Story : 8/10
I won’t say many things because there are already dozens of reviews that talked about it in a more polished way. But it’s definitely a classic shounen storyline. What i find interesting is the way the story get affected by Souma’s personality and his way with words – exactly like what Isshiki said in the earlier episode.
Art/Graphic : 7/10
It’s good. We can feel the shounen atmoshpere from the art and graphic. But there are also things that can be considered as “cooked in a wrong way”. Those are the miss-cooked ecchi-ness and the over-abundance of abstract backgrounds.
It’s not about the over-used of ecchi-ness, but instead it’s about the approach. This anime, like its original version, has realistic and dramatic/hyperbolic approach to all of its genres, including ecchi. In this anime, however, the ecchi genre was taken differently from where it should be – and instead of each character’s unique sexiness and natural charm, we can feel “jello all over the place”.
In the matter of abstract background, it’s being used too much for its own good. Instead of giving impact to its context, it’d be seen as non-proper animation.
Sounds : 7/10
The sounds aspect is good, that i agree. But I found one thing that disturb me : the seiyuu’s compatibility.
The seiyuus played their work well, i think that’s true. But some of them are incompatible with the character they played. The most noticable example is Hayama’s. Hayama’s seiyuu has this sound of an old man even though Hayama is a young man and is experiencing its youth. Junichi Suwabe would be more compatible if he had played Gin’s role, and Hayama should be played with a seiyuu that has younger voice. There are many examples for this incompatibility, but i’ll end it here.
Character : 7/10
A big number of characters is a potential on its own. But just putting them there without enough attention, it’s nothing more than decorations. But nevertheless, all of the characters are quite, if not very, enjoyable.
Enjoyment : 3/10
I couldn’t enjoy this anime even though i love its manga version. There are some ingredients that have been cooked in a wrong way and ingredients which are incompatible with the dish itself. Those resulted in a downfall of my enjoyment. This title has many potential, but as an anime, in my opinion it fails to deliver those potentials.
