Let's start with the plot:
It all begins when teenage soldier Sorami Kanata joins her latest company to learn to play the trumpet and ends up with a small group of teenage girls on the outskirts of some mythical country after WWIII and on the brink of another major war (at least that's what I presume). From there, there's no other plot development besides this myth about these "fire maidens" and how this group of five girls protect the city just like these maidens did in legend.
Now the actual review:
In my opinion, for the series's genre, it was a well composed anime with no details left out. Kanata's interactions with her fellow soldiers and superiors display the thin set emotions of those on the brink of war. It a sense it's almost like a rendition of a Vietnam vet's recollection of the war. Everyone has some war related history that dramatically effects the way they think and operate, plus they really tug at your heart strings. The way plot twists were set up were also timely and didn't leave that "really did that just happen" taste.
However there are always things to pick on and I can certainly dissect this one. For starters (this really isn't a serious point but w.e.) this plot description could haveve totally been an ecchi. Second, all the war action only appeared at the end of the series, which would have been nice to see through out the whole thing. Lastly, this series seemed like it could have easily been a legitimate full length series, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
Overall 8/10, it fit neatly into its genre description, but wasn't ground breaking (mostly because it was a slice of life). Personally I would recommend this to those out there who are bored and just want to kill time while waiting for a different anime to add a new episode or something.
