Arte

I really had some trouble trying to figure out how to score this. Overall I give it a 8/10. It's not glamourous or fastpaced to say the least. It's not action packed or emotional-- there's no real romance, however it's a great "slow" anime to watch when you just need a palette cleanser. It shows a story of growth, and personality-- as Arte fills her community with her unique colour. It's a bit annoying at first, but you'll realize it really resembles real life in the sense that a lot of people may act with prejudice or treat you differently for how you look. Arte -- in an almost fictional way really learns to first ignore, then accept it. It's an inspirational journey of hardwork, failure, and faith. While I can see why people would be against it-- heck it's not what I'd call my cup of tea the pacing is exceptional. The characters are drawn and expressed super well. I could feel hate, or confusion from certain characters but grew to understand and appreciate their existence. Each episode barely feels like it's 5 minutes. Even if there are no cliffhangers it leaves you pleasantly ready for the next episode. It really is a 10/10 adaption which I'm not sure if I should give a higher overall score. The production is through the roof with a good mix of comedic frames and also high quality. A lot of my critique revolves around what could be better as a story: i.e. I wish other characters had a more interesting sidestory-- that makes you wish you saw them again soon. I wish that it had another element that could also play along with the art focus (i.e. romance, or maybe a better focus on like what struggles Arte faced minus her career/brief feels, maybe another journey); that said I know this was not the intended genre of the manga hence I can't really critique the anime itself. It really is a good show. Although the plot is pretty subpar, I think that the production makes it worth it. -- You definitely would not think it's a B-grade production. It is however -- a very low priority show unless you have a love for character development or art/animation.

Arte is a story about a noble young woman with some innate talent to drawings that despite the whole mentality of her time tries to prove her worth as a female painter. With that being said, you can expect some historic bending to fit the proposed premise by the author. Arte is a young woman who wants to be a painter, she is clumsy, not that smart, but she has a great amount of care for the details on the paintings she does and she is willing to work herself to the bone so people don't treat her as a "woman", but a fellow painter apprentice. She was taken under workshop of a great Italian artist which is referred only as "Leo" - but, aside from the name, we can't really assume it is really Da Vinci, even though people might be lead assume that - because he didn't see her as a woman or a noble, he saw her as a struggling painter, like he was, willing to prove her worth. We are able to see, to a limited amount, how life in the Italian XVI century was like, even so this Renaissance kinda feels lacking, it is like eating a pizza with only dough, maybe some olive oil for it isn't that dry. Storywise it isn't that much better either, it mostly follow an episodic format, but there seems to be lacking an objective, sure Arte wants to be recognised as an artist, so why wouldn't they at least focus on showing the process and final result of a beautiful painting? We only see a handful of nice looking paintings, so even this purpose is defeated, and Arte's main objective is something that takes years to achieve, so it was clear we would get some "closure" for this season at least, they could have done something better about that. However, Arte is still cheerful and goofy, which makes this anime quite lighthearted and smooth to watch and I enjoyed myself watching it nonetheless, even though I reckon this anime fails to present any of the main ideas: historical? No. Nice paintings? No. Renaissance life? No. But it isn't solely a "cute girl doing cute things", although it could have been so much more.

