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This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The story had a simple premise and a simple promise, but was executed brilliantly. The progress was clearly marked, but the payoff was a little underwhelming. The pacing is deliberately slow to support the slow-burn romance that this series offers. One of the support characters, a self-proclaimed alien with actual superpowers, is something of an oddity, however, and her existence sometimes intrudes on the otherwise grounded plot.

Character: Both main characters were written and portrayed very well. Both main characters ... had a small, but appropriate, amount of character growth. The side characters are also generally likeable and are given plenty of screen time, relatively speaking, with a little bit of character development to call their own. The character interactions are superb. The dialogue is extremely natural and well-written.

Visual: The show was visually stunning and makes use of visual metaphors to great effect. On a technical level, the small amount of 3D visual assets were integrated remarkably well. For example, Adachi's bicycle is rendered in 3D in multiple scenes, but most viewers would be hard-pressed to notice this detail. The only visual flaw is that the character designs change significantly when drawn at different angles and this inconsistency changes the feeling of the character without serving a purpose (such as comedic effect, for example).

Audio: The sound design was great and the show used audio metaphors extremely well. The music was great with the opening theme, 'Kimi ni Aeta Hi', and 'Merry Go Round' being standout tracks due to being sung by the two main voice actresses. The (Japanese) voice acting was particularly exceptional, with standout performances by Kitō Akari as Adachi Sakura and Itō Miku as Shimamura Hougetsu.

Enjoyment: Personally, I loved almost everything about this show. My only two gripes are that I was a little underwhelmed by the final payoff and I'm not fully sold on the inconsistencies in character design and art style as well as some of the CGI which, while integrated well, still stood out to me.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[2/3] Story
[3/3] Character
[1/2] Visual
[2/2] Audio
Final score of 8 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[3/4] Story
[4/4] Character
[2/4] Visual
[4/4] Audio
[4/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 17 out of 20.

This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The story very quickly established its promise very early on but cleverly substituted this promise in the final episodes in order to set up the climax at the end of the season. Further evidence of high-quality writing are evidenced in the show's pacing: despite each episode resembling a standalone, monster-of-the-week ordeal that delved into a specific character's arc, progress towards the overarching goal is clearly visible and there are no episodes that felt like filler. The final payoff at ... the end of the season was equally fantastic and truly felt like the culmination of every character's arc. Some foreshadowing is present but the show leaned more toward the 'unpredictable plot twist' end of the spectrum as opposed to the 'viewer can figure it out if they read between the lines' end of the spectrum. While much of the comedic humour is handed brilliantly, there are unfortunately some places where the insertion of comedic elements disrupted important character or narrative moments.

Character: The characters are really where this show shined. In spite of the massive cast, a large majority of the support characters received an excellent amount of character development. Even so, the cast was so large that some characters never got any time in the spotlight despite each episode attempting to flesh out at least one or two new characters. The villains received a surprisingly substantial amount of character development of their own. Ironically, it was actually the main characters who felt somewhat neglected as they received about the same amount of attention as the support characters.

Visual: The visuals were consistently above-average in quality throughout the entire season with some truly stunning sequences complemented by fluid animation. The character designer(s) did a fantastic job: the large cast of characters are all visually distinctive, but, unfortunately, the students do tend to suffer from 'same face syndrome'.

Audio: The sound design and music were excellent, adding substantial weight and emotion to critical scenes. The (Japanese) voice acting was great with standout performances including Fukuyama Jun, who perfectly switches between Koro-sensei's nonsensical antics and serious demeanour, and Itō Shizuka's admirable attempts at pronouncing foreign languages correctly as the multinational assassin Irina Jelavić.

Enjoyment: I personally found the show thoroughly enjoyable. In addition to developing the large cast of characters, each episode contained either an amazing action sequence or a character moment that made it highly memorable though naturally some episodes stood out to me more than others. Hayasaka Ritsu's character arc in 'Episode 9: Transfer Student Time' is probably one of my all-time favourite character arcs in anime. Unfortunately, I did not find any of the opening or closing themes to my liking, though I can report that I am in the minority opinion on this matter.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[2/3] Story
[1/3] Character
[2/2] Visual
[2/2] Audio
Final score of 7 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[3/4] Story
[4/4] Character
[4/4] Visual
[3/4] Audio
[4/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 18 out of 20.

