Reviews

This one hurts. As a massive fan of the game I was hoping the story would finally get the adaptation it deserves as it pertains to what might just be my favourite sci-fi/alt-history world ever created and anyone who's committed the (admittedly large amount of) time to the game would surely understand. It was inevitable that at first the show would not reflect this as the story only picks up at around Chapter 8 but that is no reason to drop the ball on the first part of a narrative that certainly requires multiple seasons to be told well.

Unfortunately, what we were instead met with was a lazily-made, half-baked excuse of an adaptation where its only redeeming quality was its intro. It's a mess confused by what it wants to adapt (i.e. including the most 'controversial' element of the manga) while lacking in the artistry necessary to make its way through the most dull parts of the story. The sound design is lame and generic and the show outright refuses any of the games' stellar soundtracks rather relying on an uninspired and forgettable OST that says sci-fi and nothing deeper. The exceptions of course being the OP which are for more inline with quality of any of Vanguard Sounds' work.

Speaking of which, the OP is also the only place there is any effort put into the animation. Some character designs were simplified (read: neutered) and those that weren't were instead dragged into depressingly simple and poorly choreographed fight scenes filled to the brim with guns that constantly go off model and feel more blasters or water guns than proper real-steel firearms. How? The entire premise is based around androids named after the firearms they wield and the show can't get guns right.

My only hope for this show is that it becomes the Studio Deen Fate adaptation of Girls Frontline.