-Disclaimer- First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologise for the mistakes you might find in it. This review might contain minor spoilers. Basically, there exists a manga for practically every activity you can imagine. So painting was used as a plot basis too, and it gave birth to Arte, manga by Kei Ookubo, which I haven’t read. Since it had a bit of success, it was obviously adapted into an anime. The picture from MAL as well as the synopsis teased me, and that’s why I watched it during spring 2020. I found it quite good, but it’s obviously not the best anime of the season. I still enjoyed it, so I would like to review it, because I wanted to share my thoughts about different things, whether they’re positive or troublesome to me. I read some reviews complaining about the accuracy of the historical transcription, but I’m not a Renaissance specialist, so I didn’t know if this was correct, although I had this feeling at some points. So let me start! STORY: 8/10 This is a story of a noble girl who aims to be an artist. Unfortunately, the society in the 16th century wasn’t used to artist women. She will fight in order to make a dream come true. Well, when I sum up the story like that, we can directly think that it is a bit cliché, and yes, we’ve seen this narrative scheme hundreds of times: a hero has a dream, but obstacles stand in his way, and he overcomes them. So it’s necessary to add to the idea some elements that will guarantee a success. And Arte’s author did it pretty well! The adventures, the discovery of the outside world (since Arte comes from a noble background and doesn’t know too much about what’s going on in town), all this contributes to the embellishment of the story which I found very nice. Each week, I wanted to know more about Arte’s adventures. It proves the story’s a good one. I also wanted to talk about the feminist aspect of this anime. It obviously raises the question of the place of women, certainly in the Renaissance society, but we can draw a parallel with our modern society. At first, I thought the script was going to push too hard on this feature, but in the end, I found that the feminist side was used very well, without overdoing it. So the plot is interesting, rather endearing, and carries a message of tolerance, without exaggerating. 8 seems a fair score to me! ART: 8/10 The art of Arte was really pleasant! The drawing style was really aesthetic, which surprised me! The character design and the entire graphic charter were good. I still noticed it slightly different from the original manga. The animation was correct, as well as the lightning. Like I said in my introduction, I somehow had the feeling that Arte doesn’t represent the Renaissance accurately. I sensed it when I saw the portraits drawn by Arte. The background was plain, had one colour, but I don’t think real Renaissance paintings have this characteristic, and it even contradicts what Arte’s master, Leo, taught her. But again, I’m not an art expert, and I’m sure I’m getting into some very minor details. I haven’t much more to say, the art was good, even if it is not especially peculiar, and I think it deserves an 8. SOUND: 6/10 The sound was just fine. The soundtrack is not incredible, but it goes pretty well with the scenes. Still, it must be said that the music is not very developed, it’s quite simple, few instruments, not many changes or progressions… And again, my problem with the soundtrack was the fact that it’s not in a Renaissance style. Some people won’t mind, but I was a little disturbed by this anachronism. When I say that, I especially think to a song that is played when Arte is nerved or is under stress. It’s a kind of string instrument playing notes quickly, without any chord accompanying, doubled by the piano. It seemed out of the point to me, actually. I found the dubbing pretty correct, the casting was OK. So I’m a bit disappointed about the music but it’s not horrible, either. That’s why I put a 6. CHARACTERS: 6/10 For me, Arte’s weakness is its characters. They were all a bit cliché: Arte, a cheerful girl who wants to make hear dream come true and helps everyone she meets, Leo, the mysterious master, who doesn’t talk much but has a tragic backstory… You understood it, I didn’t find the characters very interesting, they were predictable, had just one main trait that was used all the time. It’s too bad… Sometimes I was even nerved at some of them, like Arte when she has her ‘romance’ phase. 6 is for me a fair score for characters, and I may even be overrating them. OVERALL: 7/10 Arte is an enjoyable show. Although it’s not incredible, it delivers a good message, has a good art and an attractive plot. My main problems with it was the cliché characters, not developed enough for me, and hypothetical historical infidelity, of which I can’t be sure, unfortunately. I still know that some people are not bothered by that, since it is fictional. This anime might be for you if you’re into Slice of Life and Historical genres!

SPOILER FREE Story This show show shows the struggles of the protagonist who is trying to become an Independent artist. The struggles of women in that time without relying on men . the hardships they go through in life when they are born when they are only expected to marry a man or end up as a nun Art for an anime about art the art speaks for itself . The art of this anime is very good but for an anime about art what else can you expect. Character There is a lot of development with some characters including the protagonist. My favorite was the girl the protagonist she was a naughty child with a past so it is understandable why she acted that way. My Enjoyment half way through the first episode i started to expect some SJW crap but i was happy that there was nothing like that in the entire show. This show is about a girl struggling to live independently in a time when it was nearly impossible. i thought this anime was going to be boring but now that i just finished it it feels like i just finished reading a good book.

