Mobile game anime adaptation has distilled what with the revival of isekai animes and whatnot but seeing, Grimms Notes The Animation and LA's attitude towards mobile game adaptations of it piquing LA's interest towards the mobile game itself, does the anime do any favours?
Grimms Notes The Animation takes place in a world where everyone has books that tells of their fate and the people are cordoned off in "Story Zones", but "Chaos Tellers" invade writing and twisting the fates of the Story Zones, but it's up to those with blank books to change fate and realign the Story Zones to their proper fates. So yeah...LA's nudge that this is like Kingdom Hearts but for Brothers Grimm stories is quite telling and this being actually a mobile game with Square Enix ties, it actually kinda makes sense.
The plot follows an episodic structure, where the main cast consisting of Ex, the player avatar voiced by Ryota Osaka, Shane voiced by Miyu Kubata, Reina voiced by...Reina Ueda and Tao voiced by Takuya Eguchi goes into a Story Zone and fight the Chaos Teller that's causing havoc, realign the people's fates and off to the next Story Zone, where some of the interest and intrigue that does come from this premise is the classic stories we know and taken to somewhat interesting directions, like looking introspectively towards the story of Snow White and looking at the QUEEN's perspective, Momotaro and his easily swayed sense of justice and a differing perspective on the character of Aladdin if he actually never had a hold of the lamp. The thing is the characters LA just noted off, due to how the world works, some characters might even replace some other main roles within their Zones and heck even "death" as a topic comes up and what happens to them, so in a ways it's meta, not the good meta but it's nice they tried in a ways.
With that our main cast do develop as characters as they go through each Story Zone with even some backstory to Ex, the player avatar who can turn into multiple heroes at once. Reina is your typical leader stereotype but with the penchant for food but she has beef with a certain Chaos Teller which is why she goes on the journey in the first place, Tao is your typical genki "older brother" stereotype and has something of dark past in his Story Zone while Shane is the least developed of the cast with a passing mention of her past but she was LA's favorite character merely due to her smug personality and deadpan stoic responses during the more comedic moments that she stood out.
Now the major villain of the anime and by extension the game does somewhat bring up a very good point in the anime about fate making them somewhat rational villains for a cause and with the main cast "fixing" their fates and due the subject matter of characters being in Brother Grimms and beyond and MANY MANY of the characters having terrible fates including the villains of the Story Zones who's fate in BIRTH are etched into them is somewhat terrifying, the major villains want's the change it so everyone can be happy.
In terms of animation by Brains Base, well it's ok to say the least, everything from background work, decent polished character designs and ok fight scenes. REALLY not much to talk about in the animation front.
As for voice cast, well it's the same really though some of the minor characters voice actors were ok as well. MVP would easily go to Miyu Kubata as Shane because it's Shane.
Grimms Notes The Animation is your textbook definition of a boilerplate mobile game anime adaptation in all regards, sure it has some depth but lacking in it's character developments of the main cast and cares more about it's lore and world building and that's ok, but as much as this Kingdom Hearts with Brother Grimm characters you know what the most pointless thing in Kingdom Hearts became outside of the major plotline?, the worlds, yet oddly enough Grimms Notes The Animation has it the other way around with it's CHARACTERS being the biggest detriment of the anime.
Grimms Notes The Animation isn't a horrible mobile game anime adaptation per say, more like Brains Base looked for the safest route and did the barest minimum in trying to advertise the mobile game to us...take that like you will.
