Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Merc StoriA

Yuu, a young healer with the power to heal the hearts of monsters, receives a mysterious bottle from his father as a gift. When Yuu touches the bottle, Merc, a girl made of liquid, appears from it. Merc has no memories from before she met Yuu and wants to learn more about who she is, so the two of them set out on a journey through various countries. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

Episode Summary: Yuu is a young man with a developing ability to heal agitated beasts and monsters. His adventuring dad brings him home what looks like just a weird bottle of water, but inside is a magical water fairy named Merc with a snappy personality and a desire to lead Yuu out on his own adventures.

As Yuu and Merc plan to embark on a quest (since Merc’s horoscope leads her to believe that it’s the best time to do so), they get involved with a small, fluffy monster who seems insistent that they follow him. Their fluffy friend leads them to a large monster in need of healing. Though Yuu’s abilities may be somewhat untrained, his natural talents are able to calm the beast. To show thanks, their fluff ball companion elects to join them as they adventure into the unknown.

Impressions: While complaints about bad anime adaptations of video games are low-hanging fruit nowadays, the truth is that games can serve as a bountiful source of storytelling if their adaptations are handled correctly. One measure of success I look for is the degree to which the anime series feels like a game. Is it overly-focused on explaining the mechanics of its universe and providing its characters with goals that reflect in-game tasks? Or is the focus more on the characters and their story, with gaming goals masked well as typical narrative challenges? When I watch anime, I’m not looking for a recreation of the gaming experience, rather I want to be presented with the best of what makes the game unique and immersive – the world it establishes and the people who populate it.

Looking back on the viewing, there are bits and pieces of the first episode of Merc StoriA that provide clues to its origins. Its fantasy setting, various monster creatures, and Yuu’s ability to “heal” (and then possibly collect) those creatures, all point the finger a little bit. But for all that standard set-up, what struck me about this first episode is that those things felt like afterthoughts in the wake of the character introductions.

The focus of this episode is squarely on Yuu, whose quest to hone his powers likely forms the bulk of the story, and Merc, a water spirit of mysterious origins who lives in a bottle – a gift from Yuu’s father (whether he knew exactly what he had in his possession is still a question). There’s a very understandable tendency of most shounen-demographic anime series to focus more on the young male hero, with other characters comprising a backup support squad. What’s nice about this episode is that the relationship between Yuu and Merc is clearly one of a partnership, albeit an unconventional one. Though she’s a fraction of the size, Merc is a sizable presence on her own.

Merc is very much a pleasant irregularity in my eyes, because she has a strong and feisty personality without being portrayed as overbearing toward the hero. She carries herself with confidence even in situations where the outcome isn’t clear (like, say, when an untrained healer takes on a huge and terrifying monster). She’s a very fun combination of mentor and partner that belies her diminutive size.

As fun as the focal relationship is, though, overall this is definitely a very straightforward anime series. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and I think it’s nice not to have to get into analytical mode all the time when watching anime (though for me it starts to feel weird!). There is a point, though, where I begin to lose interest and focus, and while a mental break can be nice I tend to prioritize anime with more variability.

As I mentioned at the outset, this episode masks its origins well, but having established Yuu’s powers and the general mechanics of the world, I can only imagine that his adventures will simply escalate in complexity and danger rather than vary much from the formula. Part of the reason why I never watched Pokemon past the first season or so was because, even back in school when being able to watch any sort of anime on TV was a luxury, I could see that the series had a particular formula that probably wasn’t going to change much from week-to-week (whereas something like Sailor Moon, with its various monster-of-the-week episodes, still had various plot arcs and climactic moments sprinkled throughout its many installments). It’s not a dig on the formula so much as an admission that my attention span doesn’t tolerate consistency that well.

There’s very little to criticize about Merc StoriA; it’s cute, colorful, and features some fun characters in a traditional but vibrant RPG setting. It seems like something that might be a good intro anime for younger fans who come from a gaming background. I do think that fans hungering for some emotional complexity will likely not be satisfied by this straightforward, youthful series, but it could serve as a nice break between repeated viewings of Flowers of Evil for those so-inclined.

Pros: The two main characters have a nice relationship. The series is colorful and friendly.

Cons: The show might be too simple and straightforward for a lot of folks.

Grade: B-