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Yaoshenji, or Tales of Demons and Gods, is one of those new Chinese anime that I really want to like, but really can't bring myself to. As an adaptation of a popular web-novel and manga, it already has really good plot behind it. However, the choices that the animation studio has chosen have severely undercut this massive advantage.

One of the most glaring problems is the length of each episode. Episodes are around 7 minutes long on average, but if you consider that the opening and ending animations take up 2 minutes, then you're left with just 5 minutes of actual storyline per episode. While this ... comes out to about 200 minutes of total animation (around 10 episodes of a normal length anime), it severely limits the amount of information that can be added in a single episode. As such, each episode is only long enough to last exactly one scene or conversation, and it's impossible for them to fit in any extra narrative or background into the anime.

On the animation side, they've chosen to go with 3d models for everything. While there are good examples of 3d animation, this is just on the borderline. The quality of the models is at the bare minimum acceptable standard, about the same as a video-game. It's very apparent that where ever possible, they've tried to reduce the complexity of the models by using textures instead of actual 3d detail. In addition, the quality of the motion of the characters is also sub-par, as there are very few examples where a character walks properly - most characters have stiff expressions or weird kinks in their walking animation that instantly catch your eye. Overall, it feels like they offloaded all the animation into an in-game animation software,such as Source Film Maker. This might be acceptable if they compensated with an increase in the amount of content, but as pointed out earlier, there's actually less content than a single season of an anime.

On the other hand, it's pleasing to see that they've put in effort into working on special effects for the magic systems in the show. While the character animation may be sub-par, the effects associated with magic activation still look fairly good. In addition, it's also fun to see then using the obvious kinks in their animation quality to showcase unique character personalities on some of the nameless side characters. This is an amazing addition, as the side characters are no longer bland and identical, but actual people with their own unique (sometimes hilarious) walking styles and expressions.

In terms of actual plot, the original story as well as this adaptation both focus on an OP character who was reborn and has a new chance at life. It is honestly fun to see this character, who represents the epitome of the saying "Knowledge is power", destroying people's expectations of him and coming out on top in clever and hilarious scenarios. However, as is the problem with most adaptations, it's very apparent that a lot of that content has to be skipped in order to translate the story onto the screen. This is sadly even more apparent here, where the 5-minute episode length severely restricts the amount of information that can be conveyed to the viewer. Overall, unless the viewer has already read the source materials, they can easily get lost in the terminology, magic and ranking systems introduced in the anime.

At the end of the day, I think it's a cute adaptation of a very fun web-novel, but leaves me sad about the missed potential that it could have had.

*This contains a small spoiler, but that has been marked clearly*

Internal logic and believable characters are two of the most important factors for me in any show. It doesn't matter how outlandish or surreal the setting and events might be, as long as the show attempts to provide some reason for these actions, I stay happy. This show attempts nothing of the kind. While some of these gaffes are understandable considering that they are limitations of the show being based on a TCG (trading card game), the vast majority are intolerable. I'll list my personal opinions of the show in order of what I liked ... most:

Sound: 8/10
The sound quality of this anime is actually quite good. The opening and ending sequences have great tracks that mesh fairly well with the story. I have no complaints about the OST either.

Art: 7/10
The animation is of decent quality, uses a bright palette, and has a moderate use of CG. There's nothing amazing or new about the art, but then again, there was never really a moment when I could complain.

Story: 3/10
This is definitely not an anime you want to watch for the plot. It's mostly structured like a harem anime, with an overperforming male MC surrounded by pretty little things that lather him with attention. There is no overall plot for the story; each episode is based around backstories and character development. While this could have been an interesting approach, it fails because of the horrible quality of said character development.

