However just because something is unique does NOT mean its flaws should not be criticized.
As a history enthusiast I was quite impressed when I started watching it. It certainly represented politics and warfare better than pretty much everything I had seen. I liked the artstyle, I enjoyed the battles and I was more than glad to see a morally gray story where the authoritarian regime isn't "an evil empire of darkness".
I enjoyed the choice of soundtrack, especially the few classical pieces that were used in various moments.
However my biggest problem is the enjoyment. Although everything was set for a series I should have rated 10/10 without a second thought, something went wrong.
A lot of things were happening for sheer convenience as opposed to having a logical reason. A lot of moments left me in disbelief as many battles and events were decided not by the pure tactical efforts of both sides but rather by some random events or illogical overlooks on the characters' side just to reach the conclusion the author wanted.
Yeah, in history there were SOME events that were overturned by luck and random occurrences but that is not an enjoyable writing. It is not enjoyable or realistic to see the peak of space intelligence not check the guy who pulled a firethrower out of a corpse. It is not enjoyable or realistic to see important political heads traveling through dangerous space with no escort at all. And it is not enjoyable to see sickness that currently has a therapy for bettering, being deadly several thousand years ahead in the future.
Most of the events occur on the author's unjustified whim and I was not happy about it.
I can overlook the unorthodox narrative. I can overlook the 2D battlefield tactics used in a 3D environment. I can overlook the unnecessary amount of named characters who continued to randomly spawn until the last few episodes.
But I can't overlook the lack of enjoyment, the 30-ish episodes ending fatigue and the fact that Julian's storyline was the only one to have a satisfying catharsis.
The idea and the worldbuilding are very high tier which is why I still give this series a pretty high score. However it is a true shame that with just a bit better writing, I would have rated it higher.
