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You ever watch a show, and a few episodes realize that it would probably have better character development and writing if it was a hentai? Yeah, that's this. I actually managed to make it 11 episodes in before I gave up, but the 11th episode was just too much for me. This show just tries too hard (and fails) to be witty, crude jokes go over the top to the point of absurdity, and while there are laughs to be had throughout the series the bulk of it is just going to be spent with your brain turned off waiting for something interesting to happen ... (it won't).
The show has a couple interesting elements (fruit of evolution, characters becoming human from being animals) but does very little in exploring these. The animation and pacing are slightly subpar most of the time, but more or less watchable. Its far from the worst thing I've ever seen, but it really doesn't have any redeeming qualities to make it stand out from the hundreds of other Isekais and harem shows.

In short: Watch it.
The story, character development as well as character diversity are exceptional. The Art is above average, especially on the OP, and combat scenarios have a unique overlap of elements with the add-on realistic MMORPG pieces.
Because there are so many plot twists and character changes or advances throughout the show I feel like writing a more in depth review would give away too much.

That said I feel the show this is most comparable to is Sword Art Online. If you liked SAO You'll probably like LH. Between the two shows I prefer LH - This is based mostly on character complexity and story ... complexity. I felt the characters were more diverse in LH, while the story progressed faster, was more complex and less predictable. Doubtless there are many people who will disagree with me on this but try to enjoy it even if you do, its worth the time!

Story: I found the story unique and refreshing, yes a few shows have had a somewhat similar basis for the plot (Overlord and Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! most notably) but many aspects are different and and the ways the worlds worlds work are significantly different, I also found there were several unexpected plot twists that made the show overall engaging (I watched week-week) and found it engaging enough to not put off to marathoning through, there were a few weak points, and some slowdowns however dragging it to a - 9

Art: slightly better than what I consider decent (a 6) with some shock ... elements that drag the score up, nothing exceptional about character design, but some visual effects are superior and there are some aspects of certain character designs, as well as extra effort put into the OP that make the art pop more than normal. - 8

Sound - the VFX were on par with what I consider "Higher tiered" shows, and I enjoyed the OP but generally disliked the ED - 7

Character: if this was based solely on the MC I would give it a 4. To be honest he's a whiny B***h and can be really annoying at times, his development is slower than I would want given how he starts out, but the supporting characters range from mediocre to quite enjoyable. so leveling that out - 7

Overall the show was enjoyable and worth watching, however its not for everyone, the MC may make a lot of people lose interest, if you manage to make it through the first 6 or so episodes he'll improve (not that much though) The Show relies on the plot and the support characters to make it good. - 8

To start let me say that I believe my review of LH 2 is biased based on season 1, if it were a standalone show it probably would have rated better. That said, if you are watching season 2 you probably watched S1. So this is both a comparison and an individual analysis.

Story: I found the story, while enjoyable, to be predictable and but with a few developments that kept it interesting. Just based on the premise alone I believe it would deserve a 4, while the developments on top of it add the additional two points making the story a 6. This season becomes ... much more involved with people of the land, but loses a lot of what made the story line important in the first season. If it weren't for our vampire onee-chan, the geniuses, and the final few episodes I would put the story at around a 5. -6

Art: Good, but nothing exceptional, around what you expect from a mid->high tier budget anime these days. Not much changed since S1, but somehow it seemed more lackluster than in S1- 7

Sound: SFX are decent but nothing special, I generally skip OPs and EDs as I'd rather spend my time focusing on the show itself, but the ED does a good job of providing a reminiscent yet light hearted feel to the end of each episode. I liked the OPs more than the average show I watched, and felt that they gave an engaging entrance to the episodes, although neither the OP or ED were engaging enough to make me want to watch them every episode. -7

Character development in S2 was lackluster compared to S1, and I felt that focusing so much on the children removed a lot of time that could have been better spent building plot. However The Addition of the geniuses, Isaac's progression, and the introduction of new characters with new architypes brought the otherwise mediocre 5 up to a 7, although I think a 6.5 would be more appropriate

Overall it was very watchable, and I enjoyed it, but compared to S1 it was lacking in many areas. - 7

Reference scoring: I rate 5 as "Average" as in my threshold for a show being watchable, this is the minimum score to avoid me dropping a show instantly. while a 10 is either best of the season, or best of the year. Sometimes there may be no 10s in a season, or a year.

I can honestly say that this is the single most boring show I have ever watched.

Plot: Non-existent, episodic SOL
Characters: Polar bear is a decent character, but panda, penguin, and the girl are just boring, they don't really add anything of value to the show.
Sound: The OP and ED are painful to listen to, some of the voices seem off and the insert songs don't flow very well with the content of the show.
The Art is cheap, low motion, (often static) and in many instances poorly detailed.
The only part of the show that I found entertaining were the puns/word play done by the polar bear.

There's ... honestly nothing here for the average viewer, in terms of entertainment, yes it might fit a niche, but there are a number of shows that do the same thing better. I went into the show expecting mediocrity and came out wondering how they managed to ruin a decent idea that badly. save yourself some time and watch a better show. Want SOL? see: nichijou, k-on etc, want cute animals watch the Chi series or Nyanpire.