There are also several elements in the story that make no sense or are never explained properly. For example, they often mention that the bond made during a covenant is permanent, and yet they show us that both Chloe and Tamaki were bonded to different covenanters in the past. What happened to them? Also, even though the ALCA organisation has been fighting invasions for a long time before Yoshi joined this branch, why is there only one Foreigner (Enlil) in the vault from before Yoshi entered the story? In addition, what is the difference between killing and capturing the foreigners? Both actions seem to involve dealing heavy amounts of damage to them. For some reason, slicing them in half using a giant fire sword or blasting holes in them with a magical shotgun separates them from their trancejacked host, but attacking them with a whip kills the foreigner.

<minor spoilers>
In the Veronica episode, the Ice Belva that they're fighting against never trancejacked anyone, so how is it able to manifest its powers?
Every time a foreigner trancejacks a human, they are suddenly visible on the radar for ALCA to see. So why does Lucifer remian invisible even though he keeps trancejacking humans left, right and center?
</minor spoilers>

Characters: 2/10
When you have an anime that is so focused on the character development, you are really hit hard when you realize the complete lack of attention placed on their personalities. To show my point, I'll need to go a little into depth for each character while avoiding spoilers:

1. Yoshichika: The main character, he is another mostly faceless MC that's meant for the audience to relate to. However, his personality is clearly undefined. At times he's extremely self-centered - he stays up all night watching videos of himself fighting monsters, he believes he's too famous to go to school, he ignores introductions with the other girls because he's just too tired. At other times, he's a super-kind goody-two-shoes - he's always quick to apologise when someone criticises him, he believes the foreigners shouldn't be killed. But in situations where a team member is asked to kill a foreigner, he has no complaints.

2. Athena: The female lead and Yoshichika's covenanter, she's also the only goddess who gets any real screen time. Even though she has never met Yoshichika, she has somehow decided he is her soulmate. Apart from her odd love for Yoshichika and weird trust in Lucifer, there is no other defining aspect of her personality.

3. Chloe: The stereotypically "American" girl - loud, stubborn, strong, blonde, and very confrontational. Teamed up with Valkyrie, she forms the main attack force of the group. In the beginning she's portrayed as the dumbest of the group, and even fails a quiz of basic questions on the topic of their world. And yet later in the series, she's suddenly a brilliant detective with the deductive powers and resourcefulness of a CSI Miami cop. Additionally, she's always working out and worried about her diet, and yet when asked to cook she makes burgers and mystery junk food. And for some reason, in a show full of Japanese characters, the one American character is the one with the horrible English naming sense.

4. Tamaki: The former leader of the group. She's supposed to be the perfectionist and overachiever, who feels threatened by the perfect MC. At the beginning she berates Yoshi for not immediately attacking a weak monster, but later she suffers from moral dilemmas when she's asked to kill one herself. Paired with Venus, she's normally only good for healing and support. However once she activates her logic drive, her whip suddenly becomes an overpowered one-hit-kill weapon, which makes no sense.

5. Mana: The emo, silent, depressed girl - it is difficult to complain about her without spoiling her backstory. All I'll say is that her backstory makes no sense. Also, her resolution of her problems is one of the most contrived battles I've ever seen.

6. Olga: Literally the only character in the entire show I even liked, and even that was completely destroyed by the convoluted character development in the final arc. For most of the show, he is the only voice of reason - always able to identify flaws in the other characters and point them in the right direction. In addition, his cocksure showy attitude is always shown as hiding his insecurities and failing confidence. He was a truly relatable character; so when all his convictions break down so drastically at the end, I was horrified.

The rest of the characters are all just minor side characters, barely getting any attention or screen time. Artemis, Valkyrie and Venus are pretty much completely ignored aside from their scant interactions with their partners. Veronica and Nemesis are characters I can't understand - they seem to have the greatest firepower among the group, and yet they almost always avoid taking part in battles. I'm not even sure what Yukari's point in the story is.



Finally, one of the worst examples of naming sense I've seen in anime - ALCA, the Another Logic Counter Agency. Which makes me wonder, what happened to the first Logic Counter Agency?

I didn't expect much coming into this anime, and yet it still managed to disappoint. The animation and sound were the only saving grace.