Most likely
Anime is a way of expressing a story, which is what it was mainly invented for. This anime does a good job of doing it.
Story - 8
The story of Zero no Tsukaima is pretty complex, yet simple to take in. There a lot of stuff being set up such as a slowly changing sky, which I didn't even notice was changing until it had importance. Our main character as the synopsis says, Saito cannot return to the real world, so he's stuck with whatever occurs throughout the anime without being able to do anything until he accepts the fact that he can't go back and embraces where he is now. I would call one of these stories a 'passive' story, as things just occur with the main character just reacting with what happens. With a 'passive' story, the anime would rather be dull. However, with several plot twists that occur, all I can say is, "Wow, I had a bad feeling that would happen". Some of the plot twists are a bit obvious, while others are very, very slight. This is how you keep a viewer interested, by keeping them engaged, trying to figure out the story.
Art/Animation - 8
Although this was made in 2006, the art is fantastic. I thought I'd be annoyed with the old school 'huge shine on eye thingy', but it never really bothered me as it actually personified them. No real issues here, nothing too fancy either. Just some simple fire, water and such. As for animation, I'd say it's above average. As for animation, there's nothing fancy here either. Just enough animating to make sense of what's happening. Not very good fighting choreography, however, but you can really feel the power of attacks sometimes.
Sound/Music - 9
I really enjoyed the background music of this anime. It added so much light/dark to the anime where it was needed. As for sound effect, all were fine and sounded realist enough for me to give to an A. But again, how can we call magic sounds realistic? The sounds just 'work' for the occasion, sounding strong when it's strong, and weak when it's weak.
Characters - 7
There IS a HARDCORE TSUNDERE character in here. There's a reason as to why she's tsundere, unlike some anime... Please don't drop animes because a character has 'this trait'. It ruins a lot of good animes out there, including this one. The characters are pretty consistant, but my main problem here is that there isn't a good amount of background information given for the main protagonists, but they give a big background check of a side character. Perhaps she has importance later on, or she's just a filler arc for the anime. We may never know, but this opens up more story telling later on in the episode/series. This might be just me, but I like to get intimate with with main characters to try to relate to them more (no, not that intimate).
Enjoyment - 8
I watched this series straight, with breaks to get food, go to the bathroom, and stretch. I wasn't on my toes while watching, but I was always watching, trying to understand characters, origins, and purposes. I was never bored while watching this anime, since each episode presents something fresh and a presentable pace.
Overall - 8
I liked this anime, and I definitely wouldn't say I hated it. If you've ever seen Shakugan no Shana, then you'll probably enjoy this anime. I actually never liked Shakugan no Shana, but there's something about this one that makes it a lot more enjoyable. It probably has something to do with the relations the main characters have and the two worlds.