Arte is the story of an anime that had everything to please but that crashed a bit in flight along the way An original setting (Florence, sixteenth century) and a main character with a difficult objective to achieve (wanting to become a painter when one is a woman) but a character too ... anime. Story: 7/10 Arte is a bit of a shonen nekketsu but with paint. Arte's goal is to become a painter in a world dominated by men and prejudice The plot is therefore quite basic but clear, it announces the color. The story turns a bit in a loop for a time (a task is given to Arte, she is bullied because she is a woman, she shows her talent and earns the respect of her colleagues) This improves with the Katarina arc (who has managed to beat her death flags) where Arte acts as tutor for a spoiled rotten child. The story of the latter is rather touching and pleasant to follow Art: 7/10 Art in Arte is ... important, right? We have quite beautiful panoramas of the cities (Venice and Florence) but it is limited to that We feel that the studio does not have a lot of resources but manages to produce something correct in terms of animation I would have liked the artstyle to be a little more beautiful, because if it is not ugly, it is very generic and we do not feel much when looking at the backgrounds or the characters Sound: 7/10 The soundtrack of the anime is quite nice, but it would have been even more immersive with traditional instruments / which stick more with Italy Character: 3/10 Aaaand ... that's where it breaks the figure. We are in Florence, XVI century. Correct? Go tell that to the characters who got stuck in a cliché anime like we've seen so many If most of the characters have a "certain" consistency and presence (it should not be asked too much anyway), Arte is TOTALLY next to the plate. Arte is an anime character shot like never before She claims to be strong because she has a goal, but often gets carried away without thinking in front of people, darkens head down, dies internally as soon as she approaches within 2 meters of Leo, and is clumsy as not possible (so much physically than psychologically). Arte achieves the feat of being both a heroine of shoujo and a hero of shonen nekketsu. A surprising combination as it is so disastrous Despite everything, Arte maintains a sympathetic personality. It's just that she has no place in her own anime. Enjoyment: 7/10 Despite Arte, I follow the story with a certain ease and a certain interest. The glaring faults that we encounter throughout the viewing does not prevent me from appreciating what I watch Overall: 6/10 If you are looking for relatively chill and entertaining anime, you can go watch Arte If you want a realistic historical biopic, avoid it. (note however that the anime explains a lot of details about life at that time, details sometimes crude and mature) The anime is good , but its overall structure tends to sag due to an overly offset MC

Arte would really get your spirits up during this pandemic going on right now, like we all needed to be motivated somewhat by a character who's also going through challenges as a painter. Now to those rating this low wayyyyyyy too early on here, yes the art wasn't that outstanding BUT....it honestly provides a powerful message that can should you what you love despite if others try to hold your head down! Don't watch it if you're not keen on discrimination of any kind or want the lovey dovey stuff in the background, please watch other anime if those aren't your thing! Arte really puts a smile on my face like I know I love some characters in other anime but definitely, she is one to really look up to! Komatsu Mikako did such a phenomenal job on voicing Arte! Definitely watch this folks if you need a boost, you won't regret it!

Yet another show that has been misattributed as Slice of Life on MAL. At this point I'm convinced that label gets slapped on any anime that doesn't revolve around fight scenes. Be in no doubt though, while Arte's tale of a young noble girl who runs away from home to become an artist doesn't involve overt fisticuffs, the story has more in common with sports anime like Hajime no Ippo than it does with SoL shows like Yurucamp. The trademark SoL genre traits of minimal conflict and loose plot structure are nowhere to be found here. Set in renaissance Florence, Arte's quest to become a professional artist is met with constant roadblocks due to the overwhelming sexism of the time. Armed with borderline genki girl tenacity, Arte bull rushes her way through each obstacle, often becoming literally bruised and bloodied in the process. This results in a classic battle anime fight-then-bond cycle where Arte's unwavering drive and spirit turns today's opponents into tomorrow's friends. The first episode even follows the classic sports anime trope of the grumpy master setting the cocky young whelp a seemingly impossible test because he thinks she's underestimated the hard work and guts required. If the show does have one problem, it's in setting the bar too low for itself at times. By setting the story in a time and place even more sexist than modern Japan, we end up with a cast of characters who spend the first several episodes being baffled that a girl would attempt to do anything other than bat her eyelashes at potential suitors, which can get repetitive. While this does present strong conflicts for Arte to overcome, the story can come across as being a little too pleased with itself for having her accomplish... well, basically anything. It's not too much of a blemish on an otherwise engaging story, however, especially when this is one where the protagonist views even falling in love as just another obstacle getting in the way of her career.

Arte is a story about a girl who wants to be a painter in Renaissance Italy. I watched this anime as I read that it was a feminist anime, etc. The anime does have feminist leanings, although I wouldn't classify it as such. It makes Arte's acceptance into society and the painting scenario almost too easy and simple. it kind of gave the typical misogynist vibe of "women being responsible for their own oppression". Considering the 16th-17th century society, the opposition a woman would face was tremendous, not to mention Arte did not even have a father to back her up. So it kinda makes light of the struggles of women during the time. Overall the series was interesting and fun to watch, but is nowhere close to being a feminist anime.

