Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil

Wizard Barristers. Those are two words that might spark some curiosity in your head. We have the term ‘wizard’ that would automatically mark this series with magic themes and then, there’s barristers, a lesser familiar term. By definition standards, barrister deals with the law and essentially is a lawyer found in law jurisdictions. So combining those two terms would result in lawyers who can use magic. You’re not wrong if that’s the first thing that came to your mind. But there’s something else to take consider for our main female protagonist, Cecil Sudo. Starring her career as a wizard barrister, she is the youngest known ... member in history at age 15. But in a world of crime and politics, there’s no such thing as young. Crime existed for centuries and for Cecil, it’s a world that she takes on as a wizard barrister.

Yasuomi Umetsu is involved with the show, who is known for his previous experience in working with action packed science fiction anime series such as Kite Liberator and the more recent Galilei Donna. Judging just by the premise alone would bring out curiosity especially for fans into fictional detective stories. Take it on the surface as Law & Order but with magic elements. There’s no such thing as being fair in the world but being a wizard barrister is more than just about bringing criminals to justice. It’s about dignity and bringing out the best of whom they are in their line of business in a world of despair.

With its standards, we get a futuristic setting taking place in 2018. Technology has developed efficiently in Tokyo to hire wizard barristers to represent the accused and guilty in the Court of Magic. It’s also noticeable that society has adapted the co-existence between human and wizards (aka Wud users) in their world. Rather than a revolution breaking out, the show adapts its standards by which individuals commit crimes with magic and having wizard barristers deal with them. Throughout the first half of the series, it follows an episodic format where each episode represents a different case focusing on different characters and the crimes they commit. One prominent feature is often revisited involving Cecil’s mother. It is the primary focus of Cecil to get her mother out of jail for an event that she sees a travesty of justice. But what motivates Cecil is more than just that. She wants to help people and protect society. In her mind, ‘justice’ is the law and everyone deserves a chance; well, the majority of them anyways.

Despite being accepted into society on conditional standards, there’s a sudden decree of prejudice against Wud users. Some of them are bullied while others are ostracized just for their abilities. Even inside the courtroom, there are remarks of discrimination against them that often or not result in outbursts. The judges themselves don’t seem to protect their rights on many occasions. Their purpose seems to rely on the safety of the public rather than society as a whole. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Cecil’s mother is behind bars. There’s injustice and this show explores the rights and wrongs of such a world.

Representing the majority of the main cast are female characters. When you have to deal with Wuds who can use magic used to commit crimes, you’d have to be badass. That’s what describes the majority of the main characters such as Moyo, Ageha, Sasori, Quinn, among others. For Cecil, she comes off as a newbie in the business. She realizes that the world is not fair and there are faults in the justice system. In some episodes, Cecil finds out that some criminals may be beyond redemption by the crimes they have committed. More importantly is the fact that she has to so much to learn beyond just following the laws. There’s time when she has to make the decisions herself even if she has to do it alone. By taking on a more basic approach, Cecil is an easy-going girl who is able to make friends with just about anyone. Her honesty, self-less sacrifices, and courage makes her a character of admiration. However, there’s one character that seems to despise her for her attributes.

Enter Natsuna Hotaru, a young woman that also works as a wizard barrister. Unlike Cecil, she has a more stoic attitude and take her occupation as serious at it can be. Her relationship with Cecil is strained on most parts that is seemingly based on jealousy. In essence, Hotaru is an insecure girl and whether she likes it or not, there’s a gap between her and Cecil in their abilities. But relationship wise, the two does get more characterization after some events combining together that draws the duo closer. On a more general terms, most of Cecil’s co-workers adores her as a cute girl. Even her perverted frog seems to enjoy the company of messaging her back or whatnot. Still deep down, Cecil is a girl that has potential in her profession.

Through its approach, Wizard Barristers define itself as a more experimental anime, at first anyways. Each case presents a new challenge or some sort of morality that Cecil learns about her job. Despite feeling like a police story, there’s a somewhat realistic mood from each case as well. This is evidenced by Cecil and her book smarts because of her knowledge in the law. Surprisingly enough, it’s depicted accurately as being symmetrical to real world orders. By fantasy standards, it goes overboard with its magic tropes and points that doesn’t make sense. Then, there’s the main story itself that gets clustered with questions that invites confusion. With such a premise, the story should match up with its caliber but fails to do so with strange plot twists and asinine formulations.

