*Plot: 7.8/10-* Conceptually, Inou-Battle, aka *When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace,* delivers the most unique twist to a club series since Kokoro Connect by giving the characters powers, yet not giving them superpowered adversaries to fight, at least not at first. The first half of the series tells slice-of-life stories with a superpowered twist. However, after the first few episodes, the series shifts focus from superpowered antics in daily life to almost straight up slice-of-life romantic comedy, and even though it somewhat squanders its fascinating concept, the development given to the characters is rather excellent. While I wish that it have balanced both elements, the heavier focus on the characters made me genuinely care about each one.
*Characterization: 8.0/10-* Inou-Battle uses the harem aspect of multiple girls vying for the affection of one guy better than most other harems because it gives specific attention to each individual girl and her story, while providing ample reason for why the girls are interested in the main male protagonist, in this case, Jurai Andō.
Andō himself is chuunibyou, roughly translating to "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome." Chuunibyou generally refers to someone who has delusions that they have magical powers or are someone of great importance, although there are many different varieties of chuunibyou. Andō pretends to have special powers trapped within his hand, and eventually, he does receive a power, albeit a seemingly useless one. However, his previously useless knowledge of what are the morally right and wrong ways to use certain powers that come from reading manga, light novels, ect, is what makes him incredibly useful to the club.
As for the girls, each one is surprisingly fleshed out with moments of unexpected emotion. Of course it is nowhere as powerful as top notch drama anime, but for a comedy harem, it will surprise you.
*Overall: 7.9/10-* Providing you have the correct expectations going in, Inou-Battle is fun, pleasant, and often sweet anime that uses the harem concept to further develop the characters. Sure, it might not be the over-the-top madness fest that Kill la Kill was, but it is a well executed comedy drama that desperately needs another season.
