The new anime Dantalian no Shoka follows the adventures of Hugh Anthony Disward, a former Air Force ace, and his young ward, the mysterious Dalian, the Black Biblioprincess. The two protagonists investigate strange incidents that might involve the use of "Phantom Books" - those that hold forbidden knowledge and give their readers unimaginable power.
Phantom Books are so dangerous that they can't be left unattended; Hugh and Dalian must find them and place them in the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian, a library located in an alternate dimension to which Dalian holds the key.
Dantalian no Shoka is based on a light novel series written by Gakuto Mikumo and illustrated by G-Yuusuke. The series was first published in Kadokawa Shoten's light novel magazine The Sneaker in early 2008. A manga adaptation by Chako Abeno was launched in Kadokawa Shoten's shonen anthology manga magazine Shonen Ace in 2010. A second manga adaptation by Monaco Sena was published at the same time in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen anthology magazine Comp Ace.
The show is fun and has some interesting writing; but the artwork and animation are rather standard and don't set it apart from other anime. It's enjoyable if you catch it, but you won't miss much if you don't.