The Seven Deadly Sins – Nanatsu no Taizai in Japanese – is a fun anime series that was put out by Netflix. Netflix has done a great job at snapping up the rights to some fantastic anime series and this was actually the second one to have the Netflix name attached to it. I will admit that it loses a fair bit of steam in the later seasons, but the first two are some of the best anime Netflix has to offer.
How to Stream or Download The Seven Deadly Sins
You can stream it or you can download the film using the Netflix app. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like anime series, check out also Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen and DOTA: Dragon’s Blood.
The TV Series Review
Introduction to the Plot and Characters
Our “heroes” The Seven Deadly Sins were a fearsome team of warriors in the land of Britannia. It was said that The Seven Deadly Sins tried to overthrow the Liones Kingdom, but they failed. The Holy Knights supposedly defeated The Sins and sent them packing, but as with all stories, the truth and lies can sometimes get mixed up.
Many years later these Holy Knights that supposedly saved the land from The Seven Deadly Sins have taken the King and are now taking over the land with a tyrannical rule. Elizabeth, a young princess is setting out on a journey to find The Seven Sins and hopefully be able to bring them back to save her kingdom.
Character-Based Storytelling
The story sounds like it is typical anime stuff, but the earlier seasons are very character-based. Meliodas is such a great leader and I like the way that he manages the different abilities and personalities of the group. The Seven Deadly Sins has a pretty large cast of characters that we get to see on a regular basis.
There are also many supporting characters too, but you never feel overwhelmed. The way new characters are introduced along with the character development and the various interactions and relationships is something the show does very well. You truly do care about them and want them to save the day and show the world that they truly are heroes. I was truly rooting for them and those first couple of seasons just flew by.
Evolving Seasons and Anime-Style Fights
The later seasons, four and five are not bad by any means. However, I do feel that the last two seasons are more about each episode just leading to a big anime-style fight. This can be fun and many of the episodes were, but I felt that it lacked the overall engaging plot and character development that the first two seasons especially offered. To be fair, I have never read the manga so it could be very faithful for all I know.
Animation and Voice Acting
The animation quality in The Seven Deadly Sins really is great. It is flashy and full of violence – this is certainly not something you want young kids watching! The battle scenes are done very, very well and thanks to the tremendous animation, the facial expressions help add a lot of personality to the characters.
You can stream and watch The Seven Deadly Sins with the original Japanese voice acting and have it subtitled if you want that authentic experience. I decided to watch the English dub and felt that the voice actors did a great job of bringing these very interesting and complex characters to life.
Final Verdict: A Worthwhile Anime Experience
I would not say that this is a top ten anime of all time for me, but it was still fun and worth a watch. I do feel that the show peaks with the first two seasons, but overall, I think that this is worth watching all the way through. If you are a fan of anime and you have still not watched it, I recommend that you give it a chance.