I'd recommend this for my kids to watch. It's got a good moral foundation and brings light to how passions like art shouldn't just been given up on so easily if there's determination to back it. Personally, I thought this was a pretty refreshing anime to watch. I watch a lot of shonen and psychological thrillers, so this is not my usual type to watch. But I became really interested in the theme of a noble woman leaving her family to work for a life she can live on her own. Its girl-power plot that's actually tasteful and does bring regard to the old male-mind in a new age light. Being a show broad casted dubbed in 2020 (and my universal studios) it's very entertaining.

Ok, starting off, this was hands-down one of my favourite Spring 2020 anime. Truly. It just pushed all my buttons-historical setting, woman-centric, feel-good story with a garnishing of psychological dilemma. What’s not to love? But seriously, there are a few specific reasons why I loved this anime. First of all, let’s start with the woman of the hour, Arte. Of course her naivete is a bit on the higher side (anime liberty I guess), but I kinda get it, in a way. She was a sheltered girl, educated only in what was thought was required for women of nobility of the time, which really wasn’t much. She was lucky enough to be encouraged in her passion by her father, but that was gone when he went, and all her mother (again typically) just wants her to find a husband and give up art. And of course, you can’t really blame her, it’s just the way she was taught to think. Anyway, my point is, the girl is thick-skinned, and pretty darn stone-headed. Which is a blessing in disguise since it helps her get through all she goes through without being all depressed. But perhaps the best part about her is how she deals with harassment. The woman is clearly in a man’s world, and she faces quite a lot of discrimination and verbal abuse. The thing is, she doesn’t go all shonen protagonist and think “ill become a great artist and make them eat their words”. No she just drops her head down, and gets to work. And to me, that is the best way to fight in situations like this. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we shouldn’t fight back against discrimination or harassment. But when it’s based on profession or when it’s institutional the best way to do it is to beat them at their own game. Now malicious abuse needs to be called out, but in Arte’s case, it wasn’t really malicious. It was just people who were used to certain way of things and refused to recognise something different. What do you do when the entire system is rigged against you? Be like Arte - show them that you can hold your own, change isn’t always a bad thing, and that your success doesn’t mean someone else’s failure. And sooner or later, more people like you will come up, and a new narrative will be born. The proof of what I am saying is in time itself. Something that was so frowned upon in Arte’s time (a woman being an artist) is something that is so normal today. The narrative has changed. Alright, that took a bit too long, so let’s move on. The next thing I love is the dilemma they create around her unique situation. It’s so beautifully done in the fact that it’s made just for her character. I mean, some people might not have even thought of it as a problem, but she does, and it’s only because of who she is. In the first half, we see how hard Arte has to work to become and continue working as an apprentice artist, solely because she’s female. Added to the fact that a she’s high class female, its provides the perfect setting for no one to ever take her seriously, or believe that shell keep this up for too long. This is standard, and well done. The twist comes after she gets the Venice job offer, an offer that was given to her solely because she is a noblewoman, the very thing which had handicapped her all this time. Now, this is a huge deal for an apprentice, and doesn’t happen often, but for Arte it’s a problem. Now she’s wondering if it’s her skill or her background that opened doors for her. Now for a lot of people (including me) it wouldn’t really matter why she got it, and my advice to her would be that it doesn’t matter as long as she produces good work. But I’m not Arte. Arte has been fighting all this time to be recognised as just an artist. Now, the realisation that her background can open new doors for her, which would be impossible for a normal apprentice, really drives her up the wall. Of course, she comes out of her musing stronger, and the decision she makes (and the declaration she gives Yuri is truly to die for!) is an answer that is sensible and realistic, which I love. I mean too often, creative liberty is taken so far that the decisions characters make aren’t practical, which is totally fine if it’s that kind of anime. But in a down-to-earth one like Arte, they maintained their practicality and I’m grateful for the wholesome experience that the anime gave me. Of course, special shoutout to Veronica and Leo. Veronica was a character I loved so much throughout the series, and the only real role model Arte had, not in her job, but as an independent working woman, who more than once stopped Arte from getting distracted. And Leo, of course, who is truly wonderful, from his surly manner to the way he looks after and cares for Arte. Though I wanted to bash him on the head for his cryptic message when Arte left for Venice. The girl isn’t that smart, she’s never gonna get it! And to prove my point she promptly spent so much time worrying about it! Anyway that’s all I have to say. Arte is awesome, do watch it! What I loved most: Arte herself. That woman is hilarious! What I hated most: the sexism. I know it was a different time and all, but it was still super difficult to stomach.

