LYCORIS RECOIL was the most generally prevalent anime of this summer season, an incredibly popular work brought courtesy of SAO alum Shingo Adachi with a much well-received directorial debut. A girl meets girl slice of life action extravaganza with infectious charm. Written by Ben-To creator Asaura it's a stark contrast from what they're used to. The strengths however are in the characters. The dynamics, whether they be parental or chummy, buddy-buddy interactions, the genuine pathos succinctly endears to the viewer an engaging family unit.

Inspired by similar shows in the same vein of Gunslinger Girl, with the basic premise of strong female leads armed with guns. Assassins trained to contend against unknown forces. The difference lies in tone, as even with some serious and dark themes it still remains lighthearted. Going into this series it's hard not to notice the crystal clear yuri subtext laid throughout the entire run. Chisato and Takina have an immediate connection in which their sole presence easily influences their state of mind in a gradual state of enticing character progression.

The series has a perfect balance of goofy and quick-witted exchanges with the cast grounded in expanded growth. You see different sides to them, each morally inclined and outwardly charged with intense drawbacks, imparting a finer feeling that it feels earned as a result.

Chisato's "condition" midway into the story is given precedent beforehand with subtle hints thrown with intimate foresight. Her philosophic musings of taking things in stride: whatever happens happens. You only have so much time left to spend on this beautiful Earth. Foregoing other's expectations in favor of living for oneself. It's a beautiful yet tragic initiation into the proceedings. It keeps you invested, as you're left tense and wary of any theoretical sledgehammer trouncing the sweet and cute day to day interactions to the wayside.

Animation is stellar, with impressive action sequences, such as hand to hand combat paired with crisp and clean gun battles. Energetic character movements range from smooth fluctuations to facial expressions being on point for much anticipated emotional moments. Aesthetic is magnificent to behold, with eye-gazing visuals and consistent drawings maintaining a steady flow of production quality. Smart usage of compositing, lighting, and shading with dramatic scenes making for an appealing form of entertainment value.

Main antagonist Majima, voiced surreptitiously with imbibed passion by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka. He has a lot of range, handling conflicting aspects in a complex whirlwind of calculating, carefree abandon. Outbursts thrown against the iron wall known as society restricting free will. He's become one of the most interesting villains as of late. His conceptual ties to justice has a captivating charm to it. He views himself as a savior. Executing his character archetype so well, he inhibits a lot of depth, making it sympathetic to root for him at times. They see the actions they commit as a necessary balance, regardless of his impact on the world being a scale of ramifications. The elaborate uncertainty he embellishes with an outside perspective serves as a great foil to Chisato, his other half with understandable empathy.

The parent-child dialogue present between Chisato and Mika contained a lot of depth for the pair. It's a poignant feature of the show. Detailed background info conveys the cathartic transformation they've went through as a result of living with limited time.

Certain writing decisions in the latter half had an underwhelming reactionary response due to favoring over what the series excelled at. There could have been a better balancing of the action and SOL portions but overall it exceeded in what it set out to do.

It was a delightful experience filled with sadness, heartbreak and happy times. A journey with many a discussion to be had about the closeness of Chisato and Takina that endeared to viewers an uplifting relationship.