Story & Characters: Takt Op. Destiny takes place in the US, where Takt Asahina is attacked by a D2 - a monster that originates from outer space. During the attack, Cosette Schneider covers him, and seemingly loses her life in the process. However, instead of going away, her body is taken over by Destiny. She is a Musicart - special beings who have the power to fight back against the D2s. As they attack in sync with their conductor, their master, they are able to effectively kill these things off so that mankind can be preserved. Together, with the help of Cosette's sister Anna, as well as Lenny, another conductor, and his Musicart Titan, they hope to travel to New York City, where the Symphonica Headquarters are located. It is there that they hope to find answers to what actually happened to Cosette and why she is now Destiny.
Takt is deeply connected to his music, almost at an obsessive level. So much so that prior to the current story, his health would begin to degrade because he wouldn't take care of himself. He cares nothing about anything but music, but the D2s attack all sources of music, thus bringing their lives to a conflict with Takt. He doesn't really bring much to the table as a conductor, and it feels like ideals that he already should have, are forced on him because he won't accept reality. It's really not until the end where he develops a little. Destiny is a pretty empty shell of a person, born only at the beginning of this series. She knows it's her sole mission to eradicate D2s, but she doesn't really have any personality traits until the end. Anna's the levelheaded person of the group, and not someone who should probably shine as much as she does. Look, in a show about giant monsters attacking people who have these giant weapons at their disposal, someone who is just an ordinary human probably shouldn't be one of your best characters. She thinks on her feet, does all the heavy lifting and knows what state the world is in. That alone should present you with a decent character, but she has to keep the group together so often that she shines.
Lenny is probably my favourite of the group. He has strong ideals and watches out for Takt when he can. He's a pillar of positivity, and his partner, Titan, displays just about the same amount of fun-loving affection has him. Titan's powers aren't really as flashy as Destiny's, but they get the job done. Sagan and Schindler belong to the association in New York and serve as the main antagonists in this story. The problem? They don't display any reason for doing what they do. It's horrible, and brings what was a seemingly okay conclusion to a fall. There's always this grand talk with our main hero and villain at the end, but the one at the end of this tale? It doesn't mean anything.
One of the main issues with the story is it's inconsistency. It goes through ups and downs far too often in terms of good storytelling and I did not appreciate how little certain parts meant to the overall plot. One such plot point has our main cast going from their home, to New York, and everything in between that did not contain Lenny was such a let down. It doesn't really present new topics to our story and Takt and Destiny's underdeveloped characters don't help things at all. While fights were plentiful, just bashing in ordinary D2s gets old after so long. As our party nears its destination, fights got a little more exciting, even if it comes at a cost down the line.
Some of the better episodes were near the end, outside of the final episode, and it's here that the script is a little stronger, with fights that mean a little more. While the weaker cast of characters don't help things, it was at least a little bump up from where we started. However, it does feel wasted once you can tell that the story takes a lot of inspiration from Guilty Crown, a series that had serious story flaws in itself. So while the best moments mirror Guilty Crown, it's a little disappointing that it's so similar, including where it ends our story. (Story: 5/10, Characters: 6/10)
Art: Madhouse and MAPPA are two big names and they lend their talents to their series well. Fights are very flashy, especially with Destiny's weapon design. Most fights take place at night or in darker scenarios and it really makes the colours pop. While there is some loss of quality very late, the series, overall, was done well. (8/10)
Sound: Music is equally up to the task, with some strong pieces, even if you're not a huge fan of the classical tone that this series takes its theme from. The OP and ED are strong as well. And of course, I'm not at all surprised that Caitlin Glass voice directed this because the voice talent here was exceptional. Emi Lo (Cosette and Destiny) isn't someone I'm too familiar with, but she was strong here. Alexis Tipton (Anna) and Jason Liebrecht (Takt) are two voice talents that are basically always strong, and they fit their characters very well. Reagan Murdock (Lenny) lifts Lenny's character so much, and this, hilariously, is my second exposure to him after A Sign of Affection, which is literally airing right now. (9/10)
Overall: Takt Op. Destiny brings a mixed bag to the table because while it had some strong characters and plot points, there weren't nearly enough of them to offset the strong art and sound. I was very hyped for this series when it came out to Crunchyroll and couldn't get around to it at the time. It's fine, but nothing to make think that I missed out on it a couple of years ago. (6/10)
