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Buddy Complex is okay. It’s fine. This show has serious potential, but it fails to deliver on any of it or knock you out of your seat, so what you’re left with by the end is a fairly bog standard anime that leaves no lasting impression, to the point where reviewing it actually took a fair bit of introspection just to tackle what it does wrong and what it does right.

The main critique I would level at Buddy Complex is its story and its main cast. I have never seen somebody so slow on the uptake when it comes to the mechanics of a time ... travel plot; it’s one thing that Aoba does not grasp the exact nature of the situation thrust upon him, but he spends so much time repeating the exact same talking points to people about events they clearly have no knowledge of, due to not experiencing them yet, that you are left with the impression Aoba grew up under a rock. It’s the kind of handling that blows straight past portraying somebody ignorant of a trope into a denial of common sense and basic deduction.

Then there’s Hina, who has a whole lot of problems and is a pretty big can of worms that’s difficult to tackle while remaining spoiler-free. Suffice it to say, I’m surprised she’s portrayed as having any real loyalty to Zogilia, our main antagonist, when it seems to mean nothing in the face of her defection—an inevitable story point you will be aware of by the end of episode 1.

Ultimately, to praise Buddy Complex after ragging on it for a minute, the cast of side characters are rather likable for what screen time they get. The only real complaint in regards to any of them is that they would have benefitted from time in the spotlight that was wasted on the main cast without really adding extra dimensions to them.

As things progress, you definitely feel that things are picking up momentum. But the highs of the climax were damaged by the inane nature of Hina’s arc, to the point I was actually sympathizing with Bizon who was feeling more and more like the lone sane man in a mad world.

As for the visuals, Sunrise was once again doing what they do best. The artistry of the show is consistent, there is never a noticeable drop in quality and said quality is quite good for the year it was released without being anything exceptional. However, they do deserve praise for delivering more 2d mechs rather than resorting to taking the lazy, easy way out with CG.

The mechs themselves are sadly nothing to write home about on this one, which is the biggest mark the show has going for it after the characters. Bradyon and Luxon are some of the most generic and forgettable MC suits I’ve seen in a long time, and as for other ‘Valiancers’, they sadly don’t get enough time to leave an impression. For the most part, fights spend as much time in the cockpit as they do showing you the actual battle, so you never really get the chance to appreciate what you’re looking at.

Fights that could be much worse. Enemy commanders do a good job of not falling into the same tactical rut. Once something loses its tactical edge, they tend to approach the issue from a different angle, so you are exposed to a nice bit of variety at least in that regard. Praise that I have to immediately damage because every fight ends in the exact way. The MCs break out their special technique, the show’s one piece of memorable music kicks in, and then it’s over or time for a retreat.

That sums up Buddy Complex pretty well. It does something good, then it does something to damage that. 8s? 7s? Buddy Complex is no higher than a 6 and it gets a 5 from me. There are much better pickings out there for you.

It's like a solid 8.5/10. It fluctuates between a 9 and soft 7s. Really nice visuals, the music choices are good and add to scenes without overshadowing them, the mech action is intense and does a perfect job of drawing in the viewer, and the animation is consistent (for the most part).

The AIs avatars feel a bit on the goofier side and out of place, but that's not really too big a deal. Most of the enemy commanders were shown to be fairly competent and arrogant at worst; most of their slip-ups come from actual outmaneuvering. The villains never devolve into 2d territory either (other ... than that one deputy governor) and I appreciate they didn't go the easy route of totally treating their enemies like evil incarnate. They're usually corrupt and imperialistic when you get to the goons, but they don't really feel like charactures divorced from reality either. It's a fairly refreshing and grounded take on occupying forces when many shows easily fall into the trap of making them pretty one-dimensional invaders.

Most critiques I have seen of the show have to do with the political side of things, which is absolutely not what the show is about. AMAIM is not Gundam, it is not trying to be Gundam, and people who think it is are missing the forest for the trees. AMAIM is not a political war drama with mecha action. AMAIM is a mecha action anime that uses its in-universe politics to form the driving motivations of the characters so it can achieve that.

6/10. Nothing special at best and inoffensive at worst. The premise is the run-of-the-mill isekai slop, though the harping about programming like it’s some superpower and the clear ‘literally me’ MC can get a little eye roll-y. The mech designs, at least are pretty cool and the Ikaruga makes for one of the more memorable things the show has to offer.

The episodes blaze by events, often to the story's detriment. But that same fast pacing is a bit of a catch-22. There's never any time to develop strong attachments to anything, nor is there a chance for anything to overstay its welcome or for you ... to dwell on the show's flaws.

