Manga Entertainment’s release of Trinity Seven is one I’ve been eagerly awaiting since they announced it at MCM London earlier this year. The upcoming film that was announced further increased my anticipation for this release and the rewatch it enabled. Animated by Seven Arcs Pictures, who have previously produced series such as White Album and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Trinity Seven is a charming ecchi anime, directed by Hiroshi Nishikori. Hiroshi Nishikori has previously directed A Certain Magical Index and Azumanga Daioh, amongst others. Manga Entertainment’s release is a combo pack, but the price increase after retailer discounts seems to be irrelevant.
Our protagonist, Arata Kasuga awakens for school one day, with the help of childhood friend and cousin Hijiri, and while his life seems entirely normal, something if off – the sun is black. While Hijiri insists that has always been the case, this doesn’t agree with Arata’s memories. It transpires that he is in an alternate world, crafted in the aftermath of the destruction of the world three years prior. Presented with two options, to destroy this world or be destroyed himself, by Lilith Asami, Arata opts for a third choice – he decides to join the magic school where Lilith is a teacher. Becoming the newest student of Royal Biblia Academy, his goal is to become a mage and tame his powers. This requires him to win over each member of the titular Trinity Seven – seven incredibly powerful female mages that are effectively just his own personal harem.
The story itself all seems pretty generic for an ecchi harem anime, but Seven Arcs Pictures have excelled at producing a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable series. Trinity Seven never attempts to hide the fact that it is a harem, rather it unashamedly makes the most of it, with Arata consistently being a “lucky pervert” and constantly landing himself in situations that enable him to be a masterful harem protagonist, from simply walking in on girls changing to being trapped in a room with girls that are desperate to empty their bladders. Despite the obvious pervertedness, Trinity Seven never feels like it goes too far, it’s just a bit of fun that all of the characters seem to be able to get behind. The actual story may be ignored in favour of comedy reliant on the harem aspects, but this isn’t to Trinity Seven’s detriment at all. Much of what it does has been done before, but it feels fresh in Trinity Seven, and always leaves you needing more, in no small part due to the work of Seven Arcs Pictures.
Visually, Trinity Seven is magnificent, with impressive character designs that seem lovingly crafted and animated with care. Backgrounds are, likewise, a sight to behold, though generally restricted to different areas of the academy itself, but never stealing the show. The English dub track is helmed by ADR Director Kyle Jones, so I really wasn’t expecting anything remotely decent, but it was still a letdown, with characters feeling flat and almost monotonous no matter the situation. I am honestly starting to question whether Kyle Jones has ever heard a real human speak before. Don’t let the bad dub deter you, though, as the cast of the Japanese track does an excellent job at providing an emotive cast, and I highly recommend you stick to this track if Trinity Seven takes your fancy. The OP, “Seven Doors” by ZAQ, is a surprisingly catchy opening that you’ll find yourself humming along to in no time, and three of the four ED tracks are incredibly enjoyable, let down only by the second, which covers episodes 4 through 6. The electronica soundtrack is both quirky and memorable; though far from what I’d expect.
In terms of extras, this release has the usual for a Sentai Filmworks authored release – textless OP and ED and some trailers. The trailers are for Wizard Barristers, Blade Dance of the Elementalers, Log Horizon Season 2, and Magical Warfare. Manga Entertainment has released Blade Dance in the UK, and MVM are in the process of releasing Log Horizon Season 2. Unfortunately, the Trinity Seven OVA has not been included in this release; although not quite as good as the 12 episodes in this release, it would have been nice to have seen it included.