What I assumed to be the core conflict of the series was the issue of using children as expendable weapons. In the end that didn't seem to be the case as the issue was solved in less than an episode, with the main character going "don't do it" and that's pretty much it.
Then there was the conflict of the main girl leaving for battle. It was obvious from the start that they wouldn't kill her off there but the fact that she was brought back not only within the very same episode as the death fake-out, but RIGHT AFTER the main character gets the news of her possible death. Their inability to hold the suspense for at least a single damned episode is cheap to say the very least.
Art style is beautiful and the world-building had potential, all wasted in a story that is unable to focus on the aspects that would have truly been interesting to see develop further. All in all the anime is an unfocused mess that could have been great, had it not been for the whole forced romance plotline.
