Takt Op. Destiny

I have seen a lot of hate for this anime in most of social media platform that I use,usually it goes like “waifu bait” or “fanservice anime” or “the detective is already dead 2.0” and more but let just be realistic here,from any point of way you saw it,you know it’s not even that bad to get so much hate.
Let’s take a look of a few aspect.

The story : Well I can’t say that it’s not really the most ‘’original’’,but back to me,originality doesn’t really matter to me,as long as it good at what it’s trying to be and this anime done quite good,it has ... a fantasy and music genre.

is it a good fantasy anime ? judging by the concept,yes

is it a good music anime ? ABSOLUTELY,im not really familiar with classic music but even I know that the music is good.

The animation : MAPPA X Madhouse,do I even need to explain ?,the animation is gorgeus and detailed at every frame,the battle animation is awesome.no doubt it has the best animation from all of the anime in this season,outclassing tsuki to laika and mushoku tensei.

The music : Like I said before,it’s a good music anime,the BGs in every scene is on point,the OP song is a total banger and the ED is my favorite type of music it just *chef kiss* perfect.

The character : Destiny and Cossete is the MC but I think everyone would agree that Anna is the real deal here ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) .

Overall : I totally recommend this anime if you like music,especially if you into music.I may not have a great taste but you can trust me that Takt.OP IS NOT A BAD ANIME and it definitely doesn’t deserve all the hate that it gets.

**This review is spoiler free**

My Opinion
Well, I was expecting a huge deal out of Takt Op. Destiny. And It gave me just what I was looking for. The anime was fairly good enough according to me. It had some pretty new things to it too.

Story 8
Well, the story is quite cliche I won't argue on it. But, the way this anime presents the story is kind of fun and amazing. Some points in the story were also quite new. So I think 8 is best suited for this anime in terms of story.

Art 10
Mappa and Madhouse did a great job in the art for the ... anime. It was flawless. From the action scenes to normal chit-chats everything was stunning. The character designs were also amazing. No complains so yeah 10 in art.

Sound 8
Now, if the whole plot of the anime is based around music then of course the music were good in the anime. I personally really enjoyed all the ost played in the anime. And the opening as well as ending were also good. So I would give it an 8.

Character 8
The character development was fairly decent. We get introduced to new things about all the characters as the story progresses. And this anime also give decent enough screen time to side characters while maintaining the screen time for mains. So 8 is best in terms of character in Takt Op. Destiny.

Conclusion
Overall this anime was quite good for me considering we have some trashy shows too. This anime had some of the best animations & OST's I heard in anime. Also, the whole show was fairy decent. I think an overall 8 is the best this anime can get.

Takt OP. is the perfect example of “style over substance”.

Whilst I admittedly enjoyed watching the anime, I would be remised to not speak on the lack of any real cohesive story. We’re essentially thrown into a beautifully rendered world brought to life by MAPPA and Madhouse, told there’s a war between humans and aliens who hate music, and made to fend for ourselves. In fairness, the backstory is fleshed Outstanding a bit more, but that doesn’t mean the writing gets much better. This show honestly felt like a tech demo for new animation and storyboarding techniques. Like imagine those Unreal Engine 5 play-tests, but ... in anime form. If that’s what the creators were going for, they certainly succeeded. From the very first episode’s first few minutes I was blown away by the attention to the detail of the artists who worked on the show. It’s not exaggerating to say that Takt OP. has some of the best animation ever in the medium. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the story to back it up.

That said, story is important, but it’s not everything. You can definitely enjoy an anime that has a weak story, that’s not a crime. I really did enjoy seeing Takt and Destiny grow together over the course of the anime. I found a lot of similarities between their relationship and Artoria and Emiya from the Fate series. In fact, the whole musicart/maestro dynamic seems like it’s taken straight from the Type-Moon universe. The ending was “ok” at best, but I still felt most of the characters got a decent conclusion to their arcs. The writing just wasn’t really good from the beginning for them to get much better. Even though this isn’t the strongest show out there, I did have a lot of fun with it. The fights, slice of life and overall artistic quality made it an enjoyable experience and I definitely think everyone should check the anime out, if only for the sakuga.

Takt Op. Destiny is somewhat of a preview of the future of anime. I think some time in the not too distant future, shows will consistently be made with this type of artistic quality. It also seems like collaborative efforts between studios are becoming more common. This means more staff working on a project, less stress on staff and a better product for consumers. A win win for everyone.

Takt gets 7 pianos out of 10.

Ever remember a show within the past few years called Listeners? Remember how much it brought to the table, only to fall flat on it's face with it's concept, and be a complete and utter mess? Well you'll be pleased to know, that this show isn't that, and is actually WAY more interesting, and way more polished then Listeners ever could've hoped to be.

Sure, both shows have their own styles, so I can't take too many jabs on it, but as someone at the time, who I had recently watched Smyphogear, and got to liking this idea of music and fighting being connected within an ... anime, I was seriously disappointed with how Listeners came out. Takt on the other hand, is a massive step up on Listeners, and is a rather enjoyable watch from start to finish, let me explain why I believe that.

The story, and the characters, along with the overall presentation of the show in general.

The story feels so much more deep, and thought out. Imagine a world that has basically BANNED music, and leaving future generations to not know what music is, or even have heard such. All because of the emergence of D2. An invasive species originating from a black meteorite that fell to Earth, and to prevent any further deaths, music and melodies alike, has basically been outlawed. With the only defense being Musicarts, young women representing pieces of classical music; and Conductors, the ones controlling them.

But that, combined with the mystery of the D2s, and also how the Musicarts are basically came into existence, is all interesting and deep. To the point it makes you want to watch more, to find out so much more about it. You only have to take episode 2-3, to really see for yourself, just how deep this mystery goes, and how certain moments, can really hit you right in the feels. Some really thought provoking stuff I can tell you.

That doesn't even tell you about the characters. While a show like Listeners can seem more child like in a way, Takt feels more adult like with it's characters. But also treating them like such. Even if they may seem a little too cold in some cases with some of them, it's their more deep backgrounds, that really set the scene, but they're a great cast so far, to the point because of how they're written, that you would want to see more of them, and what they come up against. Combine that with the good writing in this show, then you have a recipe for success.

