Such thoughts were bothering me while watching first episode of Licensed by Royal. It had all the elements that is necessary for a popular series. Unfortunately L/R didn't make any use of them and turned into something that is nonsensical.
Story: The biggest flaw of this anime is its plot. Starting episode 2 there are lots of plot-holes left. Story doesn't help characters to develop. There's hardly any intense in it. Only final episodes get a bit serious and dramatic, though it leaves an open ending which definitely was not an appropriate solution. Having said that, action scenes still looked entertaining and the jokes were quite hilarious.
Characters: It's true that we hardly get to know the main characters Rowe and Jack. There is not much talk about their past, but still they were memorable and the things that made them stood out from such generic, laid-back characters were the dialogues, which really worked between two of them. However directors didn't make a good use of this and ended up with a half-developed cast. The question is: was it really necessary for such a mediocore, entertaining series to flash out all the characters? Wouldn't it be just a waste of time ? It's up to the watcher.
Art/Sound: Another problem with this show is the pale looking designs. The faces are undetailed, They barely show any emotions. On the opposite note the music is marvelous. The opening theme, sung by Billy Preston, is catchy. It's probably one of the best anime theme songs from the past few years. Almost all of the songs used in each episode have lyrics, and it's a very refreshing change from the generic synth incidentals we get in other series.
Overall Licensed Royal could have been equalized with Cowboy bebop or even The Big O if the directors had put more thoughts into writing the script. It is a nice thing to sit through if you need to kill some time. There are plenty of fun moments and the two main characters are extremely likeable, but that's really all it has.
