Luck & Logic

Okay, I don't usually write reviews but this show has personally offended me in a way so I'll just give it a shot. Luck & Logic is an anime produced to promote a card game made by Bushiroad. Not that you would know that since this anime is not the way to promote anything because it's not interesting in the least. Story: The basic story is very simple in itself. New Foreigner appears, team shows up and beats them up. Rinse and repeat. The first few episode also sprinkle some character focused episodes for our main girls (the Logicalists not the Goddesses but I get to that later)and in the end there is a big bad Foreigner they have to fight but that's it. Once you get what the hell they're saying then it's really easy to follow and the setting itself is pretty interesting. It's how it's presented where the problem lies. Starting with the fact that the show doesn't explain a damn thing. Having a first episode not explaining every detail is fine, it's to build suspense and make the viewer want to find out more about the show and characters. But throwing around words like Foreigners and Logic Cards around with literally no explanation doesn't create suspense, it just confuses people. Then you get an exposition dump in the second episode after which you are bound to forget some things unless you binge watch the entire show. And the pacing and structure only go downhill from there. So to sum up, simple plot, interesting setting that's not set up well and pacing problems. All in all it's not horrible but it's definitely not good. 5 out of 10. Art: Surprisingly enough it's not bad. The animation is nothing outstanding, no scenes that will blow you out of the water, but it's decent and nothing to sneeze at. The character designs are nice and pretty for the most part and I particularly like the use of 3D animation. I know a lot of people get upset when they use 3D models in anime but I personally didn't have anything against it, especially when it's for dancing or fighting sequences. The models are nicely made, fit well into the style of the show and the animation itself has enough energy to work well. Say what you will about 3D animation but animating a model to move in a way that feels like there's some real tension and energy in it is hard and I applaud the team for pulling it off so well. Sure, the fights themselves are not exciting in any way but hey, good animation is good animation and I take what I get. 8 out of 10. Sound: Again, surprisingly good. The soundtrack fits the story, for whatever it's worth, well and is good enough to stand on it's own. It's a mix of ochestral and electronic tracks that give the show an epic and futuristic flair even if the show itself is not. I even found myself listening to the ending and opening a lot to get myself pumped up and motivated for tasks. 8 out of 10. Characters: Oh, the characters. So much potential which was wasted. I personally really like the cast. You got Yukine the hardworking leader, Chloe the hotheaded fighter, Mana the quiet mysterious one, Yukari the clumsy newbie, Veronica the strict commander and Olga who is... well, you will find out eventually. They all sound like cookie cutter anime stereotypes and to be fair, they kind of are, but each of them get decent enough development in their own character focused episode that I forgive them for that. They each get their motivations and back story explained and while there isn't really any character development going on it works well enough for a short series that I allow it. It all starts to fall apart with our main protagonist Yoshi and how all the other characters relate to him. Or more like revolve around him because that's really all that's happening. Without taking too much away, almost every character focused episode ends with Yoshi swooping in and solving all their problems by doing or saying something inspirational. Which in itself is bad enough but then there's the fact that Yoshi is so boringly bland. His motivations don't go beyond "save everyone", his personality is written inconsistent and he doesn't really do much besides react to situations the way it requires him to. Take any male protagonist from any slice of life or harem show and you would have yourself a more interesting main character than Yoshi. The first episode sets him up okay as a worrywart who wants nothing more than to protect the people around him even at the cost of his own life but by the next episode he is suddenly acting cold and hostile? Maybe it's change of circumstances but he keeps switching between different personality traits so fast I doubt he was written with a clear character in mind. And the Godesses I said I would get into? God, what's there to get into when they are side lined so hard you wonder if they are even still on the team. Valkyrie probably gets the worst of it, being introduced as Chloe's calm and rational partner to balance out her spunky recklessness and never being allowed to develop beyond that. Venus and Artemis are not much better, one acting as a supporting friend and the other as a mother figure to their partners Yukine and Mana but never allowed to have their own arcs or feelings explored. The only one who gets to develop at all is Athena and even she gets the short end of the stick. She gets a decent amount of screen time and actually gets to interact with others without her partner but she is still only defined by her kind heart and love for Yoshi. Which is not bad if Yoshi was a good character and their relationship was actually explored but as you can guess it's not. The high point of the characters is really Olga Breakchild who is by far my favorite character. Without spoiling, he's the only one who doesn't seem to worship the floor Yoshi walks on and actually stands up to him from time to time and it's wonderful. His arc, in contrast to the others, actually gets a set up and decent pay off which doesn't save the show in the character department but at least helps it a bit. Side characters are given one note personality traits but I found them alright, especially Yoshi's family which were entertaining enough in their own right to actually make me interested in them. All in all, nice supporting cast, sidelining of supposed main characters, Olga Breakchild and an incredibly bland main protagonist. 4 out of 10. Enjoyment: Seeing as I had harped on forever about how I dislike the story and the characters, I think it comes to little surprise that I didn't particularly enjoy this anime. And it wasn't for the sake of not trying either, I came into this show not expecting anything amazing but at least something that I could watch in a season where not much interested me but I didn't even get that. The setting was interesting enough but the way it was written and presented just made it feel dragged out and sluggish. Hell, even the action felt uneccessarily strechted out to the point where it felt boring. How the hell do you make action boring? Luck & Logic managed it somehow and made every episode feel longer than it actually was. Really makes you wonder how a show can be so boring it seems to warp space-time itself. Besides Olga and some interesting character interactions I really didn't get much enjoyment out of this. And my burning hatred of Yoshi but that's just me. 3 out of 10. Overall: If you actually managed to read everything to this point I congratulate you. I know I get get pretty long winded about stuff like this and anyone who manages to read through anything I write is a hero in my eyes. Now, after 15+ paragraphs of me talking about this show, what do I think about it overall? Surprisingly enough, I don't find it horrible? Like, yeah, the story is weak and the characters, mainly Yoshi, are even weaker but overall it's pretty harmless. The music and art are nice and even if the episodes make you feel like your brain's leaking out it's not bad to just sit back and shut off your thoughts for a while and just let a show wash over you. The main reason why I was so personally offended by the show was probably because I'm a huge fan of Bushiroad, especially their card games. And I know they can make good card game animes! Okay, as far as I can see, they have one good card game anime but that one is pretty darn good. And seeing them make such a bland show just kind of hurts my heart. I don't know how much say they have on the writing and characters but I like to believe they could have done better. That's not to say that it's a good show. It's still boring and superficial at best. Even considering that this was just made to promote the card game it leaves a lot to be desired and doesn't even explain the card game aspect of it. At best it's a standard show with an interesting setting at worst it's a boring show that doesn't try to step out of it's bounds. 4 out of 10.