So let me ask a question here: is anyone actually interested in Nazis as the antagonists? (Oh, I'm sorry, not Nazis. I mean imperial Germans who happen to yell "Sieg Reich!" and put up propaganda posters.) Actually, let me put it a bit differently: is anyone really interested in a black-and-white war story against a generic expansionist militaristic country? Because that's what we're getting here. Oh, don't get me wrong, it could be a lot worse. A few of the Germanian characters seem at least remotely human. But still, what I'm mostly seeing is working for the glory of the fatherland and the emperor (and furthering their own careers in the process, I guess).
The show is certainly fond of the idea. The protagonists and antagonists alike are full of selfless sacrifice for their respective countries. In a particularly baffling moment, the "ruthless strategist" character berates a Germanian defector for betraying his fatherland for his own survival. So let me get this straight. If he had done all the dodgy things he did for the fatherland, it would have been fine then? Really?
On the protagonists' side we have Finé: the paragon of courage, duty, self-sacrifice, national pride and all the other alleged virtues. She is always willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. She never lets power get to her head or abuses it in any way. She holds speeches about how the nation is everything and you must fight to protect it, blah blah blah. And on top of all that she is a princess. Hmm, I sure wonder which side we are supposed to root for in this show: the perfect protagonist or the freakin' Nazis?
Meanwhile, Izetta does whatever she can to help her because she is her... friend? No, I'm sorry; nobody would believe that after the tearful eyes, holding hands, dancing, playing around in underwear and the moonlit flight. The show may not admit it, but Finé is her love interest. Izetta is thoroughly defined by her love and has no ambition or interests beyond it. I'm sure an actual personality would only get in the way of fanservice and fight scenes.
Whenever a side character has a bit more personality, they get approximately five seconds of screentime. Good luck getting attached to these people. After all, we are on the clock here. This show is only 12 episodes long, and we need to set aside some time for maid antics, eating cake and comparing boob sizes. Establishing character motivation? Logical plot progression? World-building? Who needs these?
By the way, character motivations are a major problem here. For instance, the antagonistic witch has a great motive: a revenge plot where she takes revenge on a bunch of innocent bystanders. How compelling. And then there's this one character who defects after getting backstabbed for no clear reason... offscreen. What happened? Am I supposed to make a blind guess here? The show also ends with a hasty clipshow and various copouts. At that point, they probably thought it was already a trainwreck and couldn't be bothered.
There is some novelty value in a "what if" story where a witch is wrecking tanks and planes, but you should actually do something with the idea. It's not like it would have been hard to have a more engaging plot: what if their good intentions go overboard and their cult of personality goes to their heads? How about showing that the other countries also have their own problems instead of everything being the Germanians' fault? How about some internal conflict between the protagonists? Or make it a parody or something; there is more than enough material here.
But nope, just got to beat those wacky Nazis for the hundredth time. Barely anyone has interesting motivation in this show. We don't even learn about the history behind the war. Why are the Germanians on a rampage? I mean, I get it, they are an expansionist militaristic country, but why did things turn out that way? Wars don't happen in a vacuum. Could we maybe get some historial context here? Some world-building? No? Is the war going on literally only because it's 1939?
The crowning moment of this show is when a Germanian officer enters into a rant to berate the character who prioritizes his own survival. Just listen:
"I had brothers-in-arms, too. People who fought and died for what they loved! That ‒ being able to do that ‒ is what makes you human! He believed in you! He believed you were fighting for the fatherland!"
The presentation in the narrative is clearly on this guy's side. So you're talking about noble causes and the example you give is... waging expansionist war and slaughtering and oppressing countless innocent people for the glory of the fatherland? Whereas the real bad guys are the people defecting from this over-the-top evil empire when their life it at risk?
Great aesop there. You really nailed it.
*slow clap*