Unfortunately, the show withers itself with its blend world building regarding its settings. Most of the cases takes place in Tokyo despite various law firms existing in other places in the world. This become a problem as there’s a lack of diversity in which viewers whom desires to see cases taking place in other locations. Not only is that but the setting this Tokyo represents hardly different than its modern standards. In essence, it doesn’t feel too futuristic or like a neo-Tokyo.

There’s also a lack of characterization in most of the other characters. Most of them just seems to be doing their jobs as a way of life. There’s a lack of exploration in their character background that makes us wonder their motivations of why they are wizard barristers in the first place. Furthermore, Cecil can hardly be taken serious on some occasions. Her co-workers just loves her and some of them tease her on borderline sexual levels with yuri-undertones. Unfortunately, most of it comes off as just teasing and can be repetitive to watch. If the show wants to imply actual relationships beyond a professional level, then it should make itself more prominent by presenting actual depth. And speaking of depth, the justice system is flawed and not everything is understood in the end with some cases. To sum it up short, there’s miscarriage the justice system for which the term ‘unfair’ is best to assess certain episodes. The show focuses less so on its justice system but more on the criminals.

Despite the serious concept of the premise, there are various levels of comedy throughout the series. Most of this is focused on Cecil that can be met with mixed results. There are running gags such as the way Cecil is dressed, sexual harassment teasing curtsey of Moyo, Nanajiinyi (the frog) being its outlandish self, among others. Surprisingly, fan service is minimal on most occasions despite the fact that studio ARMS is in charged with the production. Otherwise, the show has an odd mixture of its premise and humorous gags mixed with violence.

The artwork will persuade you to watch this show by a heartbeat at first. Studio Arms really sets the bar high with its glamorous world setting of 2018. Action is categorized by a mixture of police action, mecha-like movements, and magic. It’s presented with a solid flow and alluring appearance of its world. Some of the mecha-like action combines usage of CGI and movements that is also unorthodox. But be aware of one particular episode that for budget reasons omits any credibility to match its artwork style. It defiles it. Otherwise, the majority of the cast members are designed to look professional. Only Cecil stands out despite her moderately designed clothes that earns her some humorous remarks from her co-workers. If you’re familiar with Yasuomi Umetsu, then some of the designs will bring back some similarities. The nefarious criminals themselves also holds credibility that makes them look dangerous enough to be accepted as threats to society.

Music and soundtracks comes off as one of its lesser dynamic features. While the music itself is tolerable and has its style, not all of them stands out in any distinctive way. The voice cast does its job on most parts but some character voices can be irritating to listen to. Cecil has both a childish and mature voice mannerism mixed together. Other characters represents themselves with their personalities such as Moyo’s flirtiest voice, Nanajiinyi’s playfulness, or Seseri’s mentoring manners. On another note, the OP song holds degrees of its catchy tones.

Watching Wizard Barristers will feel like you’re on a journey of discovery although it’s not something to remember by heart. For Cecil, she discovers the laws of justice. With each episode, she experiments her occupation on various levels to explore her full potential. But taken for granted, this show is more like a police story with magic additions with moderate characterization. The story isn’t something you’ll praise well and neither are the laws that bound their world.

This series is somewhat of an enigma. The concept of Wizards defending Wizards in a Magic Court was a very unique idea and plot. Sudo Cecil is your lead character, who happens to be a "Wizard Barrister" working for Butterfly Law Office. She is looking for answers about her past and discovers not only the truth, but is thrown into many difficult, dangerous situations. The characters development in the series is extremely well done. As is the relationship development between them. You get a clear idea of the relationship each character has to each other. With a few exceptions of course. Each episode takes ... you on its own journey, while keeping its own place in the main storyline. The characters were unique in design and animated extremely well. There was also instances of comedic perversion/fanservice that had me laughing on frequent occasions, but wasn't something that was being pushed on fans.

The negatives I have are why the overall rating isn't higher. First, the story tends to drift at times which causes some confusion, for me at least, at times. Also, though beautifully animated, a few episodes seemed to be very choppy and did not transition well between scenes. Finally, I feel as if there are more episodes (a 2nd season) there will be ample times for better closure and for the storyline to mature and develop much more.

This series has great potential, especially with the unique premise for the series. But, as it stands, it doesn't live up to that potential. At least not yet.

Well, this was wasted potential. On paper, Wizard Barristers had a potentially interesting premise with its law office perspective on a world where wizards face discrimination and get wrongly prosecuted for crimes due to a flawed and sometimes prejudiced judicial system. The show starts off as an episodic look at cases such as this where the Butterfly Law Office try to defend their clients on cases and the series exploring a number of the flaws that the judicial system in Wizard Barristers has when it comes to defending wizards, a major aspect of this shown through Cecil's efforts to try proving her mother's innocence for ... a crime she was framed for. The second half of the series hints to a secret wizard cult desiring Cecil for mysterious reasons and the Butterfly Law Office getting entangled in things as they come to realize that events with Cecil and her family are connected to the cult's activities.