The art style is another high point for sure. Sure, the animation can look a little weird and janky in small cases. But in terms of presentation of backgrounds, the characters looks, and the shadowing and such. Then it all looks splendid and top notch. Being bright when it needs to, and dark and gritty when it needs to be such. Top tier quality stuff. Much like the sound in general, a lot of is super fitting for purpose, and the OP song is just a jam. All good.

Takt is one of the animes of the season for sure. Which only seems to get more intense and interesting with each passing episode. I cannot wait for more, and you should too!

Well what can I say ... at some point in my life, music became something I couldn't go a day without. Now, I don't really listen to classical music but I have a huge appreciation to the people who created all those masterpieces. In this anime, we can hear A LOT of different classical music pieces that suit incredibly well in the scenes they are played at!

I love how many scenes, just as "Titan's finale", Lenny starts playing 4th/Final movement of the 1st symphony of Gustav Mahler - which funnily enough, this symphony has the nickname "Titan" - how cool is that?
Obviously there are ... a lot of other interesting musical moments throughout the show, which will take a long while for ma to list, but what I can say is that, Takt Op. Destiny is one unique anime that contain a little bit of everything with the biggest impact being - music. I am sure people who have a high appreciation of art and music will also enjoy this!

Without including any spoilers. all I will say is - give this anime a shot since you might very well end up surprised from what it has to offer!

Let's be real here: The story-plot is quite generic (Monster attack humanity, people with special powers, in this Anime music related powers, fight them).
We got "Conductors" and "Musicarts" here. If you know Fate (of course you know Fate), it's basically like Masters and Servants, but with Music.

But aside from the generic story: The Anime is well animated, visually pleasing and the fights are great. In my opinion, a lot of the characters are highly likeable - some people might call it waifubait, I call it cultured.
The voiceacting is also great, I found myself replaying some scenes, simply because I liked how the characters ... acted and how they were voiced.

The music is also good.

8/10 overall.

TL;DR: it is not something outstanding or deep, but very shortlived fun and an enjoyable show that looks absolutely great.

I'll be real here peeps: This show isn't a 10/10 ground breaking anime, but it really isn't trying to be.

At the same time it doesn't feel like waifu-bait shounen/isekai trash that's been churned out season after season with little differentiation from the rest, it sits somewhere in the middle of fun new stuff and comfort food.

It's a perfectly solid (as far as I know) original series with its own little thing going on.

Things that you should know before going in:

This show looks absolutely great. That's it, ... it's just well animated, as is to be expected with two industry powerhouses manning the guns here.

The show does NOT have an outstanding great story. (As of episode 4). You get a decent bit of world building and some backstory, but overall the general depth of the story feels similar to what Fireforce has to offer, just with a greatly condensed cast of characters (again, as of episode 4). There are some hints of an overarching mystery-esque plot going on, but overall so far it's been pretty much based around the main character with an "in medias res" start and a bunch of backstory afterwards.

The show's music is pretty good, but it should absolutely NOT be expected as a music anime. Music plays an important role, but as a musician I can definitely find myself seeing a lot of "popular appeal" rather than actual music knowledge going into this. You're not going to learn just about anything about playing a piano from this show, and also not find any proper in depth discussions about the nature of music - but it's a shounen-esque show, so I wouldn't expect that. The focus of this show is definitely the battles, and not the music - music just happens to be part of the power system of the world.

The main cast are going to make or break it for you probably in terms of enjoyment. I personally really enjoy the main cast, but I can see why people might not.
We have:
-the classic gloomy wannabe edgelord main character who is actually a decent guy but just way too much of a teenager
- the bigger sister who's always looking out for the main characters, the voice of reason, and also ignored by our two lead teenagers
- and the living weapon that's just an absolute moron. Not incompetent in battle, just really really dumb or uncaring of anything out of the mission. Kinda like Arthur from Fireforce to draw the parallel once more.
- Bonus: The slightly gay mentor character who is an absolute delight whenever he is on screen. Seriously my favourite character so far, and I hope he shows up more over the runtime of the show.

Bonus points that the show gets from me: As of episode 4 we have straight up no fanservice in terms of borderline ecchi shit. There is a somewhat romantic subplot going on (maybe?), but for what its worth, this show about a gaccha game does NOT include any incredibly obvious boob shots for the sake of booba on screen. Really appreciate a show not going overly ham with that straight off the bat. That being said, we got a hint at a femme fatale character in the OP of the show, so that's probably going to change at some point later in the show.

Overall a show I'd recommend to anyone who feels a lack of Shounen this season, and doesn't have too high of an expectation when it comes to depth of the show.

This anime gets way too much hate, especially for the amount of episodes released so far. I have a feeling that those who will drop it early on will miss out.

No Spoilers in this review: This is my first time doing a review for an anime, but I feel like I need to say what needs to be said about this anime. I will not write a synopsis, because that's the job of the description of the anime, so I am solely writing about how I feel about this anime. At the time of this review only 5 episodes have aired, so there is yet ... much more content to release. However, I wanted to write this review to emphasize how great this anime already is in the span of only 5 episodes. To start off, the art is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Animated by MADHOUSE and MAPPA, the animation is incredibly stunning, even rivaling that of Ufotable's, I dare say. Second, the OSTs and SFX are also great, which is extremely important in the music-themed genre of anime it rests within. As for the characters, they are very interesting themselves and have unique designs, although some more about Takt and Destiny's personalities will hopefully develop throughout the remaining episodes. Finally, the story. Since only 5 episodes have been released so far, it's obvious that I cannot give an opinion on the entire story. However, I feel like this anime could likely create an amazing story at the rate it is progressing. Overall, I am expecting Takt Op. Destiny to turn out to be a 9/10 or even a 10/10 for me, basing off of how much I am enjoying this so far.