I didn’t know what to expect coming into this anime but it was a pleasant surprise. Despite being a noble and no other women really being in the arts, Arte wants to follow her dream and be an artist. Arte’s incredibly stubborn and believes she can overcome any obstacle. She always tries to help everyone she possible can, by the end of the show the impact of her kindness to others truly show. It shows a lot of strong and empowering women beating the odds. My only real critique of the show is how fast Arte overcomes her obstacles, but how much can you truly fit into a 12 episode series. This anime was very refreshing and even brought me out of my art block.

I'll start off by saying I don't usually write reviews, and I'm a generous grader. But I really enjoyed this show, and seeing so many negative reviews (which almost made me not watch the show) made me want to put in a short word of my own. I'll start at the end. Without spoiling anything, this show is one where the ending just feels right. I was satisfied, and though watching the whole thing in one sitting probably added to this feeling, it felt like I had just finished a good movie. No loose ends, and it seemed right. Now, I don't know anything about art history or the lady this was based off of; this seems to be the distinction between positive and negative reviews. As a work all of its own, this anime is amazing. I personally just really enjoyed the characters and Arte's development, and how she grew into a woman throughout the episodes. Regardless of whether it's super realistic or true to the actual story, I felt like it was well told and I really cared for the characters. That's why I liked this anime. The only thing I wish was a little better was the art they show in the background. Obviously, I can't expect frescos and paintings to be super detailed everywhere in a show about painting, but sometimes the difference in the quality of the anime vs the paintings seemed to stand out. Perhaps just a stylistic choice, but that's really my only complaint. I came away from this anime feeling very satisfied, and enjoyed every episode! I would NOT say it was boring in any way.

Arte is the type of anime that I look for. As someone who's interested in art and history I found this show to be the perfect combination, along with Arte's journey to be who she wants that made it more impactful The aspect I liked the most about this story was Arte's character. Her determination to follow her dream and break free from the standers people set out for her because of her gender is so inspiring and empowering to see. Also she's so positive and optimistic amidst all the hardships she was facing, and that trait always make me enjoy a protagonist. I wish it expanded more on the history and culture aspect of it. I think it would've been beneficial to the overall story if we focused more on the setting and time period. Overall thought the show to be really enjoyable, the story is fun and immersive, the characters are likable and the art/animation's pretty nice. Would recommend it if you're looking for an easy and fun anime to watch but also has emotional themes and story.

This anime is probably one of the best series on 2020 it tells about the importance of tolerance and respect about people even when they are a noble or some poor people like begger that always asking for some help i love the art topics and concepts it teaches us that we could be anything that we want with our hope and dreams with passionate even when people doesn't support u or even hating on ur idea and thats why we shouldn't give up becauss it'll be all worth it in the end Story:i would say the starting of this series is pretty great it all start from a girl name arte who wants to be an artist but her mother doesn't believe that she could continue her journey becauss a woman only could be a nun or getting married by a noble family untill the last episode after all the hardwork that artes put to make the draw that she made finally her mom understand that all training and studying that arte given from her education finally making her realize that artes true dream is being an artist Soundtrack:its pretty peaceful song for the ost and the ending u could feel some comfortable feelings while listening to the songs Characters:the variety of the characters makes this anime unique like the cold artist leo silly but serious arte passionate yuri and all other supporters characters on this series Overall:i really enjoy this series and giving it big reccomendation for anyone who interested in art anime

Are you tired of the same modern Japanese settings and want something different? then 16th century Italy might be your thing, in this anime called Arte. Arte is the kinda anime you would watch as a break from big titles. it's short, good, doesn't keep you hanging, and stress free. it shows some of the difficulties women had to go through at those times, but not in a stressful way, as it follows a talented girl from poor noble family, struggling to be a painter. Story: 7 it's a good story really, the settings is a breath of fresh air, and the plot moves somewhere later on, but nothing grand, it's still your average slice of life but with a bit of ''seasonings'' on it, although some might feel it boring, but slice of life is about ordinary day to day life no? Art: 7 visuals were good but for a show about painting, I was expecting a bit more I guess, but I still liked it Sound: 8 Sound gets high marks from me I thought the OST were good and I loved the op and ed, and voice acting was decent too Characters: 6 I thought the main characters were good and some side ones were decent and interesting, but some lacked traits, like you can easily replace most side characters and you'd still get the same result, also even tho the plot is set in 16th century Italy some of the characters reactions felt ''japanese'' which is a bit of a let down but that's a problem from the source material I guess Enjoyment: 7 as I said Arte is better be watched in breaks between 2 good intense anime also it's not something to binge in one sitting, even tho I liked it, I did feel bored at times and had to watch something else and then got back to it in doses. Overall: 7 I'd recommend this if you like slice of life and want to watch something different than your typical generic settings, but if you get bored quickly by the lack actions then maybe this not for you.

