I should note that I have not sought out reading the manga or light novel, so they do not effect my opinion
The concept of the anime captured my attention the first time I read it, but the execution leaves something to be desired. It starts off well enough, but by about the midpoint it unfortunately became clear that it was more interested in fitting the story into 12 episodes than properly telling the story, which I can only ascribe to the self destructive and limiting tendencies of modern anime production. This would have been far better served by a half or full year series where the plots and plans of the characters had time for the weight of their actions and risks to settle. Instead, too many of the events seemed to cut from a short explanation to "well, that plan to collapse an entire economy went well, on to the next one!"
And for a series where the nuances of motivations and consequences are a major focus, the villains are depressingly one note and multiple factions have too little focus to feel their weight in the narrative. For instance, the reasonable faction of demons is largely represented by the Princess Fire Dragon, whose characterization revolves around teases of romance.
In summary, what's here is good, but there are clear, gaping holes where there should be more. It's like a 7 layer cake with 3 layers missing and multiple random slices already gone - it's still a tasty cake, but you wouldn't give it to anyone as a gift.
Anime Only: Good story but evidently rushed
I should note that I have not sought out reading the manga or light novel, so they do not effect my opinion
The concept of the anime captured my attention the first time I read it, but the execution leaves something to be desired. It starts off well enough, but by about the midpoint it unfortunately became clear that it was more interested in fitting the story into 12 episodes than properly telling the story, which I can only ascribe to the self destructive and limiting tendencies of modern anime production. This would have been far better served by a half or full year series where the plots and plans of the characters had time for the weight of their actions and risks to settle. Instead, too many of the events seemed to cut from a short explanation to "well, that plan to collapse an entire economy went well, on to the next one!"
And for a series where the nuances of motivations and consequences are a major focus, the villains are depressingly one note and multiple factions have too little focus to feel their weight in the narrative. For instance, the reasonable faction of demons is largely represented by the Princess Fire Dragon, whose characterization revolves around teases of romance.
In summary, what's here is good, but there are clear, gaping holes where there should be more. It's like a 7 layer cake with 3 layers missing and multiple random slices already gone - it's still a tasty cake, but you wouldn't give it to anyone as a gift.