Edit: So I finished the anime and overall I think this anime kinda speeds through somethings and some other areas are hard to understand. Honestly I don't think I'd recommend this anime to anyone because of that reason. And there's nothing really memorable about it besides Destiny. Story is meh overall. Art/animation is fantastic. Sound not really majestic in an anime that is has music elements. Character development was kinda slow, or really fast at one point. But the animes pacing didn't help with that. Overall I don't recommend it. I did hear it's for a mobile game that suppose to come out? So I ... mean if that's the game you're wanting to play then I guess watch the anime lol


------Thoughts of episodes 9 and before below--------

Edit: Glad I gave it some time. The characters and the story are becoming more interesting. I planned on updating this once it reached episode 12, but couldn't wait. Currently finished episode 9. So yeah the music still isn't really majestic as one would expect, but the story and character building has been becoming better. So this has increased my overall score of this anime to an 8 maybe 7.5 if that was possible

-------OG thoughts from episodes 1-4 below----------

Should you watch this anime? As of episode 4 it's still kinda in a gray spot. There are aspects that I like about the anime, but it's just currently the last two episodes seemed kinda slow in a sense. But I think that's because it's focusing on character development. Characters can be likeable and are unique. I think this anime definitely has potential and we can really see some real plot twist and crazy stuff that'll happen, but it'll take time to get there. Will update as the episodes progress, but for now I'm giving it a 7 out of 10.

Story: Story is good, so far the backstory is really the only story we have right now explaining how they got to where they are today which takes place in episode 2. Some animes do this like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. And I believe this anime did it very well.

Art: I like the eyes. It gives them a uniqueness but makes them look like Zero Two in a sense

Sound: Well haven't really found anything majestic, though I would've expected it to be as it's partly an anime that has music elements in the story.

Characters: They're unique in their own ways, but I think I need to see more grow in them. Like if Destiny started getting feelings like how Cosette was.

Overall: Still too early to determine if this anime is a hit or miss. But I'm still giving it a shot until it proves to be a hit or miss.

*a spoiler free review

Takt. Op Destiny was one of the most hyped shows this season, so when I popped into the review tab and spotted the hate, boy was I surprised. This is my first review, and I'm writing this so that people don't think that the show is complete trash, as others seem to suggest.

I'll start with talking about the story, which, to be frank, is the worst part of the anime. It's not an original plot by any means and you can kind of tell that it's made as the promotion/backstory of a game. However, the story is not horrible by any ... means, just done before, and if you've watched any number of battle shounen/isekai before, you'd know that the same plot done again can be great if executed right. Of course, if you're a person that's seen the same kind of plot again and again i.e. creature invasion, main group goes on a journey with an end goal, main group fights against creatures, etc. that might be enough to turn you off, and that's fair. Still, I would suggest giving this show a chance.

This leads to why, and that would be the art. Yes, I know, a show being pretty doesn't make it quality, perfectly polished shit is still shit, BUT Takt. Op Destiny... is really dang pretty. In every episode there are beautifully animated fight scenes and character movement, and the teamwork of MAPPA x Madhouse never fails to make my eyes shine with delight and awe, reminding me why I'm following this weekly. On top of this, I'm a pretty big fan of the character designs, especially the Musicarts. Destiny, Titan, Walkure, Hell, and I'm sure more to come are all gorgeous and they stick in your mind. I also like the simplicity of Takt and Anna's designs, they contrast the Musicarts and complement their surroundings whilst remaining in my mind as well.

My next point would be the sound, since this is a music anime. Most of the points I've given go to the opening and the ending, since the opening is absolutely beautiful and one of my favourites of the season, whilst the ending is also beautiful and kind of leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. I definitely enjoyed the piano piece that we hear in earlier episodes and the bgm has thus far been either good or adequate. Personally, I hope we get to see more actual music in the show in future episodes.

Next up is character. This is a weaker point of the show, since there isn't too much to say about the characters. The main trio is as follows:
Takt has a deep love for piano and cares greatly for Anna and Cosette. Destiny is badass, D2 obsessed and very naive, like a small child. Anna is the big sister of the group, the negotiator, the only character with her head on completely straight, and a kind-hearted, just and hard-working character. She'd usually be the forgettable one of the group but I've taken a liking to her and she's currently my favourite character in the show. Other characters fit neatly into characters types, the loli, the tsundere, the crazy bitch and the bastard villain, for example. Even if they are a little bland, I personally don't think they drag down the show, and they're still quite lovable in their own right (excluding the ones you're supposed to hate, of course).

Takt. Op Destiny is flawed for sure. But saying that, it's a hell of a fun ride, at least in my opinion. I have not yet been bored by it and my eyes have certainly been enjoying the dynamic animation and vivid colours to bits. I also quite like how they've executed the admittedly cliche storyline, and how it feels somehow relaxing to me despite the weekly fights. If it stays the same or improves and sticks the landing, Takt. Op Destiny might be one of my favourite new anime of the season.

If you think you might just enjoy it, I'd advise giving it a shot :)

Ok, this maybe a good anime, but unfortunately, this was just tad conflicting with allot plot holes as to how those so called D2's came to be and why they be pissed off with music...so:

Story-Poor 1: It may have had a good plot but as to how such apocalyptic scenario involving monstrous being called "D2" came to be and what issue do they have against music. Thought we're show as to how one Conductor by the name of Sagan became such a psycho after touch a certain crystal that belongs to them "D2", it doesn't explain as to what have transpire, what we're show was ... supposed him making us think that he's the overall culprit , but as it turn out he was not the main villain that would end them "D2" onslaught . We also have that plot hole as to how them Musicarts came to be and how they allied themselves as weapons for a selected number of humans to fight off the "D2".

Art-Decent 4: Well, studio Madhouse and MAPPA, did add some eye candy with Destiny's outfit in that overly decorated battle uniform and with Heaven's summer outfit and Valkyrie's Greek Amazon outfit, the most fashionable was Anna's early 2000's look and that Ford Mustang that the trio used to travel from somewhere in the mid west to New York....Overall , they never rely on fanservices to make this anime sell.....Though , it would've been nice to see Anna and Destiny to be in their bikinis.

Sound-Good 7: Nothing to say around here, given that the voices of them characters need not have to pretend to be teens.

Character-Poor 3: Ok, let's go over each of those group of characters around here:

The Trio

Takto a guy with a tsundere attitude, who somehow has a problem with the world ever since his father died after the D2 onslaught at a theater where Lenny serves as a witness......the confusing part about him, was, "Why him?" as in why him who has to be this kind of conductor whose life force was shared with his Musicart Corsette / Destiny. Why does his character have to be different where it basically put's him as a rock in a hard place?

