In the first episode, you'll be seeing some fancy moves done by Eris, the blonde girl, and some flashy magic done by Ryner, the main character who is a mage, but this isn't really where the show shines. The show sort of keeps on misleading you, and I'm not just talking about the title. In the beginning of the episode, your taken into a battle scene where Ryner shows of his calculating prowess. But really, He only showcased this ability on the first battle. Most of the following fight scenes is basically him activating the same old spells: "speed", "lighting" and some other minor things. It's actually quite repetitive when you remove his final resort, the old "destruction mode", which your going to understand if you watch. But again, combat wise, it's not so good.
II. In-depth Characters:
The characters are possibly one of the best things about this anime. It's what makes a seinen a seinen. Well, to me, anyways.
-Ryner
What is so "deep" about Ryner? The guy basically doesn't know what to do(at first). It's not because he's incompetent, he's plenty smart. He experiences thought struggles about what to do with oh so destructive world around him. What he really wants is to take a nap. What should a guy who likes to takes nap do? He also dwells into some interesting philosophical thoughts such as when he divides people into two: the standby people(which he identifies with) and the people who want to do things. It's interesting because he'll eventually go along with a latter type of guy. Then, there's his "destructive mode" problem. By actually engaging in combat, he runs the risk of killing people. And then, there's this "Naruto-hated by everyone problem". This guy has so many things wrapped in his head and he'll continue to get wrapped as the story progresses.
-Eris
Eris is what some people refer to as a "Kuudere", if you're familiar with the word. If not, it's basically an almost emotionless female. Clever, Self-Confident, Pompous, and self-declared "Beauty".(lol) Don't get her wrong. Eris is quite a deep character as well. After she teams up with Ryner, she begins to start to initiate these sort of "clever pretend games" with Ryner. Of course, Ryner just goes along. When you think about it, it's actually quite interesting that she's doing this. I mean, although cold and straightforward, she also displays herself as random and playful. Another facet of her is that she seems to bond with Ryner almost too well. Her peculiarities(dango) does not prevent her from doing work of course. She understands situations quickly and initiate swiftly with her sword.
-Sion
Pretty in-depth as well. By that, I'm mainly talking about his moral-ambiguity. He is ambitious, unlike Ryner, and being him is like standing on a pedestal. There are too many sides to fall on.
III. Boring Setting:
One can't really pay attention much to the setting as there's not much out of the ordinary. It's basically your old medieval-magical period. There are powerful artifacts, which can be used as deterrent against war or can also be used to promote war. There are many countries and the world is engulfed in suffering. Ryner and his friends are victims.
IV. Plain Story:
It's kind of lacking originality. Individuals rising within an empire, and from an empire, save the world.
V. Thought-provoking General Themes:
"Saving The World" is usually an interesting idea since it involves so much complexity in terms of morality and society. It's also a very big idea.
"A Benevolent War". There are many sides in the conflict. Some are simply led by corrupt rulers while other rulers actually wants peace...but at what cost? through war?
"From Destruction comes Creation". Sort of Like Ryner. ;)
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Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good anime.
