What the first episode implies that this show will be is a very lighthearted, ecchi, comedic (albeit idiotic and not funny at all) anime about a humanoid weapon (who of course looks like a young girl) as she discovers the wonders of the human world from television to the warmth of human interaction. Episode 3 turns the entire lighthearted atmosphere upside down and shows that this anime can also have a VERY dark atmosphere at times. However, the show is inconsistent with that atmosphere and it comes and goes so much that it loses most of its effect.
Anyway, onto the story. The show begins with our generic "help everyone else before myself" protagonist named Haruaki (voiced by Yuki Kaji). One day, an odd package from his father arrives at his house where he lives alone. This box is no ordinary box as it is impenetrable and baffles Haruaki to the point where he just decides to leave it alone. But, the box ends up turning into our flat-chested, energetic female protagonist named Fear. Haruaki then proceeds to go through the fastest acceptance of a strange supernatural girl appearing at his house I have ever seen. It makes some sense since it turns out that his tsundere childhood friend, Konoha, is also the same kind of "cursed weapon" as Fear. The rest of the first episode consists of Fear being left alone in Haruaki's house while the other two go to school (what a great idea) and it just follows Fear as she discovers different things about the world.
After that, the actual plot begins and we find out more about what Fear and Konoha are and about the curses that go along with them. However for a reason that is never explained, Haruaki is immune to these curses which allows him to fight with Konoha (who can become a sword) without suffering the consequences like most people would. The story never really focuses on one objective and in the end, is in dire need of a second season as it keeps introducing characters right up until the end credits of the last episode. The different plots tend to focus on different characters like Fear, another girl who is Haruaki's class president named Kirika, and a few other minor characters who aren't Konoha because she never gets to be a focal character despite being a main character. The series also has very poor villains who only stick around for a few episodes at a time and more annoyed me than anything else.
The animation and soundtrack are some of the better aspects of this show. The first opening is actually what interested me in the anime originally (before the first episode killed that interest twice) and the first ending is a beautiful ballad which stands above most generic ballad ending songs in my opinion. The show switches openings and endings later in the show (despite this being only 12 episodes) and neither really impressed me as much as the first ones. The second opening puts focus on Kirika rather than Fear despite that never actually happening in the show.
The characters' designs are good but none really stand out all that much. Fear is your typical flat-chested girl, Konoha (aka "Cow Tits") is the busty girl who Fear envies, and Kirika looks like your typical "mature girl" on the "outside." The characters also wear their school uniforms about 75% of the time. To top it all off, I have no idea why they would have a villain who wears clothes that make her look like a nun (she's not one in case you're wondering), but they did. Most of the action scenes look great, especially the VERY dark ones, however, there are some moments where things (like smoke in the background of a fight) seem a little awkwardly animated. There are also some moments where the show tries its hand at some more surreal animation tricks like making a clock tick and appear every so often during a speech or showing a character on a white background with only their shadow around them. I generally like things like this, but this show did not know how to time them correctly and they just ended up as random moments where the animation sometimes even contradicted how the characters were feeling.
The soundtrack, aside from what I mentioned before, is good but nothing outstanding. It's pretty forgettable especially during the lighthearted scenes and only makes itself noticeable during some of the darker fights.
"C3" is a great example of an anime that didn't know what it wanted to be. It tries to be a lighthearted high school comedy, a VERY dark psychological action story, a story about how humans really aren't as bad as they may seem, a story of redemption (which ties into the dark one as well), etc. It introduces and then moves on from its poor villains.....I would say too quickly for development but I was glad when they were finally gone. The main characters have hardly any development, the "behind the scenes" organizations are never explained, what exactly these "cursed weapons" are and why Haruaki is immune to their curses are never explained, and the show ends crying out for a second season by showing a few new characters right at the very end. Considering it came out two years ago and doesn't seem to be very well received, I do not expect it to receive a second season. On that note, I would recommend passing on "C3," and only watch the great first opening and ending if you think you can avoid getting interested in watching this way below average anime.