It is the second half of the series that leads to much of the show's downfall. While it does allow Cecil's character to be more fleshed out with her connections to the mentioned cult, this comes at the cost of the world exploration that the first half had with exploring human and wizard tensions through the judicial system of Wizard Barristers. The reasons that the cult have for needing Cecil are rather cliched (world domination for wizards -yawn-) and build up to a rather underwhelming and rushed conclusion that felt like somewhat of a cop-out when it looks like things are about to get worst for the good guys, yet conveniences in plot prevent things from getting too dire.

The second half developments aren't the only things that cripple Wizard Barristers. Beyond Cecil, most of the other characters get limited to no fleshing out of their characters that leave you little reason to care for any connection they have to Cecil. Also for a show that is supposed to seem serious with its premise, the comedy and random ecchi bits peppered in at points within the show felt really out of place for this series, notably scenes where Nanagenie attempts perverted acts on Cecil and a hostage episode where Cecil and one of her pals dress up in corny sentai hero costumes. Then again considering Studio Arms and Yasuomi Umetsu are involved in making this series, I should have expected these bits to be included with the series in some form.

About the only genuine praise I can give this series is for its visual presentation. It's easily among the best animated titles this season with highly detailed scenery shots and character designs, plus having plenty of fluid movement and nicely-rendered CG animation for the show's elaborate action sequences with wizards squaring off against one another with their magic, especially when they create giant robots (this I'm not kidding about) for a clash. Only sore point with visuals was the rather limited animation seen in a decent chunk of the televised airing of episode 11, though I imagine this will be improved on for the title's video release.

Praises aside for visuals though, Wizards Barristers had wasted potential as a series thanks to its focus shift in later episodes, out-of-place ecchi and comedy bits, underdeveloped characters and a sloppy resolution when everything is settled. This is certainly among one of the year's underwhelming titles that I've seen thus far.

I haven’t done a review in almost a year. So, you would think Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil is ‘that’ special. Let me tell you why it ‘almost’ was.

First, the concept. You could more likely compare Wizard Barristers into being a legal representative of Wuds (people who possess magical powers) in Tokyo Year 2018. Cecil Sudou, being the youngest ever Wizard Barrister, tries to make use of her knowledge to ‘defend’ Wuds and give them an unprejudiced trial.

However, being involved with strange people along the way, she discovers more about her past, and something about herself.

Story: (3/10)
Don’t get me wrong. I would say that the ... story is ‘quite’ original as I haven’t really watched a lot of animes that involved Law in them. Or, maybe because I haven’t encountered those kind of animes, so I don’t really have a standard.

A story combining law and magic? I mean, who wouldn’t love that? And they even made a separate law, called the Magic Probihition Law, which Wuds are subject to. That really got me, especially when the protagonists casually say it just to make a statement.

Now, I was thrilled as I typed those from above, and then I thought: What made Wizard Barristers suck? Easy. That would be the story in totality. I love the law-plus-magic idea as much as the next guy, but this was not implemented well with the whole series. The story gets you thinking, “Is this even going anywhere?” Sure, the story was fluid. Sure, the story had continuity. But, for what? For Wuds to have to have a fair trial? That doesn’t really apply when you could see there is already an over-complexity between the characters themselves, which makes a case insignificant all the way.

Then, a question again popped in my head. “What made Wizard Barristers TOTALLY suck?” That, my friend, would be the pace of the story. It goes from one scene to another, having no proper transition at all. And don’t even get me started on the eye-catches.

Art: (4/10)
‘Colorful’ would be the first word to say of Wizard Barristers. The anime had vibrant colors that are such a sight. And the neon-glowing ‘circle’ thingies really add effect to the spells they use. And the CGI for the Metamoloids are relatively superb.

I think no one would disagree that the opening animation of the anime was splendid. But, like they say, you should never judge an anime with its opening animation (and theme). Really. Unfortunately, Sentai Filmworks did a terrible job with the animation itself. A lot of inconsistencies would be seen in it. Strange movements (and etc.) made the anime unpleasant to watch. I think it would’ve been better to just put your earphones on and just turn off the monitor.

There is also that one episode that looked like it was a Microsoft Powerpoint Slideshow of still pictures, with dialogue. What? The producers are getting lazy because they already knew that it sucked that they got tired of ‘actually’ doing the movements?

