Story (5/10 - Not Good, Not Embarrassingly Bad)
-Fantasy anime often delves into supernatural and feasts on the many superstitions of Japanese culture. In this case, the existence of demons has been twisted in a way where there is no good spirit, or gods, but rather Exterminators.
-Bonus episode is complete fanservice, because as soon as you start to wish Kanbara Akihitsu wasn't brooding so much, fall in love with Nase Mistuki's eyes, voice, hair, body - everything, genuinely find Nase Hiroomi's eccentricity entertaining, and are tired of only imagining Kuriyama Mirai sexy-posing that you're quite sure you have developed a glasses-complex yourself, they hit you with an overdramatic gem of an episode that should really piss you off because it's total nonsense but you just can't seem to hate it. And then you think "Wait a minute. I thought this was a dark fantasy anime?"
-I'm a sucker for endings where things go right. The story behind this felt shallow, leaving important questions behind about various aspects of the characters. The Nase Elder? The Exterminator's Society? Inami Sakura's journey? The little-sister complex? Mitsuki's filler character? The story just fell flat if you think about it.
Art (10/10 - KyoAni AF)
-I love Kyoto Animation's attention to detail. I love their consistency. I love their directing. I love their fluid motion. I love their comical degredation of animation as comedy. I love KyoAni. I will never complain of KyoAni. If I was Japanese, I would love to work with KyoAni.
-With that being said, I know just how well KyoAni can perform, and this was not their best. A plot twist at one of the later episodes seemed inconsistent with the episodes prior, and it came basically out of nowhere. I know KyoAni can do way better than this (they proved it and did better with H!E) because it's a studio that prides itself with detail. On the other hand, they had tried to save it with sparkling light shows and heavy but beautifully fluid action animation.
Sound (7/10 - Could Be Better, Slightly Lacking)
Opening Theme (6/10)
-I can't really say KyoAni studios is famous for their soundtracks, but they're not bad. However, using a slow song as an opening theme (when it is in fact, should not be a slow anime) kind of sits off-balance with me.
-The ending note of the OP, followed by an action sound effect in the story, is not a good kind of 180 degree turn.
Ending Theme (8/10)
-Going along with the theme of its OP, this anime's closing note, in comparison, reverberates. I am not a fan of heavy endings (who needs them?) and I think this sound goes perfect with the anime's slightly-melodramatic-set-in-high-school plot, if that was the point. But it's not. It's supposed to be Dark Fantasy. Like the song, but it's too lighthearted for an anime trying to be dark.
Soundtrack (5/10)
-I barely noticed it, if there was. I'm disappointed enough to say that there was no such thing as a scary note in the whole anime. Sound sets the mood, and when the story was trying to be dark while the soundtrack was essentially pop - it's all over the place.
Characters (7/10 - Could Be Better)
-I honestly can't give an accurate rating on its various characters as a whole, because it would be hell to try and average it out. So I'd rather point out the characters who stood out, whether they be bad or good.
Kuriyama Mirai (Main)
-Our usual clumsy but passionate, mysteriously scarred heroine. She starts off well with the trope, and grows out of it in the end. Totally overpowered, but that's how we get off on such types of anime. This story was about her atonement, loss-of-self, and eventual redemption. Kyoukai no Kanata is not a story of Mirai coming of age and improving her skill, which is a shame, because I would have loved more blood work.
Kanbara Akihitsu (Main)
-Our regular used-to-be-passive-but-that-all-changed-when-the-fire-nation-attacked protagonist. At least, that's how he introduced himself as. There's not much detail looked into that statement, because none of his actions show any passiveness at all. In fact, he's a downright meddler. It moves the story along, but then what was the point in introducing him as otherwise?
Nase Hiromi
-Hiromi is the only main character that we do not meet in the pilot episode, and they present him as this mysterious older student who knows things you don't (at least during the first part of episode 2). Then we see his eccentric, sister-complex side, and I freakin' loved it. Just like a good, wise, comic-relief character, he fits the part. He grows, too, but we never really understand just what exactly he truly holds dear and keeps him living. Besides Mitsuki, of course.
Nase Mitsuki
-She was introduced in the first episode as our go-to girl who knows what there is to know, but eventually falls completely flat in the last episode. Don't get me wrong, I love Mitsuki. I love her ridiculous voice when she says "onii-chan" and dear god, "oneesama." However, my love for her Kousaka Reina and Nakaseko Kaori lovechild character design can't save her from her cruel fate as a tossed-aside trope character. We have an episode of her during the light festival and to be honest, that was just really confusing and felt like fanservice of our characters wearing kimonos/yukatas rather than a plot device to seemingly move Mitsuki's character forward while showing hints of her past. A real shame.
Enjoyment (10/10 - Had To Binge It)
-To be honest, I love anime that doesn't take itself too seriously. I devour that stuff for breakfast - or in this case, as a midnight snack. I don't need a story to be heavy in order to enjoy it. I had fun with this anime and finished it in one sitting, which is saying it's not boring at all.
Nothing unusual, a few things worth noting, all in all not that bad of an anime. Anyone can watch it and have a good time if you're not in the mood to be bombarded with some heavy-duty plot that you can't have fun.