Corsette /Destiny, Takto's next door neighbor / girlfriend (unofficial)/ personal eye candy/ bodyguard/ love interest ( in the end) and part of his life force, so why her? as in Why did she turned into a Musicart, and of all Musicart why was she different from the rest of the Musicarts ?

Anna, Takto's next door neighbor/ Corsette's big sister/ driver/ mother figure to the two (Takto and Destiny)/ financial manager given that she was the one who manages the money as they travel and in the end becomes a memeber of Symphonica and then becomes Destiny as well, so wtf her? and How the fuck did she become a Musicart in the end?

Musicarts:

From what little fact we know about them , was that each has her own unique personally which basically mirrors their Conductor, how they become to be , that was the question, how does one become a Musicart, that's another question, which we have no idea at all as to wtf was going on in the mind of this anime's original creator, Hiroi, Ouji.

Conductor:

Here, we were shown that them conductor whom were part of Symphonica , may be heroes, but as we see, they can be clouded by misjudgment and despair , One such was Lenny, at first he did fought for Symphonica , but later got frustrated after learning, that it was his fellow conductors whom were the ones behind several D2 attack on the human populace.. Sagan for his part becomes the main villain, given that he's ready to grant them D2's request to give them human sacrifices in a form of a D2 attack at the final if I guess it right, Sagan plans to sacrifice a huge population of humans in return for them D2's to leave, it's a guess of course.

Enjoyment-Fair 6: We all know that despite of this anime's action and sci-fi genre, it still suffers a low score, but , IMAO, one part of me likes this, but there is another part of me that wanna ask about the existence of plot holes.

Overall-Good 7: Low score or not, IMAO, this was still nice enough to be watched....so season 2, hummmm IMAO..."NO"

Merry Christmas.

Takt Op. Destiny. Where do I even begin...?

I don't think I've seen such a mixed bag of review scores. Its either high eights or tens or low fours and twos. And I agree with both. Now I understand the inherently paradoxical nature of this statement. So let me explain, and maybe you will agree, disagree - whatever conclusion you have drawn, I ask that you hear me out.

Takt Op. Destiny is fantastic show. Its could also be one of the worst shows. And that's largely gonna depend on what you are looking for in an anime.

To start, what do I think? This is, so far, ... my Fall pick for the Best Seasonal Anime. Granted, I am catching up on both Jobless Reincarnation and Eighty-Six. However, given what I've seen of all of them, and how much I compare it to the beginning of Takt Op. Destiny, I vastly prefer this over both of those. There's a lot I love about this show: its visuals, the character dynamics, the sounds and OST, and the world. Takt, as a package so far, has entertained, wowed and satisfied me beyond belief.

But as a story with compelling characters, nuance and such? Maybe. Remains to be seen. But as of now, its lacking on that front. I adore the dynamic between the main trio, and there were some early story beats that allowed me to sympathize on a basic fundamental level with the characters. But you won't be getting Attack on Titan level characters here. Partially why I believe there are so many low reviews is because there's a lot of expectation on this show to be something its not. Either its too early to judge (episode 5 as of this review) or this is the reality of this show. And I don't think that's a bad thing. When I sit down to watch a show, I wanna enjoy myself. And the enjoyment I've gotten out of Takt Op. Destiny is well worth my monthly subscription for Crunchy Roll.

Are my standards low? Probably. I'm pretty easy to please. But I also dislike many shows that are liked by many, such as Bunny Girl Senpai, Fire Force, and Tokyo Revengers. At the end of the day, there will always be something fundamentally that keeps us from enjoying a show. I have yet to find that reason with Takt, so I will continue to tune in every week.

My verdict? It entertains, and you may find it to be as charming as I have. And if you don't? No harm done. Its not for everyone, and I say that as someone who loves this show to bits.

So this Anime, a lot like Vivy, kicks complete ass DESPITE trying and failing to handcuff the ass-kicking robo-girls to this stupid idea that making music is their primary motivation to save the world - with song! Oh, wait - I forgot - they don't save the world with song, they just use violence. Old-fashioned, top-notch sakuga violence - set to classical piano which is pretty fantastic ngl.

The need to know plot points are basically that D2 are (pick one, interchangeable) monsters/demons/kaiju that are attracted to music and nearly destroyed civilization, but then random robot angels began to show up and bond with human "conductors" ... who direct them in battle against the D2s with their big musically trained brains... WAIT!! Don't go! Are you still here? Okay good - you also need to know that the battles. are. epic! Incredible work here by Mappa, really living up to their growing reputation for top-notch fight scenes. But I have to complain about what they FAILED to animate, which for me really held this show back and turned what could have been.

I'll get to stuff I do really like about this show in a minute - but wat they failed to animate was MC Takt Asahina's piano playing. Also a failure by the sound team. As a character, there isn't anything wrong with him at all! He's a well WRITTEN character. His character centers around his love for piano and music, and as a byproduct of the chip on his shoulder about music basically being forbidden since the D2s showed up, he has an acidic disdain for literally everything and everyone else that isn't related to his perspective on piano and music. I don't mind that he's a grouchy, rude, egocentric bastard who would marry his piano and have a litter of baby grands if he could. I don't mind that he's a jerk who pretty much ignores the needs of the people who care about him, and doesn't deserve or appreciate any of the one-sided personal relationships he happens to have. What I do mind, very much - is far more superficial than that... when he sits down at the piano and plays, he's the most mundane, boring ass piano player ever!

Takt Asahina never improvises, he doesn't appear to be interested in what he's playing, and has a garbage repertoire of songs anyone can and anyone would play. Yet no matter who hears him, contrary to his own antisocial and dismissive attitude towards others including musicians, everybody loves his piano playing. Huh. Well, this is a WIDE miss by the production team. The animators are KILLING IT with the fight scenes, and they just needed a couple scenes of this guy crushing it on the piano for this show to work despite the odd theme. Sweating, making faces, throwing his head back, leaning his head in, vibrating with the mood of his playing... doesn't seem hard to do compared to the brilliant fight scenes every episode. Yet it wasn't done, so it's impossible to feel like this guy is the real deal. Never in your life would you hear this guy play piano and think "wow, THAT GUY can play!".

