I just want to start out by saying this: this anime is not bad, just nothing special!
With that said, this is the perfect anime for people who haven't watched much anime, especially within the action/romance genre. It's a pretty good gateway into it, but if you've seen ANY standard action/romance anime you've seen this anime.
Story/character: I decided to put these two together since I feel the same way about them: they're cliche and pretty boring. It doesn't try to do anything unique and stands by a checklist of everything that makes a standard action anime. It doesn't step out of that safe box, and that's disappointing. Not bad, just nothing more than cliche. Rokuro is a standard delinquent MC who is seriously way too overpowered, Benio is the "badass" way to proud girl who is supposed to be strong, but the moment MC arrives she is suddenly always being saved just so she can stare in awe and say "he's so strong", and the rest of the characters are just typical action tropes. Oh, and all Benio and Rokuro do is bicker, even after touching moments. It get's old really fast.
*Feel free to skip the rest of this section since it's basically me just pointing out everything wrong with this anime's animal sicekick and comparing it to a good one from this season*
The only character that stands out from the rest is Kinako, the animal sidekick of this show. This mention is not because he's a good character, but because he ruins all the enjoyment I try to get out of this anime. Everything about him, from his design to his voice and personality is so annoying. Now, let's compare him to the animal sidekick I find to be the best this season: Chito-san from Flying Witch. She's proud and intelligent, but takes it easy. She loves pranking others and going on adventures and is generally a very fun character. She cares for her owner and they fit each other well, filling up each others shortcomings, and even though Chito doesn't talk the owner understands her. Through no words we can clearly see that they care dearly about each other. Kinako is rude, loud and his only purpose is butting in and ruining moments, and yelling OH NO when a monster is nearby. His affection for Benio is ruined by the fact that they fit so poorly together and instead of showing he cares he just yells exposition and rude comments. You could remove him from the anime and it would be a lot better. Sorry for this little rant, but I just had to get it out since he is really ruining the few things I like about this anime.
Art: The animation on the fight scenes, at least in the beginning, are pretty good. They show style and makes the fight more intense. The characters often stop to yell the name of the attack, pretty standard, but then time "stops" and these cool and stylish Japanese characters splat onto the screen as if it was a video game. I like that! Later on these fight scenes become way more standard, just like the rest of the show. Most of the character designs are also pretty meh. It's pretty much the safest designs you could have.
Sound: Though the OST is pretty generic and doesn't stand out, the opening by Wakkagi Band is pretty kick-ass at times. It fits the style this anime is trying to go for, and though it's failing, this opening stays pretty cool. The ending theme is nothing too special, but it's pretty okay at least.
Enjoyment: I'm honestly getting bored. During episode 9 I could literally guess everything that was going to happen based on the anime I've seen from before. Kinako is also taking a lot away from my enjoyment. Since this anime is so predictable and safe, it's hard to take seriously. Even when the anime is trying to be intense, all I end up doing is guessing what will happen next and more than often I'm correct. It's just boring.
Overall: I guess what I'm saying is: haven't seen any anime like this before? Watch it, you'll like it! Other than that, it's a snorefest for people who have seen this recipe before. It only works as pure entertainment, like dangling keys in front of a baby. Only recommended if this is your type of anime, but even then I think you'll think it's pretty average.
