Information:
Other Names: The Asterisk War: The Academy City on the Water, Academy Battle City Asterisk & 学戦都市アスタリスク.
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Writer: Munemasa Nakamoto, Yukito Kizawa, Yukie Sugawara.
Director: Manabu Ono & Kenji Seto
Music: Rasmus Faber
Type: Light Novel Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 12 Episodes, 23 min per episode approx.
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Romance, School, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 3rd October 2015 - 19th December 2015
Recommendations: Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance & Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
Synopsis:
The Academy City on the water, Rikka (otherwise known as Asterisk) is the world's largest stage for the integrated battle entertainment, "Star Wars Festival." The young boys and girls of the "Starpulse Generation" belonging to the six academies made their wishes with Shining Armaments in their hands, vying for supremacy—Amagiri Ayato is one of them.
Ayato arrived at Rikka at the invitation of the Student Council President of the Seidoukan Academy, Claudia, and right after that he incurred the wrath of the "Petalblaze Witch" Julis, and ended up having to duel her.
The greatest academy battle entertainment, begins here!
Review:
Asterisk, is it a boring harem or something that could improve the genre?
Asterisk is set in a world where school train and fight each other for whatever using special armaments, sound familiar of course it does, so the setting is nothing special. But the story for a change is good and actually interesting with main driving force of the plot being just a catalyst for many different stories to take place. The main driving point being main character Ayato's quest to find his older sister who disappeared after attending Seidoukan Academy which leads him to meet a variety of individuals that happen to be all girls who he then helps through their problems, so once again nothing really different.
The story just doesn't feel forced unlike other harems as each encounter feels natural and the characters have little quirks that make them interesting although some are a cliché which adds to the overall plot. Though by the end as per usual story ends on a cliff-hanger which I did see coming as the pacing of the story while good is held back by the amount of episodes but don't fear because I second season has been announced.
As said before the characters are interesting and most have good character designs but this really only applies to supporting characters and the main characters before they become part of the harem, as the main cast I found to be extremely boring with uninspiring design especially the main two as Ayato is quite boring looking and Julis a pink haired girl who uses fire, at least she doesn't have red hair but its close. While on the other side characters who are part of the harem are fun, and have great back-story or an interesting personality before entering but after they only care for Ayato and become boring.
The real jewel is in the supporting cast in particular characters from other schools are they are designed wonderfully and all have a unique personalities and drives that make them feel unique, despite some have barely having any screen time.
In a similar respect to the character design, the art used in this show is different that looks refreshing even changing once to an art that just looks amazing but is a little off putting, just like the animation is okay at best, though the opening animation is quite fun to watch and the ending animation strangely look great. But the ending song is okay in comparison, especially when compared to the opening song which fits the show perfectly with its upbeat j-pop sound. This could also be said of the soundtrack as it fits perfectly with the tone of show and increases interest in the fights scenes the most.
In conclusion Asterisk is great if you're looking for a good harem that in not bogged down by ecchi filler and has a decent enough story that keeps getting more interesting.
Final Verdict:
Story/Setting: 7.1
Characters: 7.1Animation/Art: 6.8
Sound: 7.4
Final Score: 7.2/10
Ranking System:
10 = Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9= Near Perfect
9 - 9.5 = Excellent
8 - 8.9 = Very Good
7- 7.9 = Good
5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
2-4.9 =Bad
1- 1.9= Unwatchable
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