The plot is about a group of assassins (zodiac configuration) who joined a fight to death called Juuni Taisen, that's all.
First, let me ask you something. What story do you expect from a fight to the death or deathmatch? All the characters will die, so the story is easy to follow. The substantial part of the spectacle is not in the fight against death itself; it is in the background from the secondary stories. Besides, all the personality, skills and reasons to be in the battle are explained in the secondary stories. Why should an author focus on the deathmatch, knowing the predictable outcome? The anime gives constant clues about WHO will die later, so pretending to be surprised by the plot is a big mistake. Do not have high hopes for the story, it is predictable but you can enjoy the small stories and the animation instead. Remember, it is not Death Note, Made in the Abyss, etc.
Furthermore, ¿what will you expect from these characters? In summary, they all are assassins, murderers, most of them are psychopaths and antisocials so what background do you want to see? A killer lover of all living beings? ¿A killer, that have some morals and will cry at night for all the persons that died? They are not like Monkey, and that character was a killer as well. Please, do not overthink a deathmatch plot and do not try to explain it either with false and bold arguments.
The art is normal. The show is predictable. Moreover, for an animation studio is hard to invest a significant amount of money and time in some fights when the outcome is evident for the audience. Also, the chapters try to explain the character's perspective, so the animation used is acceptable for this purpose. On the other hand, the sound is typical, it helps with the fights and boosts the events but nothing more. The OP was ok.
In conclusion, the show gives the casual enjoyment when you watch any predictable show. For example, you could enjoy the character's short stories, but you already know the outcome, so you will feel a bit disappointed at the end because the show did not fulfill a more significant plot.
Overall 6.5 rounded 7.0
Finally, the show has some remarkable short stories, but not all them are fascinating. The plot isn't hard to follow, and it is very predictable. However, the outcome fits the adaptation's objective and relinquish some information about the characters using short stories. Sadly, the pacing could be a problem because the time between the short story and the dead of the characters do not allow any further character progression. Besides, the show isn't as bad as some reviewers are trying to manifest. A lot of spectators will enjoy that genre and the story, but the show isn't fantastic either, so if you expect too much from it, you could receive a hit in the face.
