This is my first time writing a review, so please bear with me and my writing. If there are any spoilers, I will write a warning message just in case, but for the most part, I will try to avoid any spoilers that lay past the first episode of the anime. Also, my overall score is not based on an average of story, sound, art, characters, and enjoyment. I suggest taking a look at the bio on my profile for the complete explanation of how I rate anime. With that out of the way, let’s get to the main review.
-----Story----7
The story follows Mike (Akeno Misaki), a young girl who aspires to one day be a part of the Blue Mermaids, an organization that protects and journeys across the vast sea. Along with her friend, she enters Yokosuka in pursuit of that dream.
On the surface, the anime seems to be following the general structure for a comedic slice of life, but as the anime continues, it becomes anything but. When ships begin disappearing and reporting various issues, the show becomes a true diamond in the rough with how well the mystery entices and intrigues the audience.
When you're watching this anime, it is highly recommended to suspend whatever disbelief that you have and to expect the unexpected in order to enjoy the most out of this show. There will be a lot of things that you question and may not understand, but what surprised me above all else was the execution of the plot. A mixture of mystery, a unique approach, and action really intrigues the audience, though the story is somewhat inconsistent as the anime continues in its 12 episode adaptation.
If you are an avid fan of military warfare, the navy, or anything similar, this anime will most likely become a favorite considering the amount of related concepts there are. Even if you’re not an avid fan, the sheer ingenuity of the characters and the combat between ships is definitely something worth watching.
While there are several pluses to the show in terms of story, it similarly has its downsides. Attempting to contain this kind of a plot within 12 episodes was not an easy task, and it became quite noticeable that this was the case as the show continued. Firstly, the inclusion of a few filler episodes was not very appreciated as the plot could have been developed more using those episodes (at least in my opinion), but there is some comedic character interaction that you can enjoy. Secondly, using deus ex machina in order to advance a plot is by far one of the most desperate devices I have ever seen used, and this anime does make use of it in a rather painful manner that I did not enjoy. Many may be able to look past this device, but in my opinion, it really takes away from the realistic nature of the anime. And for me, realism and consistency of plot are paramount when developing a plot.
-----Art------8
Given that this anime was aired in 2016, the art style of the characters is quite consistent with general expectations of art at this time—fluid, solid, and not particularly distracting. Generally speaking, I won’t rate art higher than a 7 solely based on character designs since backgrounds are integral components to the overall art (take a look at the background art for Nagi no Asukara or Clannad for art that I would consider a 10). The reason for the slightly higher art score in this particular case is how well the ships were designed and animated—really capturing each aspect of these military ships (and this should be expected considering how the anime revolves around this). Background art was not particularly significant or breathtaking in any way, but in no way was it distracting.
-----Sound-----7
Sound was rather generic for the most part, nothing impactful enough for me to go back and listen to it. The opening and ending was fine, nothing really notable about them. The sound got a fairly average score since the heart racing music complemented the action scenes quite well and conveyed the intensity of the situation as well as the tension of the characters.
-----Characters-----6
The characters are a plus in the show as they truly embody a wide diversity of characteristics, adequately demonstrating "uniqueness" that draws the attention of the audience. Unfortunately, the design of the characters draws a sense of disbelief as the majority of the characters look like they are either in middle or elementary school when they are clearly stated to be in high school (part of the reason this anime draws such disbelief when watching it). Subsequently, it becomes rather difficult to really empathize and to believe that these characters are truly “real”. Additionally, the character designs do lack some uniqueness in that the female cast is never given any real distinguishing features other than hair color; the structure of the face maintains the "ideal" perspective of the animated female.
While the characters do embody a wide array of characteristics, there is not adequate development to provide depth to their already one-dimensional characters with the exception of 2-3 characters. Mike arguably has the most development of them all, but the development is entirely predictable given her personality in the very beginning of the anime.
Even with these negative though, the characters are quite refreshing and provide a sense of peace even when the anime takes dark, dramatic turns.
-----Enjoyment-----7
I actually enjoyed the anime a lot more than I thought I would, especially since I went into this anime with zero expectations. The exhilarating action sequences and the marginally thrilling mystery really drove me to watch and finish the anime despite the flaws I was not happy with. The only thing that was hardest for me was suspending my disbelief completely, but over time I did become acclimated to the nature of this show.
-----Overall-----6.7
I would recommend this anime to those who find a fascination with military warfare, boats, a (semi) thrilling mystery, and something truly unique. Although not certainly one of the better animes out there, it has its good points and is worth watching.
I will briefly mention again that my overall score is based on an average of these scores with different weights attributed to each one. Look at the bio on my profile for more details on the specifics and the weights I give.
Story: 7
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Characters: 6
Enjoyment: 7
Overall: 6.7