I am a big fan of the Italian Renaissance and in particular of its painting, and also interested in the life of its artists. I was therefore delighted to discover the manga devoted to the formative years of a young woman painter, whose character has obviously been inspired by the true-life figure of Artemissia Gentilesschi, although the author has set the story a couple of generations earlier and gives her a slightly different background. Finding out this series was coming out as an anime was also great news. I'm overall delighted by this production which has been a joy to binge watch in a few days. The story adaptation is closely true to the manga. It is always ambitious to adapt in anime a story about art and that requires portrayal of beautiful places, Renaissance Florence and Venice, where the young Arte's apprenticeship takes her. Some will perhaps find the art a bit minimalistic in relation to this, though there are some very recognizable pieces of both architecture, landscape and some famous artworks that feature. In terms of historical detail, costumes and appearances are quite accurate, as is much of the re-telling of everyday life. There are occasions where the brutality of the times and the hard fate of people might be a little glossed over so as to make the viewing suitable for all ages. But it's educational anyways. Arte is a wonderfully inspiring character, with greatly positive values, and certainly an inspiring role models for girls, for the artistically-minded as well. Her bravery, stubbornness and iron-will to make it blend with sensitivity and kindness to others, and make for a well-balanced character. She is shown to be ambitious and demanding for herself, but not arrogant. She is curious to learn, and considerate of less fortunate people, a likable, down-to-earth youngster. While some of the values and attitudes projected might not necessarily be in full accuracy with the behavior of the times, one must allow for some artistic licence and with the story's aim to depict the coming of age of an artist. The manga series, incidentally, is ongoing and the final 12th episode of the anime that reaches the eighth volume leaves open the possibility of further adventures. While Arte is at the heart of the story and her itinerary from being the fatherless daughter of an impoverished nobleman to a respected, if eccentric, apprentice among the Florentine artists' guild is well depicted, along the way she meets a large cast of supporting characters that for many get a fine treatment. It is subtly done because these people aren't just actors in the story; in some cases they serve as models for Arte's paintings as well as useful guides, whatever their age or station in life, as she herself is growing up, honing her skills and nurturing her confidence and self-worth as an artist and a person. Special mention to Leo, the somewhat marginal painter who is the only one to dare to hire Arte as his apprentice (his background is a bit mysterious and there is obviously room to discover more about him and where he has acquired his talent); Veronica, a courtesan who is not just Arte's first patron and subject, but also gives her, on the basis of her worldly experience, some unexpected lessons, even in a tale with a strong feminist message ; and Caterina, a little girl from a rich Venetian family whom Arte once comes to tutor and offers also some interesting perspectives on social conventions and ranking, family relations and friendship between older and younger people. I completely recommend the series to those with an interest in the arts and time of the Renaissance period and also to those who like a strong and positive female lead character. I also really hope a further season will appear!

