Story: 6
It was nothing breathtaking, quite linear and simple, though slightly deep; it had something that just made me come back to watch more. It was cute, fun and easy to follow. I definitely do not think of it as a waste of time. My main issue with the story however, was that it lost the focal point of why Cyan was sent to Midi City to begin with. We were caught in her own internal issues, trying to interact with the other members of Plasmagica and just become friends with them; which friendship, I must add, was also quite shallow and simple. While I understand very well the importance of that, it still doesn't excuse that Plasmagica did not feel like the main characters at all, simply because it was all just so trivial and they didn't even try to go back to the main goal till the last 2 episodes. I also don't understand why Dagger in the end only picked on Cyan when he clearly said that he also needed Shu☆Zo and Darudayu, yet that was also kind of lost in translation.
Characters: 5
I really cannot think of them more than simply mediocre. As I said above, Cyan and Plasmagica did not feel like actual main characters, since I felt like they simply did not contribute to anything for the plot if it was not for playing the "roles" of main characters (only by name). Cyan was also given credit for things that she never did, which was really annoying for me to watch. I almost wished the whole anime to be about the ShinganCrimsonZ guys. They overall looked more involved in their musical career and leaned towards a GOAL, more than I ever saw Plasmagica do; friendship issues to a side. I find them the only valid characters, personally. And it was just overall more entertaining to see them bicker only to have Rom put them back in place, than cheesy cutesy of the main girls' bonding. Yet, another character that I have to praise is definitely Dagger. While he fills in the typical villain troupe and is just evil for the sake of being evil (and obtaining the best song/band), I felt like he tried to symbolize the current music industry. It might be just a personal feeling, but slave contracts, overworking and cohercing is something that I did actually heard of in the asian music industry. And I really appreciated this villain for that; and also because he was that "dark" note that the anime needed to "lighten" up the whole cuteness-spree.
Art: 8
Definitely the thing that the anime shines in. The character designs were quite unique and even if I read many opinions on the 3DCG, I was fast into getting used to it and by the end even came to love it. It really fit the whole atmosphere and they were so cute that I wanted to take them all home!
Sound: 9
Definitely considering to buy the OST. There are few the songs that I don't like. I almost wish that they would have more songs, like ShinganCrimsonZ and Tsurezure Naru Ayatsuri Mugenan; my love for visual kei and traditional Japanese style rock being one of my favorite Japanese music genres.
Overall: 6
Art and Sound unfortunately aren't enough to make me consider this anime more than fair for what it is and what it tries to do. I definitely did enjoy it, yet I can't overlook the issues I pointed out above. I recommend it to all JRock lovers out there, and don't get tricked by the "cute" first impression. It's a good watch!