Also, maybe it’s just me, but it had that Saber Marionette J-type of feel.

Sound: (8/10)
For a reason that I don’t know, Lia’s themes strike me in the heart. Angel Beats! And Clannad would second that. That Lia opening was just amazing. The ending theme was also good. But the producer of the song Rui Tanabe sang didn’t get you that I-have-to-watch-the-next-episode-but-I-need-to-listen-to-this-first kind of feeling.

I think I should give praise to the soundtrack itself, as it gave suitable ambiance for most scenes, like when trials are about to start, or when the employees from Butterfly Law Offices are just slacking off. Voice actors were also good. Most notable would be Wataru Takagi, voice of Seseri Chono, which gave justice to the character himself.

Character: (5/10)
Character development was good, but it wasn’t great at the same time. There were still characters that have the right to have more background stories. There were also no explanations to how one possesses magic, or how they got this specific type of power.

And although it wasn’t clear, at least these characters are likeable. Especially Cecil who, at the same time, was the center of humor in the entire show.

There were 2 major discrepancies on it though. Who is Moyo Tento? I certainly don’t want to end the anime without having to get to know her first. And the other: WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE USELESS FAMILIARS?

Enjoyment: (6/10)
Something to look forward to in this anime would be the action. As a fan of magic-related animes (like To Aru Majutsu No Index and Alice Academy), I definitely can’t get enough of those kind of action. They were spectacular. Too bad there wasn’t much of it. Even the trials, which are something that would interest a viewer, didn’t last long enough for it to actually be considered a ‘proper’ hearing.

They just weren’t enough. That aside, they were still awesome.

Overall: (5/10)
Should I recommend this to you, reader of my review?

If you want magic and action, combined with wacky (and some, cold) characters, with Law (just an amount) being the underplot, and Lia having an opening theme, then yes.

If you want to watch an anime that is fully detailed, does not miss facts and provides broad character development with great animation, I suggest you watch something else.

All in all, Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil would have been a great anime. Really. Maybe it was just the number of episodes. Or, it just lacked that ‘total feel’ which most viewers would think so, too.

DISCLAIMER: I tried to conceal most spoilers, but some information will leak through, namely the kind of plot the series develops, but not the specifics. Also, this review was originally made with scores on a scale of 100, so values will be rounded down or up to arrive at the desired final score on MAL's scoring system, and what I tried to evaluate isn't the same as what MAL seeks to evaluate.

There are so many shows and series out there that feature mages and wizards concealed in the midst of our real-world society. Sometimes, large-scale battles take place. Did you ever wonder how ... "magical criminals" might be handled post-incidents, or how the law might account for the existence of magic, and for the resulting destruction?
WELL THEN, this anime was made for you!

...Or so I would like to say.

In reality, this show is about as much about lawyers as it is about groping breasts, since an almost comparable amount of time is dedicated to either subject. But let's take a look at each aspect individually:


Story - 5.5/10 (rounded to 5):

The setting is introduced as being seemingly like our world, only with certain humans adquiring magical powers. It is established early on that this is common knowledge.

The plot is centered around Cecil Sudo, as she joins a law firm and struggles with becoming a competent barrister, surrounded by a variety of other characters who all have at least mild interest in her.

Back to the setting though: Even though mages with considerable power to summon automated/controllable constructs and manipulate the elements and objects exist, society has evolved just like ours, with no additional technological/"magical" advances taking place.
Instead, there are now laws and discrimination towards mages, to the point that they can't even hold public positions.

It's hard to fathom that no experiments took place or attempts were successful to use magic to better our world, and that instead laws were put into place that would prevent the use of magic in nearly any situation; this sort of contrivance could be explained away by giving some insight on how things ended up like this, but the show doesn't really try.

The whole plot could be described as a somewhat generic "prophecy" scenario about a certain character, and it progresses in a linear fashion. The unusual setting (the wizard barristers and whatnot) could in theory make the deal sweeter but in practice the main characters could've been ordinary mages and not barristers, for the most part, and the story would've stayed the same.

They cite one of two different laws, sit in court, talk to suspects or look for evidence (this last one happens a lot in many shows independently of the characters being barristers or not). The "barrister element" is there but it's not all that important to the central plot, which revolves around Cecil searching for clues regarding her past and a certain event that took place years ago, and soon this element fades into the background.

