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Granbelm is an interesting, original mecha show from the director of Re;Zero. TL;DR of the premise is effectively many girls put into a mecha battle royale to battle it out for the chance to become a mage. The 2d mech animation is wonderful and the 3d cg mech animation doesn't exist. The first thing that stood out to me about this show is of course, the mecha designs. They've been squished and rounded out compared to the giant hulking behemoths we're all used to. However, with this comes the amazing blessing of not having to deal with random cuts to CG to completely pull you ... out of the experience. All the mecha animation (to my knowledge) is 100% 2d, and I've not noticed any CG.

The story is definitely a trip. To not get too much into spoiler territory, the first episode will confuse the shit out of you. The second probably will as well. Maybe by episode 3 you'll start to think, hey I think everything is starting to line up and I'm really getting a grasp on the story. From there, the show stops holding your hand. It opens up with clues that may not be obvious at first glance. It'll tell the story at it's own pace, but leave you enough clues to think you're an episode ahead, only to get blindsided. It definitely takes advantage of the fact that the anime is their first way to experience the story.

Currently only at episode 8 with a lot of questions, but every episode so far, they've been consistently nailing the presentation and answering the questions you have to make it hit just right. On top of that though, they're consistently strong with subverting expectations. They'll set up a question in one episode that you'll focus on throughout the week, and then once the next episode hits, they dropkick you with something unexpected.

Overall, the show is amazing. Amazing directing, amazing voice work, great visuals that really show out in important scenes without crutching on the easy CG move many mech shows have taken. If you're an active viewer who loves to dig through scenes and find what the director is subtly telling you, you should pick this up before it's done airing. This show has been a consistent 10 on that front. If you're more of a passive viewer who prefers a story that explains everything, you might want to wait until it's over and binge it. Either way, its well worth the watch.