From the very first episode of Vermeil, I was hooked. A magical academy setting, a mommy dom waifu and a Mili ED? Can't ask for much more out of the fantasy genre. While it may not be innovative, it's a very fun dark fantasy show that I had a blast watching every Tuesday and I hope we'll see more of it some day.
While waifus are a big part of the show, what I liked most was the mystery and world building. This is a surprisingly well-written series that keeps you coming back for answers to cliffhangers or teases. I particularly enjoyed the gradual build up to and reveal of Vermeil's backstory as well as the student council's politics behind the scenes. Alto, the MC, started out as really annoying and bland to me. I hate MCs that act like they're afraid of women and get nosebleeds, etc. Etc, but I really did grow to like him as the season went on. He truly shows believable progression that you want to see from your MC and by the end of it I was proud of how far he'd come.
Fan-service is on point in this one, the staff definitely know what we're here for and they kept us fed with plenty of it. The animation isn't the best for most of the season, but there were some decent fight scenes in the last couple episodes that it seems like the budget was saved up for. The OST also was a perfect compliment to the dark atmosphere of the show. While the show starts out light hearted, you quickly find out there's some sinister things at play behind the scenes and the soundtrack really helped with that immersion.
Not much room for flowery language in this one. Vermeil was a really good show to me, in my top 5 of the season easily. I loved the characters, the story and the world-building. I realise it's definitely a hit or miss one, though. If you aren't a fan of the whole mommy-dom trope, you probably won't like this one. If you're looking for some really well constructed and elaborate plot, you won't like this one. If you want a fun show with surprisingly decent character development and narrative intrigue, this is for you.
My personal enjoyment of the story is easily a 10.
