Story
If you've been following previous seasons of Date A Live (and my own reviews about it), you'll find out that Date A Live is mostly character-driven, not plot-driven. What you would call the "main story" of the show didn't actually begin till the last few episodes of season 2 and since then, the show has worked hard to solve the mysteries surrounding the Spirits and the people involved with their births. Without giving too much away, this season is the season where we finally get some answers (but certainly not all of them) about the origins of the Spirits, their powers and what does Shido has to do in all of this beyond getting involved through circumstances beyond his control.
Although the show features comedic moments by dozen, it doesn't necessarily mean that the show is a full comedy. Date A Live has never been afraid to get serious and intense when the story calls for it. Given how the season ends (I won't spoil it), I don't think the show can be a light-hearted comedy anymore. I've always appreciated how Date A Live took itself seriously, at least to make the characters' personal struggles seem more impactful and dramatic. When Date A Live hits you in the feelings, it hits you hard.
Characters
The bread-and-butter of Date A Live is and has always been its characters. Once again, our hero Shido continues his quest to save the Spirits, and this time, he finds 2 new Spirits The first Spirit is Nia, a manga fangirl and author who straight-up admits she prefers fictional characters over real people, which happens with an alarming frequency in real life. She barely has any kind of life outside of her job and she only begins taking strides in fixing her life after meeting the other Spirits.
The other Spirit is Mukuro, a girl who used her own powers to erase her own emotions because of family trauma. What I liked about her character arc is that it teaches the consequences of letting fear dominate your life. Without giving too much away, Mukuro's backstory involves her losing her enjoyment of the people she loves and instead becoming afraid of others taking away what she loves.
And, of course, season 4 delivers the long-awaited backstory of Kurumi, the most popular character in the show. Her story thoughout the season ultimately becomes the emotional core of the season and the part where answers begin to be delivered to the viewers. Kurumi is a character that I believe is best used sparingly and only brought into the forefront of the story whenever something big is about to happen.
Visuals
The change in studio did wonders for Date A Live. The colors look brighter, the backgrounds look more detailed, the lighting during nighttime is clearer and the show isn't afraid to use CGI to animate fight scenes. I also like the details given to the Spirits' armors and weapons. They look cleaner and more refined.
Sounds
What can I say about the vocal performances that hasn't been said already? Both the English and Japanese versions benefit from excellent scripts and talented voice actors that cater to specific audiences.
Veteran VA Hitomi Nabatame is hired to portray Nia and, I gotta say, I didn't think she could convincingly pull off a teenage voice in her 40s, but credit where credit is due. As for Mukuro, she is voiced by relative newcomer Akari Kageyama. As someone who only knows her because of Hybrid × Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia, I'm glad that she keeps getting her work, not to mention that she did a fine job conveying Mukuro's emotional vulnerability, especially at the end of her character arc.
The English version cast Mallorie Rodak as Nia. Mallorie always struck me as the kind of actress that only voiced high-class, refined girls, not a manga enthusiast like Nia, but she did a fine job, all things considered. Kristen McGuire was also appreciated as Mukuro, giving her the voice of a little lost girl, like Tia Ballard does for Yoshino, but a lot more composed.
Also, as side-note, Josh Grelle, Shido's regular VA, was unavailable for a few weeks, so he had to be replaced by Austin Tindle. Although the differences can be noticed if you listen close enough, I think Austin has good enough of an "everyman" voice to keep voicing Shido should the need arise.
Conclusion
It has been a long time since I've written a review and as you can see, I've gotten a bit rusty. That said, I did my best in talking about what I enjoyed about season 4. If you think Date A Live is a show about silly harem adventures, then you'd be mistaken. This is the part where Date A Live gets fully committed into moving to what seems to be its climax and, in my opinion, it can't come fast enough. (8/10)
