Story - 9 - As much as I loved the story, there were times when I didn't quite understand what was going on. It at times seemed a little fast paced for the mind to keep up, and then there were times when it seemed a little too slow for my taste. But then the story picked back up and kept me interested for quite some time. So, yes, the story has it's ups and downs, and I don't think it as all overly original, for dungeons have always been a popular topic for both animes and games recently. But it does have it's creative moments with many of the events that happen within and the abilities that reside there.
Art - 10 - I do have to say, the art was wondrous. The scenery was always breath-taking and never looked out of place. The monster designs were interesting and different at times as well as the characters. No one person looked the same, everyone was unique in their own style. I also loved the different art styles used through-out the anime, had very intense art for important parts and then little chibis for the comedy. It all fit together rather well.
Sound - 10 - The voice actors were stellar, the emotion always present in their voices and acting, you could really feel everything that the actor and character was trying to express. I have to say, without the voices that were in this, I don't think the anime could have been such a hit. They could switch from a light mood and go straight into a darker situation within seconds of the anime. And the music fit well with the focus of the anime, the opening and endings always catchy but symbolic to the anime. The background music has a certain feel to it that often was able to explain many situations that occurred and the sound effects were spot on.
Character - 10 - Like every anime, there were your good characters and your bad characters, yes, even I found some characters that I rather disliked. I could never find myself to like Judal, he just didn't seem right to me to begin with, I personally always found him a little off. But one thing about him, is that I never really get to know much about him. Even though I think his personality was made for use to dislike him, we can help but wonder about who exactly he is. The same can be said about many other characters that appear in this, not everything about them is revealed in this season, which leads more to be said in the next one.
Enjoyment - 9 - Like I said, when I first started watching, I couldn't bring myself to stop. But there were times when I found myself bored and like I was about to fall asleep. Thankfully, these moments were few and far between. Mostly through my experience watching it, I was sucked and always eager to watch the next episode. There was a time when I was around episode 15 and such, and I had to retire for the night, but I did not want to go to sleep. Course, I forced myself to stop and get some rest but the minute I woke up, I went straight back to watching it. The anime is rather addicting and hard to put done at times, but I guess that's what makes a good anime, in a sense.
Overall - 10 - I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on watching the anime. The only down point I see to this is that I must now await the second season. Thankfully, I've started this anime late in the game and have little time to wait for the second installment that is said to be released in October of this year. I eagerly await this new season and look forward to the tales it is likely to unfold for us. I highly recommend this anime.
