• Animation

The animation itself is not the best, but it's not the worst either. There were instances when characters would look a bit "derpy" or disproportionate. Nothing really to say about the animation, it's mediocre, but at least it's not as bad as the story itself.

• Character Design

Nothing to really say. All the maidens have their own uniqueness and flavor. The children look completely nothing like I imagined. The protagonist fits the stereotypical protagonist looks.

• Character Development

Honestly I feel like this anime or the whole 'story' itself could have gone a bit better if the character developments were actually meaningful. The little segments each character is given with the main protagonist is too little of a time to fully develop a meaningful connection or bond with the maidens. There was too much content that could be produced in a span of only 12 episodes. Having a lot of characters for a series can be done, but not in 12 episodes. The Monogatari series or Date A Live for example, both series have a lot of characters and both have been successful in the anime community. There was potential for Conception, it could have done so well if only the character development for each of the maidens was there.

• Harem/Romance

Connections with the maidens feel as lousy and meaningless as a one night stand. Like I said from my previous talking point, there's just not enough time in a mere 12 episode season to introduce so many characters and have a meaningful connection with them. Some of the maiden's interaction with Itsuki was so abrupt and meaningless, that it just can't even be called Romance. Some of the maidens fell for Itsuki with some cringe or cheesy 'cool guy' line and off they go to have sex. They could have used that opportunity to build more of a bond with the characters but nope, straight to sex they go.

• Story/Plot

May include minor spoilers

No doubt one of the worst story/plot in anime I've seen yet. It starts off with the Itsuki and his cousin, Mahiru, being randomly transported into a different world. They're then informed about these 12 maidens that exist that can give birth to powerful children, called the 'Star Children', who can fight against 'Impurities'. And of course, the only way to produce these 'Star Children' is by Itsuki developing a romantic bond with each of the maidens and having a 'love ritual', also known as sex. Itsuki is given the duty to protect the world and slay the 'Impurities' to return back home with Mahiru. From surface level, it doesn't sound so bad, but the sheer amount of characters introduced is too overwhelming and the whole show just goes into a downward spiral. It had its moments when the story itself was actually going smoothly and you almost completely forget that the storyline and pacing was complete garbage.

• Conclusion

Conception had potential. I really believe it could have been a great show if the series had a lot more character development and the anime wasn't constrained into only 12 episodes. It had the ideas and ingredients for a good series, but the execution just wasn't there. If you have 5 hours to waste, go ahead, no one is stopping you from watching it. Don't let the heavily negative reviews stop you from watching a series. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and it may just be your treasure.

*P.S. : Mana became my favorite character at the end. Most of the time I thought Mana's presence and existence was annoying, but Mana's presence also grew onto you slowly. It was a character development happening unexpectedly, one of the only characters to actually develop a connection with the viewer a bit. Mana was a curveball that I didn't see coming. *