Even in the end, when the real story hidden behind the daily routine and "issue of the week" format gets explained, the reasoning offered doesn't answer many of the questions posited in the beginning.
Some of the key motivating events of Cecil's past make more sense in the initial excuse plot given than they do in the grand scheme of things; the story is so focused on providing evidence for the wrongdoings of certain characters, that it completely neglects to explain why the first and most important events took place.

Also, there are a few panty shots and groping of breasts/butts, mostly courtesy of the frog familiar Nana Genie (not sure if this is the correct spelling but it's the one that makes the most sense). He and Koromo Sasori incorporate all of the direct ecchi elements of the show. Sometimes they clash with the surrounding mood, sometimes they don't (just kidding, they always do).
I should add that I'm heavily biased against ecchi in most shows; depending on how it's handled it can erode the serious tone of any scene. Cecil keeps Nana Genie around despite all the groping, and even though she always eventually slaps him away, I can't help but dislike this frequent unsolicited contact.


Characters - 4.5/10 (rounded to 4):

This was the show's greatest flaw (aside from animation problems when it aired, of course). A great deal of characters were bland and/or stereotypical, sometimes aggravatingly so, including the protagonist.
In particular, the majority of the barristers on the show were one-dimensional and their personality traits and interests could be completely summarized in one sentence each. Right at the start of the show it's easy to catch on to what are the major traits of each character and they never change much beyond that.

A few episodes are dedicated to expanding the backstories or just introducing different traits for some of the barristers, and yet, they went through little character development. When they did go through some, it was the kind that you could see them going through right from episode 1 (like a "tsundere" type character becoming softer and nicer to her target).

Cecil is pure, innocent and always optimistic. As a 17 year old, it is shown that she's far younger than the other barristers and therefore may be a tad immature and unprepared for field work. These traits leave her feeling generic as this is the typical description of any "innocent little kid" for most shows.
The issue with her characterization becomes more relevant later on as she goes through quite a few traumatic events, but after a display of emotions on the spot, remains seemingly the same character-wise.

The character lines and conversations were alright. Nothing too insightful or surprising from the majority of the characters. There were quite a few times where the dialog between characters would also sound less like what a person might say to another in that situation, and more like said character was addressing the viewers specifically to provide some info you'd be wondering about, but this apparent fourth-wall breaking felt very unintentional and awkward given the setting.


Visuals - 7.5/10 (rounded to 8):

The strong point, in my opinion. Beautiful color usage for the character designs (right off the bat, just look at the different hair colors in the show's opening! It's indicative of the rest of the palette). The magic duels were also very beautiful.

The scenery was also very colorful, but it was often rendered through CGI, and as such would sometimes stand out a bit compared to the hand-drawn characters. Special mention goes to the court-room that looked pretty damn bad and was a reoccurring element in the story.

The metamoloid/mechas had intricate and neat designs for the most part (animation non-withstanding), though the villains seemingly always used the same mecha for most of the show. They also looked very awkward when combined with traditionally animated characters.

It had a rounded approach to character faces and the body proportions were realistic. The characters wore normal clothes for the most part, a tad outlandish sometimes given their profession. No two characters on the main cast wore the same outfit, and a decent bit of detail went into each specific design, further differentiating each barrister.

Overall, the visuals were nice enough, mainly the hand-drawn ones. Since they were the focus, for the most part it was easy to ignore the CGI in the background, though not always.


Animation - 6 /10:

I won't take into account animation failures that took place when it was airing, but if I did, then the only thing to say would be: they were terrible and completely ruined the mood, immersion and interest for what could be considered the climax of the entire show. I would not advise anyone to watch the version of the show that aired.

Now, putting those aside, and only considering the fixed scenes in the blu-ray:

The traditional animation was good overall. The normal day-to-day scenes were nothing to scoff at, but it was during the magic fights where it shined the most.
thought the way they animated anything not-solid during magic duels was very good: the fire, the water, the air, the dust, they all had significant movement and felt like they were actually gaseous/liquid, instead of solid blocks of orange or blue.

It's a real shame that the mechas were animated at a rather low framecount and looked very dated technology-wise. Even worse, many of the fights would overlap segments of hand-drawn magic flinging with the dreadful mechas slowly lumbering and swinging away, drawing away the viewer's attention from what was actually worth watching.

If the mechas weren't there I'd rate the animation a 8/10.


Sound Quality - 7.5/10 (rounded to 7):

The soundtrack was cheerful and upbeat for the scenes that warranted it, and somber for the more darker scenes, though these were far and in-between. So cheerful were most of the tracks, that when the show got harsher and darker the accompanying BGM could come across as trying too hard, or lead to some mood whiplash.
But overall, as with the animation quality, it's standard, nothing too catchy but not bad either.

