English Dub Season Review: Ultramarine Magmell Season One

Ultramarine Magmell is the latest addition to the Netflix anime library, as well as a surprisingly quick release by their standards. The original run of this aired in April of this year and ended in June, leaving about only a handful of months between its dub’s debut. Though unlike Devilman Crybaby, Aggretsuko, or Carol and Tuesday, I highly doubt anyone was particularly hyped for this show unless they were in desperate need of an insomnia cure. Because Magmell is probably one of the hardest watches I’ve had to sit through, not because it was especially dark or disturbing, but just because it was such a bore.

The story, based on a Chinese comic, shows a world where a new continent spontaneously appears in the middle of the ocean, along with numerous undiscovered flora and fauna. Naturally, this becomes a focus of fascination around the world, with many flocking to visit, take its resources, hunt its animals, or even simply to take care of its inhabitants, all with mixed results. Because of the high risk involved in traversing Magmell, the plot follows the exploits of a pair of “search and rescue specialists” Inyo and Zero, known as Anglers. They also have the ability to create matter and manipulate it to their whims, known as Lachters. And thus, we have another show.

Magmell’s premise on paper is an intriguing one, being about the dawn of a new age of discovery and the possibilities that open up from exploring completely new territory. The early episodes even dive into both the optimistic and cynical views of why people would bother risking their lives in such unknown dangers, as every wide-eyed adventurer thirsty for knowledge is met with another hungry for profits and fame. The problem is that, after a certain point, we drop that pretense and turn right into an endless series of gags and stale plots, as all seriousness and potentially introspection is pretty much tossed.

And it doesn’t help that the show’s look is ROOOOOUUUUGH. I would honestly be pretty easily convinced if I was told this anime debuted in 2004, let alone 2019. The animation is pretty bland and stiff, where the character designs almost blind with how much they focus on an “anime aesthetic” instead of making a meaningful look for a specific character. Pretty much everything about this show feels like it came from the bargain bin. So with that in mind, is it any wonder my mind feels the constant need to shut down whenever I try to watch more than one episode?

I don’t think I’m going to get much push back by saying you’re not going to be missing ANYTHING of value if you decide to skip Ultramarine Magmell. While it starts with some promise, its novel story idea and boundless potentially pretty much get used up after a handful of interesting stories before going essentially on writing autopilot. Anything you could possibly find enjoyable about it can be found in far better series like Hunter X Hunter or One Piece. I can’t think of one original bone in its body, which should probably say something. Just do not bother and save yourself four and a half hours of pure banality.