White Cat Legend · review
This is probably one of the most underrated shows out there, and its a shame that few are watching it. First the story starts with a man called Chen who has just arrived at LuoYang the ancient Capital of the Tang Dynasty, and ends up getting a job at the LiShi (Affairs Bureau) and his first task is to man the prison cells, this is where we meet a number of the key characters, like Ali baba one of the few Foreigners who managed to obtain a Tang Official position, and Adminisitrator Li who is for so unknown reason a Man cat. The Show covers theday to day running of the Li Shi Office, and the culture of the Tang Dynasty in the later years under the rule of China's first Empress. This is also the period that had a large influence on Japanese Culture and religious developments.
Its a mix of slice of life, detective, mystery, comedy, action and history.
The art is what stands out the most as Chen's character can only be described as simple, however the design for each character is unique and all standout in their own way. The movements are well choreographed and at most time smooth. (Especially the final episode my god that fight is next level.) There are also the small details like the mouth movements are more precise than your day to day anime, no flapping mouths but with the mouths shaping the sounds the actor is making.
The sound, my god the Opening and ending are both really good, both the opening song and animation. The ending song is also great, and the ending animation showcases the work and art process for the animation.
The characters all had their own quirks making them all unique, But the ones that stood out obviously was Li. However each character has their moment to shine.
The show sometimes plays off like a detective story, which makes senses considering that is what the Affairs Bureau handles. Which gives it added flavour.
I enjoyed this alot more than I thought I would. Would definitely recommend. The voice acting is top notch, and its the attention to details. Like despite the use of CGI to make some crowds larger, they added 2D animation to meld them together.