This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The story was executed extremely well. All of the promises that were made had a strong sense of progress and a great payoff. The pacing of the show is just right with fast action when it makes sense and slow slice-of-life when it wants to relax and the characters are goofing around.

Characters: The main characters were characterised very well with standout characters being the main duo: Maple/Honjō Kaede and Sally/Shiramine Risa. Some of the supporting characters also saw some ... development but not all of them were able to come into their own. Likewise, some of the antagonists could also benefit from some more development relative to the amount of screen time they got and their overall narrative weight. The character interactions were a delight to watch, especially between the members of the Maple Tree guild.

Visual: The visuals were well above average with very well-animated fight scenes and remarkable background art, especially with some of the exotic side locations and hidden locations that Maple and Sally discover together. The character designs are generally very cute, especially for the main cast, and quite expressive, making good use of visual cues to convey characterisation and personality. The show makes heavy use of CGI to varying degrees of success: in certain scenes, the CGI is integrated extremely well and looks quite remarkable while in other moments the poorly integrated CGI can easily break immersion, which is a real shame considering how amazing this show looks when bad CGI isn't involved.

Audio: The sound design was very good and the music was great with many memorable soundtracks. The sound effects were generally on point and enhance the experience. The (Japanese) voice acting was quite good with standout performances by Kaede Hondo as Maple/Honjō Kaede and Ruriko Noguchi as Sally/Shiramine Risa.

Enjoyment: The show sets out to be a fun romp slice-of-life about a new MMORPG player failing her way to success and making friends. The characters are very cute and charming and their interactions are an absolute delight to watch. The comedy aspects of this show can be a little hit or miss depending on one's exposure to MMORPGs and video games in general. Overall, I found this to be one of the most fun and enjoyable shows of the season.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[3/3] Story
[2/3] Character
[1/2] Visual
[2/2] Audio
Final score of 8 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[4/4] Story
[4/4] Character
[3/4] Visual
[3/4] Audio
[4/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 18 out of 20.

This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The story was well-executed with a solid grasp of promise, progress, payoff, and pacing. The yin-yang philosophy of the main theme of the show, that "both light and darkness are essential", was communicated in a very heavy-handed way because the narrator would continuously reinforce this point. The most egregious example of this being in the climax of the final episode when the narrator outright states that light and balance must coexist together and that the protagonist, Parn, must understand ... this in order to become a true hero.

Characters: The characters are generally well-written and distinctive, though some of them could really benefit from more growth and development. For example, the main male protagonist, Parn, never seemed to overcome his main personality flaw of being impulsive and so never developed as a character. Most of the antagonists also felt a little flat, though Ashram's character arc was very memorable and stands out form the rest.

Visuals: Individual frames were extremely well-drawn - if one randomly pauses at any point in an episode, one would end up with a very well-illustrated still image (disregarding the lower resolution since it is an older show). The character designs exude personality and can be considered 'visually stunning' even by today's standards - one could see exactly what type of person a character was just by the shapes of their faces and their facial features. However, the animation suffers in certain scenes and it is clear that the staff had to pull some budget away from certain scenes in order to fund climaxes: certain fights literally just amount a long shot of two characters standing still with the only motion in the frame being the awkward swinging of long swords, which is a real shame.

Audio: The sound design was serviceable. The music helps to support the epic fantasy feeling that the show gives off. The sound effects used were appropriate and well-timed. The voice actors did a good job at bringing the characters to life, though the production did not go 'above and beyond' what was required of it.

Enjoyment: A lot of aspects of this show are going to feel extremely generic to a modern audience. However, it is important to note that 'Lodoss-tou Senki' was one of the very first series to introduce the Western fantasy genre to a Japanese audience. For this reason, I personally recommend all fans of the fantasy genre watch this show at least once, even though they might not like it. It is true that this show has not aged very well: The animation is somewhat stiff at times and the sound effects sound extremely dated. But personally, I found the worldbuilding to be a very interesting blend of Western good-verse-evil themes and Eastern yin-yang themes and the characters were compelling enough to keep me engaged despite the show's apparent flaws.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[2/3] Story
[2/3] Character
[1/2] Visual
[1/2] Audio
Final score of 6 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[2/4] Story
[3/4] Character
[2/4] Visual
[2/4] Audio
[2/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 11 out of 20.