It would have been so much more interesting if they had set this up such that he thought he was really good because he's been playing by himself in his garage since he was 2 but he actually sucks - then people tell him the truth, in particular career musicians of which he meets many, but he's delusional and maintains his self-image. That would have been great! Or just make us feel like he's any good at his obsession - but they couldn't and because the whole show revolves around music to a degree it feels 110% phony. The impact of this oversight is hard to overstate in this particular show, and it's a tough pill to swallow.

But it's not that tough, because the characters overall are actually quite well written and have fantastic chemistry as well. There's like a Tarantino-esque vibe they manage to achieve sometimes, not all the time, and when they do it really let you look past the warts on the story. That said, this story has got some serious witchface going on. However, the frequent battles set to classical piano are excellent and the visual presentation of the waifu "musicarts" is top-notch (Mappa so yeh). There is also this excellent motif where Takt has to lose his arm to sustain his Waifucart Destiny in battle, and it looks really cool. The battles are a treat, and worth watching the show just to see - they will keep you coming back that's for sure.

The character models are also lovely - in general the art and the background art is top-notch, they vary the setting to a higher degree than you will usually see in an Anime. Further, in the character department once more - Lenny is an absolute Chad. A very strong, very gay character - probably my favorite in the show thus far. The way they handled him in general was admirable, as was the way his backstory was revealed long after he was introduced, and in a context that was topical to the current struggle of the main characters. But, they did kind of cock it up in a recent episode where what happened to him just didn't make sense in that particular situation.

So a lot of diconnected thoughts there, but this is a disconnected Ahnime. Still -it is excellent for its action anime components - you can do way worse than Takt Op Destiny, and although it certainly is missing some gripping element or identity the production values of the action, well written characters, pacing, and variation in the settings as they travel make it very enjoyable to watch. Worth checking out and one of the better Anime for entertainment value this season - just won't be making many top 10 lists.

Is this a hidden gem? Is this the next big thing? Nope. This is a shallow one, but not everything on the market has to be deep or life changeging. This one is great if you don't have the expectation of a deep and complex story and just want to look at characters fuck shit up.
I personally enjoy this anime, its a nice watch, the character designs are great but so far it's not too deep or ground breaking. As of EP5 there's still a lot unexplained and I hope the next episodes will give us some more exposure.
The fightscenes are nice to ... look at, the banter between Takt and Destiny is something I personally enjoy. Speaking of characters (slight spoilers ahead)
Takt is a grumpy teenager, and to be honest not the worst one I have seen in anime, Destiny/Cosette is the inhuman cold one — which I personally enjoy as even though we get to meet the original Cosette for like 2 Minutes is a nice contrast to her nice and caring personality. I wished that overall the other characters feelings about loosing ones sister/childhood crush which then gets replaced by someone who doesn't understand the world and is cold all the time would be explored more but as this series is more on the shallow side I don't see it happening — if it does, I'm going to be pleasantly surprised.

After watching the first five episodes, I feel this anime is entertaining but still a bit superficial in how it handles character development and story progression. Despite having huge names in animation like Mappa and Madhouse, and the scenes being really beautiful and well animated, mixed with a very compelling soundtrack, it feels still vague at some points. Having said that, I think the preface of this series has a lot of potential and the fact that it dwells on classical music (not the same as a musical anime, where music theory is central to the plot) and unravels more of its world and characters, ... will make it better with time. Overall, I am having a good time watching the episodes and will keep watching them.

4 episodes in, Takt Op. Destiny is quite boring despite its explosive action sequences, flashy animation and good-looking character designs.

Three characters, Takt, Cosette and Anna are too simple and one dimensional.
Takt is obsessed with music. Cosette is obsessed to kill monsters. They both are extremely reckless and Anna has a hard time managing them. Their motives are also spelled out loudly, and seem to have no other intentions. Every thing is clear as day and there is nothing contradictory, challenging or mysterious to them. This show will heavily rely on the side characters, a lot who are shown in the OP, so maybe ... there are better chemistry that awaits.

Plot has a simple arrangement and gives away a few crucial info right at the first episode, spoiling the suspense that could be cultivated in the next episodes. Plot develops in an extremely slow pace too. A lot of the time are spent on hunting monsters which contributes nothing to the plot. It is also very easygoing with the cause-and-effect. Despite the large scale destruction or dangerous events, our characters don't have to be held responsible for anything then just move on with their journey, the victims are happy. Also, they always win because they are genius. There is nothing to worry about and their growth is assured (because they are genius).

But why should I condemn Takt Op. Destiny when a lot of flashy anime with just as boring plot are praised to heavens? I give Takt Op. Destiny a 10/10. Amazing graphics, cute battle maids, sexy babysitting sister and a handsome prodigy MC.
Oh yeah, music. Music is so-so.

Story: Very good. I cried like a little bitch.

Art: Outstanding, absolutely amazing artwork, beautiful fight scenes and character designs.

Sound: Great, I loved the subtle character themes that pop up every now and then.
Of course great musical choices.

Character: Also great, I got attached quickly to most characters, but there were no big surprises in character development. The only 'flat' character was the stereotypical cocky commander guy. The idea that musical pieces are embodied within characters is very interesting, makes you wonder if writing a piece yourself could end up as a character too.

Enjoyment: "Great", because after a certain point things got more serious. ... Definitely enjoyed having watched this.

Overall: 9/10. Would be 10/10, but the story/universe itself could be slightly more explored. Very good watch, definitely recommend if you have nothing to do and feel like watching something 'impressive'.

(Review in progress - I might end up being wrong about this show once it's done!) The best way that I can describe Takt Op. Destiny thus far is with the phrase "a simple story told well". Nothing as far as the plot or character movements here will surprise you, necessarily, but I don't think they need to. You get a pretty good bead on the ... plot early on in the show, where character's arcs might go, so on and so forth. I don't mind this familiarity when the presentation is this drop-dead-gorgeous. I'm somebody who tries going into any given piece of art with an open mind, willing and hoping to be made a believer or be proven wrong if I have any prior reservations going into said work. I'm very eager to like whatever is put in front of me. That being said, I love a lot about this anime. I don't think the writing is revolutionary, but I think the dialogue is enough for the characters, and I think that the writers clearly respect the characters in this story. I feel like they took a "less is more" approach to characterization, and in my opinion, this works wonderfully. Now, on to the presentation. Many of the shots in this show could be taken as pieces of art on their own. It's just gorgeous. Characters eat up the beautifully drawn backgrounds they're a part of, character designs are all very stand out as you would hope excluding, perhaps ironically, the main protagonist Takt himself. This show pushes animation forward in a way reminiscent to me of 1984's "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" by just putting so many beautiful visuals and colors in front of you that it's /almost/ an overload. It's THAT good. Nothing in this show may surprise you, but if you're the right audience I believe it will delight you. This is a show I await new episodes with many bated breaths.

