You know, reading some threads makes me wonder if the people posting in there have watched the same show I have watched. And since this is one of those threads, I'll take a moment to address all the complaints I've read, because some just blow my mind on so many levels.
First of all, I've read a lot of people complaining about the CG. Now, I won't stay here to claim that the CG in this anime is the best we have ever witnessed. But it certainly isn't the worst, either. And, most importantly, it was just a fraction of the airtime of this episode. Was it a flaw? Yes. Was it enough to write off this anime as bad? Hell no. I mean, for a comparison, Berserker's CG in Fate/Zero is just as bad. Does it mean F/Z is a trash anime too? No (or at least, not necessarily - I mean, whether you like F/Z or not should definitely not be decided by Berserker's CG at least!)
Now, on to the characters. I have read people calling them generic, because they are recognizable templates. That's quite the fascinating argument. Does it mean, I dunno, that S;G, Puella Magi Madoka, Evangelion, Death Note and many other anime whose characters are easily recognizable templates have "generic characters" too? Obviously not. What matters, at the end of the day, is whether or not these characters play their basic templates in an interesting and convincing way.
Is this the case of Toji no Miko? Yes, arguably so. First of all, Kanami is one of the most likable MCs I've seen in such "battle" anime in quite some time. We get to see she likes katana duels, and she's quite the spirited competitor, but she's also an adjusted individual. She does not look like an obsessed individual like, say, Ernesti Echevalier in K&M, nor does she look more like an idol than a warrior like the chars in Battle Girl High School. She looks, talks and behaves like a warrior (or at least a sportswoman), while still retaining an appreciable degree of humanity and sympathy.
But the char which really sold me, frankly, is Mai. We have seen this kind of "mature and quiet" girl, with slightly closed eyes, a ton of times in anime before. And many of them failed to be interesting because, quite simply, they were flat and devoid of any kind of nuance or conflict. This is definitely not the case with Mai. In fact, it is quite unusual of such a quiet character to be posed as the MC's rival, and this dynamic gives her a much needed degree of "roundness", as well as making her come off as not too quiet - actually, her interactions with Kanami were quite enjoyable.
Another point I have read - and the one I found to be the most ridiculous yet - is that "fights were too fast". Do you even realize what a real swordfight looks like? In real life, sword fights get done extremely fast - as long as you go after your opponent, and not his weapon like when flynning (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Flynning), fights get resolved within a matter of seconds. Just watch a fencing match at Olympics if you don't believe me. And yes, I'll take real fight over what amounts to "kayfabe wrestling" that we see all over the place in shonen and such, any time of the day.
Finally, to those who claim that it's absurd how Kanami jumped to the defense of Hiyori... Yes, Hiyori tried to kill Yukari-sama, but when Kanami intervened, it was Hiyori who was about to be killed. Should Kanami have let Hiyori get killed right there? Maybe some of you would have, but is it really unbelievable that, absent other factors that prove Hiyori being unjustified in her action, Kanami would instinctively try to save the girl she showed sympathy for previously (even if only as a possible opponent)?
In conclusion, I do not intend to claim that you have no right to be bored by this anime. This anime is obviously not for everybody (which is the case of 90% of the anime out there, anyway, so it's hardly a fault). But it blows my mind that some people would claim that this anime is as bad as, say, Battle Girl High School - if anything, Toji no Miko is what BG HS could've been if done right (and not the idol trash show we've witnessed). As for the 6.28 score it currently has on MAL... I can only wonder how many people who rated this show actually watched it. |