Story: 3
As per the word "poor" suggests, the storyline (so far) has been basically nonexistent. Each episode hangs on its own and could be essentially described as the MC finding an excuse to battle someone, top-decking that op 7 cost dragon card that wipes the board and hits face for 10, and without fail winning while exclaiming "Shadowverse is fun" half a dozen times. No exaggeration.
The only exception would be ep.4 which has the female lead pull out an interesting, non-BS strat that actually has an in-game counterpart. Though you could argue that the essence of Shadowverse *is* pulling off BS like turn 6 OTKs (would've been nice to see Alice pull out that 13/13 Shadowcraft card that hits face). For that reason alone I'd rate ep.4 higher than the others.
I'm sure the reason they chose the fairies archetype for Mimori is cause they didn't want the female lead spamming cockroaches the entire battle in true Forestcraft fashion lol.
Art: 7
Pretty standard fantasy anime art style. It's pretty similar to the new Princess Connect anime which is also by Cygames. Not bad but I certainly think adhering to the game's style would've been better.
Sound: 8
The battle soundtracks are quite good. Some are based on the game's battle music which explains why they really get your adrenaline pumping. The OP & ED however aren't memorable.
Characters: 2
Braindead MC. The characters are about as interesting as that cardboard box you got ordering from online. Though that's hardly anything new these days. It doesn't help that there isn't even a modicum of strategy, planning, comboing, or outwitting happening in those battles you spend half of every episode watching.
Enjoyment: 5
It's had some moments where I couldn't help but go "LUL." But many more moments were VERY cringe. Not quite sure if the LUL can outweigh the cringe, esp for a SV player.
Overall: 5
It only made 5 thanks to its decent art and nice soundtrack. I'm sure they had some reasoning behind making "Shadowverse" nothing like Shadowverse (expanding/diversifying their player base perhaps), but I really don't see how expanding their player base to encompass 9 year olds with what is clearly a kid's show is gonna increase their revenue. A failed investment if you ask me.
For someone who very much enjoys the combos and meme decks you can pull off in Shadowverse, as well as the post-apocalyptic setting filled with hardship and overcoming past grudges, this generic isekai-looking anime can feel like an utter disappointment. Unfortunately there's plenty of that around these days for this show to fit right in the 5s.
