>>47552072The main characters are good though - Mimiga shows a clear understanding of who is who, how they talk and act, and how they all mesh together. The strongest characters very clearly become the three everything revolves around (Uzume, Karao and Ikane) but the Lake Guardians trail only very slightly. The villains, on the other hand, while distinct and easy to distinguish, fall victim to the genre in which they exist. They are clearly defined but do not receive the last of their distinguishing characteristics until the eleventh hour. None of those characteristics are poorly chosen or ill-fitting.
I will make special mention of Tenni, a mienfoo that serves a few important roles in the story. He doesn’t get a proper arc for reasons that are obvious as you read, but he’s still one of the best parts in any scene that pays him mind because he is characterized completely through action and inaction. As someone who struggles to write less intelligent pokemon, Tenni is a crash course in how you make someone with no words someone you still care greatly about.
Which brings me to the overarching narrative - it is competent. It tells a very specific story and it tells that specific story competently. It bleeds monster of the week from start to nearly finish. I wasn’t especially invested in how things would turn out, because, again, it is mahou shoujo played straight. I knew what would happen. I knew where we were going. That said, the use of the Ultra Beasts was the best part far and away in the entire plot, because it was a fantastic application of their bizarre designs. Nearly every beast gets used in a fun way, whether played straight or toyed with, with the exception of perhaps two of them. [2/3]
