Review of Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor

I love Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor. Sure, it isn't a totally unique anime by any means, but I still believe that something doesn't have to be unique to be great. Especially since almost everything can be average or close to it if everyone broke down every show to a simpler form. I'm sure even acclaimed works can be average if you approach them with a mind set of breaking the story into simpler aspects. Well, before I start rambling too much, I love Akashic Records. I'm not sure if this or Re:Creators takes my top spot for theseason, but either way, they are my top 2.

The story isn't the most unique, but it was really fun to watch. It's suppose to be that Sisitine discovering some of the mysteries about the floating sky castle, or at least it sounded that way at first; I realize after reading the description again that what I assumed was never the case and I just misread it. So, it's actually more of what you would expect from a magic school anime, with some unique parts mixed in together. The students favorite teacher leaves and is replaced by Glenn Radars, a very lazy and sarcastic professor, yet capable at the same time. He doesn't show his skills at first though and he actually beaten by Sistine when they dual in the first episode, I believe it was. His students realize they don't know nearly as much as they think they do, once Glenn starts teaching them all the ways to alter a simple shock bolt spell that they never knew was possible. Pretty quickly, dark forces/ people lurking within the empire they live start showing up Glenn, Sistine, Rumia, and the others start being caught in all these traps as they arise. Rumia is the damsel in distress many times, but it's more due to her past than just being a pretty girl people capture in order to use for stupid reason; it's not completely ok that her abilities and past lead to her having that role, but it seemed to serve more of a purpose than just we need a girl captured type of thing, to me anyway. As Glenn's past, Rumia's, even a little bit of Sistine's, all get revealed, the story just got more and more interesting. It will probably feel like a dull story if you're not more than an average/ are a below average fan of magic battle shows. In addition to these elements, I'd also say it's like a story of growth between Glenn and his students. His students bring out his better side and vice versa. There's also a ton of funny moments through the plot and you just need a good comedy sometimes. I'll give a 9/10 here, but I'm also a huge fan of magic battle shows.

The art is probably the most controversial part of the anime. I love the character designs, detailed background scenes, detailed magic circles and move displays, etc. The animation was actually really fluid too for the most part with some pauses and re-start ups, but that could've just been due to my computer and the settings I had up on crunchyroll. I personally find the designs to be extremely memorable. The weird school outfits (the controversial part) definitely help with this. I'll admit they are weird, but they do help the character designs stand out. Another personal 9.

The sound is rather great too. The music scores just felt like they had a slightly different tune to them than other magic battle scores. The same goes for the opening and ending themes. They may seem typical, but I'd say that they sound different and actually stand out as great songs. I consider them among some of the better ones I've heard and each of them is pretty high up on my favorites. I'll give the sound a 9.5/10 since both theme songs are among the best ones of the genre, in my book. Precious You is my favorite ending theme of the spring 2017 season.

The characters are more of the love them or hate them kind of group, or at the like them or don't like them kind. I don't see there being many in between opinions. Glenn may be there to almost always save the day, but he sure as hell doesn't feel like a self insert. I don't think a self-insert would be so snarky, lazy, have a dark past, and mess around as much as he does. His personality just doesn't fit the self insert criteria to me, and he's a great protagonist, in my book. Sisitine is a tsundere, but she doesn't seem like the typical one that acts out all the time and tried really hard to hide their feelings for most of the show. She does act out in the beginning, but she's grows more accepting of Glenn and lets her guard down a bit earlier than many tsunderes do. She also has a pretty strong sense of responsible and the will to fulfill her dream without taking drastic measures to do so. I'd rather just leave my thought focused on the main two, and let the readers see the others for themselves. I found something to like and or love about every character in the series, especially Glenn and Sisitine. I'll give another personal 9.

I'll make my thought on my enjoyment very short. I loved every minute of the anime and actually find some of it's weird aspects that are considered stupid and appalling by others to be parts of the show that make it stand out and put it at a high place among shows in the genre. I'm giving a 10 here. I'm also sorry that my review doesn't seem convincing, but I'd rather write it more for people who like the genre and are only a little hesitant to watch it rather than to convince people who generally don't like these types of shows. I hope it's of at least help.