The only reason to like this show is for the cute animals, but even then I think most viewers would get more entertainment from looking at pictures then from watching this show.

Seeing as there are no reviews up for this yet I figured I'd pop out a quick review of my thoughts from episode #1 *UPDATED FOR EP #3*

Summation: 7.5/10, story 7, Art 7, Sound 8, Char 7, Enjoy 9
if you are looking for something on Friday nights, and/or if you want something light amusing and sexual, and don't already have one lined up for this season, I'd strongly recommend watching at least the first episode to see if its for you.

Review:

UPDATED: While there exists in the show the normal stereotypes for females in this type of anime (The sadist, The shell/doll, The innocent) and the ... main character (at least to me) seems a bit flat, The other male lead, the interesting side characters, and the main girl actually being the best girl (inb4: your opinons =/= > my opinions) keeps characters solid even if it fails to break any paradigm. Character - 7

UPDATED: The plot of the show has progressed in such a manner that there are now a more clear idea of a general enemy(s) and task(s) that the Gremory Clan must vanquish/complete. The plot in itself has actually surprised me, in a good way, from what I would expect from this sub-genre. overall its done enough to pull itself clear from medicore to above average. - 7~7.5

The combination of classical and more modern music sets a nice, and appropriate, background theme for the series. The voice actors/actresses, for the most part, seem to fit the roles well. **Although I'm not a huge fan of the OP the ED is rather enjoyable - 8

While the art, while nothing spectacular, did manage to get in a few nice transformation sequences, and it appears that they budgeted appropriately for the action sequences, something That I was rather happy and surprised to see after last season Itsuka Tenma. - 7 (down from 8 due to some lesser quality sequences, although with BDs it could go as high as 9)

Overall the show is worth a watch, especially with so little on the table this season. While not fantastic in any one department it does its job well enough that, at least for me, I was entertained throughout. Overall - 7 /10

UPDATE: I'm very on the fence about this score now to me the show has managed to prove that it can seperate itself from the pack, But I don't quite feel it deserves an 8 yet, as such my overall grade is a 7.5/10

next update to come when the series ends, pending anything GLORIOUS or horrendous.

First off since I know a lot of people only care about the first sentence of a review: wait till you can marathon it. The quality I have rated is based off 4 episodes watched each week.

I could see this show being good, no seriously I could. If They took the time to focus more on one aspect of the plot instead of the giant maze which they try to present you with. I could have (and was expecting) to see this being one of my favorite shows of the season.

The issue is; they didn't. Its not so much that I can't, or have a ... hard time following complex or convoluted plots, its just that i found it extremely difficult to care enough to take the time.

The main character (There's a main character?) OK: the class president, who by the way is pretty alpha (actually getting stark naked in front of his whole class? asking a girl if he can feel her up since she has similar breasts to horizon? -What a boss!) But the issue arises that they don't really give him anything interesting to do. If the show actually focused on his pursuits to gain the heart of horizon (or at least her doppelganger) it could have actually been quite enjoyable, but it doesn't. Right off the bat the show tries to get you interested in the lives of seemingly every character, while playing through flashbacks, and referencing characters (every character in the class) by name. BY NAME.

After 3 episodes I could barely half of what was going on because I hadn't taken the time to memorize all the names and match them to the characters. This might have worked in the manga where you could just bookmark a scene with all the characters, but in the anime it just confuses the viewer.

The Art and soundtrack are ok, but nothing to write home about.

Personally I just didn't find the show enjoyable enough to spend the effort to learn all of the characters, and care about their back-stories. maybe this show will be better when its batched and you can just marathon the whole thing? but each episode a week apart makes it far to brain intensive for not enough reward.

In the mean time I'd suggest at least waiting on the batch. I'll probably give it another shot then and see how it changes my mind.

Editied for up to Episode 12:
There have been a couple spots of relativly lower quality animation scattered in what has otherwise been very good qualty video. - 8

The soundtrack, while it can seem a bit, well lazy at parts throughout the course of the show, still managed to boast both the best OP and ED of the season, from what I watched.The voice actors/actresses all seem to match up with their designated roles, although I may have liked to have heard someone else play the role of Yukki - 8

In terms of characters, well everyone (at least to my knowledge) watches it for Yuno so ... its actually more practical to talk about the other characters.
Yukki really dips between points of being annoying and points where I can appreciate his struggle and how he overcomes obstacles. But the true character strength in this show seems to come from the other diary holders, each of whom brings something new and diverse to the scene, not just with their external character traits, but their back stories and especially their personal diaries. - 10

The story overall was the first of the genre that I had picked up, so at least for me it was unique and intriguing, although I'm aware some may find certain aspects of it over emphasized by the creators and over-hyped by the fans. Overall the fluidity of the narrative combined with great character interaction with limited, yet useful anime-only fillers, is well thought out and well executed. - 9

Personally I found it to be my favorite show of the season, closely followed by Fate/zero and assuming it continues the way it is now It will be a show to watch whether you are just picking up or waiting for the end to marathon. Overall Mirai Nikki scores a 9/10