Drawn in by the cover art, I decided to give Takt Op. Destiny a go. I was pleasantly surprised!

Madhouse and MAPPA executed depiction of the United States setting perfectly here. From capturing the feeling of an expansive desert, through it's delicate blend of warm and cold colors, to the detailed recreation of iconic American architecture, these studios did a wonderful job. Colors are vivid, backdrops are comfy, and the animation is deeply satisfying, whether you appreciate action sequences, facial expressions or piano playing.

The sound design was magnificent here and what I considered Takt Op. Destiny's major highlight. The OP and ED are sweet, and several ... genres of music are played throughout, with each fitting to the respective scenario. I found the clarity and uniqueness of battle sounds most pleasing.

Takt Op. Destiny lacked exciting characters, but development is there, along with charm, making for some warm moments. Watching the personality of the protagonist musicart develop was fun, but predictable.

Seeing the amount of negative reviews made me feel compelled to leave a more optimistic one. Takt Op. Destiny is a short series, with proper development of it's plot and ending hindered by it's unfortunate length. However it's art style and sound are commendable here, making it worth the recommendation.

This review will be written in English and Portuguese PTBR
Essa resenha será escrita em inglês e português PTBR
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Takt Op. Destiny foi uma grata surpresa para mim, pois eu não esperava realmente nenhuma profundidade narrativa vindo de um anime de matar monstros alienígenas gigantes, mas eu realmente gostei de como a obra foi desenvolvida dentro de suas limitações. Eu diria que sim, o saldo é positivo, mas com algumas ressalvas.

Não importa qual a origem
Antes de nos aprofundar nessa resenha, gostaria de deixar uma coisa clara, NÃO IMPORTA A ORIGEM DE UMA OBRA. Vi muitas análises, onde a maior crítica se baseia no fato do anime ser ... baseado em um jogo mobile, um gacha no caso, sabendo disso eu te pergunto: No que isso interfere na qualidade de um anime? Se o anime fosse baseado em uma novel ou um mangá, faria alguma diferença? Eu realmente discordo dessa opinião, assim como um anime baseado em um mangá pode ser bom, um anime baseado em um jogo ou qualquer outra coisa também pode.

O incrível mundo da música
Na minha opinião, o maior ponto positivo dessa obra é a construção e apresentação de seu universo, que ao longo do anime, vai se mostrando ser um mundo muito vasto, com uma lore muito interessante, principalmente quando falamos das Musicarts. Uma das coisas que mais me intriga nesse universo é o que de fato são as Musicarts? pelo que entendi, eles são seres que nascem da música, e utilizaram corpos hospedeiros para que possam cumprir um proposito, que é extinguir os D2s, que são criaturas que assolam esse mundo “pós apocalíptico”, mas existem diversas pontas soltas sobre o que são realmente esses seres, se eles nasceram dos cristais que caíram na terra anos atrás, ou se eles simplesmente são uma energia que se apossam dos corpos dos seres humanos, e perceba como esse mistério é aplicado de maneira sutil, em nenhum momento o autor coloca um diálogo expositivo ou uma cena auto explicativa para mostrar a origem desses seres, pois isso não é de fato relevante para a história principal, e principalmente para o desenvolvimento do arco narrativo do Takt.
O autor soube bem aplicar bem uma técnica de roteiro chamada “economia de roteiro”, onde se retira ou minimiza tudo aquilo que não tem o objetivo de desenvolver um personagem ou avançar com a trama principal. Então o autor tomou a decisão certa, pois tudo se trata de “objetivo”, tudo se resume ao qual o objetivo que o autor quer chegar com sua história, e com isso em mente, fica fácil retirar o que não é relevante para a alcançar esse objetivo, e isso é extremamente raro nessa indústria de animes, onde tudo, absolutamente tudo precisa ser extensivamente explicado, e em algumas vezes mostrando em tela no formato de um diálogo expositivo. **coff coff Naturo coff coff**
Outro mistério que o autor nos apresenta é como ocorreu realmente o “fim desse mundo”, se foi com a chegada dos cristais, ou com os seres que se originaram dele? Em certo ponto, a forma com qual o autor decidiu nos apresentar a origem dessa história, me lembra muito o que o mestre Miyazaki faz com seus jogos, como Dark Souls por exemplo, nos mostrando como tudo se deu, e o cerne daquele universo, e o restante fica a nosso cargo “investigar”, pensar sobre como se deu tais fatos, e novamente, esse tipo de narrativa é muito incomum nos animes e mangás, e só por isso, o diretor de Takt Op. Destiny já merece nossa atenção.

