STORY: 4/10
This lighthearted story is about three unlikely friends, Midori (the determined one), Aya (the Eternal Optimist) and Miki (the Shy one), who form their bond of friendship through unlikely means…games! One day late after school, Aya and Miki somehow find their way into this little gaming shop owned by a large man named Takeru. Intimidating to the girls at first, things change when they find out that Midori works part-time at this particular establishment. Shortly thereafter, they realize that they are in a magical place of various board and card games. From here, the plot centers mainly on their friendship and the discovery of fun while playing these games, which, according to the anime, are not typical fanfare in Japan.
I applaud LIDEN FILMS for taking a non-typical plot and making it into an anime. However, that’s all that After School Dice Club is really about; three friends playing a new type of game each episode. Arguably, it feels Episodic after the first few episodes with very slow pacing and undeveloped characters, albeit likeable ones.
ANIMATION: 6/10
Artistic elements and designs are kept simple with no significant richness in color, but the characters and backgrounds are clean looking with enough definition to them add some charm and appeal. They fit the story perfectly. However, the animation is where it doesn’t do justice nor does it make up for the simplistic art style, whereas the anime, Hikaru no Go, does. What do I mean exactly? Simply put, for simple show such as this, there are too many times throughout where still scenes were being used with just some noise and music playing in the background. One potential way to make simple, slower paced anime more enjoyable is to animate the heck out of it! Disappointingly, LIDEN FILMS failed to that like Studio Pierrot did with Hikaru no Go.
SOUND: 6/10
This is one section I do not have much to say, other than audio appeal is satisfactory, especially for this particular anime. It’s nothing exciting but nothing out of character either. Both the OP and ED are equally adequate, but unimpressive.
CHARACTERS: 6/10
Excluding MINOR ones, nearly all of the MAIN and SECONDARY characters are underdeveloped. We learn little to no background to any of them. Where their backgrounds aren’t explored, their personalities make up for some of that lack of substance. Although not in the first few episodes, Emilia is a welcomed edition to the group of girls when she transfers from Germany and befriends Midori, Aya, and Miki. The four of them are a pleasant group of characters to watch and explore new, different games with. They are all charming in their own unique way, Most viewers will be hard pressed not to find them a likeable bunch.
One MINOR character I believe is worth mentioning is Kyouko, Hana’s (Aya’s sister) best friend. She gets exposure in two episodes and it’s easy to see why she’s a strong, capable character, even with her limited screen time.
OVERALL: 31/50
Interestingly enough, the anime’s title is somewhat misleading. After School Dice Club…there is no game in this anime that significantly involves dice. Plus, there is no “after school club” of any kind except in the sense of a group of close friends hanging out to play games all the time! There’s not even any consistency in the timeframe of when the girls play together, whether it’s after school, on the weekends, during the girls’ summer vacation, etc. With that being said, the title is a silly, insignificant squabble.
Amid the obvious flaws of this anime, I found myself enjoying it, in smaller one or two episode doses; more than that might cause the viewer to succumb to the dream world due to the slow-pacing and rather Iyashekai story.
Keep everything in this review in mind if you decide to give After School Dice Club a try. It’s a mistitled anime with a good amount of heart and simple fun to be enjoyed.
ENTERTAINMENT: 7/10
ACHIEVEMENT SCORE: +2 to OVERALL
My expectations were Moderate, and it delivered Slightly Above those expectations.
2️⃣Weighted Average System Score: (12 + 6 + 6 + 18 + 14 + 2 = 58/100 points)
Additional Information:
Video Format: 1080P HD Streaming
Audio Format: Japanese with English subtitles
Publisher: FUNimation
Equipment Used: Acer AN515-53-55G9 Nitro 5 Laptop