The opening theme bears the distinction of going through a lot of "phases" in the song; contrary to most openings these days, the song doesn't cycle from the beginning to the refrain/chorus (as in, they're not versions of the same thing), and I found that quite refreshing. It feels a tad too serious for the initial episodes, but matches the ending ones better.

The sound effects used were alright. Nothing too garish, but nothing impressive either.

The voice-acting, as everything else in the sound department, felt mostly average. Maxwell and Moyo Tento's voice-over stood out as particularly appropriate compared to the rest; the former's was calm, focused and lent some strength to the otherwise bland lines he belted out, and Moyo's was playful and with the proper tones to leave the viewer wondering if there was more to her.

On the other hand, Cecil's voice-work was for the low-point, being very high-pitched and too energetic. In a show where everyone else had deeper or more subdued voices, spoke slowly/mysteriously or calmly, her voice left my ears ringing more than once. I think I understand the kind of character they wanted to portray but they went overboard.


Enjoyment:

I don't usually take this into account when scoring, but since everyone likes to mention whether they liked the show or not, I'll do the same. MAL even requires you to add a score for this, so I rated it a 7, but it doesn't matter for the final score.
A few characters (Moyoyon best girl) were great fun for me, even if some of them were one-dimensional, since they happened to have the character traits I like.

I enjoyed both the beginning and the end episodes, since in the beginning they were still introducing what magic and wizards are capable of, and in the end the story finally settled down to what it really was about (without going into details). The magic duels, as I've mentioned more than once, were also great fun.

The middle of it was rather dull, plagued with the introduction of numerous stereotypical characters in need of aid, ecchi moments with very bad timing, and in general I couldn't get a feel as to what the show wanted to do; focus on magic in general, on wizard barristers specifically, on Cecil as a person of interest, or deliver some vague lesson on morality, humanity and discrimination.


Conclusion:

A somewhat unoriginal plot masked in a setting that could be very interesting and unique, but was left greatly unbuilt and unexplored. Bland characters, decent but unremarkable soundtrack and bad CGI. The traditional animation and the art-style was definitely enjoyable though.

All added up, this means a 6.2/10. In MAL's system I rounded it down to a 6/10.

If you are just feeling like watching an "average" mystery show for the sake of nice magical fights, then this might be worth a try. I would also encourage anyone to check out the opening and a few stills of they can, since the visuals are the main selling point.

To be perfectly honest, I was very excited about this series from ep 1 - 10.
Cause it seems like there's always this mystery and deeper plot behind so many characters, awaiting to be revealed one by one.
But after that... XD.
Btw, I watched this series in one go, but after 10 it was pretty painful.
O and btw, this series is a little bit like Kyoukai no Kanata... so many inconsistencies, unexplained matters and OMGs.

[Story:5]
I found the story intriguing, but only OUTSIDE the courtroom. Wizard barristers are basically special lawyers, defending wuds (wizards). And yea, if anything INSIDE the courtroom seem a bit ridiculous and a ... lot unexplained, then you can imagine how it is...

The ending is really bad... especially the realisation that many unexplained matters are never to be explained properly.

[Art:8]
It's good for especially the mecha formation and fighting scenes. And I like the flashback animation, and general animation. But at the last 2 episodes, the animation is especially bad.

[Sound: 7]
The voice actors/actresses I felt were quite good, prob is with the OST and some sound effects, I don't really like some of them.

[Character:6]
This is quite a mess. On one hand, some characters had nice progression, like Cecil and Hotaru. But other than that, they are mostly one-dimensional and only portray mostly 1 type of archetype, instead of many aspects.

[Enjoyment:8]
Ep 1-10: 10
Ep 11-12: 6
It was really bad in the last 2 eps... nuff said.

[Overall:7]
I agree with several others, this is really stillll better than mahou sensou, despite some cliches etc. But really, this anime has a great buildup in the beginning, I've read quite a number of mystery/suspense stories but still this managed to intrigue me. But then honestly, halfway through they started throwing a lot of free answers and the suspense just self-destructed. But more than that... sometimes the court proceedings made little sense.

Watch for the mecha ahahahaa it's quite interesting.

Quick review for those who plan on watching this.

Story: 5
- It has robots, magic, lawyers, and a hint of detective element; great premises, but spread thin and done poorly.
- One would expect good logic in fighting court battles as part of the charm in this title, but most of the time the motives behind characters' actions were flawed or questionable.

Art: 7
- Nice art and style, but certainly nothing overly impressive and lacks that "at awe" moment.
- The battle sequences were fluid and well done.

