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Katanagatari. Wow.
If you'd like just stop here. You should really watch this show. I'm a little fan boy. Everything is pretty damn good.
However the determined/stubborn/time wasting reader may have proceeded further into this review and for those rare people I now review and stop wasting your time.

Katanagatari is a unique show written by Nisio Isin, one of my favorite writers, famous for shows such as the mess that is the Bakemonogatari franchise and the Medaka Box. If you've seen/read either of these works then you know what to expect, fascinating characters mixed in with an interesting plot and with healthy doses of comedy.

Story-10
My poor knowledge ... of the Japanese language (mostly based off ramen and noodles) says that Katanagatari literally translates as "sword" and "story".
This is in short a story about collecting 12 magical swords forged by the great sword smith Shikizaki Kiki. The two leads Yasuri Shichika and Togame the Strategian must work to traverse Edo-era Japan to collect the swords on their way defeating traitorous ninjas, ex-bandits and the shades of their past (literally).
However this description does not truly do the show justice. On the surface the series appears as a fairly typical shounen-esque romp through a famous period in Japanese history. But the true meanings about legacy and duty are something that requires a good deal more thought and introspection.
Luckily the viewer will definitely have time for this as the 50 minute long episodes are extremely dialogue heavy (as expected from a show by the same writer as Bakemonogatari).
Without spoiling the show hits hard and is very, very clever.

Art-9
The art style for the show is once again fairly unique being relatively simplistic but with a lot of attention to detail. Personally it is beautiful. Elements such as the symbolism in the clothes that each character wears, to the variation and scope of the background scenes as the characters travel the land, really brought me into the world they were depicting. The fight scenes are also for the most part fantastically choreographed and animated, which means the show still gets by as an action show to a degree.
My only criticisms would be episode 7 which animated in an entirely different (and personally much lower quality) style which did make a low point of an episode which would of otherwise have been the high point of the show.
Also the fight scenes do disappoint towards the end either due to lack of budget(?) or just as an attempt to how show increasing power. A little bit sad but not breaking in any way.

Sound-9
Once again they hit home and do it hard.
The OP and ED are both acceptable but after the first repetition I did just skip them as neither competed in any way to the glory that is the show. Shame.
However the music throughout the show is fantastic with the highlight being “Bahasa Palus” which I may have been playing on loop constantly while writing this. Music fits the tone of the scene perfectly in all scenes ranging between the epic fight scenes to the casual comedy. What more can you ask for?
Voice acting is also superb (from the point of view of someone who speaks no Japanese). Special props go to Yoshimasa Hosoya for his role is Shichika and my personal favourite Yukari Tamura as Togame who carries out the role of a fantastic character amazingly (also appears as Remon from Ano Natsu, Rika from Higurashi and Seppuku bunny from Kampfer (for you true artisans of taste)).

Character-10
Where the show truly shines.
All of the leads are interesting, well developed characters, with driving motives behind their actions and decisions.
Our lead is Yasuri Shichika the orphaned son of the Kyoto Ryu family and current head. The strength in his character comes from his isolation from early childhood which leaves him with a unique world view and value system which places him many rungs above the shallow character he may initially appear as.
Next is Togame the self-appointed Strategian of the Shogunate who seeks the swords for her own goals and desire for power for reasons not entirely made clear *hint hint*. Togame plays the dual role of the fragile genius and the source of a good deal of the feels in this show, and my, there are a lot of feels.
The rest of the cast is extensive with a number of other main roles along with a large cast newly introduced each week in a cowboy beepbop-esque manner (Phrase stolen from a certain Demodeezy). New characters are seen each week and often discarded immediately afterwards but each is developed to an extent that few shows can match, and that in such a way that their effects on the characters are seen long afterwards. It is done extremely well with each one used to convey a small part of the overall message of the show.

Enjoyment-10
Very much so.
In case my gushing has not conveyed this I really quite liked this show. It is filled with deep meaning, symbolism and thoughts that pull together to make a true gem of an experience.
The show does something which I always feel the best anime’s do and that is be fluid in how they present their world encompassing many emotions into each episode with action, comedy, romance and sadness all shown in equal measures. (though some hurt more). The 50 minute run time for each episode can make it daunting and less casual. The lack of a dub is also significant with the sheer volume of words often thrown at the screen being overwhelming at times. However the show is a true treat.

