Stella C3 baits its viewers charmingly. To those who were lured in by the idea of moe girls shooting firearms in a "convincing" environment, they were in for a surprising well-established plot; focusing on the development of characters through the relatable aspects of the lost sense of belongingness in between social terms and themselves, and all the way to metaphors of the horrors of war, statements on abandonment on the field, loss of self, and real self-guiding philosophy.
All of those elements slowly start leaking in menacingly and worryingly, keeping viewers interested in the tone it takes next. It's very fun to predict the next unnerving moment in the anime slyly pretending to be moe. It should be noted the ingenuity behind the direction of the OP and ED, with the OP hinting to the show's hidden nature with a menacing guitar rift you can hear near the beginning and the end. The ED is playful and cheery by nature, and it is almost a relief to hear it after some of the show's cliffhanger endings. It's definitely annoying at first, but it'll grow on you in the most unexpected of ways.
Some great scenes were when the world was literally replaced by imagined or illusionary areas. The anime doesn't explain itself here, not out of laziness or because it is doubting itself, but because it doesn't need to; and in doing so, adds to the atmosphere of Stella C3, and the concept and dreamyness of finding things you need in desperate times.
Most aspiringly, it does all of this while staying true to anime's typical tropes. Juggling its defined story with Naked in your room, Running during credits, Beach Episode, etc. I should note that only the Beach Episode felt forced -- while other tropes I've spotted were mostly decent to absolutely well-handled at best. In general, the anime takes itself seriously, in which it succeeds completely (and I grin hugely at such feats), and puts to shame the massive hordes of shows that desperately try to.
In a technical scale, Gainax shows their renowned prowess, but like all animes the animations seem to cut corners during mid-season episodes. It's still respectable; and it's fun to see the OP and ED change every other episode until the show's plot has fully revealed itself.
The sound direction in Stella C3 is superb for what it has been ordered for. The airsoft guns sound powerful and authentic, and give a satisfying "bang" to the ear. The impacts from rolling and flattening yourself against a wall to take cover sound like they take real effort (until it is shattered by the monkey character). And the clicks and shuffles of the firearms sound tactile and make me want to shake my backpack around.
I discovered Stella C3 when it was related to a video game called Spec Ops: The Line. While obviously not like Spec Ops in many ways for many reasons, watching Stella C3 in Spec Ops' perspective and watching Stella C3 AS ITS OWN, has been an uninhibited flat-out wondrous joy.
