Story: The anime leaves a huge impression on what the story will be about in the very first episode as well as immediately highlighting what Ishura means in the context of the anime. The anime starts introducing multiple characters in quick succession and tells the viewer (via a narrator) who and what they represent in the story. In the first few episodes, despite providing a lot of information to the viewer, it does not infodump anything on them. Since, by halfway through season 1, the anime will then only focus on the characters and geography that you have been informed about. From there the story will only use those characters and geography to slowly unravel the relationship between the characters, the political structure of the world, the geography of the world, etc. Throughout season 1 the anime segregates characters into two categories: powerful and normal. The powerful characters are labelled as "Ishura" (defined by the narrator) and the normal characters are then introduced for the sake of story progression.
The story is really interesting since it acknowledges the difference in mentality between those who are strong to those who are weak. This is seen immediately in episode 1 and continues throughout to the end of season 1 in which we see a common pattern. The strong do what they wish and demonstrate it through their abilities whereas the weak will do anything to get what they want. This is then reflected in the difference in societal status between these characters where the majority of the "weak" characters are linked to government and political roles and the "strong" are like mercenaries. In addition, what makes Ishura iconic from the other animes similar to it, is that the "strong" characters gathered naturally. Every character's interaction is (surprisingly) influenced by the political nature of Ishura, thus many of the interactions between the strong characters feel like they came to each other just by circumstance. Moreover, it is interesting to see that despite the title being called "Ishura" the ones that run the show are not them, but all the other characters that are not described as such.
To summarise, season 1 explains the meaning of "Ishura" and what it represents in its world and then demonstrates the strength of the characters (that are considered "Ishura") without feeling the information is being dumped onto you. In addition, it provides the viewer a clear understanding that not all Ishura are equals then leaves a cliffhanger saying there are more Ishura yet to appear.
Characters: The characters that have appeared in the anime are easy to understand. As I have mentioned earlier, the anime tells you which characters are important for the season and will only show these characters for the whole season. Therefore, by the time the action starts, you are already familiar with all the characters presented. This season presents more than 10 characters and the anime does it well by providing each character the same amount of screen time. This enables the viewer to understand how each character behaves and where their morality lies in the world of Ishura. What makes this interesting is that the world of Ishura does not shy away from the fact that Isekaiers (people who travel to other worlds) exist and yet it does not see them as any more special than their already powerful characters.
So far, season 1 has only shown one event with all the presented characters involved in it. This event does not entirely flesh out their characters since season 1 acts something like a prelude before any of the major events start to unfold - I presume season 2 may be the same. Therefore, it will be probably further down the line to see how these characters develop. For now, it is clear that the "strong" characters do not entirely run the show but it is the "weak" characters, and said characters have demonstrated that they will do anything to achieve their ambitions.
Art and Sound: The animation done by the studio is high in quality, especially in the action scenes. Despite, some CG being used for some of the characters it adds more to it rather than detracting from it. The music for both the ending and opening are very nice to listen to and the lyrics for the opening somehow (I believe) fit to the theme of Ishura.
Overall: Ishura is one of those animes in which (I believe) acknowledges the requirements for "weak" and "strong" characters together. The strong characters are the main attraction but the story can only progress because of the weak characters making use of their surroundings. Moreover, season 1 tries to convey the idea of "strength" to the viewer by introducing multiple characters that are "strong" in their area and then letting them interact with each for the viewer to compare their strengths. The end of season 1 gave the impression that there are more "strong" characters - Ishura - in the world of Ishura making me want to watch season 2 and hope that season 2 leaves just as an impression that season 1 did.
