Hi Ill be reviewing both season 1 and 2 in this review. It really feels like the same season split in two.
Well anyways before the review I would like to say this review does not contain major spoilers for both seasons 1 and 2. I will summarize the main theme of the show but I will not get into details. If you havent watched the show yet give it a try It is a really fun watch if you like militarytype media and tacticool stuff. This review will be split into multiple different topics so you can skip to one youre most interested in if you want.
I am also very sorry for any spelling errors since English is not my first language. Also this is just my personal opinion and all. You could have completely different views from me and thats perfectly fine. So just take what I say with a grain of salt yeah?
Alright lets get into it.
Main Theme Summary
The major theme goes like this:
A mysterious gate to another world opened up in the middle of Tokyo and monsters and soldiers poured out of it and attacked civilians. Our protagonist is a guy who saves quite a few people and is an overall hero. He is from the JSDF Japan SelfDefense Force. Due to his heroic actions he is promoted and gets assigned to this Special Region to be a scout. He is assigned a squad to command and the series goes on from there.
I like the major plot line of the story since not much other anime/manga really dives into the details of how first contact with another world would be like and how trying establish communications and peace would unfold. Its a pretty cool topic to present and it makes for a very engaging story.
Positive remarks
Its nice how the show tries to approach the military aspect of the show in a more realistic way compared to other shows of the same type. This show has much more realistic command structures protocols weapons and overall has a good grasp of how a military actually functions. It is a fun watch for any military buffs out there. The combat scenes are well done too. I feel they are shooting way more bullets than they realistically would be. But this an anime and they can have some artistic liberty every now and then. Striking the horrors of war into a fantasy world is something that is uniquely fun for some reason.
Do Not bring a knife sword to a gunfight.
Sun Tzu The Art Of War
The show is wellpaced overall. Nothing really felt like it got dragged out for too long or got too little screen time. The plot did flow pretty well and overall was a very easy and engaging watch. The show did hit a good middle ground between highoctane action and calm character scenes. Generally really well done.
There are a lot of other positive remarks I could make but for the sake of this review being concise Ill move onto the next topic now.
Characters
The characters are pretty well done. I wont go and introduce every character since there are just so many over the course of the show. But I will have to say that a lot of the characters feel kind of onedimensional in a way not much in the realm of character development aside from the main cast. Despite that the characters do have quite a lot of personality. They do really feel like real people in terms of personality and character. They are very well written.
Over the show a wide variety of things happen. From the main squad going to places to assist the locals or some really whacky antics with side characters. Some very funny/engaging things will happen to the characters that can make you laugh smile or feel the sweet sweet taste of revenge.
Criticisms
While this show is good it isnt without its problems just like any other show. Its got some rough edges and has some minor issues but nothing that would take me out of the story. Well a small complaint I have is the shows overuse of split screen between characters when speaking and jumping from one story event to another making following the story kind of difficult. One thing I found kind of confusing was that the inhabitants of the Special Region are supposed to have their own language. But when its spoken in the show its just Japanese that you just have to interpret as another language. I get that it is needed so that the audience can easily listen along but it gets kind of confusing sometimes. Well those are the more major problems I could nitpick but I dont have any other huge issues with the shows pacing as a whole.
One of the bigger complaints i have is that despite this story being a very fun and enjoyable time It definitely is kind of like propaganda. The way the show portrays the JSDF soldiers as a complete force of good never willing to do anything wrong just doesnt feel very genuine. I know that in the way of the story these soldiers are trying to establish peace but they cant always be saints. My personal opinion is that its a bit of propaganda to make the JSDF in real life look better. I do get that Japan is kinda salty that their military isnt as strong as it used to be and this is basically a Japanese military power fantasy. Well if you can brush aside minor pacing issues and not fall victim to the propaganda then this show might just be for you.
Conclusion
This show really is a pretty good watch despite what I said about it. If you have read this far you should just give it a go already. Its going to be a fun ride no matter what.
89
/100