An interesting show that starts off well, but ultimately goes down-hill after it decides to ignore the mysteries and instead introduce a massive cast of one-dimensional characters.
Okay, it’s not as bad as that makes it sound. There are parts of the series that are seriously good, and I’d still definitely recommend it to people that liked anime like Zetsuen no Tempest or other magic/action shows with a lot of exposition.
The world building was really good, and succeeded in creating a intriguing society that had only fairly recently begun to harness magic as a form of science. There were some big mysteries in the air, such as ‘What is the story behind Tatsuya and Miyuki’s relationship? Why do no two people seem to have the same powers when magic is just a form of science? Why is most of the B set filled with kids who are just as talented (if not more so), than the kids in the A set? Why on earth do we never see any of their teachers? What on earth are the terrorists even after? And why is the military so incredibly incompetent that it places national security in the hands of a few teenage kids?’
Unfortunately most of the mysteries were unresolved by the end, which left the series hanging a bit and with an ‘unfinished’ feel. The last arc was by far the most confusing, everything was just thrown together and felt rushed. It was also a big shift in tone from the first two arcs, which were mainly centred in school and around school related activities.
The MC was probably the best part of the series (unlike his sister). A refreshing change – the overpoweredness in this case made the anime better instead of boring. It was actually fun this time to watch a really OP character instead of irritating, and I even found myself wanting to see more of him (which is rare, because normally I can’t stand characters who are that far above everyone else).
A lot of the side characters were interchangeable and forgettable but there were still some good ones: Erika, Mikihito, and Sayaka were developed decently. I couldn’t stand Miyuki. She was the worst part of the anime by far – in fact the only terrible part of the anime. It really did feel like she was only used as a plot device to show how awesome the MC is - which wasn’t even necessary because the anime did a perfectly good job of portraying his powers without her help. Seriously, literally every comment was somehow related to her brother. She didn’t exist outside of her brother complex, which sucked. She could have been an interesting character if she’d had a little more depth to her personality, or a little more character development. She’s supposedly overpowered, but if she is it wasn’t portrayed very well in the anime.
However, one bad character couldn’t ruin the anime altogether. The plot was fun. There was a lot of talking, but it was interesting. the fight scenes were nicely choreographed. The mystery was intriguing, and did leave me wanting to see what happened next (more in the beginning than the end). The competitions were entertaining, even if they weren’t particularly exciting. The art was lovely, the magic especially was well illustrated and is very pleasant to look at. The character designs were pretty, the backgrounds were gorgeous, and the sound was fine. All positives.
Overall, it was a decent anime. There were parts of it that were good, and parts there weren’t. there were parts I liked, and parts I didn’t. But I couldn’t call it a ‘bad’ anime; the positives did outweigh the negatives in the end.
So again, I would recommend it to fans of its respective genres. Just don’t expect to be blown away by its brilliance. XD
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