Now, there were a lot of things I really liked about this show, and a lot of things I didn't. Let me detail the major negatives first.
1) the animation is uh. Not great. It's not horrible, but it is distracting. There is maybe two or three really good shots in the whole show. Fight scenes are not good, there's a reliance on close ups, and all group shots look derpy. There are a few scenes that use 3D models to fill out crowds and oh boy is it noticeable. Genuinely, some of the animation is just wonky enough to detract from the story.
2) Zem is a majorly underserved character. His backstory hinges on some very touchy subjects that I'm not sure the show did well enough with to justify their inclusion, and his "arc" (if you can even call it that) is real nonexistent. He is by far the least developed character in the show despite some solid foundation and promise. In the end, they writing just doesn't seem interested in actually engaging with him, which makes the little bits you do get of him feel a bit tasteless and even uncomfortable.
3) There are a lot of dark-skinned side characters and maybe one of them is a half decent person. The others are violent, mean, or, animalistic, or rude. I feel like I continually see this in "adventurer guild" style anime, and I'm tired of it. Give us some decent dark-skinned characters who are treated just as well and just as diversely as the light-skinned characters.
4) I feel like the anime is definitely skipping over major elements from the source material, because during the first two episodes, I paused and went scrounging for a wiki to explain to me exactly what happened in some of these characters' backstories. Nick and Tiana were the worst served by this, as Tiana gets two and a half short scenes to explain the "scandal" she was a part of, and I STILL don't know exactly what happened there. Nick's story is extremely blink and you'll miss it practically right at the beginning of the story. I still don't entirely know what the whole thing in the synopsis about embezzling funds was about, it just seems like he just got kicked out for no reason.
Okay, those are my main gripes. Here are the things I liked:
1) this is actually a really fun and unique fantasy rpg world. I like the anachronistic bits. This will be hit or miss for a lot of people, but I love that there are people in suits, random modern casinos, and idols interspersed with people in tunics and swords fighting monsters. It rules.
2) the characters are genuinely fun and engaging and have really good dynamics. Zem’s poor writing aside, the characters are all genuinely very fun, engaging, and have interesting dynamics. I really like how they are all portrayed as traumatized people who are actively working to improve themselves and learn to be vulnerable again after losing things that were important to them. I especially love that all of the relationships are totally platonic, and there’s very little to indicate that there’s going to be a romantic subplot, which I feel would have muddied things. There’s just a good laser focus on these young adults working through their baggage while learning to rely on each other.
3) this genuinely may be one of the best fantasy genre shows I’ve seen in regards to diverse and interesting female characters. None of them are treated as fanservice, and all of them are allowed to be as weird, silly, and interesting as the male characters. They’re all very unique and allowed to have their own arcs, and most importantly, they all get to develop rapport with the male characters as equals, which i feel like I don’t get to see enough in these fantasy rpg stories.
4) some have mentioned that the meandering style of the story without a huge amount of plot wasn’t something they enjoyed, but I actually did. I think if you like slice of life stuff as well as fantasy, you’ll get something out of this. This story is more about the characters and their interactions over a long-running plot, and I appreciated that. It very much felt like watching the animation of someone’s D&D campaign, and it had a sort of homey feel in that sense.
In all, I while I don’t think this show will leave a super lasting impression, I’m generally pleased with what I got to see, and I’d definitely pick up a second season if it happens.
