Ah, how fitting, this quote essentially sums up all of the action fight scenes. Expect a lot of girl/guy interactions at all times, especially during the fighting scenes. On top of that, do you like well-designed girls, magic, and an MC who isn't a enfeebled, useless, chump? In other words, if you have expressed some interest into watching this show you must be into the shounen/ecchi genres, so this review will be how adept this anime performs in being a worthy shounen/ecchi action anime. This is a review, so I'm just trying to be helpful in judging whether or not you will like this show—this is some insight without any spoilers to give a hint of the overall gist of the story.
===== Basic Info =====
Campione! is set in modern-day and begins with a normal, somewhat lackadaisical main protagonist, Kusanagi Godou who is ignorant to all of the magic present in the world. One day, while unknowingly delivering a precious magical artifact as an errand for his grandfather, he encounters a Great Knight, and gets caught up in the world of magic. In an overwhelming series of events, he defeats a god using his magical artifact, and thus begins Campione!
====== Characters: 7.5 ======
Kusanagi Godou
He typifies the dense MC archetype, the lucky chum loved by a variety of females, and a character done many times before. Nothing special can define him: he is your typical shounen hero who girls fawn over due to his exhibition of such a righteous sense of ethical altruism, though his character design/voice isn't unlikable unlike some other harem characters (cough* Makoto cough*.) He can actually be a decent character that can actually be badass, uhhhh sometimes. The girls ostensibly think of him as someone who is very 'different' and 'worthy' compared to all of the other gods, and this is their basis for their feelings for him.
The Girls(The good girls)
Each of the girl has errrr say a realistic looking body size, bust and everything. No abnormally flat-chested girls, or the girl with the gigantic cow udders. This is actually a positive thing for this anime/genre. This show, often compared to The Familiar of Zero or Shakugan no Shana actually offers a fresh set of WORTHY(not saying the Shana or Louise are bad characters at all! ) girls who all get a decent chance at the MC. I found myself rooting for a side character I got personally attached to, not the main girl at times due to the fact that all of these girls' personalities are not entirely clichéd. Like real life, the girls have unique in the way they act towards the MC, but at the same time, they possess similar tendency and disposition in that they all, in someway, feel for the MC. I felt like most of the girls had a real chance with the MC, which is fresh and a welcoming harem aspect, from other similar animes where the harems are so obvious that we facepalm at every new girl that interacts with the MC. Needless to say, the interactions between the girls and the MC are quirky at times and are overall, designed fairly well.
Antagonists(See second paragraph of Story Section)
====== Story: 6.5 ======
Straightforwardly, Campione! is an uncomplex, linear, story that typifies the bash-em-up shounen/ecchi anime with set in the premise of Greek and Roman mythology; the story may be a weaker component of this anime, but that doesn't make the anime a 'not watch' for any reason. The plot is driven through Kusanagi Godou and his onslaught of various gods. As you can probably already tell, Kusanagi Godou is a God-Slayer, higher than a god (an overpowered character), so the results for each fight is practically predictable. In almost every other episode, there is always a sense of imminent danger to the highest degree, god scaled world threatening situations where the puissant protagonist is always thrown into. However, unlike other animes, the way that the show goes about this is . . . an edification of greek and roman god knowledge. WAIT, what, the plot moves forward through history lessons? Yes, as implausible as this sounds, this is the defining factor in this anime, it is whoever knows more about the true identity of the deity triumphs. As Godou learns more and more about Greek and Roman mythology, he taps into his otherworldly power. However, the only way for him to gain this knowledge is through kissing (no joke). Learning = kissing = power. This is how the MC wins, every time he learns new 'history' about Greek and Roman deities through and punishes the enemy 'gods', who are often 'messing around' because they are bored.
"I used to think that they were these mighty, omniscient beings. But now that I've actually met them, gods seem more childish than anyone." —Kusanagi Godou. This quote is in actuality, a very accurate representation for the motive behind the misbehaving of the gods(the antagonists); it displays why these gods are all antagonistic. These gods, like children, just want to have some fun because they are just THAT bored and carefree. Watching gods mess around might sound interesting, but this leads to the clichéd 'The world will end if we don't defeat the enemy theme' in almost EVERY episode, starting from episode one. This anime is not spectacular by any means but does not fall into a pit of inferiority due to its strong cast and really catering to people who love kickass-shounen at heart. It is an anime without a deep intricate plot. Uncomplex and simplistic, the story revolves around how the main character literally runs around his unraveling the history of gods, which defeat the enemy, all while gathering more girls to be a part of his troupe. Rinse and repeat this. This archetype of an anime has been done many times before and is therefore not a high priority must watch, but is a fine-dandy anime if you find you have some desperate time to dawdle—it's solid watch for shounen/ecchi fans.
===== Art: 9 ======
No squabbles here, the characters, all of them are well-drawn. The girls are distinctly different from each other, without being too blatant. This show does a wonderful of keeping the girls' appearances realistic, avoiding the all too common geeky super smart nerdy girl with zero tits who is actually a surprisingly talented fighter, or the ironic innocent, big breasted girl who has had no experiences with males. The anime had a decent budget, and thus the art for the time was pretty good art. Watching the show in HD actually makes a difference as the art is fluid and natural with well-animated fight scenes.
===== Sound: 8 =====
Not much to comment about here. The opening and ending are standard upbeat j-pop songs with nothing too special. The music really sets the mood for this anime. Other background tunes are unobtrusive and to a certain degree, somewhat enthralling, but there are no 'standout' must listen to soundtracks. Right off the bat, it can be easily observed that this anime will be a lighthearted ecchi/shounen flick with a developING(never fully develops) romantic subplot. Voice acting is superb with a talented cast, no annoying characters/voices here.
====== Enjoyment: 7.5 rounded to 8 /Final Note ======
Overall, an enjoyable shounen/ecchi built on its solid cast, gorgeous girls, refined artwork, and fluid animations. Do not expect to expect to be too immersed into a deep story here. Watching this show is effortless; don't think too much on the simplistic plot, but indulge yourself into the other elements that were well executed. I quite enjoyed this show due to the attractive, realistic looking characters, and their quirky interactions they had with the MC. The ending for was quite lackluster, par at best, but there is always the completed (translated) light novel that continues the story if you are left craving for more.
