Okay, so this is by no means the best show out there. I think you can tell that much from the cover image and description. Having said that, there are undoubtedly shows that are significantly worse, and in my opinion the main flaws of this series are individual aspects, rather than the series as a whole, or the general premise etc.The setting is fairly interesting; a sort of alternate-history present in which the Kingdom of Selinistan (pretty much always simply called 'The Kingdom') is another major world power with enough global authority to rival America, with its new leader set on global domination. However, the actual plot itself is by no means original. The protagonist is another version of the commonly occurring 'Hero of Justice' type, and later on there is a bit of a revenge twist, so nothing exceptionally original there. Also, as I'm sure is one of the main gripes of the series for many people, this series does not shy away from clichés, and you'll see a significant number of 'overused' clichés at regular intervals.I should like to point out however that this does not make a show intrinsically bad. Clichés exist for a reason, so I see no reason to crap on a show simply for that alone. The same goes for the relatively unoriginal plot. As long as it maintains enough energy to keep the story interesting, I don't think you can just disregard it for having the same sort of story as the dozens of shows before.One of the other main complaints I've seen a lot of is about pacing, especially about episode 5 having particularly poor pacing. To be completely honest, pacing is not something I often notice problems with (unless they burn through about 50 chapters in one episode (*cough* final episode of Brynhildr in the Darkness *cough*)), and especially with episode 5, I think this is more the timeless case of the flaws only being particularly noticeable to people that have read the source material before. I guess I can see instances in which things should have been explained better, but the problems are never so limiting that they interrupt enjoyment or overall understanding of what's happening.Now all that's out of the way, I'd like to focus on some of the series' stronger points.Firstly, the characters. I am not trying to deny how unoriginal the initial personality of the protagonist is, nor how the personality of most of the female cast just seems to be sex appeal at first. However, I think that throughout the show, you can see definite character development, particularly of the (arguably) main two characters, Seigi (the guy in the middle of the cover) and Izzy (the grey-haired girl on the left), which is more than a lot of similar shows manage.The strongest point of this series in my opinion is the animation. Whilst the colour scheme, particularly in the first few episodes, is very 'grey' and washed-out looking, the animation itself is almost always solid, particularly in the fight scenes. Of course there are weak points in the animation, as there are in about 95% of every anime ever made, but it usually makes the fight scenes feel very dynamic and powerful, and the sound design also supports this aspect a bit as well.I realise this went on for a bit longer than I was intending it to, but ultimately, I just don't think the ratings on here give an accurate representation of the show's quality. As long as you go into it being aware of the clichés and don't expect it to be exceptionally original, I think it's pretty enjoyable. Also the opening theme is amazing. \o/
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