I always say that something being generic does not necessarily mean bad. All stories have really been done before, so it comes down to execution to keep things entertaining and I think the execution of the characters in this one was good despite the generic overpowered guy at magical academy who everyone thinks is weak plot line.
Smaller cast means more focus on them and time to actually flesh them out. Little details like the edgy class rival who tries to make life hell for the MC actually growing and changing over the course of the show as opposed to staying a whiny brat all the time were great.
I also think the lack of much overt fan-service was a welcome way to keep the focus on the interpersonal relationships of the characters and story. The story isn’t the strongest and mainly focuses on the MC navigating daily life at the school while overcoming his personal trauma. He’s apprehensive to making friends because of previous experiences and gradually those walls are torn down.
If I had to have any complaint with the final episodes’ arc was pretty weak. I didn’t really care about Rebecca as a character because she didn’t have much screen time, but they tried to make it seem like she was an important character and force us to be emotional with her situation. Probably a result of skipping some source content I’d imagine.
Art wise the show is kind of odd. The first time I saw it I just thought the character designs looked so weird and plain. I’m still not the biggest fan of them, but they have grown on me along with the story. The animation is pretty bad though. All of the fight scenes are subpar. Especially Amelia’s little battle arc. Someone once told me that you can’t have great animation and good character development. That’s not always the case, but in this one it is.
Iceblade isn’t the most original show around, it’s definitely trope-y and it doesn’t have the best animation, but I enjoyed it a lot which is all that matters. It was actually one of my favourite shows of the season and after onimai, the second most anticipated Thursday seasonal. I’ll be checking out the LN for sure after this.
Iceblade gets 8 out of 10
