The story has a simple introduction of our main character, Jonah. He's a child who has lost his parents in a war and is now a child soldier in said war. What country this war takes place is unspecified (for the simplicity's sake, I reckon), but Jonah looks like he's originating from the middle east. Shortly after, Jonah is introduced to the money-loving, top of the food-chain and absolutely nuts woman; Koko. Koko is part of her family's logistics company: HCLI. They transport weapons to clients and Jonah is now part of Koko's crew which consists of persons from all over the world, from various organizations and gangs or whatever it may be.
I have to say, the development is rather nice (maybe even more so than the second season, if you ask me!) and it was indeed a pleasant surprise when I first started watching. I'm not going to dive further into the various complex situations revolving around the story, that would just ruin the experience. I am, however, going to rate the story 8/10.
The artwork isn't really standing out much, but it isn't necessarily bad either. There's multiple fast shooting-scenes and CQC (close quarter combat) involved, which in my experience tend to lead towards poorly animated frames, but Jormungand actually delivers quite well in that sense. Some of the scenes left me with a sense of disappointment due to some poor execution, but all in all, I can't really complain. 7/10 on art.
Now let's get into the real awesome part of Jormungand that really sets it apart from other action animations; sound. The soundtracks in Jormungand are fantastic. If you ever get to watch Jormungand, make sure you watch it with good headphones or with good speakers. The opening in both seasons really hyped me for what was about to come (even though it's stuffed with Engrish), but as I said, the soundtracks are what really makes it so damn good. I highly suggest that you look through the various OST's and listen through them thoroughly. Giving sound anything other than 10/10 would be unforgivable to me.
The characters of Jormungand don't really get introduced too much until the second season, where they try to focus on getting to know the background of all the characters. This may leave you a bit unsatisfied, but the characters themselves are still pretty damn awesome. The first season, I'd say, is more focused on Jonah and Koko, whereas the second season is more focused on the group as a whole. Anyhow, I will give character 7/10 for this one.
Most important of all is, however, the enjoyment. I can gladly say that I indeed enjoyed watching armies getting slaughtered and see Sofia's mad skills with knives. Jormungand delivers, I have to say that, although it's not delivering all the way for me. It has good action, kickass sound and characters fit for the role, but in the end I think they needed more episodes to develop the story. My enjoyment rating on Jormungand is going to be 9/10.
Overall I give Jormungand 8/10 and if you're looking for action that might not be as braindead as you think; you've come to the right place.
