This is among the worst anime I have ever seen. I kept watching hoping it would get better, but it was clear by the fourth episode that I was not going to enjoy this one. Since each episode is only three minutes long it takes less than half an hour to finish the series. Even then, I feel like it was wasted time.
Story (2):
Military!'s story is ridiculous. For one there doesn't seem to be a main plot. In the first episode it is revealed that the protagonist (if you can even consider him that as he does practically nothing in the show) is being targeted by his guards' enemies. They vow to protect him, but over the course of the series put him in possibly worse danger.
Over the twelve episodes additional characters are introduced. Due to a battle destroying Souhei's home, all of them are forced to live with an older character. From here on out, the opposing teams (both of whom live in the same house) battle with each other, while still trying to live a normal life. It sounds silly and it is, but not in the comedic way.
I understand that this show is meant for comedy, but I don't find it funny. There are so many "comedic" cliches that it loses its humor. For one, there is a ridiculous amount of violence, but no one is ever seriously injured, there are plenty of perverted jokes, there are the unrealistic situations with characters that could never be that powerful based on their ages.
I like comedy as much as the next person, and I laugh many times over the course of the day. To be honest, I didn't laugh once during the twenty-two (I'm roughly rounding it) minutes of footage. Mind you, I laughed throughout Hetalia, so I can appreciate exaggerated humor, but this show was just unfunny to me.
The failed comedy in addition to having no real plot made me find the story uninteresting.
Characters (1):
I found almost every single character in this series to be annoying and/or unlikable. For one, there isn't enough time to really get to know the characters. I'm not saying that the timing is the problem, as there are plenty of other short anime in which I love the cast, but not in this case. The problem is that there is too much focus on the "humor" and ecchi, that there's no time for character development. For the most part, there is nothing redeemable about the characters here.
To begin with, there is the protagonist--Souhei. I find it hard to even give him that title, because he does nothing throughout the story. He is just there observing all this nonsense. Other than giving the guards, well something to guard, he adds nothing to the overall story. In my opinion, I think he's just there to include this under the harem genre.
There are the two main military women: Haruka and Lutgalnikov--both who look like children or preteens. Neither of them seem to have much of a personality. They both get angered over stupid things, such as having a video game interrupted, or the cliche, unfunny pervert misunderstanding. They are unrealistically strong and resilient. It can be easy to mistake one for the other, because neither have a distinct personality.
Now onto the antagonist of the story: Shakirov. She's the cute character with the blonde curls. Like the two mentioned above, there's not much that stands out about her either. She is unusually strong and threatens to kill both Souhei and her own subordinate. She has a few battle scenes in the series, but most of the time she acts as a daughter or younger sister to Mizuno.
The only character in the entire series that I found somewhat interesting is Colonel Aria. She has a few awesome moments, for instance deflecting the array of weapons only to get tied up in a trap. She has the closest thing to a personality in this show.
In all, there is nothing about the characters that make them likable. The only way they stand out is possibly by design, but even then it's nothing special that hasn't been seen before. I feel that not enough attention is given to the characters themselves, sacrificing development in favor of unfunny humor.
Art (4):
I am disappointed with the art in this one. This show is from this year, but there's nothing that stands out about it. The main character looks like an unattractive caricature in a world of recycled chibi characters. The chibi soldiers are cute, so that's one thing I can compliment this anime on.
There is nothing special about the scenery in this anime. The only time I was somewhat impressed was during the black and white bit during the battle of episode seven, probably because it was the only time in the course of the anime that the art had a different style about it. The same locations (Youhei's apartment, Mizuno's home, and Mizuno's yard) have a bland design. I feel that there is nothing special to look at in this show.
I do like the use of color when it comes to the character's hair and faces. However, their clothes are boring, the settings are boring, the animation is not that fun to watch. In all, I feel that there really isn't anything new with the art or animation of Military!
Sound (5):
The sound is decent. I have no complaints or compliments here. It's average.
Enjoyment (1):
I found this show to be boring. The fact that it was so short is the only reason I finished it to the end. Had the episodes been ten plus minutes of the same randomness and failed humor, I would have dropped it after episode two.
Conclusion (2):
In conclusion, I feel that there is too much lacking for me to give this anime a good score. The story is too sporadic and there is no real focus.
The characters are bland (with the exception of Aria), the art is disappointing, and the animation is boring. Needless to say, I did not enjoy watching Military!.
2/10