Overall-10

Watch it.
You won’t regret it.
Unless you get emotionally scarred easily.
Or if you have human emotions.
It’s sad okay!

Ahhhh Nisekoi.
I first heard of Nisekoi via its popular and very long running manga (130 chapters so far), which when it heard it was being adapted and by Shaft no less (madoka and the monogatari series) I was very excited. Was I looking forward to the strong romance? The emotional situations? The satisfying ending? Nope. Because Nisekoi has none of this. Do not come here looking for a plot as this show has practically nothing to offer in that regard!
Speaking of plot...

Story-5
Giving the story of Nisekoi a score of 5 is probably a bit too generous. The show is practically the gold standard of what ... what you should expect from a Harem Rom-Com. Lots of girls. One oblivious guy. Amusing situations ensue. Job done. The entire show is essentially filler with maybe... 5 events happening which have any relevance going forwards? Nothing happens. Be very aware of this when you go into this show and maybe just resign yourself to enjoying each episode as it comes.
In general the show is a reverse Romeo and Juliet with the there being two warring factions. The twist however comes that the two youngest children are forced to pretend they're in a relationship to stop the war hence "nise"-fake and "koi"-love. However the leads don't exactly get on well and keeping this pretense up in front of others makes things rather complicated quickly.

Art-9
Its shaft. I'm sorry I'm a Shaft fan boy and I like their art style a lot. See bakemonogatari.
Luckily for some its not quite as unusual as some of their works or as rushed. Character designs and movement are solid as you would expect. Comic moments are assisted by lots of chibis and art style changes and all the standard Shaftisms are such as the sholder look, unneeded twirls and camera pans and cuts seemingly at random. As an aside I loved how coughs had their spit inserted as a cardboard cut out on a lollipop stick, ticked my fancy and I love those little details.
If you don't like it suck it up as there's a lot of it.
Oh and serious congrats for making a rat tail cute.

Sound-10
No real complaints here. Both OP's and ED's were really solid. Both OP's were by ClariS one of the very few j-pop bands I can stand. They all came with fairly interesting animation with the second OP being my personal favorite. Background music was also fantastic and I found myself humming along to a number of them which i was impressed with.
VA was also solid. I can't speak a word of Japanese but I enjoyed most of the voices. Special props go to Kana Hanazawa (-every cute girl in every shaft show ever-), Kouki Uchiyama (Soul and Ichika from IS) and Nao Touyama (from absolutely nothing I've seen). In general no glaring flaws I could hear.

Character-7
Its a harem. Don't expect much. At base characters consist of -insert your own name here- protagonist, rich girl Tsudere, shy girl, even bigger tsudere and self insert girl just trying to get the protagonists d**k wet.
However I really quite enjoyed some of the support characters and the show spent quite a bit of time developing people's back-stories compared to most harems. Despite not much development happening to any of the characters I can't honestly say I dislike them or that there was much more room for it. Though I might be spoiled by having read the manga first.

Enjoyment-9
Yes.
Looking at this show objectively has made me realize just how bad elements of it are. The mad art style. The absurd ass pulls to ensure the plot did not progress. The blatant obviousness of how some episodes were going to go and how stereotypical so many of the events were. Its all so bad!
However it is really good fun. I look back on all this absurdity fondly as 20 weeks well spent waiting for the next episode of blandness. Nothing suprises me in this show and I didn't want it to.
The show is full of all the ridiculousness that I want from a Rom-Com harem but if you don't like that stuff then don't watch this.

Overall-8
The key to this show is that you will probably enjoy it. Its silly, unrealistic, has nothing to surprise you with and the romance goes nowhere.
However its fun and quirky and for those coming off the Monogatari series and wanting more of it this will probably do until they get around to Kizumonogatari. Or Hanamonogatari. Oh Shaft.
Hope it gets a second season!