The ones who often suffer the most from this are the characters. The cast is so large and events fly by so fast, aside from some notable ones like Dietrich they blend together. Knights & Magic would definitely benefit from reserving some time to focus on some members of the cast more, flesh out their thoughts, their drives, and how they react to the world around them. I am, at the very least, grateful that on the flipside doesn’t ever fall into the trap of an episode-long internal struggle about killing.

All this sounds terrible in a vacuum, but it’s really not when you’re experiencing it. It’s just the way the show goes; bouncing between scenes that range from mid to fun. The sort of show that you can sit through in a single sitting and walk away from feeling kind of satisfied but retaining no real lasting impression.

Given what the show sets up, there are interesting places it could go by giving the MC a revolutionary rival to help push the bounds of the Silhouette Knights and warfare across the setting, but the season concludes before it can truly enact upon it outside of giving you a taste of it in the final arc.

I can honestly recall nothing about the soundtrack.

Save Knights & Magic for your mecha binge and give it a watch when you’ve finally worked through the really good stuff and need something to dull the edge before it's time to start dumpster diving.

The WfM prologue is simply amazing. The animation is tight and fluid and there are never any overt signs of them resorting to CGI to pad the budget. The soundtrack is a perfect complement to every scene, swinging from orchestral highs to bassy digital lows that underline everything happening on screen. Additionally, the sound design itself is so clear and crisp that there’s an impact and almost addictive tone to everything. The designs of the mechs themselves, which will always fall under the territory of subjective taste, are all incredibly solid and interesting machines that highlight the differences in design philosophy between the two companies ... present, like in the later WfM media.

And while you’re not given much time to be invested in these characters and the struggle they’re facing, it truly does the best it can to make you invested in them with the little time it’s allotted.

No matter what you think of the series that followed, this is as close as you can get to a perfect prologue.

Warning: This review contains major spoilers about the characters, the plot, and the ending.

Now, from the synopsis and cover image you might think I'm Quitting Heroing is a lighthearted anime, and you’d be absolutely right. It is. There are moments where it gets serious, especially in the later half, but they never forget those roots.

I’m Quitting Heroing was an anime I enjoyed: I liked the story it had to tell, I think it executed it (mostly) well, and that it didn’t waste my time at the end of the day. However, it seems to suffer from a problem seen in a lot of modern anime. ... It starts slow, gets into a strong run somewhere around the middle, and trips over itself riiiight as it’s about to hit the finish line.

If you’re still curious about giving it a watch - leave now. The synopsis tells you what you need to know and if what I’ve said so far hasn’t dissuaded you, you have nothing to lose by giving it a chance. Still not feeling it around the halfway mark? Nothing will stop you from walking away.

~ Spoilers ~

With that said, the issue to address is Leo and the conclusion of his story - and by extent the anime. From early on, we see hints that this is a fantasy setting that is actually post-post-apocalypse. That’s a trope I love to see any time it shows up, and I could see how could clearly see how Leo would slot into it from the first episode.

In the last few episodes, Leo forces the Demon Queen and her Four Generals to confront him. Leo is a bioweapon, one who understands he's outlived his purpose, and that one day he may create the problems he was made to solve. However, the show instead chooses to go the happy ending route by simply having everybody say that Leo’s wrong.

Now, is there anything wrong with happy endings? No, absolutely not! The reason it’s a problem is because it has the option to be a far more impactful ending but lacks the will to follow through on it.

From what the previous episodes establish, Leo’s fears he will end the world are absolutely justified. Leo is a Demonhart, an artificial human-demon bioweapon created with the core directive of protecting humanity - a directive which has always caused him to desire death and conflict in times of peace. We even see that Leo was creating more Demonharts with the directive of wiping out humanity so he could continue to play the role of hero. Leo, however, is snapped back to his senses when news of the most recent Demon Queen’s invasion satisfies this directive, resulting in him destroying the Demonharts before they can be finished and deciding to live on long enough to put a stop to this invasion and find a worthy successor to knowledge about the pre-collapse world he’s been carrying for 3,000 years.

It could be a great, impactful ending. Leo, a relic of humanity's weakness from a bygone age, finally dies a heroic death of self-sacrifice for the world he was created to protect and paves the path towards prosperity for another after realizing he's no longer needed.

His new Demon Army comrades, however, completely butcher this idea by simply telling him to turn this directive off, securing the “they all lived happily ever after” ending while tying a neat bow on Leo’s long journey to learn what it’s like to be human by finally allowing him to be his own man.

The ending we're given is fine but it could’ve been great.