I can't help but want to make an "All da ramen" joke whenever I say the title of the show in question, so I'll get it out of the way immediately. For starters, I'm extremely tired of these single season shows that fall under the "will never get a sequel, so go buy the light novel you mindless monkey with a wallet" umbrella and Alderamin is much of the same. Not necessarily content-wise, but because many of these are actually really poor, created to drive one to further pursue the source material (looking at you Tokyo Ghoul). However, Alderamin is, instead, really good, or at least, really compelling. In a way, it's actually nice that Alderamin never got a second season and thus I wouldn't have to experience the disappointing ending that I've seen alluded to as I researched a little bit after watching. I did end up spoiling a major plot point later for myself that further cemented the idea that, maybe, it's a blessing in disguise that this won't be continued, as it would just trample on the solid foundation Alderamin built for itself with this standalone season.

I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't really like anything that Alderamin did musically, so that's where most of the points come off in the objective and production categories. I will freely admit that I remember not a single song from Alderamin and skipped both the opening and ending every single time after the initial watch of them both. They simply did nothing interesting at all. In some cases, an unmemorable soundtrack can be fine, but in this case, I literally remember no songs. Rather poor work if you ask me. Sound effects were reasonably good, nothing really out of the ordinary or anything. Voice acting was really good in the dub, even if some of the characters were overacted, but I get the feeling that it was more of deliberate choice than anything.

Visually, Alderamin is pretty good. The character designs are unique and memorable and each stand out from one another, while still preserving the feeling that everyone is part of this grand imperial army. On top of that, the animation during battle scenes, but especially the duels, is superb. While they might not be the most brilliantly choreographed, they are fluid and pleasing to follow. Most importantly, I didn't really notice any poor frames or badly animated sequences, which is always a plus.

Favorite Character: Yatorishino Igsem

For the first couple of episodes, I didn't actually think this may be my selection, but Yatori and Ikta's backstory and consistent, lovable bond really drove her straight into my heart. I really loved that she was built into someone who was more than just a talented super soldier. She constantly grapples with her identity as an Igsem and what it means for her and Ikta if things were to change. It was almost tragic how they found themselves constantly in a position that one different step in their lives and she would be "forced" to kill him because of what her family stands for. She was such a compelling character and was my favorite character in the show by a mile, though Torway and Ikta make good arguments for themselves as well.

Now what didn't I love about Alderamin? I didn't necessarily love a lot of the weird morality that was in play sometimes. For instance, they have to commit some pretty despicable war crimes and kill countless people, all the while seeing their friends get murdered, but then when it comes towards the end and some of the people that they know who die, its all Ikta's fault and he's despicable. I understand the humanity in that, but they're at war and they're soldiers. They've already seen death and killed so many, but suddenly it's despicable. Seems like a weird time to suddenly grow a conscience, especially in the middle of a war operation. Poor timing if you ask me. There's a lot of this actually, especially revolving or directly with Ikta. It seems like he's immune to doing terrible things or committing war crimes, but then randomly he'll have a conscience. I'm overstating a little bit, but it doesn't make it any less annoying when it feels so inconsistent.

Honestly, that's all I could really come up with that I wasn't personally a huge fan of in Alderamin. I loved so much more of it. From the tactical take on warfare, to the phenomenal characters and their interactions, to the grand setpieces, to the political drama- Alderamin delivered in so many ways and, honestly, surprised me with its remarkable quality. I genuinely enjoyed watching Alderamin. There wasn't a single time where I felt like it dragged the pace or where watching it felt like a chore, it jumped from character interaction to story moment back to characters so seamlessly that it never seemed to lose its stride. I would also like to make a final point here that I'm really happy with the way that they handled the characters. None of them are particularly weak, but each have strengths and weaknesses like normal people. Ikta is a tactical genius, but doesn't offer much in a fight; Torway is an incredible marksman, but doesn't offer much in terms of close combat; etc. It really helps keep them consistent but grow in other, more personal ways, which is always far more gratifying.

I would give this a hearty recommendation to anyone who loves shows like Code Geass, with tactical warfare and political drama, even though it's fairly light on the latter. Obviously it's an incomplete adaptation, so unless that's an absolute dealbreaker, I would say to give it a shot, because it's a damn shame that this isn't a more popular recommendation for people looking for war and strategy anime.