Takt é irritante, e isso é bom!
É muito importante saber diferenciar um personagem que não nos agrada, devido a sua personalidade ou por seus atos, de um personagem mal escrito ou mal desenvolvido, e aqui temos um claro exemplo disso. Takt é um personagem irritante, sua personalidade e forma de agir é extremamente negativa, o que me lembra muito um adolescente, que sempre acha que tudo está ruim e nunca está contente com nada, e devo admitir que odeio adolescentes, então é obvio que foi difícil simpatizar com um personagem que pensa e age como um adolescente, mas isso não tira o fato de que Takt é um personagem bem desenvolvido.
O arco de personagem de Takt é algo muito bem feito, nos mostrando toda a sua evolução, desde sua infância, sendo obrigado a passar por um trauma bem forte, que o fez se apegar muito a música, pois era a música que o confortava e o consolava pela morte de seu pai, até a sua evolução como um condutor, que são as pessoas que “controlam” uma Musicart para lutar contra os D2s, então aqui temos tudo o que precisamos para entender sua motivações, e isso torna ele um personagem multifacetado, um personagem real, que tem sentimentos, possui objetivos, tristezas, e é isso que torna Takt um bom personagem, não um personagem relacionável, pelo menos para mim, mas o torna um personagem objetivamente bom.
Outra personagem que também foi muito bem trabalhada foi a Destiny, pois conseguimos acompanhar toda a sua história, desde seu nascimento como uma Musicart, sendo uma pessoa “fria” e sem sentimentos, para aos poucos aprender como os humanos pensam, como se sentem, até alcançar o ápice do sentimento humano, que é quando descobre que ama o Takt. Acho que o único erro da obra foi o desenvolvimento da relação entre a Destiny e o Takt, mas irei falar melhor sobre isso ao longo dessa resenha. Os demais personagens dessa história são só utilitarista, pois suas ações são motivada somente pelo “bem coletivo”, como é o caso da Anna ou do Lenny, eu não consigo os enxergar como seres humanos, com desejos, anseios, pois todas as ações feitas por eles, visam somente esse objetivo maior, e não desviam em nada desse objetivo, coisa que é naturalmente impossível (ou quase), por isso que até me espantei quando a Anna beija o Takt, pois em nenhum momento esse sentimento se demonstrou minimamente crível no desenvolvimento daquela personagem, então podemos dizer que todos os personagens dessa história não são humanamente críveis, com exceção do Takt e da Destiny, que nem humana é.

As falhas do amor
A relação entre Takt e Destiny me pareceu muito estranha no geral, pois nunca fica claro o que um realmente sente pelo outro, sabe? Não que o autor precisasse mostrar isso de maneira clara com alguma cena ou algo do tipo, mas nem nas entrelinhas eu consegui perceber os sentimentos de afeto amoroso que um sentia pelo outro, o que torna o final do anime um pouco decepcionante em certo ponto, pois sempre pensei “é claro que no final eles provavelmente vão ficar juntos, vai rolar um beijo ou algo do tipo” e realmente é o que acontece, porém o caminho até chegar a essa cena foi mal escrito realmente, não fica claro e nem subjetivo os sentimentos de Desnity quanto a Takt, até então nos parece apenas uma relação de um condutor com sua Musicart, o que torna tudo ainda mais estranho, pois durante muito tempo, o Takt ainda vê a Destiny como Cosette, e de forma bem repentina ele começa a trata-la como Destiny, mas eu não sei se eu dormi durante algum episódio, pois eu não vi essa trajetória entre o ponto A e o ponto B, então realmente toda essa relação amorosa deles dois não foi muito bem desenvolvida.

O subtexto em Takt Op. Destiny
Falando brevemente sobre o subtexto dessa obra, a meu ver, ficou relativamente explicito a mensagem que o autor quis passar com o “Macro” de sua história, sobre os malefícios o “bem” subjetivo pode trazer, isso fica claro com o plano do Sagan, onde ele pretendia tentar matar todos os D2s, sacrificando milhares de vidas em troca, até porque, o fim justifica os meios, não? Bom, pelo menos na visão do autor, a reposta é não. É clara a crítica feito aqui a ideologias totalitárias, que visão o bem coletivo de uma maneira relativamente deturpada, o que vai de encontro com o utilitarismo que é pregado pelos personagens secundários dessa obra, afinal de contas, porque a minha visão de “bom” é melhor que a sua? Essa discussão é relativamente interessante, mostrar como uma pessoa, pode cometer atos atrozes em prol do bem comum, mas até que ponto o “bom” pode ser considerado realmente “bom”?

Madhouse & MAPPA = casamento perfeito
Tecnicamente falando esse anime é muito bom quando precisa ser, todas as cenas de ação (que são relativamente poucas) são muito bem animadas, e não só bem animadas, como também bem dirigidas, toda a condução das cenas de ação do anime, os enquadramentos, as técnicas utilizadas como o câmera shake, tornam essas passagens muito intensas e prazerosas de se ver, ainda mais em conjunto com a trilha sonora desse anime. Incrível, é incrível como eles conseguiram aplicar uma trilha sonora composta basicamente por música clássica casar-se tão bem com a estética da obra, e claro, a trilha sonora faz ai uma brincadeira metalinguística com o enredo da obra, pois a história de vida do Takt é envolto da música clássica, o que torna a trilha sonora dessa obra ainda mais impressionante.
E essas passagens de música clássica não fica somente preso as cenas de ação, pois ela também se mostra presente em diálogos mais ocasionais, ou então para nos ajudar o sentir o que o autor que nos passar, como a cena do Takt conversando com o Lenny na varanda. Então essas trilhas compostas por violinos, pianos, violão celo são muito bem-feitas e bem aplicadas nessa obra, o que a faz ganhar alguns pontos comigo.

Uma boa obra, envolta de críticas infundadas.
Resumindo, Takt Op. Destiny nos apresenta diversas qualidades, como a construção e o desenvolvimento de seus personagens principais, bem como a apresentação da lore do universo, usando a técnica do “find for yourself”, assim deixando vários aspectos em aberto, técnica narrativa essa que é muito bem-vista por mim. Porém a obra peca em outros pontos, como por exemplo o desenvolvimento do principal antagonista do anime, onde apesar de o anime ter apresentado brevemente suas motivações, eu as considerei extremamente mal explicadas e desenvolvidas, o que não me fez simpatizar com o personagem, narrativamente falado claro. Por essa e outras, acredito que sim, essa obra é sim uma boa obra que vale a pena ser vista. Existem diversas críticas que podemos fazer a ela, mas não podemos nos resumir a chamar o anime de “extremamente ruim”, apenas por ser baseado em algo que você não gosta.

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[English]

Takt Op. Destiny was a pleasant surprise for me, as I wasn't expecting any narrative depth coming from an anime where the "main theme" is killing giant alien monsters, but I really liked the way the anime was developed within its limitations. I would say that yes, the balance is positive, but with some caveats.

No matter what the origin
Before delving into this review, I would like to make one thing very clear, NO MATTER THE ORIGIN OF A WORK. I saw many reviews, where the biggest criticism is based on the fact that the anime is based on a mobile game, a gacha in this case, knowing that I ask you: How does this interfere with the quality of an anime? If the anime were based on a novel or manga, would it make any difference? I really disagree with this opinion, just like an anime based on a manga can be good, an anime based on a game or anything else can also be good.

