The system is used in many contexts in the show to signify not only character growth but status in their society, as in a ranking system. Though it has been used in other stories like Sword Art Online, or Log Horizon, unlike those series this series incorporates it into their world as a fundamental part of the social structure. This is the case with the Gods and their roles as well, as they seem more like rich patrons at times who fund various people who are part of their 'Familia' or Family.
This becomes very apparent when we see the Hestia Family, consisting of only Bell Cranel and the Goddess Hestia, who live in an abandoned church. Being a small Family they lacked the wealth of the larger and well established Families.
Bell Cranel is a very enjoyable character, being presented as a young naive teenager with dreams of romance and adventure, a kind heart, humble and honest demeanor.
After falling in love with Aiz Wallenstein he strives to become stronger so as to be closer to her.
Aiz appears as a mysterious young women, and is later revealed to be the 'Sword Princess' an extremely powerful sword user, as well as one of the highest level adventurers mentioned in the series.
Though I liked that the writers tried to present her as being mysterious I did find her character to be too mysterious. She is very expressionless, and seems somewhat detached. Her lines through out the anime are few and far between, and her character is developed probably the least through the series.
Mainly the story focuses on the adventures of Bell, and his interactions between various other characters he meets. Lili a small hobbit like girl with a charming personality, but whose dark past influences her motivations. Welf a young passionate blacksmith, and most importantly the relationship between Bell and Hestia his Goddess, who is infatuated with him, and his boyish charm.
The art in the anime was done very well. A bright pallet, well drawn characters, with well done action scenes. They did well in presenting a fluidity to Bell's motions, and fire effects. I thought the eyes to be very expressive, though Aiz again is an exception. The character design was also varied as non of the characters really look alike aside from a set of twins who are part of Aiz's Familia.
The sound of the anime really brought depth and power to the scenes. The crunching of the gravel and rocks under the hooves of a Minotaur, and its howl. The voice acting in the Japanese anime was spot on and brought life to the characters. Bell was soft spoken as was Aiz, and I would suggest if anyone did wish to watch the series to watch it in Japanese, as I find English voice actors to be atrocious and far less skilled then their Japanese counter parts, lacking the ability to convey emotion.
The series hints at an overall plot, but does not really delve too deeply into it. This is primarily a character driven anime, following Bell and his perspectives, as well as a few others. Though I did like the fast pace, it seemed at times that they wanted to cram too much content into each episode, and after reading some of the manga I realized that they left a good portion of the story out to do so. Not important elements, but enough that it may make the anime appear to lack depth in some areas as some of the parts fleshed out in the manga, are left undone in the series.
Though it has qualities of a harem it really doesn't go too far into that realm, nor does it have many scenes that could be described as being ecchi. The few times they use them are humorous, and help reveal the shy nature of Bell, but they are not a large part of the series. The romance in the series is not really strong either, we get a sense of the affections numerous female characters have for Bell, but he doesn't seem to be that interested in most of them, again except for Aiz, whom he has an unreasonable infatuation for, yet the series never really tries to establish a solid relationship between Bell and Aiz, only hinting at a mutual affection.
Though it does share similarities with other anime, one should try not to compare it. I found it better then Sword Art Online as i enjoyed the main character more. Though Bell does become very powerful I find that it was done well enough to be consistent with the themes of the story, as the overall theme is about a boy who wishes to become a hero.
Overall I found this anime to be quite enjoyable, and have watched it several time. If you like fast paced series, good action, and decent characters then this should not disappoint.
