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"Cute THICC THIGHED anime girls playing baseball!? Sign me up!", you say to yourself as you start to watch this show. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long into the show to realize how naïve you were. This is yet another "cute girls do ___", but instead of driving tanks or designing video games, they play baseball. Well, let's use "play" a bit loosely here. They don't actually play a real game until later in the season so before then it is just them practicing, reliving middle school baseball nightmares, trying to get new girls to join, and of course, doing high school girl stuff. This sounds ... like I hate the genre, but that's untrue. I enjoy cute girls doing cute things because I can just relax and turn my brain off after a long day at work.
So what's wrong?

There are two main things that derail the potential of the show. The first is the animation quality. It's bad, like *ruins the whole show bad*. Lots of gross CGI that appears out of nowhere. Sometimes the girls will be merely tossing a baseball up for a batter to practice hitting and you see some weird cream orb float across the screen until it is hit, then disappearing. Occasionally girls will be shown out in the field playing as their 2D selves then suddenly appear 3D, then switch back. The 2D animation isn't any better, unfortunately. The girls look roughly edged, their facial emotions are basic, and physical movements are crude.
The second is the execution of the plot. Not the plot itself, although it is generic and predictable, but rather how the plot is portrayed. Instead of showing a nice progression of action, the show instead drags its 22 minutes of screen time out by focusing too much on past flashbacks, or the girls admiring their "baseball worthy" physical features, or talking about other girls high school baseball players and teams at random times in between training and playing. It throws off the tone of the scenes and disrupts the action.

Now for the positive stuff:
I can't complain too much about the sound. There are some weird sound effects but the music is decent and the girl's voice actors do a good job.
The characters are a bit bland but each one has a bit of a unique personality and skill that helps to make them stand out amongst each other. Of course, many of them have some OTHER nice features about them as well. Don't expect me to remember their names, however.

I'd say if you're simply a cute girls addict who with smoke whatever stuff you find as long as it gets you high, you'll enjoy this show. If you really like baseball, you'll probably find this show annoying to watch. If your "Plan to Watch" list is empty and you need something to drown out in, you'll probably find this show at least alright in terms of enjoyment. Overall, 5/10 as of EP 4, not worth finishing because I simply can't justify devoting any more time to it.

Waifus & Warplanes are easy on the eyes.

What's different about this show?
(1.) The show is nearly all 3D animated, but this is usually tastefully done and feels natural. It sort of had to by default as aerial 2D combat is difficult to make look "right", but the characters still look like normal anime girls and the scenery is beautiful. If you love plane aesthetics, the artwork will appeal to you even more.
(2.) In terms of the genre of the show and what it delivers, Kotobuki is difficult to pin down. The best way I can describe it is "cute mercenary girls doing aerial battle ... things in a Mad Max world", with a bit of "slice of life" mixed in. It is an action show, with swarms of planes getting into massive midair battles about every episode. A good dose of comedy is also mixed into the show, which makes it feel less boring during the non-battle scenes. However, sometimes I feel as though I'm watching an older kids' show with how "cartoonish" of a vibe I get from it.

The characters?
Kotobuki has quite a few pretty women as main characters and supporting characters...and basically any even somewhat-important character that isn't an enemy or an incompetent buffoon. Depending on who you are, this ovary ensemble is either exactly what you want in a show or is going to make you bored of it fast. That being said, each of the 6 Kotobuki Corps girls has a unique personality and something to like about them. Kirie is the main girl we follow throughout the series and this was done deliberately, as her cockiness, snarky humor, and almost comedic facial expressions make her an easy favorite.
The other women in the series aren't nearly as focused on but still manage to make the show feel "real" with how much their different personalities can clash or feed off each other. Oh, did I also mention that all of these girls work as mercenaries or at least smugglers? The only thing more excessive than the way these women make money is some of their bust sizes. Overall, the characters are probably the strongest part of this show. While Kirie is given the most screentime compared to the other girls, you will find a moment or two where each one either made you laugh, intrigued, or at least appreciate their air combat skill.

Plot & Enjoyment?
The plot isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It is railroaded and our main girls have plot armor protecting them the whole way through. Every time the plot throws something "surprising" or "bad" at you, you aren't surprised and already know what the outcome will be. If you aren't watching the girls have air battles, the show falls back to a typical "slice of life" type of story where you watch Kirie eat pancakes and the other girls drink.
If you don't go into the show too seriously, and are able to let the laws of physics stretch a bit, this is a very enjoyable show for those of us who enjoy women and dogfights in the sky. Might be better with a drink or two in your system, though.