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Story: 3 / 10
The story is not interesting and almost looks like less inspired version of other pocket monsters game anime in that genre. This may not be as disappointing if you came to this anime through the original game, which had a very flexible premise that could lead to many different designing principles. Seeing them play it safe and take the most standard can be rather insulting. Even by ignoring this, the anime does not represent the game well and gives out false impressions of some mechanics.
Art: 6/10
The design and art style is very similar to the game, which can go from decent to great design. Thanks to the design and style, it does render 3D models better than other monster based show with CGI like Berserk. However, it does not go far than that and the animation only peaks in fights that does not last long.
Sound: 5/10
The audio department has only two aspects that remotely stands out: The voice actors and ending theme. The voice actors have done a decent job and try to make the character sound less inspired that they already are. The Ending theme is decent, but it’s every rock ending theme you heard. The cover of Queen’s We Will Rock You is not my favourite. Maybe it’s because I’m too fond of the original.
Characters: 4/10
The human cast is underwhelming. Those character that starts interesting lose their touch and those who did not becomes at least entertaining. The only one that I could think up that does not fit in either side is Minami. Minami is the equivalent of the 90s kid who kept shooting out catch phrases and pop culture references in any chance she got. Or in other word, a character that is likely to piss off old anime fans.
The monster cast is more interesting and they are probably the reason why you come back to this show.
The villains are mostly generic as they come. Big Bad to White Hair Boys. Nothing more to say about them.
Enjoyment: 5/10
When the focus was on the monster, it was entertaining. When it the focus was on the humans, only some supporting characters could hold entertainment to some degree. The humour was entertaining when it went meta on the first episodes, but it disappeared afterwards.
Overall: 5/10
Monster Strike is a decent anime series that plays as any dull adaption of a popular social digital game. If you don’t regard the script, execution of said premise, the references, boring soundtrack, the misguided direction, the false impression of the source material, the shallow protagonist and even more shallow antagonist, you find that this is decent enough for you who wants to watch a 10 minutes’ episode anime on YouTube. I mean the design and action was good, or pretty much when the series focused on the monsters.
- Taff
All Images are from Monster Strike Anime.