Story: The story of Alderamin is predictable and full of tired character typecasts, which is a shame considering the relatively untread ground early modern warfare is for anime in general. There are several unexpected moments that keep the viewer engaged, but it resorts to painfully obvious exposition more than necessary. There are some glaring discrepancies in the setting - they still use crossbows alongside what are essentially bolt-action rifles, people going into battle with only swords wearing plate - it's like the creator really wanted to make a medieval or renaissance themed story but couldn't. I could accept those elements if they ever bothered to explain the reasoning behind it, but that never happens. Alderamin did not give me a reason to suspend my disbelief, which made it difficult to watch at times.
Art: Nice animations and intelligent use of CGI made for an acceptably good-looking experience. I'm pleased to say that they didn't shy away from the blood and gore that comes with making a violent anime, they also did not use buckets of blood like an 80s horror movie, which I also appreciate.
Sound: Voice actors are OK, but the Foley Artists made it sound great. The rifles and cannons sound deadly, and do a good job of simulating the audio of a battlefield. The soundtrack comes in at important moments and compliments the intense and somber scenes.
Character: As I stated, the characters are all typecasts, which is disappointing but entirely expected. The red-haired Yatorishino Igsem, in particular, acted like a discount Mikasa Ackerman, with half the personality. She's a blindly loyal, honor-bound, killing machine whose entire purpose in Alderamin is to murder people with swords and miraculously never be shot. Yatorishino represents the dichotomy in Alderamin - it tries to be a story about the ravages of war and portray the human struggle of it, then a plot-armored, emotionless, superhero comes in and kills twenty soldiers without trying. It is a frustrating lack of depth.
Enjoyment: These thirteen episodes had me more disappointed than intrigued, and yet I watched all of them eagerly. A questionably eclectic mix of time periods that made me wish for the creator(s) to read up on the period they were aiming for, combined with a boring cast of characters, made it a tolerable but deeply aggravating watch. I would still recommend it to people who don't mind glossing over some plot holes and inconsistencies, I do see a potential for greatness in Alderamin, but it may need several more seasons to realize it.
