Overview:
I freakin' loved this anime. I texted my friend after the last episode explaining that I could not stop ejaculating after completing the series (not really, obviously) because it was just...that...good. I am a huge fan romance anime. They are always my go-to and having action with it is a huge bonus. As someone who can not STAND when anime beat around the bush and drag shit out, especially romantically, this anime is absolutely perfect for me. Now you may be asking why not give it a 10/10 then, well just shut the fuck up and read I will get to that, or just skip to the bottom because that is where I will talk about it. Anyway let's get into the nitty-gritty stuff:
Story (8/10):
I personally loved the story of this anime. It was only meant to be 12 episodes so obviously you can not expect much, but I was legitimately interested in the story when there was one. The main character (Ikki, as Stella so kawaii-y calls him) has a life problem and the determination to solve it, great, love it. Short, sweet, simple, good stuff. Moving on.
Art (9/10):
Like I said I am not a big artsy-fartsy guy. I like most art styles, from "Bakemonogatari", to "katanagatari", to "ping pong the animation". This art style was good old-fashioned anime art. It was crisp enough to make the ecchi parts outstanding so it had to be good...right?
Sound(8/10):
Listen...the way I see it if I don't notice the soundtrack then it means it's blended so well into the mood of the moment that it does not stand out, which is what happened with this anime. I would give it a higher grade but that Engrish in the opening ruined a perfectly good song in my opinion. Can't stand Engrish (most of the time).
Character (10/10, easiest decision of my life):
From the very beginning I loved Ikki and Stella. How could you not just fall in love with them after their first encounter (do not want to give away anything, but it is hilarious and amazing)? Stella is an amazing counterpart to Ikki. She is pretty sexual on the outside but a bit shy and reserved on the inside, worried what Kurogane (Ikki's last name) might think of her. Kurogane seems reserved and focused on the outside (which he is), but is actually pretty much a teenage horn-dog at heart. Even the side characters are great. Alice is mysterious and just genuinely intriguing, Shizuku (please let that be her name I was way too focused on Stella in this series) turned out to be a fuckin' bad ass and just an overall cool person. Then there's the perpetually-vomiting professor, the caring-but-stern father, really it was one of the few anime in recent history that I have seen that did not have a single character that just annoyed the shit out of me. The development is pretty fast-paced but not in a way that seems rushed, just overall the characters are awesome, that's all you need to know.
Enjoyment (10/10):
I'm at half-chub just writing this review, god damn this anime is so good.
Overall (9/10):
I do not give out 10s so easily, so here is my breakdown:
For the purpose of reviews I want to be methodical, so let's analyze each of the main genres: Romance, Ecchi, Action.
Romance:
It is rare that a 12-episode anime has a fantastic romantic aspect like this one. There was no fuckin' around (in more way than one), they just got straight to the point, right out of the gate. Both Stella and Kurogane knew what they wanted and were not coy about it. I personally have gotten sick of the suspense built up in romance anime, cheers to Rakudai Kishi for breaking the trend.
Score: 10/10
Composition: 60% (meaning I believe the anime is 60% romance)
Action:
For all of the romance in the anime I almost forgot that it is also technically an action anime. Some of the action scenes were rather lacking but there were also some scenes that I still talk about with my friends weeks after the episode it appeared in, they are that bad-ass. Can't ask for everything in such a short season, so the action clearly to a backseat to the romance, which I love, but it did hamper the action aspect for those of you not as into romance as I am.
Score: (8/10)
Composition: 30%
Ecchi:
Surprisingly there was not a ton of ecchi in this anime. Personally, I am not a huge fan of overly-echhi anime. You know the ones, where at one point you just go "oh come on that's just excessive! There should not be tits in this scene! I'm not gonna complain but still, come on!" I was also a huge fan that the ecchi scenes stuck to one character, Stella. It made sense, it was rewarding, and there was not too much of it. The balance was great, and that is the key to a good ecchi.
Score: (9/10)
Composition: 10%
Now to calculate the overall score.
10(.6)+8(.3)+9(.1)
=9.3/10
I can not bring myself to round up from a 9.3, so I had to round down.
In the end, overall score: 9.3/10
Seriously if this gets another season I will weep. Hope you enjoyed my first review, stay classy everyone!
