The story-3/10
Before I say anything let me preface this.The concept is really interesting and unique.You have these historic Japanese authors all going into novels to fight supernatural creatures from destroying literature.So good so far right?Well it went pretty good for the first 2 or 3 episodes.The pacing was solid and actually really interesting but its after the first few episodes that it fall apart.After the a fore mentioned first few episodes begins the shitstorm. They have a episode about farming for no damn reason then have a weird yaoi romance arc for an episode where the writers go to the real world or something.I am not sure as to whether that was a in a book but I do believe it was not and literally just took place on Earth.They constantly add new characters out of nowhere,something that mind you was an important part of the cohesion of the story.In 2 episodes they somehow managed to cram around 20 new characters all without descriptions.The pacing was almost like someone was forcefully trying to fit over sized gears into a complex clockwork mechanism.It all just fell apart from there.Although I say that I must admit the last few episodes were very good.The psychological and character drama was well represented and honestly carry the show.
Art-8/10
This is probably the place where the show really manages to shine.The character designs are really unique for the main cast.Specifically the designs of Akutagawa and Dazai were some that stuck to me.The contrasting colors between the two were a very pleasing aesthetic which means quite a bit because the two show up almost every episode.This doesn't apply to the sub cast.The designs at that point got really similar to the point of me constantly mixing them up.The weapon designs were over embossed and complicated with pointless decoration but cool I guess.The the side characters felt way too similar to each other.Besides that the only other shortcoming I feel was the overuse of flashy cuts and transitions during fights which is a damn shame.The animation is smooth and pretty.The fights are really well choreographed as well.All in all this show had some really amazing artwork that really grew on me.
Sound-6/10
The OST is really good.The sound direction and foley is very well done and there isnt anything I can call out the show for.The voice acting for the anime was also well done and gave the characters much needed life.
Characters-2/10
Oh boy.Theres just nothing to say here.The authors themselves were stereotyped to death,felt boring,were unoriginal and nothing worth remembering.Beyond all of that there is also the overly concentrated sub cast.Theres wayyyyyy too many side characters and they dont even get properly introduced properly.Some of them were extremely annoying too and the bromance was unnecessary.I swear the only good character is Akutagawa.
Enjoyment-4
As mentioned before there were a few episodes I really enjoyed but the horrible middle episode really threw a wrench in the works.The humor didn't work well for me other than the Bungou Gourmet sections.
Overall-4/10
I do think this is worth a watch if you have spare time but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to any body.There are way too many missed opportunities and much wasted potential which is really disappointing.All said and done this a below average show due to its crappy pacing and oddball humor.