Right!
This is my first review here so please spare me internet while I add to the huge ocean of random stuff!
Black Bullet was a show that I picked up after watching Guilty Crown and its fair to say if you liked that you'll like this. I hasten to add I would never claim Guilty Crown is good, but it is fun, and we all like to have fun do we not?
So was Black Bullet fun or a disaster? Lets see!

Story-3
My impression of Black Bullets story was of a director trying too hard. Calling someone a Try-hard should not be taken as an insult however. ... The plot seemed to be trying to fit in every dramatic plot twist from every other show ever in a 13 episode series. Action! School Drama! Love triangles (or more like a hexagon or dodecagon if you're fussy)! Revenge! Apocalypse! Robots! Zombies! Politics! Persecution! Loli! Look how cute the Loli are!Loli!
The story was in general quite a mess with supposedly dramatic events being thrown at the screen and never explained. My favorite being the tricycle from episode 4 which was never explained. However it did set up some impressively epic events which I enjoyed the scope of so its not a total loss.
In short most of humanity is dead, and trapped within cities surrounded by giant monoliths, built to keep the mysterious monsters created by the Gastrea virus out of the city. The best weapon humanity has are the Cursed Children, children born from mothers infected by the Gastrea and born super strong and intelligent and guided by promoters, similarly talented adults.
In shorter, sounds pretty cool.

Art-7
It looked pretty good.
Wait I need to write more?
Okay compared to most stuff coming out this year it compared fairly well. There were some very noticeable sudden drops in quality and the CGI for the Gastrea was awful.
The colour palate was quite varied and the character design fairly solid with the lolis especially getting a lot of attention. And (I flinch as I say this) they were drawn adorably at times. I swear half their art budget went on making those work.

Sound-9
Actually somewhere where the show shone. The OP and ED were both pretty solid with the OP being maybe my favorite of the season. The animation for the OP however was pretty poor using mostly frames taken from the show and the first version being much better synched with the music. The ED was done significantly better in that regard. I did feel the OP borrowed slightly from AoT's but hey that was a good OP.
The background music was also pretty good.I especially enjoyed the jazz theme that played with Tina Sprout and Enju's theme also.
I don't speak Japanese but the voice acting seemed good as well. They had a couple of my favorite VA's including Yui Horie (Hanekawa, Kouko and Minori) and Yuki Kaji (Eren from AoT and Shu from Guilty Crown).

Characters-3
Characters really suffered in this show. most received essentially no development and there were a significant number a times where I was being shown an emotional scene and just thinking "I don't care". The bare levels of characterization that were set down were at times simply ignored and, even worse, sometimes brought back an instant later like nothing had happened. Again more time to actually show the journey the characters made would've been nice.
As I might have alluded to previously a biggest problem I had with the show was the Loli aspect. I object to the idea of Loli in general but that's fine. Why else do you watch anime except for something a bit different? Loli can be done well (see bakemonogatari) and it can be funny and adorable. However the sheer number of Loli characters all wanting to get boned by an 20 year old... nope. Not cool.
The leads were not entirely terrible. The Lead Lead Rentaro (definitely a phrase) was actually very solid being a step beyond the typical harem -insert your name here- character and actually showed quite a degree of compassion and awareness of the girls around him. He was a typical badass with a bit of filling. Enju, Rentaro's partner, was also fairly solid at times balancing the frailty of a young child thrown into a brutal situation quite well with sudden ability to bounce back typical of a child. And unlike the rest she did at least have a reason to love the main character. But as mentioned before important events seem to just disappear in characters minds rather than scaring them for life. I'm evil I enjoy that stuff.

Enjoyment-8
Despite all I've said I really quite enjoyed this show. There was a fairly equal balance between "This is awesome" and "This is stupid" moments but the awesome was fairly awesome and the stupid was so stupid it was kinda fun.
However I would not recommend this unless you have pretty good stupidity filters. The change from solemn coolness to forced romance Loli loving can be very jarring.

Overall-5
Mal says it all. Mediocre.
Its not rubbish (well maybe it is) and its certainly not great. However it is fun and I would say if you have a rainy day and nothing else you particularly want to watch then this will fill a gap. Expect fun not a masterpiece.
Also if you like Tetsuro Araki then this is definitely the show for you. The whole thing feels like a huge homage to his work.

Thanks for reading!