... Sound: 7
- OP and ED were pleasant but typical.
- BGM and sound effects were nicely utilized and never awkward.
- I think aside from Moyo, all voice actors and actresses matched their character very well.
- No memorable music track in all 12 episodes.

Character: 4
- All around flat characters with little to no development.
- Particular upsetting given that the characters had potential to demonstrate their charms.
- Many characters had little to no purpose of even being in the story.
- The familiars were particularly pointless, since they took up screen time and fail to deliver comedic relief of any kind.

Enjoyment: 5
- I enjoyed it enough to watch it once, but I don't think I will watch it again.

Overall: 6
-I believe giving this title a 6 is me being kind.
-Take a weak central plot that is typical and weakly held together, add many interesting elements but spread thinly, and add a cast that is likeable but flat, and you've got yourself this anime.
Episode after episode I hope for it to finally get better, but I was disappointed in the end as 12 episodes amounted to a pretty much nothing.

Wizard Barristers is a show about wizards or Wuds as they are called here, representing wizards who break the law in wizard court.

Two main elements to the story, the first is the slice of life, day at the office type of show with these pseudo-detective wizards cracking cases and defending their clients. This is the big upside to the anime, while i don't usually go for SoL, it did keep my interest.

The other thing that kept my interest was the second element, which was the overarching main plot. MC''s mother is in prison for protecting daughter 6 years ago, someone died, mom got ... an unfair trial, fast forward to present day and the daughter is still looking to get mom off the hook.

This was actually really great at first. It starts of with adding just enough mystery and unfolding the story at a good pace that you get hooked. .And then it goes downhill, at least for me.

The main plot took such a drastic turn from the overall direction that it just didn't make sense. Maybe you would like it though. I refrain from saying anything else due to spoiling.

The art was solid at first, the character designs i realyl didn't like. I think animu can get too realistic sometimes, especially with their facial expressions, and it can be a little creepy. This is one of those times. The art did seem to fade, and the last few episodes seemed to be missing some scenes, there were increasing number of still shots, especially during "action" sequences.

The music was forgettable, the characters weren't really varied, but some of them were interesting, in fact the character interactions were very realistic, to the point of also being creepy. When there were arguments, they sounded like real arguments people would have. I don't know whether to commend the writing or the directing but imo it was a tad off putting.

I did enjoy parts of this show, but overall it was weak. And i think i'm giving it a fair shake, other reviewers weren't so nice. I do think this fits a niche market though, you'll only know to jump in if you dip your toes in first. So watch the first episode, its the strongest by far, so you'll know exactly what to expect.

Wizard Barristers is certainly a unique Show amongst the multitude of anime that comes out every year. A little bit of a mix between the themes of Phoenix Wright and your standard shonen anime magic blends together to become a rather pleasant surprise!

Story (8/10)
The story is fairly straightforward. The year is 2018 in Tokyo, the world is full of Wizards who've awakened to latent magical powers, and due to the destructive properties of such powers, Wizard Barristers were formed to serve as legal defendants or prosecutors of suspects in various cases, be it from self-defense or all the way to murder. The ... story follows Cecil Sudou, who has become the youngest Wizard Barrister in history, as she seeks to learn her craft and defend the innocent, though she seems to constantly become caught up in various dilemmas and situations.

Art (7/10)
The character designs are certainly nice with a couple being rather unique. Many of the main cast certainly stand out, be it with certain accessories on their person, or odd character traits. However, though many of the main cast certainly stand out, there is the problem of background characters being relegated to simplistic depictions of people, sometimes even having simple designs that you might not even notice.

As for the animation of the fights, they look very nice with plenty of effort put into the effects of the various spells that are slung around between the combatants. A fire spell will look absolutely gorgeous as the flames dance around the screen, and stick to various details in the background.

While the spells that are used look extremely good from a drawn perspective, I must drop a point due to the CGI used for specific fights, which while nice, look a little lackluster and stiff, as if it needed animation added to them to flow a little better.

Sound (8/10)
The various sound effects are nice throughout the show, as you'll hear various sounds in the background, be it someone listening to music, or a teapot boiling in an apartment. All the sounds associated with the various spells are top-notch and lend weight to the impacts, be it wind being shot, or ice crystals forming. Each sound is very crisp and rather pleasing to hear.

