Granblue Fantasy The Animation

A decent enough anime, never played the game, but I found the anime watchable, I'm interested enough that I hope it gets a second season.


Story: Basic fantasy story, go around from sky island to sky island hunting things to reach a fantastical area, not completely sure where it's heading but passable.

Art I liked, it has some very nice tones and such to it.

Characters: Maybe one of the weaker parts, a few neat chars, but alot that I didn't realy find myself getting involved as much with.

Overall and enjoyment: I enjoyed it enough to keep going, though not sure what to ... make of it, if you like fantasy I say give it a shot.

I know this is an adaptation of a game but I am critiquing the anime independent of the game.

Story: 6
Too generic of an RPG adventure story and with no plot twists to keep viewers hooked. Sure it isn't on the ground but if I really want an aerial adventure, Elemental Gelade did a better job. The waifu character is even better in Elemental Gelade than this. This show's story is basically start -> go to place A and collect/defeat elemental boss -> place B & collect/defeat elemental boss ->... place X. Then on the last episode, they introduce a new character onto the ship just ... to do flashbacks and go on vacation somewhere. After which, I just got confused and wondered if they ran out of stuff to do for the last episode.

Character: 4
They're mostly 1-dimensional. They have a role, a cliche personality trope of some sort (but not too distinct from each other), some powers for fighting, magic or swords or something. That's about it. The visual designs are quite distinct but if you read the lines from the characters with the names blurred you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Art: 7
This is okay. The style is at least distinct from the rest of the shows this season but it's not terribly detailed, nor very vivid in colors. It does it's job but nothing spectacular.

Sound: 6
Nothing distinct here. I suppose the opening theme somewhat invokes the feeling of when you're about to fall asleep while fishing.

Enjoyment: 6
I was looking forward to this at the start because of how they somewhat hyped it up. Then around episode 4 or 5, I started feeling like it was a chore to watch this every week. Still, the feeling was slim. It just grew stronger however towards the end.

Who's this for?
-Granblue game fans
-People who aren't picky about their anime
-People who want to play MMORPGs but can't afford a non-wooden PC.
-People who just want to see a cute anime girl with a generic anime lead
-People who like watching characters do cute things in everyday life in a fantasy world with only occasional action

Who's this not for?
-Anyone who wants a plot that will keep them hooked.
-People who can actually play MMORPGs and go on a more exciting adventure online than what this show offers
-People who want complex characters
-People who want a sophisticated plot with a message or some intellectual theme
-People who want action scenes from armored and armed characters

This anime is mediocre at best, and that's a damn shame.

I've rewatched Granblue Fantasy and tried my damndest to like it, I really did. There's something in it that's drew me in. I like the art design. I liked the promise of adventure and seeing new sights, which it fulfilled to some degree. I liked the few moments of action in between the long - and I mean long - transition of exposition between scenes.

And that's where GBF:TA falls flat. In spite of its surface beauty and promise of adventure, it just kind of drags along from point A to point B with ... no true feeling of tension or gravitas. The characters feel dry and underdeveloped, lacking anything that would make you relate to any of them... although strangely enough, the one character that really truly feels developed is actually an alternate gender-bent version of the main character in the last episode - and that is JARRING.

It has potential, but just lacks tension, substance and character. It's like biting into a really nice looking piece of chocolate and expecting a delicious filling of some kind, only to find out the chocolate is hollow. It was somewhat tasty at first bite, but leaves you yearning for more.

As it stands, GBF:TA is a lesson of how to avoid writing a disengaging script for an anime. And it's such a shame too, because I really did like everything else the series potentially had to offer. Just give me more to bite on next time.

Story: 3
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 3
Enjoyment: 4
Overall: 4