Story:
Well as of right now there isn't too much to talk about here. The setting is decently original with people disappearing into fantasy worlds only to reappear with their powers intact. This part of the story is glanced over so I doubt we'll be going any deeper into this element of the show, which is a shame because it's really the only original plot point the show has. The plot point itself is probably no less than an excuse to have people gain powers in the real world.
Sadly nothing else about the story has remotely piqued my interest, which is not good for a series that's 6 episodes in. Generally a show should have some kind of hook on the first or even the second episode. Hagure Yuusha no Estetica is failed to deliver much plot substance at all and the hints it does drop are both uninteresting and half-assed.
Art:
The art is of course, great. Many shows today have really done a fantastic job with keeping all the different anime very appealing to look at. I can watch a few episodes and not notice any kind of glitches or hiccups which is nice.
The spells are pretty generic, using the same spell circles you see very where now-a-days but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The effects that accompanies the spells are also very well done which at this point is to be expected.
Sound:
Sound is a very similar story to art. The standard for it is very high and most anime reaches it with Hagure Yuusha no Estetica being no exception. The sounds and music fits the scene nicely however I have yet to notice any particular tracks that I like.
Characters:
Now this is where it gets really frustrating. I know everyone loves the main character because he's the exact opposite of those wimpy characters we frequently get. I understand that completely, wimpy characters are unappealing and annoying. However this is NOT and excuse to do what Hagure Yuusha no Estetica has done.
Akatsuki: To put it bluntly, he's a Gary Stu (if you're unfamiliar with the term, please reference Google). He's like an OC (original character) straight out of a bad fanfic. He is much too over powered for his environment which can sometimes be entertaining if handled correctly. It is not handled at all well in this anime. Akatsuki flaunts his power many times over the past 6 episodes, with every successive feat becoming more predictable than the last. Sadly this makes his antics boring and stale. He's a one-trick-pony that just mows through challenges which is boring to watch. Hopefully the fights will be less one sided when some stronger enemies come forth but this also brings up my next point.
The show itself is a god damn love letter to Ousawa. The show basically just runs on scenes that make Ousawa out to be the mega bad-ass. A good example of this is
*SPOILER*
in episode 6 where he inexplicably appears out of no where on the roof top to save the little girl from the bad guy.
*END SPOILER*
We get nearly no exposition or any real form of explanation as to why he was there. The show just wants us to believe he either appeared from thin air or was somehow in the vehicle when it got on the roof. Like I said, no exposition. It was just an excuse to give Akatsuki another "I'm a good guy" scene.
The final point I have is that he lacks a strong personality. Sure, he can crush everything under his pinky, but other than that it's really boring. The only interesting parts of his personality are extremely rushed and very poorly placed. Examples of this would be
*SPOILER*
when he become the "reverse" bully to the red haired character (I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember his name). The whole thing about him being this self imposed judicator would be a great character trait were it developed a little more. We know nothing of why he feels that bullies should be punished, which in turn makes it come off as a poorly chosen trait with the sole purpose of "making him look cool".
Another example I will bring up is his anger towards the mentioning of his father. It comes out of no where, is only brought up for a second and does little to get me interested in the story of his father. Again this could be an interesting character trait if handled differently, like in a time where he really couldn't get something done. It would let us have at least a little bit of insight into why he needs to surpass his father and why we should care. But no, like everything else he just skips right through any sign of challenge. Which is another thing, we don't know why Akatsuki can ride the bike now or what changed except that he got slightly angrier. There was virtually 4 minutes of build-up and *boom* suddenly the thing that floored him 2 minutes ago was suddenly obeying his every command.
*END SPOILER*
In closing, Ousawa is much like what you'd find a grade school student day dreaming about with his friends. Remember those conversations you had when you were a kid and trying to think of a "cool" character? "He should have like these razor sharp teethe that can rip through anything!" "YEAH and he needs flames on his back that burn everything a mile around him!" "And then he needs these big spikes on his legs that are indestructible." "Then he needs red eyes that shoot lasers." "He should ride around on this hover board too which goes like faster than light." That's generally how I assume the creation of Ousawa went, of course without the grade school ideas but with the same mindset.
Kuzuha: By far my favorite character in the show. She's not only flawed in that she has emotional issues she needs to deal with, but her resentment of her situation is entirely understandable. These flaws make characters deeper the more a show wants to go into these ideas. In turn the character becomes much more interesting.
Miu: She's your basic female protagonist, not that that's a bad thing. There's not much to talk about other than her troubles with her father and Akatsuki but I assume we will delve further into the topic as the series goes.
Chikage: She's interesting mostly because of a certain scene (you'll know it when you see it). She's basically just there to promote the echiness of the series which is fine.
Enjoyment:
I really want to enjoy the series because it has potential but that main character annoys me so greatly. If he was handled at all better I'd easily put this show as a favorite for the season, but otherwise my enjoyment of the show is greatly hampered.
Overall:
I can only give it a 6 because I do actually enjoy it but I notice myself clenching my teethe from time to time which is not a good sign. If you do in fact like the main character then that is up to you. Personally I just can't stand him.
