First Pro: There is effort given into writing these characters.
- It doesn't quite reach the top-tier level of characters we so adore, but their motives, characteristics, and actions align well with each other that makes you want to root for them, although I barely felt any affection towards any of the cast except the side characters, which led me to feel pleased knowing they actually play a role into the story without being minor or forgotten after being mentioned a few times. Particularly, it was the father of Anisphia and Lainie, who I initially thought were supposed to be two-faced scumbags just so happens to be great people in the end. Trust me, I thought Lainie was going to be a girl that would stab the main heroines in the back who masked herself as a misunderstood commoner-made-noble, but it seems that it never went on that route and I appreciate them for that. Anisphia, the main heroine is trying a bit too hard to be the rash yet charming character we're all supposed to love, but I can't help but feel indifferent about her. She has a strong and clear motivation to try and replicate magic from artificial objects rather than humans with innate power. That's one. Two is her sense of nobility and heroism to others. Three is being sympathetic to Euphillia, who got rejected out of nowhere by the main antagonist, Algard (who got me shaking my head when I heard about his main motives). So why do I not feel anything about Anis, despite these things that should prove to give anyone a liking to her? This goes to show my first issue with the show stems from:
First Con: There is a lack of focus and polish in the plot.
- Here, we have a section on politics and tradition that contradicts the research on Anisphia's doings. What's that? Anisphia is risking her life to fight dragons and mythological beings? What did you say? Now we're at girls' love? It never ends, the anime attempts to be the jack of all trades but never excels at any of them due to the lack of focus put into these segments. When it tried its hand on politics, which is supposed to be one of the main parts of the story, I was shaking my head, it does nothing to indulge in other than what Anis's doing is bad, and what 'the nobles' believe is good. They don't seem to provide solid facts to back up their points and all that's left is hollow, meaningless, and annoying squabbling that offers nothing to the plot. The nobles don't mean anything and were brought up last minute when it realises it's about a princess living in a monarchy.
Second Pro: Production value is great just as expected.
- Diomedea recently has been consistently producing good-looking anime with great character design and background art, it's safe to say that Diomedea didn't miss this one. I don't have much to say other than that it looks gorgeous and polished. At least you don't have to worry about any disappointing visuals that might make you burst into laughter.
Second Con: The way characters talk feels forced and contrived.
- They talk like the other person is unable to comprehend what the other is saying without any emotional subtext. It makes me hard to believe someone is like how the other person describes them when they say it without shame. Even during the emotional moments, I was rolling my eyes away when they, ready to duke it out, decides to talk about how great they are or their original motives right in front of their faces. It's like disrespecting your audience's privilege to think about what is going on and having to explain the joke as it's going on. It was just a minor issue in the 1st half, but as it went on, it started to stick out like a sore thumb, waning my enthusiasm to watch.
Third Pro: The voice acting is top-notch.
- The amount of soul and emotion these voice actresses brought to the characters they play is remarkable. There was not a moment where I was thinking of the actresses and not the characters.
Third Con: It doesn't feel like a fantasy.
- Ok, it just mentions dragons and fairies for a few episodes, and then what? There's barely any major development in other aspects other than monarchies, nobles, and castles. Commoners don't mean anything in this one. Rival kingdoms? Nope, girls fighting over the throne, now that's a good idea. Not meeting with kings or queens of neighbouring kingdoms? Sorry, we need to have the princess meet her friends that support her ideas. For a fantasy story, this barely passes or works as entry-level writing. It's just a story about a princess living happily in her castle, doing whatever nonsense to her liking without taking the effort to recognise other people.
Overall, you should watch this if you're looking for:
- Unofficial romance between the main heroines.
- Dramatical sequences in the second half.
- Hoping for characters that might surprise you.
I don't recommend this if you want:
- Strong character development
- Fantastic lore and meticulous writing
- Genuine dialogue
Hence, that is all and thank you for reading.