Character (6/10)
While some of the main characters are fleshed out, such as the main character, Cecil, who we learn of her motivations for becoming a Wizard Barrister, there are others in the Butterfly Law Offices that she works at that receive little or no development whatsoever. Some of the paralegals help Cecil during her various cases, but other than being a sounding board for her, we learn next to nothing from them. Others, who she works with that are tied into personal cases, we learn of various things that they've been through, as well as secrets to their past.

Other characters aren't even really discussed at all, such as the various familiars that the Barristers employ to help them out, some of them not even receiving voice roles, and merely being relegated to background characters to react to various dialogue.

Enjoyment (8/10)
Watching as the various cases are laid out, the show itself had a nice flow to it, not really hanging up on any particular moment for longer than it needed to. The series progressed at a nice pace, allowing for breathers when necessary and keeping you hooked on what was going on, and wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Overall (8/10)
I would say that it would definitely be a series worth checking out. While not one of the biggest shows in anime history, it has enough unique ideas going on that if you're looking for an interesting mix of genres, definitely look into it, and give it a watch.

Well, it's been a few years since I've written a review, and I don't know if this means I will continue writing them, I just felt like giving it a go. Here goes nothing.
I am going to be blunt in this review, I will state my reasoning accordingly to the scores I have given.

1. My thoughts on the title, coverart and synopsis.

- Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when I saw this anime. I was just browsing through the magic section on MAL and this one peeked my interest. I remember I saw the first 2-3 episodes back in 2014, but I ... can't say why I didn't finish this series till now. Lack of interest? Maybe. Too busy with other things? Possibly.
Wizard Barristers. My first thought was that this was going to be something that'd blow me away. Wizards, as the word says, is obviously about magic. Barristers, about law. When you put the 2 together, well, you could say it's something about magic and the law concerning it. I was interested, a new story I hadn't seen yet. I checked the coverart, and noticed a somwhat strange, colorful picture of a young girl seemingly floating in the air with a neon circle coming from her hand. 'this is gonna be good' I thought. When I read the synopsis afterwards, I decided to give it a go.

2. Story 5/10

The story, in my opinion, wasn't all that special unfortunately. Even though it kept my interest piqued for the remainder of the series, I can't decide whether I just wasted my time or whether I enjoyed it. It felt, rushed. That's one thing I can say for sure, lots of holes are still waiting to be filled. Agreed, it was only 12 episodes, and there's only so much you can do in them. But I feel like they wasted valuable minutes on minor details, than on the actual storyline. There is this giant conspiracy happening, and it doesn't get explained enough. It left me.. unsatisfied.
Yes, I can hear most of the readers already hastily pressing their keyboard 'go read the manga, go read the novel, etc'
I'm sorry, that doesn't work. A rushed storyline, skipping over important parts in the anime that do happen in the original work, makes me annoyed and would probably make the score even less.
Back to my reasoning though, as I was saying, the storyline felt really rushed, but since it managed to keep me interested I'd give it a 5 out of 10.

3. Art 6/10

There's not much I can say about the art, I liked the fighting scenes. The CGI for the metalomoids was pretty decent, even the fights between them were interesting to watch. The colors, amazing. When the characters casted spells, it was an aurora of colors jumping from my screen.
It did take getting used to though. The characters look a bit weird, out of proportion even and their movements look sluggish at times.
The backgrounds were sometimes great, other times not so much, but I suppose that's normal.
A nice 6 out of 10 for the art!

4. Sound 7/10

I loved the music, the sound the played whenever the MC awakens her powers just made me shiver most of the times. The sound-editing was really solid, and neatly finished. The OP was enjoyable, same as the ED.
No complaints! 7 out of 10!

5. Character 5/10

The characters were.. awkward. Not only movement wise, but too stereotypical maybe? The MC's character was borderline annoying in my honest opinion. It could've been done better I think. Kudos to the voice-actors for bringing them alive though!
5 out of 10.

6. Enjoyment 6/10

I did watch the anime in 1 go, so you could say I was invested in it. In retrospect it might've been a huge waste of time. I enjoyed the music, I enjoyed some of the episodes, and certainly enjoyed the magic battles. Do I want to rewatch it? No, I do not. It was good to fill an evening with, but I don't think I'd rewatch it again or recommend it to someone else.

7. Conclusion

This anime is a hit or miss kinda thing. For me it started as a hit, but then the ball went out of bounds. It felt rushed, certain things were lacking storywise as artwise. But because I didn't drop it and watched it through to the end, that means there was something that kept me watching. All in all, I'd give it a beautiful 6 out of 10 on the overall score.

For the readers out there, who want to watch it, go for it! It might be a hit for you! Don't let my judgement cloud yours. I'm just sharing my opinion here :-)

Thanks for reading!~