Review of Land of the Lustrous

Earning the highest possible score for originality, as I've really and truly never seen an anime like this before, and complemented by a strong soundtrack and flashy visuals it's easy to get sucked into the things Land of the Lustrous does well. However, once you move beyond the pizzazz of its presentation and analyze this anime objectively, there are absolutely flaws to be found. Art- Art style is a matter of preference so it's not fair to detract points from an anime for choosing to go with an art style I don't particularly care for. This anime makes extremely heavy use of CGI, which isn't my jam,but it does what it does well. If you're going to make this choice, or any choice, you might as well go all in and do it the best you can, right? If you don't mind heavy CGI it's definitely a very pretty show.

Sound-

The voice acting is solid throughout. There isn't a show-stopping performer but there isn't a single poor voice performance in the English dub to single out for criticism.

The soundtrack is very strong and is likely the second best element of the show behind only its uniqueness and originality. I personally liked the theme that accompanies the show's recurring enemies, the Lunarians, and found it haunting, creepy and ominous. I also thought the opening and ending themes, while not all time greats, were a cut above the norm. In moments meant to be tense or emotional appropriate and evocative music frequently played in the background, which showed me a clear self-awareness and cohesiveness of the tone of the scene and all its elements.

Story-

As stated before, I'd give the utmost praise for originality and uniqueness. I'd also compliment the pacing as I feel the show had a great balance of action vs talking vs lighthearted moments vs serious moments, which is a sign of effort and polish which I definitely respect and appreciate.

After that, however, there are definitely a number of problems. The ending of this anime was one of the worst, least satisfying conclusions, if you can even call it that, I've ever seen. I'd argue that all three of the most important plot points in the show- How do you resolve Cinnabar's situation, What's the deal with the Lunarians, What's the deal with Sensei- are ALL left unresolved and unanswered. It's one thing to intentionally leave an ending ambiguous but this was something else. It really felt like somewhere between a slap in the face and a middle finger to ask a viewer to invest in these plot elements, build up a mystery throughout the entire show and then provide no resolution whatsoever.

Throughout the show a number of plot elements were not fully explained and things just kind of work a certain way because the plot wants them to. It definitely feels as though the writers routinely opted for very roundabout means to an end, intentionally making things as muddled and complex as possible, as opposed to opting for something simpler and more believable that would have had the same outcome.

Character development outside of the main character, Phos, is definitely lacking. Many characters are very one-dimensional and cookie cutter.

Also, and perhaps this is more of a personal nitpick than an objective one, while I give the utmost credit to the uniqueness of the base concept I couldn't help but find it just a bit weird in a bad way at times. It was just a bit strange to me to have all these gem girls in school girl uniforms running around and there's this one creepy bald guy in the background regularly caressing, holding and hugging them while they're all seemingly in love with him. The anime never took any of this too far and there are very few sexual undertones here, but it still just didn't feel quite right for me.

Enjoyment-

It's an easy watch for most of its ride and there's a good amount of action and pretty visuals to get you through its short 12 episode length without too much trouble, but I was never blown away. I found it hard to get invested in any of the interpersonal relationships when as a whole character development left a lot to be desired. Also, when the anime is simply weird to begin with and it doesn't always do the best job of explaining the what and why of what is going on, it can sometimes be hard not to feel like certain elements of the plot are really cheap, cliche or convenient.

Overall-

Super unique and original, very strong sound and pretty visuals, which seems to be all the younglings need these days, as this anime is definitely overrated. The plot leaves a lot to be desired, which is further exasperated by its insultingly bad "ending", and if this anime weren't so flashy I think it'd be much easier to see that the story here is mediocre to begin with and the execution is below average. A decent show, sure, but not anywhere near as good as the awards and accolades would lead you to believe.

+Truly unique and original base premise unlike any other I've seen
+Great soundtrack
+Solid voice acting
+Flashy visuals

-Weak character development
-Complete lack of resolution to almost all major plot points
-Conveniences
-Lack of explanation throughout

OBJECTIVE RATING- 6.5-7
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6.5