The Amazing World of Music
In my opinion, the biggest positive point of this anime is the construction and presentation of its universe, which throughout the anime, is shown as a very vast universe, with a very interesting story, especially when we talk about the Musicarts. One of the things that most intrigues me in this universe is what in fact are the Musicarts? From what I understand, they are beings born of music, and used host bodies to be able to fulfill a purpose, which is to extinguish the D2s, which are creatures that plague this "post apocalyptic" world, but there are several loose ends as to what these beings really are, whether they were born from crystals that fell to earth years ago, or if they are simply an energy that takes possession of the bodies of human beings, and notice how this mystery is applied in a subtle way, at no point does the author put an expository dialogue or a self explanatory scene to show the origin of these beings, because this is not really relevant to the main story, and especially to the development of Takt's narrative arc. So the author made the right decision, because it all comes down to "goal", it all comes down to what goal the author wants to achieve with his story, and with that in mind, it is easy to remove what is not relevant to achieving that goal, and that is extremely rare in this anime and manga industry, where everything, absolutely everything needs to be thoroughly explained, and sometimes shown on screen in the format of expository dialogue. **coff coff Naturo coff coff coff**
Another mystery the author presents us with is how did the "end of this world" really occur, if it was with the arrival of the crystals, or with the beings that originated from it? At a certain point, the way the author decided to present us with the origin of this story reminds me a lot of what master Miyazaki does with his games, such as Dark Souls, showing us how everything happened, and the core of this universe, and the rest is up to us to "investigate", to think about how these facts happened, and once again, this type of narrative is very unusual in anime and manga, and just for this, the director of Takt Op. Fate already deserves our attention.

Takt is annoying, and that's good!
It is very important to know how to distinguish a character that we don't like, due to his personality or his actions, from a poorly written or poorly developed character, and here we have a clear example of that. Takt is an irritating character, his personality and way of acting is extremely negative, which reminds me a lot of a teenager, who always thinks everything is bad and is never satisfied with anything, and I must admit I hate teenagers, so it was obviously difficult to sympathize with a character who thinks and acts like a teenager, but this doesn't take away from the fact that Takt is a well developed character.
Takt's character arc is something very well done, showing us all his evolution, from his childhood, being forced to go through a very strong trauma, which made him very attached to music, because it was music that comforted and consoled him for the death of his father, to his evolution as a conductor, which are the people who "control" a Musicart to fight the D2s, so here we have everything we need to understand his motivations, and this makes him a multifaceted character, a real character, who has feelings, has goals, sorrows, and this is what makes Takt a good character, not a relateable character, at least for me, but it makes him an objectively good character.
Another character that was also very well worked was Destiny, because we were able to follow her whole story, from her birth as a Musicart, being a "cold" person with no feelings, to slowly learning how humans think, how they feel, to reaching the apex of human feeling, which is when she discovers that she loves Takt. I think the only mistake was the development of the relationship between Destiny and Takt, but I will talk more about this throughout this review. The other characters in this story are only utilitarian, because their actions are motivated only by the "collective good", as is the case of Anna or Lenny, which is of course impossible (or almost), that's why I was even amazed when Anna kisses Takt, because in no moment this feeling was shown as minimally believable in the development of that character, we can say that all the characters in this story are not humanly believable, except Takt and Destiny, who is not even human.

The Failures of Love
The relationship between Takt and Destiny seemed very strange to me overall, because it's never clear what they really feel for each other, you know? Not that the author needed to show this in a clear way with some scene or something, but even between the lines I couldn't make out their feelings of affection for each other, which makes the end of the anime a little disappointing at one point, because I always thought "of course at the end they will probably be together, there will be a kiss or something" and it really happens, but the way to get to this scene was poorly written, It's not clear or subjective Desnity's feelings about Takt, until then it just seems like a relationship of a driver with his Musicart, which makes it even stranger, because for a long time, Takt still sees Destiny as Cosette, and very suddenly starts treating her as Destiny, but I don't know if I slept through an episode, because I didn't see this trajectory between point A and point B, so really this whole love relationship between the two was not very well developed.

The subtext in Takt Op. Destiny
Speaking briefly about the subtext of this work, in my view, it was relatively explicit the message that the author wanted to pass with the "Big Picture" of his story, about the harm that the subjective "good" can bring, this is clear with Sagan's plan, where he intended to try to kill all the D2s, sacrificing thousands of lives in return, because the end justifies the means, right? Well, at least in the author's view, the answer is no. It is clear the criticism made here to totalitarian ideologies, which view the collective good in a relatively distorted way, which goes against the utilitarianism that is preached by the secondary characters in this work, after all, why is my view of "good" better than yours? This discussion is relatively interesting, showing how a person can commit atrocious acts for the common good, but to what extent can "good" really be considered "good"?

Madhouse & MAPPA = perfect marriage
Technically speaking, this anime is very good when it needs to be, all the action scenes (which are relatively few) are very well animated, and not only well animated, but also well directed, the whole conduction of the action scenes of the anime, the framing, the techniques used as camera shake, make these passages very intense and enjoyable to watch, even more in conjunction with the soundtrack of this anime. It's amazing how they managed to apply a soundtrack composed basically of classical music to marry so well with the aesthetics of the work, and of course, the soundtrack makes a metalinguistic joke with the plot of the work, because Takt's life story is wrapped in classical music, which makes the soundtrack of this work even more impressive.
And these passages of classical music are not only connected to the action scenes, because it is also present in occasional dialogues, or to help us feel what the author wants us to feel, such as the scene of Takt talking to Lenny on the balcony. So these tracks composed of violins, pianos and acoustic guitar are very well done and well applied in this work, which earns it some points with me.

A good anime, shrouded in unfounded criticism
In short, Takt Op. Destiny presents us with several qualities, such as the construction and development of its main characters, as well as the presentation of that universe, using the "find for yourself" technique, thus leaving several aspects open, a narrative technique that is very welcome by me. But the work fails on other points, such as the development of the anime's main antagonist, where although the anime briefly presented his motivations, I found them extremely poorly explained and developed, which did not make me sympathize with the character, narratively speaking of course. For this and others, I believe that yes, this is a good anime worth watching. There are a lot of criticisms we can make of it, but we can't limit ourselves to calling the anime "extremely bad" just because it's based on something you don't like.