Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil

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.

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.

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.