Hikari to Mizu no Daphne

STRUCTURE / PRESENTATION: (4.8)

Daphne is an episodic anime with a big 4-episode conclusion at the end. This episodic format fits well with the series, for it's mainly just Nereids doing odd jobs and getting Maia out of trouble. The great story was probably good enough to turn this from an episodic to a serial anime, but in the end, I believe the choice was justified, giving the show the ability to basically have as many episodes as it wanted, while still remaining flexible enough to add in whatever kind of story they wanted. But that is just what I would expect from an episodic ... show of this nature. However I would've maybe liked to see some more mini story arcs that lasted for at least 2 or 3 episodes just to ease up the monotony a bit.

STORY / SETTING: (7.2)

Up until the 20th episode, the story was just basically the cast saving people, and beating up bad guys. Clearly nothing that hasn't been done before, but some formulas just never get old. The mini-plots in each episode weren't super original or exciting, but it did the job. The idea of Maia having amnesia and forgetting her childhood could've been spread out a little more throughout the series as it was only really mentioned in eps. 11 and 12, and at the end. The mysterious figure made a few appearances though, which helped remind me that there was at least a little bit of story happening behind the scenes. The ending really took me by surprise though. The last four episodes were a real treat to watch. Everything was wrapped up very nicely, and the plot twist at the end utterly shocked me, and the way the truth was reveled was very nice indeed. I would've rated this section much lower if not for the epic conclusion. The setting was certainly intriguing, but it could've been utilized much better. The story and various episodes DID make a little use of the vast oceans, and floating cities, but they really should've squeezed a little more out of it, because there was still so much more more milk in the tank at the end of the series setting wise. Even still, the setting really did grab my attention, and is what made me want to watch this in the first place.

CHARACTERS: (4.3)

I would expect the characters in an episodic anime such as this to be varied, interesting, and to be able to synergize well with each other. Was this the case in this show? Well, kind of. Gloria, Yu, and Shizuka were well made, and I loved their designs and personalities. Rena and Maia on the other hand, not so much. Rena; despite being the leader of the group, we don't see her as often as we should, and when we do, she's sitting in an office yelling at her underlings. She has a good character, but it really wan't utilized well. And finally we get to Maia. The main character Maia was without a doubt the worst character in the whole show. I get the idea of intentionally creating the main character to be bland and uninteresting to make the other more unique characters shine that much brighter, but this tactic only works well in large-scale anime with a huge diverse cast like Hunter X Hunter or One Piece. I don't know if this is what the producers were going for but Maia is the most annoying, clueless, oblivious, and most air-headed character I've seen in a long time. For the entire show she's just moping around depressed over the tiniest thing, and then she gets herself into trouble for the 47th time, and the crew has to go save her again. The way she reacts to the little events in the series, and her use of language, and her portrayal of emotions just really makes me cringe. They could've used ANY character but her for the main. As far as supporting characters go, there was nothing to complain about. The trio (later a quartet) that kept kidnapping Maia every now and then were a fun, and interesting bunch, and the various staff at other Nereids branches and the Ocean Agency were good too.

AUDIO / VISUAL: (6.2)

The art was a solid pro throughout the series, and while the animation was only average, the art made up for it. Facial close ups looked really nice, and the style really helped to distinguish the characters from each other and bring out their best features. The music is about what you would expect from this kind of show. It was used tastefully, and although it didn't take precedence over the art, nor the animation during high action scenes, it helped add a nice sweet layer on top of things.

OVERALL: (5.6)

This show is a gem. A dull one. But still a gem. It could shine much brighter if only not for the horrible MC, and the lack of utilization of the otherwise brilliant setting.