This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The overarching story of Hiyori and Koharu overcoming the awkwardness of their new family dynamics is executed fairly well. The episodic nature of the show naturally meant that certain episodes stand out more than others, depending on one's tastes, but objectively speaking every story arc was written and executed very well. The final episode felt a little bit lacking: the writer(s) clearly wanted to make the climax of the final arc a character scene between the two main characters ... but it lacked the "oomph" needed to make the final payoff feel complete. As it stands, the end of the final episode feels more like the end of a regular episode than the end of the show.

Character: The characters were the absolute heart and soul of the show and it was great to see all of them get at least a little bit of development. The focus on family and the fact that even the parents got some screen time and character development is a rarity in the medium and an absolute delight to see. Character interactions are well-executed and charming to watch. Dialogue is fluid and well-written.

Visual: The animation was perfectly serviceable and never dipped below an acceptable bar of quality. The small number of high-quality still frames scattered throughout each episode really help to bring out the show's motif of photographs and the memories they contain. The character designs are good but, unfortunately, they suffer from 'same face syndrome' in that all the facial features of the main girls are virtually identical.

Audio: The music, voice acting (Japanese), and sound design were all splendid. All of the soundtracks were generally above average, though there were no standout tracks. Both the opening and ending songs are enjoyable, but neither is objectively exceptional in their own right. The sound effects were solid and did their jobs well. The (Japanese) voice acting was also well done, with a commendable first-time main role performance by Kusumi Rin as Minagi/Yamakawa Hiyori.

Enjoyment: Slow Loop is among my favourite shows of the year and one of my favourite slice-of-life shows ever. Almost every episode managed to click with me and I loved all of the characters, main and support. The character designs are very cute and the visual and sound design create a perfectly relaxing atmosphere. Both the opening theme and the ending theme are among my favourite anime soundtracks of all time. I especially love the ending theme - hearing the three main voice actresses singing the ending theme for the show is an absolute treat.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[2/3] Story
[3/3] Character
[1/2] Visual
[2/2] Audio
Final score of 8 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[3/4] Story
[4/4] Character
[4/4] Visual
[4/4] Audio
[4/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 19 out of 20.

This is a standalone review of the anime adaptation. The original material is beyond the scope of this review and is not a factor for consideration.

Story: The story has an interesting premise but that premise was poorly executed upon. Certain plot points do not make sense by the end of the series while others were outright ignored when it was convenient for the plot to do so. For example, it was an explicit plot point that shepherds do not have books, and thus people forget about them. However, in episode 5, Kakei seemed to have no problem remembering Nagi when everyone else had forgotten who ... she was. The most egregious plot hole of all comes at the final conclusion of the story: it was shown that Kakei's book was destroyed, yet somehow Nanai was able to restore it in the final scene. This cheapens the final payoff immensely. There were some minor pacing problems.

Character: The characters were quite likeable but their characterisation was somewhat inconsistent: some character traits were forgotten when it was convenient for the plot to do so. There was some decent character development for all of the main cast, though it feels like some characters managed to get more significant/memorable developments compared to others. It's worth nothing that Ikkei got very little in terms of character development in spite of his reasonably large share of screen time. Overall, however, the character interactions were probably what ultimately helped carry the show.

Visual: The visual art was perfectly serviceable and unremarkable. The character designs were generally well done, even if somewhat generic. The background art does its job. The animation was perfectly average and even below average in a few places. In particular, there were some uses of CGI in scenes set within the magic Library which are not as well integrated as one would have liked them to be, though it is worth noting that one could also do much worse than what was done here.

Audio: The audio was perfectly serviceable and unremarkable. The (Japanese) voice acting was generally well done, though there were no particular standout performances (that the writer could identify). The music generally added to the experience, though there were no standout tracks. The sound effects were unremarkable, but they did their job.

Enjoyment: Despite its technical flaws, I actually found the show to be relatively enjoyable - though whether or not it is enjoyable enough for me to rewatch it remains to be seen. I liked the opening theme song and it has ended up on my playlist. I suspect that the original material has much better execution of story and character and is able to avoid many of the problems identified in this review. Overall, this was a mediocre adaptation.

Objective Score Breakdown:
[1/3] Story
[2/3] Character
[1/2] Visual
[1/2] Audio
Final score of 5 out of 10.

Subjective Score Breakdown:
[2/4] Story
[3/4] Character
[3/4] Visual
[2/4] Audio
[2/4] Enjoyment
Final score of 12 out of 20.