Often times, barring fantasy settings, it's rare for an anime to take place anywhere outside Japan in some capacity. When they do, many of them take place somewhere in Europe, like in France or Germany...or some fictitious version of them at least. So I ask you: How many anime can you name that took place in Italy? Honestly, the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are this, Romeo's Blue Skies, and Gunslinger Girl. In terms of manga, I know Cantarella takes place during the Renaissance as well, but I haven't read that in years, so my memory may be inaccurate there. So yeah, having an anime take place in Italy is fairly rare. It's also rare for such anime to take place as far back as the Renaissance period. The manga by Kei Okubo is still ongoing, and earlier this spring, Arte was one of the very few anime to finish its production amidst the terrible coronavirus pandemic that's still wreaking havoc on the world right now, and didn't get delayed by several months. That, and being one of the very few anime that ISN'T a dumb isekai made it stand out from the thinned out spring 2020. After seeing it myself, I like it well enough, but it does have a lot that holds it back. In the bustling city of Florence, art is all the rage right now thanks to the Renaissance period being in full swing. Arte, a young noblewoman, loves drawing and painting, and wants more than anything to become a professional artisan. Unfortunately for her, Arte's family forbids her artistic pursuits and want her to marry a rich man. But Arte refuses to be deterred and decides to abandon her old life to find work. However, during the Renaissance, female painters were extremely rare, and Arte is routinely turned away from every workshop solely because of her gender. Thankfully, a reclusive painter named Leo takes her in as an apprentice when she passes a test he gives her, and Arte finds herself doing all sorts of jobs and learning all she can to become the best painter she can be. Now, as much as I don't want to be a killjoy in this review, as I really do like this show, I'm going to get the negatives out of the way first to just air them out, as if I don't point these out, somebody else will. I'm no expert on feminism, sexism, or systemic gender oppression, especially the kind that took place during the Renaissance period, but as other people I know have commented and I echo, Arte kind of plays its sexism is bad message too heavy-handedly and in a relatively one-sided manner. The first half of the series shows Arte continually being told she can't or isn't allowed to do something because she's a girl, and the formula goes as follows: She's told she can't do something because of her gender, Arte protests it and is given a test to see if she can do a man's work, she manages to do it, and she immediately wins her enemies over because of her strength and determination. The fact that her adversaries are immediately swayed when seeing Arte doing what they tell her to do just seems too idealistic to me. I mean, I'm no history buff, but women had little to no agency or rights back in that time period for a variety of reasons (Although from what I've read, there are some famous women Renaissance painters), so having Arte just prove she can do what the men can and winning them over just like that feels too rosy and pat, making its messages and entire purpose come off as shallow and really oversimplified. Thankfully, later episodes start to gradually move away from this and make more of an effort to really explore the implications of Arte's journey beyond the ham-fisted, surface level "You go girl! Women can do anything!" But how does Arte fare aside from its core moral? Well, for one, I think the animation is quite good. People have complained that the color palette is too bright, but I personally disagree (If you want to see obnoxiously bright animation/colors, watch Sansha Sanyou). The shoujo look of the show does make some of the characters look a little too moe-ish, but the animation does make up for that by making the working men actually look rugged and hardened from years of work, along with having relatively smooth movement and beautiful backgrounds, especially when Arte travels to Venice. I also really appreciated the smaller details they added in, like showing a person's hands being cracked and blistered from using tools all day every day, and showing the different drawing styles between Arte and her fellow apprentices. I don't have much to say on the soundtrack, as both the opening and ending songs are nice and well sung (Though I think some of the rock instrumentation in the opening didn't fit the show, as it seemed too overly modern), and the actual background music makes great use of violins and flutes, giving it a very distinctly Italian feel. As far as the characters go...I like them okay, but other than Leo, Arte, and later Katarina (No, not THAT Catarina!), the entirety of the cast is rather bland and one-note. Arte herself is a fun, dynamic, refreshing lead character who is determined, passionate, angry (Early in the show, due to everyone trying to put her in a box and dictate how her life should go when she'd rather live the life how she wants to on her own terms), ambitious, and willing to do anything to get what she wants, but is still compassionate and friendly. But I will say, one other criticism I have for the show is that it seems to just randomly introduce characters out of nowhere and expects us to just know who they are and accept them right away. For example, at one point, Arte befriends a commoner girl, Darcia, a seamstress, and decides to teach her how to read and write. Not having read the manga, the way the anime goes about introducing her...is just jarring. I mean, Darcia just appears in an episode without even a proper introduction or a brief scene on how she and Arte first met. The anime's just "Here's this character. Arte knows her. Just go with it" and to me, that just feels lazy to me. You can't just throw a character into a show, not give them any form of introduction or set-up, and just expect the audience to care about them. I honestly felt like I missed an episode, that's how jarring Darcia's appearance and complete lack of build-up was to me. The characters by themselves aren't bad or anything, but I just feel like they should have gotten more fleshed out. I can probably attribute that to the show's short episode length (12 episodes). Shoujo anime/manga that are genuinely good are rather rare these days, but if you made me choose between this and, say, all of the really bad ecchi or isekai that have come out over the past few years, such as How Not To Summon a Demon Lord or the upcoming Redo of a Healer (Which I hear is really really bad), I'd still go with Arte any day of the week. I've also heard that Arte is supposedly based on the life of a real Renaissance painter named Artemisia Gentileschi, but I've found nothing that confirms this. Anyway, to close off: Not one of the better shoujo manga adaptations, but still fairly nice and serviceable if you want something sweet to kill your time.

