A warrior, fierce and without equal, is reborn into a different world. But here, she discovers that as Nia Liston, the four-year-old daughter of an aristocratic family, she is sickly and near death—nothing like the invincible figure she was previously. And this turn of events brings her great joy, as she wants nothing more than to fight against and die at the hands of someone stronger than herself. But the road there will be long. “Nia” will need to adjust to living in a manor, recover and then build her strength, and—in an unexpected turn—become a magivision star!
I did not find the initial scenes of this episode to be enticing, with a little girl violently cutting down her enemies (i.e., crushing them into pools of blood and guts). But then came the rest of the episode, and…it was charming! “Nia” is surrounded by family and servants that truly love her, and it cuts a striking scene when the girl thinks or says things that are more appropriate for her adult self than for a four-year-old girl. There’s a lot of humor in this episode—much of it being because Nia is not nearly as smooth as she thinks herself to be. But as I mentioned, there’s warmth here, and heart, too. I also like the unexpected incorporation of “magivision” into the plot—think an iPad or handheld TV that runs on magic instead of electricity in this steampunk world (which features some pretty cool airships). Nia being limited on her screen time is played for laughs, but I wonder if there’s going to be a little more depth explored when it comes to entertainment and the magivision (TV) industry; I wouldn’t put it past this clever series to do that, though continuing down this fun and funny path would be just fine as well. What I don’t want is a quick journey to Nia becoming an adventurer, and for the show to turn into more typical fantasy fare. It risks losing what’s so special about it if that’s the end goal—and I worry that it is. Hopefully, I’m off base, because a story of Nia developing her powers while encountering and interacting with the warm life around her is already making for an excellent series!
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden can be streamed on HIDIVE.
