characters in Niehime as well. As I said, Sariphi makes a lot of friends and creates important political alliances in her role as acting queen. I really liked how well written most of the characters are. They all feel unique and play big roles in the story. What they all have in common is that Sariphi gradually melted the ice around their hearts. HanaKana gives one of her best performances as Sariphi. She perfectly captures this “I may be cute, but I’m not a pushover” energy and I couldn’t imagine the story without her. Satoshi Hino’s Leo is great as are the other characters. There’s so much energy they’re able to convey in scenes which only heightens the emotional impact. There’s surprisingly good sakuga in the show as well. While action scenes aren’t the primary focus, in the few big fights that are in the show, they’re all great. A reminder that JC staff are behind the show. Unlike many other shoujo stories, Niehime doesn’t rely exclusively on romance and cutesy tropes to sell itself. It instead focuses on creating an immersive world, well written characters and a genuinely gripping story with a strong female lead. I think we only scratched the surface of this series and I can’t wait to start reading it. It is without a doubt one of my favourite anime of the year and it’s a shame it didn’t get the attention it deserved. Wednesdays may have been packed in both seasons it aired, but it was near the top of my heart. Niehime gets 9 out of 10.

Smoky688

By far one of my favourite manga and anime series of all time. It's an adorable and gorgeous story of two hurt people finding love in both themselves and the many friendships they grow. If you want a tooth-rottingly sweet romance between a 'monster' and a human this is more or less the pinnacle. This is not really an angsty romance anime though, so if you're looking for some sweet sweet romantic pain this won't be your best choice, but I still think you'd enjoy it for the many other reasons for which this anime is great. If you liked series like Akatsuki No Yona (Yonaof the Dawn) or Shirayuki - Akagami No Shirayukihime! (Snow White with the Red Hair) this is a must-watch.