Granblue Fantasy: The Animation (2017)

[グランブルーファンタジー　ジ・アニメーション]

Director: Ayako Kurata, Yuuki Itoh
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Starring: Yuuki Ono, Nao Toyama, Rie Kugimiya
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
A young would-be adventurer seeks out the fabled Isle of the Astrals after encountering a mysterious girl hunted by the Erste Empire.

Impressions:
I've been playing the mobile game this series is based on for over a year now and enjoy it quite a bit. In my review of the game, I commented on how the story was quite a bit better than I would've expected, so the prospect of a TV adaptation had my interest. Don't ask me why, because adaptations of video games almost never fail to disappoint. That's true here too. There's some good stuff to be had, but I found myself underwhelmed. The quality seems rather low for A-1 Productions, as if it was handed off to the B team or something, which is surprising given how popular the game is. We just get straight rips from the game's soundtrack and while I like the music in the game, I think it would've been better to have fresh performances to feel less canned. If you prefer Djeeta over Gran as the main character, you'll feel shortchanged, but they do toss Djeeta fans a bone with the extra ep at the end of the series. The show isn't awful by any means, but it really didn't feel like it delivered either. The best takeaway for me were the in-game bonuses we got when Mobage celebrated the airing of each episode. If you're a fan of the game, you may want to check it out but if not you'll probably find it an unfulfilling experience. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50