Score: A-

This first episode certainly got across the kind of visuals we can look forward to. We didn’t outright see Monica taking on the Black Dragon. But what we did see was her absolutely annihilating the “smaller” dragons. Good move on the show’s part to show how those things were extremely difficult for normal soldiers and mages to actually handle. I’m not sure how many big fights this show will actually have. But if we do get a few I think they’ll look pretty darn good. The magic in this setting seems flexible enough for Monica to pull out any kind of absurd attack and have it make sense.

I get it…

I do feel for Monica to a degree. Her social anxiety is rather extreme. Interacting with basically anyone is a trial for her. Maybe only her familiar is mostly exempt to her struggling to communicate with them. I can only imagine how stressed out over this mission that she is. Sure, she doesn’t technically have to communicate with the person she’s protecting. She can act quietly and secretly and make things work that way. But she is going to be in a school and avoiding all interactions isn’t the easiest thing within that setting. She escaped school once and now she’s right back in it! No question that she’s being dragged right out of her comfort zone.

But you can argue that’s a good thing. Monica avoided really dealing with the things that made her uncomfortable by literally inventing silent magic. That’s not going to be an option for her this time! Her co-worker isn’t exactly the sympathetic sort, but it’s not a bad thing for Monica to grow to be able to handle people. It’s not an easy thing for someone in her position to do that. But it’s not as if she’s living an enjoyable life as it is. She basically lived as a recluse that only interacted with the girl that she was paying to get her things. That’s a possible way to live, but I didn’t get the impression that she overly enjoyed it. It’s just that any other way of living was even more uncomfortable for her. This story is obviously going to give Monica friends and a love interest. Not bad.

This girl is fun

I like Isabelle. She’s going to play the role of the “evil stepsister” in order to provide Monica some cover. But this girl legitimately idolizes Monica. And it’s not like she does it for no reason. Monica quite literally saved everything she cares about. Monica by defeating the dragons protected Isabelle’s friends, family, homeland, and even Isabelle herself. She’s not wrong in thinking that when it counts Monica is absolutely a brave person worthy of respect. It just so happens that Monica is an extremely shy person. I hope that sooner than later Isabelle can get Monica to warm up to her. Right now she’s pretty overwhelming so I get Monica’s hesitancy. But I think it’s a good thing for Monica to have someone willing to engage with her until she gets comfortable.

Solid dragon!

There’s a lot to like about this show. It’s full of potential and could tell a rather sweet story. You have this absurdly powerful person that’s going to slowly come out of her shell and find a happier future waiting for her. It’s not going to be easy on Monica, but it sure as heck seems like a good thing. Visually the show looks good and if what action we get is good then that will just let me enjoy it even more. The ending was a lovely one that further cements what I think we can expect from this show. Here’s hoping the next few episodes are strong ones. No idea if I’ll pick this one up. But you can be sure I’ll be enjoying the heck out of each episode as they come out.