Nov 18, 2018
(No spoiler review.)
Poor Toji no Miko.
It makes sense that it has a low MAL rating. It's an all-girls action anime. Since when has anything good come from that genre? But may I ask that you look at the cover image once more and embrace your primitive inhibitions. Open your shitty anime streaming browser and bring up Toji no Miko. Your desire to see cute, gay anime girls with swords will serve as the catalyst of your journey. 24 episodes of Katana Lesbians awaits you.
Story: 7
Toji no Miko has a perfectly good story. Actually, it's just a good story, because there is absolutely nothing perfect
...
about it. It's got its fair share of plot holes and likes to leave certain things unexplained but when it does something right, trust me, it does it right.
You know, it's sort of admirable watching the story unfold. Even though it's far from perfect, it's easy to see that the writers were clearly motivated and inspired to write a narrative to the best of their abilities (despite somethings that are rather half-assed). Toji no Miko's got everything to make a entertaining story, even if it's not perfect. Know that while there are quite a few exposition dumps, they all serve a purpose. So, if you're in the mood for a narrative with stakes and world building, you've found your next anime.
Characters: 9
Here we go, now it's getting good.
The characters were possibly the best aspect of the series - the interactions in particular - and with a main cast of 6, that is certainly unexpected. 6 is quite large for a main cast after all, when the average seems to be around 4. This is why 24 episode anime are great. They have time on their side and when the writers have the freedom to establish and develop their characters at a proper pace, then a truly good show can be made. I can't imagine having a fully developed cast of 6 characters within 12 episodes. Our leads each have their own unique personalities and their interactions are heartwarming and funny, never failing to make me grin. They depend on one another to overcome their flaws and grow as characters. And for you disgusting, filthy shippers, there is plenty of fuel here. Kanami and Hiyori establish a powerful bond over the course of the series. It is a slow yet realistic development and is fucking adorable. You will find barrels of shipping fuel between Sayaka and Mai as well. If the characters weren't so good, my score would've been much lower.
Art: 5
This one is a doozy. It's got its ups and downs for sure but for the most part, the animation was fairly standard. The CG sword fights had ugly, lifeless models but as a result, the fight choreography looked far more dynamic. Sometimes I'd forget that the models were CG and instead be impressed by the fluid movements. Many people complained about the face shapes being weird and they certainly did at some parts but I hardly ever noticed this. It's easy to tell where the budget went. Basically, if you play certain scenes frame by frame have your screenshot tool ready cause you're gonna find a lot of good reaction images.
Sound: 6
Both openings were damn good but in terms of background music it could've used some work. That one, sad, emotional song was played a bit too much and it sounded way too angsty especially in the circumstances it was used. The only time the sad music was ever used effectively was during a comedy scene. I hardly ever noticed the BGM while watching so it just didn't resonate with me. The openings make this worth a 6.
Enjoyment: 8
Toji no Miko was a fun, entertaining series that managed to execute the more serious scenes effectively. It's got swords, cute gay girls, superpowers and monsters, so when you combine all of that you got yourself a really fun series. The characters are worth a more in-depth analyses, but Toji no Miko really just tries to be enjoyable rather than a deep and thought provocative anime.
Overall: 7
Without a doubt, Toji no Miko blew my expectations out of the water. All-girl action anime have always been something I wanted to like but the writing is usually so terrible not even someone as shallow as me can enjoy it. The story is good, the characters are great and while the ending should've been expanded upon, Toji no Miko is an anime that I will remember fondly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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