Eh... it is a mixed bag. I already didn't have high standards for this season (because this season is the weakest season by far this year), but this just is not good. Not bad, but also not good. Grab your joysticks and get the high score, this is my review of High Score Girl.
Story: 7/10
Haruo is a gamer who fails at school and wants to escape that.. by playing games. One day a girl seems to be better then him, a strange fellow named Akira who doesn't talk. They form a strange bond. I don't want to get further into the story, because then it goes into spoilers, but I can at least say that it is an alright story. Not anything to complain or to praise.
Art: 5/10
The first thing that you notice when seeing High Score Girl is its animation. Yep, our good friend CG strikes again. And it is not even that bad, but there is also normal 2D animation and it just constantly switches. It annoys the heck out of me. The artstyle is also not that great, with the only good looking character being Akira. The art can look competent at times, the keywords being AT TIMES, because in every other instance it just looks ugly.
Sound: 6/10
The OST is forgettable, except for the OP and ED. The OP is pretty good and catchy, but dammit don't I like the ED. If it was competent I would've given the music a 7, but that ED is just not good.
Character: 6/10
Let's begin with Akira: She is the most expressive character despite saying nothing. She is shy, violent, but still is a kid. I like her, atleast gallons more then Haruo. Haruo has mastered the ''tell, don't show'' method. He explains everything. Oh, a game? LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS GAME. Oh, Akira shows emotion? LOOK AT HER SHOWING EMOTION. Oh, I have an emotion? I AM FEELING AN EMOTION! Good god if Telsell needed new hires he would be on the top of their list! And this only makes the biggest flaw of this anime worse.
Enjoyment: 5/10
This anime is sponsered (or something like that) by Square Enix and they make it pretty fucking clear. This anime is more a commercial for Square Enix then an anime. Don't get me wrong, I like some Square Enix games from time to time, but I don't like ads shoved into my face. They constantly show Square Enix games, they constantly pitch (yes, pitch!) Square Enix games, they have Square Enix ads in the middle and the whole plot is revolved around Square Enix games. The most apparent example for me was in episode 4 in the middle when they showed an Puyo Puyo app which the characters of show suposendly were playing. THERE WERE NO FUCKING MOBILE PHONE GAMES IN 1992 YOU FUCKING MONEY HUNGRY WOLVES. And it is a shame too, this anime has some genuine heartwarming and emotional moments and the humor is pretty good, but these constant ads shoved into my face just ruins my fun.
Overall: 6/10
I am just more pissed of this anime existence then the anime itself. It has some quality put into it, but at the wrong fucking places. If you don't mind ads in your anime, then fine, more power to you, but I just can't stand this.
