Music/Sound (6/10): Perfectly fine and sets the tone well. Nothing particularly notable to write about. Gets the job done.
Art/Animation (7/10): Appealing to the eyes and mostly clean, fluid animation and movement. Not really sure the character designs fit the overall themes of the show, but overall, no complaints
Story (6/10): Certainly the most unique and interesting part of the show. However, many plot elements feel overly odd, contrived, or under-explained, taking away from the narrative’s emotional weight and my ability to suspend disbelief. Pacing here is not bad, but seemed to be rushing towards the dramatic end of the prologue - this section could’ve been given far more breathing room and time to develop, deepening the impact of those final scenes (as such, my emotional investment in these events was severely stunted). Also, the narrative quality really dipped after AI’s death.
Characters (4/10): This is where the author fails to show and not tell. Don’t TELL me through forced dialogue or awkward inner monologue about this idol’s sad life. SHOW me how and why and what this actually means to the character through action NOT words. Otherwise, our lead teen idol was quite charming and likable. I do really wish they had more fully explored and fleshed out that looming melancholy before her eventual demise. Director-san is a cool guy and the surrogate mom manager at least had an interesting motivation (for a minute). But everyone else? Ehhh…. I’m not sold on the two reincarnates, especially our MC, who doesn’t really seem to have much of a well-defined personality or goal outside of his connection to his new mother. Also, his newfound desire to track down and kill Ai’s murderer came out of nowhere and seemed kinda extreme. This guy is supposed to be a former doctor, yet he never really acts like one. Ruby has a tragic backstory, yes, but her character traits are kinda hard to pin down, feeling more inconsistently written or convenient for the plot situations she’s put in than any of the other cast. Comedy is relatively good and pretty well-balanced, managing to crack a few smiles out of me.
Overall (5.5/10): This is an anime with an incredibly distinctive premise propped up by pleasing aesthetics, but let down by average, somewhat cliché characters, falling off in entertainment value after the initial hook, and constantly breaking the golden rule of the visual medium as mentioned earlier.
