The Asterisk War

(14+) A solid entry into the leveling up type of combat academy many series are based around. The rounds of the tournament battle (where various teams got knocked out) was really exciting! Great battle scenes and characters! The setting makes for a very good story, and I found some similarities between this offering and "Chivalry of a Failed Knight" (which I liked a tiny bit better than this one). If you like these types of stories, check it out, you won't be disappointed!

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Asterisk War's biggest strength and it's biggest weakness is it's characters. I thought the main character was lacking in both motivation and depth, making him hard to connect with or relate to. Oddly enough the surrounding cast is the opposite, and they carry the show. I also thought the concept and world building were cool and interesting, but they never quite reached their full potential. The whole idea of an academy competing in a tournament is fun to watch, but I thought it was done better in Chivalry of a Failed Knight over this one. I think Asterisk War is a decent anime, but with so many other similar options out there it just falls a bit short. If it ever gets a season 3 I think it would help immensely.

The series doesn't bring a lot of originality to the table, between an over powered protagonist attempting to defend another OP female character (who then become friends..) to harem fan service in the 1st season, its packed full of cliches.

But for all of that it's still watchable.

Pros:

• There is a second season.
• Good opening/closing music and score.
• Above average English dubbing.
• Consistent and good animation quality (1st Season).
• Mad Science, AI's and semi-sentient weapons.
• Japanese style combining robots.
• Some additional good scores in the 2nd season.

Cons:

• "Fan Service" inside the first few minutes.
• Trope heavy.
• High cheese factor.
• "Fan Service" heavy.
• Generic Harem subplot.
• Catgirls, don't mind them, just want an explanation in a primarily vanilla world.
• Small drop in animation quality in the 2nd Season.
• Neon added toT-Shirts, cars, planes etc. somehow make them "magical".
• Last third of the 2nd season was very weak with unresolved plot points.

I don't watch tons of anime but this one I loved it , I think it is a nice story quite original I would and the fact that there is only 2 seasons and the story ends abruptly left wanting more, I have read 9 volumes out of 14 wainting for the english translation for the others the series in my opinion summons the right amount of everything if you are a balanced human being if you are into more violent stuff you might not like it .

I enjoyed a lot I hpe it will get a season 3!!!! I can't waittttttt.