Hi! I'll be reviewing both season 1 and 2 in this review. It really feels like the same season split in two.
I am also very sorry for any spelling errors since English is not my first language. Also, this is just my personal opinion and all. You could have completely different views from me and that's perfectly fine. So, just take what I say with a grain of salt, yeah?
Alright, let's get into it.
The major theme goes like this:
A mysterious gate to another world opened up in the middle of Tokyo and monsters and soldiers poured out of it and attacked civilians. Our protagonist is a guy who saves quite a few people and is an overall hero. He is from the JSDF (Japan Self-Defense Force). Due to his heroic actions, he is promoted and gets assigned to this "Special Region" to be a scout. He is assigned a squad to command, and the series goes on from there.
I like the major plot line of the story since not much other anime/manga really dives into the details of how first contact with another world would be like, and how trying establish communications and peace would unfold. It's a pretty cool topic to present and it makes for a very engaging story.
It's nice how the show tries to approach the military aspect of the show in a more realistic way compared to other shows of the same type. This show has much more realistic command structures, protocols, weapons, and overall has a good grasp of how a military actually functions. It is a fun watch for any military buffs out there. The combat scenes are well done, too. I feel they are shooting way more bullets than they realistically would be. But this an anime, and they can have some artistic liberty every now and then. Striking the horrors of war into a fantasy world is something that is uniquely fun for some reason.
The show is well-paced overall. Nothing really felt like it got dragged out for too long or got too little screen time. The plot did flow pretty well and overall was a very easy and engaging watch. The show did hit a good middle ground between high-octane action and calm character scenes. Generally, really well done.
There are a lot of other positive remarks I could make, but for the sake of this review being concise, I'll move onto the next topic now.
The characters are pretty well done. I won't go and introduce every character since there are just so many over the course of the show. But I will have to say that a lot of the characters feel kind of one-dimensional in a way, not much in the realm of character development aside from the main cast. Despite that, the characters do have quite a lot of personality. They do really feel like real people in terms of personality and character. They are very well written.
Over the show, a wide variety of things happen. From the main squad going to places to assist the locals, or some really whacky antics with side characters. Some very funny/engaging things will happen to the characters that can make you laugh, smile, or feel the sweet, sweet taste of revenge.
While this show is good, it isn't without its problems just like any other show. It's got some rough edges and has some minor issues, but nothing that would take me out of the story. Well, a small complaint I have is the show's overuse of split screen between characters when speaking, and jumping from one story event to another making following the story kind of difficult. One thing I found kind of confusing was that the inhabitants of the Special Region are supposed to have their own language. But when it's spoken in the show, it's just Japanese that you just have to interpret as another language. I get that it is needed so that the audience can easily listen along, but it gets kind of confusing sometimes. Well, those are the more major problems I could nitpick, but I don't have any other huge issues with the show's pacing as a whole.
One of the bigger complaints i have is that despite this story being a very fun and enjoyable time, It definitely is kind of like propaganda. The way the show portrays the JSDF soldiers as a complete force of good, never willing to do anything wrong, just doesn't feel very genuine. I know that in the way of the story, these soldiers are trying to establish peace but they can't always be saints. My personal opinion is that it's a bit of propaganda to make the JSDF in real life look better. I do get that Japan is kinda salty that their military isn't as strong as it used to be and this is basically a Japanese military power fantasy. Well, if you can brush aside minor pacing issues and not fall victim to the propaganda, then this show might just be for you.
This show really is a pretty good watch despite what I said about it. If you have read this far, you should just give it a go already. It's going to be a fun ride no matter what.~~~~~~
8.5 out of 12 users liked this review
