Card Wang: Mix Master

(This is being written from the standpoint of the English Dub)

"Destiny is all you need to play." Probably one of the weirdest phrases I have heard but it will be stuck with you for the entirety of this series. Not much needs to be said about this series besides it is something that honestly never gets talked about or even mentioned. Let us see why that is...

Story (6/10): The summary/synopsis to this series pretty much gives you everything you need to know. Not really much else needs to be said. It is your standard child and monster/weird creature anime. Though it focuses more on more ... of a fusion mechanic, which is what drew me to it initially. You have the chosen one who must save the world from evil and that is about it. Nothing even remotely groundbreaking or new but the story exists and proceeds how you would expect it to.

Art(6/10): I wish I could be a bit harder on this show's animation and it definitely has some oddly drawn and animated characters but it can honestly be overlooked. This isn't a show where you come for the art and the unique animation but since it is geared towards kids you have to be pretty forgiving for what it is. Nothing egregious but nothing outstanding either.

Sound(7/10): The soundtrack is actually quite good, it captures the mood of the various scenes well. The opening is without a doubt one of the most catchiest songs I have ever heard and even after not watching this show for half a decade I still remember it. The voice acting itself is also quite good for a kids show and I think each voice actor performs their roles quite well. I believe there are only a handful of voice actors in the show but their range of voices is quite wide so it never makes you think "Hey! Isn't this the same voice as so and so?". The opening and ending themes are exactly the same, one is just an instrumental version of the other so not much to talk about there.

Character(5/10): Now this is less about character development and more about character design. The character development is typical children show progression and not worth mentioning except for maybe Giara and Prince Brad(who is probably the strongest point of the show). For a show centered around collecting monster and making new monsters, it probably has the worst monster designs I have seen in my life. The special monster friends in this are called "Hench", which just hits the ear weird and makes it sound like instead of the creatures being friends to the main characters they are "henchmen". It is a minor annoyance of mine but I feel like they could have chosen a better name. A vast majority of them are just so lazy and uninspired, like they put the bare minimum in designing them. You might enjoy maybe one or two by the end but even I doubt that. They aren't visually interesting to look at, they have no unique personality quirks, no unique/defining abilities, not even remotely interesting names. Some of their names literally being a description of what they are, ex. Metal Hopper, which is as you would guess a metal grasshopper. However, when it comes to the human, elves and dark elves design the show isn't nearly as terribly. They are all easy to identify and that is good. Prince Brad on the other hand is just a really strong antagonist. Not in terms of "evilness" or anything like that but his design, his personality, and mannerisms make the show less of a chore to sit through. He feels like the type of character that honestly doesn't belong in such a show but thinking of any other show where he would fit in is honestly a bit of a task. He is just plain goofy fun and I love it.

Enjoyment(8/10): Despite for being such a bland show, it isn't terrible. It never feels too slow nor does it ever feel too fast. Episodes go by quickly and information is given to you in a timely manner. I can't really find it in my heart to hate it even if I don't have high praise for it. It doesn't overstay its welcome and I can appreciate that.

Overall(7/10): Is this show worth watching? Eh. If you really need something to watch I guess but you aren't missing out on much. Check it out if you wish and you might just enjoy the little story it has to tell you.