I am editing my review, as I've seen multiple mistakes within my review.
Date a live IV was an absolute blast. The animation is clean and the art is looking as bright as ever. I never thought that the studio that animated the beautiful Date a bullet movies would be animating season four. My expectations for date a live IV were high, and they did just enough for me.
--Story--
The story continues with Shido Itsuka and his spirits trying to seal other spirits.
The story is as great as usual. It isn't dull and it was continuing to get better each episode. Some episodes were a bit weird for the story, but I still loved it and it was very fun. The only problem I have with the story is when DEM interferes with Ratatoskr, they do really stupid strategies, despite the fact that Wescott is pretty smart for battling. A nice 8 out of 10 for story.
--Art and Animation--
Unlike the other seasons, date a live IV is VERY bright and heavily relies in CGI when it comes to spirits in space. Of course, this was something that I found hard to adjust, but the CGI is actually pretty clean. It seems they were prepared to use CGI because it nearly fooled me for being 2D. Sometimes, I even like it when they use CGI, especially when a person is moving to face another way. I will admit though that I didn't like how CGI was used a lot in fights. For the most part, it looked like a game. I'm still glad that they didn't butcher the fights though. The art is also very bright, but I loved it. Kotori looks more clean and nice, Tohka looks bright (despite being more flat), Shido looks a lot more like date a live II but brighter, and Kurumi looks as nice as always. Sadly, I have to say that the fights were quite butchered, as CGI was overused. I can accept CGI if there isn't too much. A good 8 out of 10 for Art and Animation.
--Sound and OST--
The sound in Date a live IV is as good as always. The sound might not be "Amazing" and "Mind-Blowing" but the bar was still being raised. The sound did not disappoint at all. If I were to try and find a scene where I didn't like the sound effects, it would take weeks for me to figure out and I still wouldn't be able to find a sound effect that I disliked.
The OST in Date a live IV is wonderful. The ending song is a chill and calming song, while the intro song is absolutely wonderful. It was both animated well and was very cool. I barley even call things cool but these OST were just that wonderful. A fair 8 out of 10 for Sound, but an amazing 9 out of 10 for OST.
--Character--
This is probably one of the problems with Date a live. There are lovable characters like Kurumi and the Yamai sisters, but then there are copy paste characters like Tohka and Shido. For that, I will be reviewing some characters.
--Kurumi--
Kurumi's character arc was probably one of the best arcs that I've ever seen in harem anime. Her motivations were so correct, and her backstory was sad.
--Shido--
I have no problems with Shido as a mc, but the problem is that he lacks creativity. He just feels like your generic and average mc. If he was more bold (and more creative) I would have liked him more. His character also feels so lacklustre. An average 5 out of 10 for Shido.
--Tohka--
Sorry to all the Tohka simps, but Tohka is a harem character I dislike. I always see the same cliché personality of a girl. The energetic type. She's just a girl who eats a LOT of food and wants to stay with Shido. However, I love the inverse Tohka. I just simply love her character. A 2 out of 10 for Tohka, but a 8/10 for inverse Tohka.
To be honest, the only character I can say is the best written is Kurumi. Her arc was amazing and her motives were right. Sadly, that's only for Kurumi though. I do like some characters, but I just plain hate others. However, our upcoming character arc towards a certain someone is on it's way, meaning that there could be more well written characters.
An average 5 out of 10 for Characters.
--Enjoyment--
I really enjoyed Date a live IV. I was very hyped for the next episode and I would always be hooked. That's how much I enjoyed it. Even if the CGI made the episode feel weird and off, I would still be hooked on it. A high 9 out of 10 for Enjoyment.
--Conclusion--
The art and animation used in Date a live IV might be hard for people to adjust to, but I liked it much more than other seasons. I give Date a live IV an 8 out of 10. I'm looking pretty forward towards the fifth instalment of date a live, hopefully there'll be less CGI.
