Star Driver

In many ways, Star Driver could be called "repetition: the anime." This ended up being my main gripe with the series. In approximately 22 of the 25 episodes, there are fights. A majority of these begin with a song from one of the series' 4 Shrine Maidens. Baddie of the week declares one on one combat against the main character. Main character summons his mecha, they fight a bit, MC uses one of his like, 4 special attacks, fight's over. The summon/transformation sequence of the MC is re-used for every single episode except the final one, and his special attacks are all reused footage every single time they're used.

The baddies themselves aren't super great, either. There's a varied cast of characters, all belong to one central "evil order," so to speak. However, their motivations for being a part of it, as well as their own personal character arcs, are all fairly weak. Besides the main baddie, there's hardly a compelling villain in the cast, which makes it really difficult to get invested into them or their fights. It's all incredibly superficial, with even the main villain not having much exposition until the final few episodes.

That being said, it's not all bad. While there is a lot of stock footage used, that particular stock footage is relatively cool. I never did get tired of the aforementioned MC's transformation sequence, and it made me relatively hype every time it was used. The fights themselves all end up being pretty cool, and the final episode's fight, which lasts almost its entire runtime, is magnificent. There's definitely a lingering feeling of "what could have been" after how good episode 25 was, but it's still good enough.

The main cast is pretty great in their own right, with some great voice actors behind them. There were a lot of episodes that didn't help further the plot but that, instead, gave us great moments between the main trio that were easy to appreciate. Takuto, the main character, the Galactic Pretty Boy, is great. His comedic moments are hilarious, his serious moments have gravitas, and everything in between just makes him a genuinely enjoyable character. He looks good, he sounds good, and I think, most importantly, he's competent in a fight. There's no awkward "growing pains" throughout the series, where he sucks and then has to get better. He's good from the start. He hits this perfect middle ground where he doesn't lose because he's worthless, but he doesn't necessarily win because he's stupidly overpowered, either.

Overall, I don't want this to be a scathing review. The things that I disliked about this series were things that ended up lending themselves to its mediocrity, rather than making it bad. It was an enjoyable experience throughout. It lacked the kind of impact that makes me want to watch the next episode right this very moment, but it also didn't have a level of boredom that made me drag my feet in watching it. The final episode is exceptional, and I would say would deserve a 10/10 if it were a standalone. This is most certainly an anime where the destination is much more important than the journey.