Granbelm

This is a really odd show to talk about because the show seems to go out of its way to, at least by the six-episode, not really explain anything about what's going on. So far this is what I know, the only people who can use magic are descended from mages and they want to fight to become the Witch. They fight making use of the magic that appears when Granbelm begins during a full moon.

You may be asking yourself why they have to fight, and as it turns out none of them know. Worse yet, the lead character who only recently joined the fight and has no idea what her lineage is, she is just kind of able to fight, doesn't even ask why they need to fight until episode six. In context, in the anime by episode six two months have passed. For two months she has been fighting and ending peoples dreams without even knowing why it is they need to fight. That right their kind of sums this whole show up.

Using their magic they summon giant robot looking creatures they control to fight. While each one supposedly has it's own abilities, most of them seem to move and fight the same. Even when they fight something with a unique ability though, the fights just don't feel all that interesting and have thus far felt a bit repetitive.

The characters kind of follows the same pattern, as they are all pretty basic and hollow. None of them feel like real characters, and there are really only two people who seem at all believable. You have the main character who just fights because she feels inadequate in all other ways and likes she found something she is able to actually do, and another who fights to curea curse on her sister.

I'm am going to go into minor spoilers,but one of the main focuses has been on two characters, just tohigh light how this show goes. One character, Anna, wants to kill another character, Ernesta. They are adopted sisters, and Anna blames Ernesta for stealing the affection of the rest of her family, and Anna claiming she is the stronger mage. Episode six you finally learn this is because when they were kids, Anna thought she performed a spell not even her mother and grandmother could do, but it turns out she was assisted by Ernesta, and Anna herself has almost no magical ability of her own.

Pay no attention to all the powerful things she did in Granbelm, or the fact that she was never able to do that spell a second time, or all the times she had to have realized she could barely cast any spells and somehow had no doubt at all she was wrong. But the moment it was pointed out she was being lied to this whole time, all that anger, the only personality trait she hadso far mind you, instantly disappears and she drops out of Granbelm,wishing Ernesta luck in the process.

The next complaint is a bit odd, but these are some of the most detailed and well-done visuals of any anime I've watched this year. The animation during the battles are great, and every unit looks unique and has its own style and flair.The problem is they look goofy as fuck. So much effort and detail went into making everything look so silly I can't take any of this seriously. This is likely to vary from person to person, and maybe it's just me, but the proportions of these robots just look silly and off-putting.

This has been one of the worst anime of the year so far, and I just can't think of any good reason to recommend this show. This one is a definite skip.