Victoria of Many Faces Season 1 Anime Series Review

I was going to start this review comparing Victoria of Many Faces to trope-driven modern anime, all the genre pastiches and reiterations of the same basic premise. But then, I decided that wouldn't be fair to a show like this, which eschews modern anime's tendency to lean heavily on viewer expectations and genre knowledge in favor of good storytelling and strong character writing. Maybe the years of watching at least one episode of dozens of repetitive light novel adaptations have worn me down, but the humanity on display throughout the show made it feel unique amongst its ilk.

The titular Victoria was once Chloe, a special agent who escaped her home country to the neighboring Kingdom of Ashbury to live a mundane life. Shortly after arriving, she meets Nonna, an abandoned little girl, and takes her in. She also meets Jeffrey Asher, a knight of noble birth who takes a shine to her. However, escape isn't as easy as Victoria thought: whether or not her former employer is looking for her, she's constantly looking over her shoulder.

It does, admittedly, take some time to get going; after the second episode, I started to wonder if the story would ever progress beyond Victoria being hypercompetent while the kindly aristocrats employing her smiled gently. It wouldn't have surprised me at all if this ended up being a frictionless show about Victoria, Nonna, and Jeff healing one another with gentle kindness. That aspect never disappears, but once the plot starts to ramp up, it becomes clear that there is much more to the series than that. Rather than relaxation, the series' true strength lies in how it balances those gentle moments with the inherent conflict of its premise.

It's just not that easy to get away from a life like Chloe's. This holds true in how Victoria interacts with the world: leaving traps to detect intruders, dispatching an assassin in secret, needing to go for a walk to dispel the bloodlust before going home, and constantly looking over her shoulder and preparing to flee in the night. She tries to escape notice, but the people around her aren't stupid: they can see that she has certain skills that an unassuming young maid wouldn't normally possess. Furthermore, there will always be those who seek to pull her back to her old intelligence agency. Someone like her knows too much to be let loose in the world. The push and pull Victoria feels between her longing to settle down and the sense that she must constantly be ready to flee is what lends intrigue to this show. 

Nonna and Jeff bring their own trauma as well, and it's clear that the team behind the show, as well as the original writer Syuu, kept this in mind when writing how they respond to the world around them. Jeff likes Victoria's independence because he doesn't see himself as someone others can depend on, and it takes Nonna time before she can smile and play like a child her age should. Not that it's perfect—there are a few plot threads that don't seem to go anywhere, and the character writing can get a bit saccharine—but by the end of nine episodes, the closeness that Victoria feels with her newfound family feels earned and fulfilling. 

But even when the script falls short, the voice actors give their absolute all. Chika Anzai is remarkable as Victoria, playing the role with texture and nuance that helped me buy into Victoria as an adult woman who craves peace but struggles to find it. Yōhei Azakami's Jeff is smitten with Victoria but struggles with sadness and self-hatred stemming from his past. Of the main three, Shion Wakayama gives the weakest performance, but as an anime child, she has the least material to work with.

Unfortunately, the production quality can vary wildly between episodes. The overall animation is about what you'd expect of modern-day Studio DEEN, which is to say deeply mediocre but rarely dipping into outright bad. Series director Nobukage Kimura has worked on some famously beautiful shows, such as Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu and Mushi-Shi, and his skills shine through despite the poor production values in many episodes. Key moments in Victoria's relationship with Jeff especially are boarded with careful thought to how the frame is arranged, with the lighting, staging, and layout perfect for the moment. Anything faster-paced, however, and the storyboarding starts to melt: quick cuts to avoid difficult motions, weightless impact, and difficulty keeping the characters on-model all become issues in the show's rare action scenes. Similarly, the soundtrack of gentle strings and tinkling piano hits just right in moments of emotional resolution and catharsis, but gets repetitive and never feels fully appropriate when the story delves into darker emotions that haunt the characters.

I know I said I wouldn't hinge this review on comparisons, but just one for the road: if you, like me, wanted to like Snow White with the Red Hair but were frustrated with how easily Shirayuki settled into her new life, this one may be for you. It's not easy to get away from the past; even if your name and location change, old patterns tend to persist and certain kinds of bonds aren't so easy to break. Victoria of Many Faces understands this.