天下制覇

Quiet is nice.

Impressions:

I am absolutely certain that in years past, I would describe this as a relatively low end generic light novel action thing, but the prevailing impression I had was "good god, is it soothing for a show to not fill every single moment with someone explaining something." It would eventually betray that around eight minutes in with a rather long recitation of the female lead's entire backstory from about three different characters, but still, it uses silence the way most shows this season use shouting. Or maybe the others have just traumatized me that badly. Maybe it's also that it only really introduced three characters instead of going on a parade of ten to fifteen, which helped it feel a little more focused and like its narrative was actually progressing rather than concerned solely with getting every character out there. It could also be that the music is pleasantly background for the most part. Again, not something I feel like should deserve praise, but it's all comparative. 

Graded on the scale of other shows this season, it was definitely something I can very much see myself continuing to follow than most. Compared to its ilk of yesteryear like Black Bullet or Machine Doll, I would say it falls a little short, and not just for the corny title drop in the middle of the episode. It also lacks the budget, the levity, and the drive that those things had. The male lead is uninteresting but not obnoxious, which I'm calling a win for a light novel protagonist. I'm less sold on the female lead. If she had been a bit more resourceful and/or competent, then maybe she wouldn't have come across quite as tantrumy. It would have worked great to have had her killed by (or at least grievously maimed) the pumpkin monsters in mid-tantrum to be revived by Not-Kirito and given powers. That would have elevated things in multiple ways. I don't think the show has it in itself to be that bloody though, and even that's not asking all that much.