The genre of this anime, as well as the fact that it came out in the same season as two other similar animes (Rakudai and Asterisk), means that this anime will inevitably be compared to the other two shows. It seems to me that this show was generally less well-received than the other two shows, and after watching it, deservedly so.
Story: 5/10 and Characters 6/10
To be succinct, this show's story was nothing special, but was thoroughly made worse by its execution. Not to blame the studio, of course, seeing as they only had 12 episodes to work with, much like Rakudai. If it were
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adapted into 2 cours of 12 episodes each much like Asterisk, this show would have been much better. At least, the content would be delivered way better.
From the outset, its premise is nothing special, which, considering its genre, is nothing to gripe about. I actually found the general feel to the show rather refreshing. The militaristic and slightly darker tone to the show's story was something that I felt set it apart from other animes of the same genre, and if done well, could truly make this show excel. But ultimately, this anime fell short in doing so.
One of the reasons was that the typical harem tropes were widely prevalent in this show. With so many typical harem scenes like accidentally touching a girl's boobs, or walking into them while they were showering, as well as some cosplay scenes, to name a few, it was difficult to actually take this show seriously. The fanservice wasn't too excessive though. It was moreso the cliched scenes that kept showing up. Not to mention a certain corny line that kept popping up, so much so that by the end, it was pretty much a joke hearing it.
Another big problem was the pacing. As a whole, the story is divided into multiple arcs that each focused and "fleshed" out a particular character. And yes, with those quotation marks, I mean to say that they did it pretty horribly.
As I've said, with only 12 episodes, it's only natural they tried to fit as much content in as possible in order to captivate the audience with the plot. However, in doing so, they rushed every arc, with each arc I think lasting around 2-3 episodes. The dark elements of the plot felt so badly done because they were over before you knew it, and resolved so simply it felt it was never even an issue. The struggles the characters faced didn't really feel that great too, considering the enormity of it all could be ameliorated by the main character, Takeru, taking half your fucking burden.
Individual episodes also felt stupidly rushed. Without spoiling anything, it's hard to truly explain what I felt while watching the show. I just felt so on edge watching the show, because it was full of climaxes, but no buildup. Often, I found myself watching the previous episode again to understand what on earth was going on in the next episode because everything would escalate so quickly you felt as though you'd missed something. And yeah, the show did miss a lot of the light novel's content.
To this date, I still don't understand the combat system, and I don't think I ever will unless I read the light novels. All this Relic Eater, witch-hunter, god-hunter bullshit seemed to be just shoved in your face. Then you have your villains that are somehow immortal, and capable of doing just about anything, while screaming "Hallelujah" (No kidding, Haunted was a pretty cool villain).
In terms of characters, I think the villains were pretty badly done. They felt completely irrelevant. That's to be expected for the villains of the individual arcs, but even the main villains, supposedly Valhalla, felt like sidemen. I think this was because we don't even know their motivations, nor do we know their backstories. In other words, you could chuck them in just about any anime as it would still work.
You've got a couple of enigmatic characters that never got any screentime. (Sougetsu, the strongest Witch Hunter guy, Kusanagi Orochi, etc.) As a result, much of the show is still shrouded in mystery. Even your supposed main protagonist is an enigma. We don't understand their powers, and their backstories are barely touched upon. Heck, even the characters of each character arc might be more fleshed out than the male protagonist. Takeru keeps going on about his sword style but when I watch it animated, it just looks like some overpowered sword arts with no technical aspect to it.
The romance aspect of the show is also pretty terribly done. Much of it is down to the pacing of the show. Because I think I'm rambling on too long, all I'll say is that characters fall head over heels with Takeru waay too easily. All the "half your burden" shit also got a bit stale over time.
In conclusion, the story and the characters are just as you would expect from a typical action-harem show. You've got your generic characters, a bad main character, as well as a plot full of harem tropes. Most of the cast are unmemorable, in part due to the fact that they receive no development, and are thus easily forgettable. The show was horribly paced, and even the fighting felt horrible in spite of the animation because zero thought was given to the technical aspect of things. Just another light novel series ruined by the 12 episode restriction and lack of detail in content being animated.
Art: 7/10 and Sound: 9/10
Considering the workload of the animation studio during this season (Rakudai, Shomin Sample, and this), it's quite amazing that the animation quality was still this solid. It was nothing ufotable-esque, but it was smooth enough that the show was still rather enjoyable in spite of the poor story and characters.
The colours were generally darker in this show, which suited the show well. That said, it was still rather difficult to truly appreciate the animation when the things being animated were incomprehensible.
The soundtrack of this show is perhaps the best thing about it. Both opening and ending were superb. Like seriously. The lead-in to the music is also fantastic, and it generally suited the show very well. The OSTs were nothing memorable, which is largely why it fails to earn a perfect grade. But still, it was solid especially in fighting scenes. It also brought out the dark tones of the series well.
Enjoyment: 7/10 and Overall: 6/10
All in all, this was nothing but a forgettable show. Apart from the soundtrack, everything about this show screamed mediocrity. Maybe even worse. That's not to detract anything away from the entertainment value of the show though. Yes, while you may have trouble understanding much of the show due to the lack of detail in it, and the show may feel horribly rushed as a result, you should still be enjoy the action scenes.
I doubt this will be getting a season 2 since it wasn't that well-received as a show, and I won't be weeping tears over that. However, a season 2 would definitely be a big plus to the show as the show concluded rather poorly, with a lot of gaping holes in the plot left unfulfilled.
Dec 27, 2015
Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai
(Anime)
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The genre of this anime, as well as the fact that it came out in the same season as two other similar animes (Rakudai and Asterisk), means that this anime will inevitably be compared to the other two shows. It seems to me that this show was generally less well-received than the other two shows, and after watching it, deservedly so.
Story: 5/10 and Characters 6/10 To be succinct, this show's story was nothing special, but was thoroughly made worse by its execution. Not to blame the studio, of course, seeing as they only had 12 episodes to work with, much like Rakudai. If it were ... |
