UPDATE - (fully watched) Hm. After finishing and mulling it over, I'm beginning to appreciate the series a bit more. I think the previous comments below still apply, but I think the writers of this anime were aiming to fuck with you. Just like the characters in the show, the show itself was a series of back-and-forth, back-and-forth action to slice-of-life. At first I was frustrated, but now I realize that there was some level of genius involved in how well they managed to do this.
UPDATE - (6 eps. in) I'm beginning to understand why the average score is low 3 stars. The issue for me is the almost bipolar mood of the story. From my POV, it seems like the anime can't make up its mind on whether it's a comedic slice-of-life or a riveting, dramatic action flick. I really desperately want the action to pick up and plot to thicken but the show keeps snapping back to lighthearted har-har CGDCT (Cute Girls Doing Cute Things). I'm starting to get whiplash.
TL;DR - (2 episodes in) Wow. This series is starting out great. I was thinking this would be just a nautical-themed version of every other slice-of-life but the first two episodes went from 0 - 100 FAST. If you're looking for something interesting, give this show a shot.
Animation (8/10)
The animation is good. All of the characters are very pretty and cute, and the general artwork has been good. I haven't paid a ton of attention to the artwork revolving around the fighting and warfare, so I'll update that next time.
**UPDATE** The warfare scenes are animated quite well actually. Good details on the water and smoke.
Sound (7/10)
The opening theme is okay. Not bad, but it's not something I'm gonna add to my iTunes playlist... the closing theme is a little worse. Meh on music. The voice-acting is okay. My only issue is that 60% of the characters sound the same. And kind of annoying. Maybe I'm in the wrong here because they are technically all tweenager girls, but...
**UPDATE** The opening song grew on me, I guess.
Characters & Story (6.5/10)
Characters are likable and fun. There are a variety of personalities on their ship, although it seems like more than a few of them have a tsundere-esque attitude. They're maintaining the separate personalities pretty well, and so you can definitely pick out your favorite characters and remember their names. My only issue is that their situation is pretty serious, but they're not really fazed. Sure, a few of them are scared, but the anime is kind of trying to take the less serious route and be a slice-of-life. It feels... mismatched. So far, I'm a little surprised by how the story took a turn in a direction I was not expecting. But the characters are falling a little short of the story for me.
**UPDATE** I intensely dislike our captain. After spending some time really thinking about it, the story has a lot of coherency and it actually fits. The notion/concept is somewhat ridiculous, and it turns out to be a whole lot more comical than what you would have expected based on the first few episodes. But it flows and it fits. A fairly entertaining story overall, although I still can't rate it much higher because sometimes when it switches back to slice-of-life from the action, I found myself skipping snippets because I just didn't give a damn. I wanna see the action!!
Overall (7/10)
Not bad so far! I'll keep watching and update once I get to 6 episodes in.
**UPDATE** Hmm. After 6 episodes, I'm beginning to understand why the average score is low 3 stars. The issue for me is the almost bipolar mood of the story. From my POV, it seems like the anime can't make up its mind on whether it's a comedic slice-of-life or a riveting, dramatic action flick. If I had to compare it to something, it's like when your mom played Peek-a-boo with you as a kid. It's like "Ooh, today's such a nice day, let's bathe together and eat cake and party lala~" and then BOOM, "Holy shit, we just ran into landmines. They're opening fire on us! We're gonna die!" and I dunno. It's getting a little old. I really desperately want the action to pick up and plot to thicken but the show keeps veering back toward Cute Girls Doing Cute Things. And personally, that's really disappointing, because I can both enjoy a really relaxed, funny show as well as a gut-wrenching, seat-gripping drama. But jumping back and forth (this violently) is giving me emotional whiplash.
**UPDATE** As mentioned in my TL;DR, there is some level of genius involved with how they managed to whip back-and-forth. Sort of like the Harekaze dodging artillery, I found myself emotionally seasick. But you know, I just was thinking that maybe this is exactly what they were aiming for. Watch the ending - it says it all. "Just fucking with ya! Bye!" Well played... well played.
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