I enjoyed this story, mostly, but it was a little dull at times and very contrived. It appears that the series had a lower budget than many of the series I normally watch, although for me that isn't a real drawback. The series is chock full of cliches, and the characters don't have much depth to them. I could predict where the series was going after just the first episode, and I was probably 90 percent right, making exceptions for specific twists and turns regarding the supporting cast. The only reason I continued on with it was because it is a little more wholesome than what is generally available, and it is an uplifting story. It is more geared toward adolescent and pre-adolescent children, so don't expect to be challenged intellectually. I do think it works, however, for a young audience like that, so if you are a parent looking for something positive to show your children, this may work for you.

I have only watch a few shows that revolves around European historical setting and that lack of watching experience was bothering me since it may affect my overall enjoyment of the show. It turns out that it wasn’t really an issue because it’s a well- designed Renaissance setting and I never thought that it would captivate me that much. There are cultural and time difference in their references but I’ve never had a difficulty of understanding the scenarios because it was properly explained and portrayed. Plus the art style especially the character design were perfect for the story. The protagonist isn’t that unique but what made Arte special is her character’s empowerment on femininity which is the most emphasized theme in the series that circles along with equality and aspirations. Leo on the other hand is described as strict and cold-hearted but he’s obviously a socially awkward person. I believe that there’s a lack of portrayal in his cold side of personality because he’s very easy to read. There’s definitely a lot of lacking factors on the technical aspect. Animation is not great but it’s good enough for these type of shows. The characters’ actions and facial expressions were a little bit stiff and the voice acting is off sometimes. They’re also trying so hard to apply comedic touches in different scenes and it looks obviously forced. There’s an overuse of camera panning movements and some establishment shots were rapidly zoomed in. But hey that’s just me being too technical. But if you’re someone who’s very particular in those little details, then it might not be pleasing to watch. The last episode was rushed and I really wanted more than what the ending offers. I guess they don’t have a choice but to squeeze in everything from what is only allotted. Overall, it’s a pretty interesting story and it’s definitely recommended. Because of this show, I’ve wanted to watch more anime that also has this type of setting. Ja Matane!

To put it simple, Arte a very consistent anime, and I'm almost confident that everyone will enjoy this one. why? because I believe that this anime is made for everyone. The Plot. now you all might think that Arte is bad because it's cliche but keep in mind that there's a lot of Cliche animes that are still good and is getting praises, yes Arte is cliche as it's about a girl who wants to prove herself, however through episode you'll see Arte struggle from episode 1 where no one believes in her, until the ending where everyone had her back. It was such a sight seeing her earn the respect of a lot of people who used to doubt her. The Fact that the setting is also in 16th century Italy also adds to the enjoyment of the show because we rarely see an anime set in Baroque or Renaissance period, also It wasn't rushed and while there are some parts in the manga that wasn't animated, I do think that all the important parts were animated. Characters While the anime is very Arte-Centric considering that she's the main character, I appreciate the fact that the production really put some efforts to the secondary characters like Leo, Veronica etc.. Though they did not develop from a casual viewer's standpoint, I do think that they are likable enough enough to not really need a character development, and even without it, every secondary character has their own episode where they truly shine. and of course I like that they are learning something new everyday. as for Arte, I think she's a consistent likable MC, yes she's your typical Genki and Motivated girl but it's really fun seeing her do her best and earn the respect that she desrves. The one character that stood up to me aside from Arte is Catalina (or Katerina), probably because her story is similar to Arte. however even with all the Likability, considering that it's not well talked, I don't think that a lot will remember the characters here, not to mention that their designs look generic. Art and Sound I'm not really that critical for the Art, but I do like Arte's art, it captures the lively European setting combined with the lively music which makes it fun to watch every scenes especially Arte's struggle. I also think Mikako Komatsu did a good job as a Arte, considering that Arte is a Tomboy. Yuri's VA also did a good job. In regards to the sound, I did enjoy the opening it's very lively that is fitting for Arte and the ending was good too. Overall, Arte is a good anime that I'm confident that everyone will enjoy this and that the only way you'll criticize this is when you're the critical type or Arte is just not for you.