The Seven Deadly Sins is based upon the manga series. The first season is comprised of 24 episodes and two OVAs. The anime is set in a fantasy world. There was a group known as the Seven Deadly Sins, each member being extremely powerful. Ten years ago, it was told that the seven decided to overthrow the king but was repelled by the Holy Knights. Notably, the Seven were also formerly part of the Holy Knights, thus they were branded as traitors. Afterwards, they managed to escape and disappeared, even rumored to be dead, although they are still currently wanted.
Fast forward to the time of the first episode and it follows a young boy named Meliodas who is apparently the owner of the Boar Hat tavern. He is accompanied by his talking pig companion, Hawk, when he encounters Elizabeth, someone who is seeking the Seven Deadly Sins. Since Meliodas himself has a deeper history than one would expect, he has his own reasons for finding them and thus the pair goes off to search for the members. During their search, they frequently encounter the Holy Knights who try and stop them. Each of the Holy Knights have their own unique power giving them an edge in combat. Despite their role in being protectors of the kingdom, they are portrayed as the ultimate evil. They frequently abuse their power and oppresses the population. Considering the amount of bad things they do, it is hard to fathom how they are so organized.
The pacing is fairly quick since Meliodas manages to find and recruit several members of the Seven Deadly Sins in quick succession. Due to this fast pacing, the objectives eventually shift from finding members to something else. It may be cliched but it does make for some fun classic adventuring. That being said, since the members are being recruited so quickly, it makes the legends being told about them feel overblown. Despite the ragtag band of adventurers, each member of the group complements each other well.
Meliodas and his team are severely overpowered. Each of the Seven is special in some way. They have powers that others do not and the difference between them and the Holy Knights is that the Seven’s powers are extremely potent. No matter how strong a Holy Knight is or whether they attack in numbers, you can confidently assume that they will easily dispatch them. It’s a bit annoying when they introduce new characters in the episodes because the new character will be the overpowered one saving everyone else who suddenly takes a heavy beating. It can feel inconsistent at times.
The anime features highly exaggerated battles with characters flying everywhere in high speed. Mountains will crumble, the ground will crack and characters, even background characters, rarely die. There is a tendency for characters to call out their attacks. It is most ridiculous when you have seven call outs right after each other. Characters are also really fond of exposition, launching into a detailed explanation of their attacks, what’s currently happening onscreen and other obvious points.
There is a lot of obvious fan service. However, this type of fan service has been done too many times before so it feels lazy and contrived. Meliodas doesn’t stop with his blatant inappropriate touching but there’s no charm in his actions. There is some good potential for the plot but the anime doesn’t quite leverage the amount of excitement and tension that it should from these twists and revelations. There is a surprising amount of connections between each of the characters to the point of being contrived. The world the characters live in doesn’t have anything unique that makes it stand out. It is your typical fantasy archetype which can make it feel generic.
The last arc of the season changes the format that we’re used to and gives us a really good climax. The group is forced to head to the capital and fight all out against the Holy Knights. Not only are the action sequences some of the best in the season but it gives us a lot of context in what motivates each of the main characters. It is a satisfying ending and brings the strong comradeship between the members of the group up to the forefront. Surprisingly, the arc in the season ends neatly and provides enough closure such that even if there were no further seasons (there are), it doesn’t leave many threads open.
There are two OVAs, each one is a side story. The first one expands upon the story of Ban (one of the Seven Deadly Sins). It reuses the clips from the season and adds in some new ones. Unfortunately, this OVA only served to highlight how fickle Ban’s relationship was since it made clear the short amount of time he had spent with the girl he loved. The second OVA is less serious. It is a series of shorts that shows us a side of the characters that we normally wouldn’t see, it is funny and amusing.
Overall, The Seven Deadly Sins may not blow you away but it is a fun adventure. It feels like a classic story that doesn’t try anything bold, but what we’re given works well. You will warm up to all the characters, and the story is engaging enough to keep your interest even though there are plenty of detours.
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