Anime: Etotama: Eto Tamashii

Etotama: Eto Tamashii is 12 episodes about the 12 characters of the Chinese zodiac/calendar. 12 episodes, 12 characters, and a thirteenth trying to fight for a place in this 12. This sets up a battle a week, more or less, and you have to ask why, because she does not need 12 openings, just one. Fight one, win one, easy... but no, it has to go all 12. Ok, then, at least set up the conflict between rat and cat early, ok? NO! Let's hold off till around the middle and just spend one filler episode with another, showcasing our good CGI and cute characters. I think it's a bit of a fail, because it's a plot in search of meaning, or actually, a plot driven series with no real romance, slice-of-life humor, or character development. The fighting is shounen style, the characters more shoujo, and it's kinda oddly fun in spite of it's major failings.

Animation: Everything except rotoscoping. CGI by 8-Bit Rocket and Shirogumi that is pretty fluid for the fights, traditional 2D otherwise. Some backgrounds are fairly flat, and they do not appear to have been taken (as sometimes is the case) from photos in an actual city. It appears they put a substantial amount of time into the CGI fights, and that's probably the best parts, but that doesnt mean the 2D parts are worse, just less detailed. I would rate this a 7 with deductions for detail, some seams on the mix, and boring backgrounds in the 2D part. It is good, but no real wow.

Sound: I liked the cast voices, who are mostly seiyuu with short resumes. The VA cast is almost solely female, except for the single male lead who is not given much range and is less active as a character than almost any of the women. Soundstage is mid-wide but not deep, and soundeffects are appropriate without excessive cartoon effects. I think the OP and ED are catchy enough to warrent a listen, and I found myself tapping my toes after listening to it a couple times; I would rate the sound as above average to excellent, a 6.5 or 7.

Story: The major deduction in this series is the story. It's a battle royale, with one battle per week, more or less, and it's hard to keep it inventive or interesting because you keep saying "she only needs one place, not 12." The rules of the Etotama are posted in cards at the split every week, so you are repeatedly told it's the rules, without explaining why. The running gag is that the main characters are flighty and unstable, unreliable and somehow pretty powerful in combat. It's more a chance to see moe characters in (and out of) costumes, and in the end, there is not much accomplished in the series, so I cannot give the series even a minimal score on story, because it's almost a sleepwalk. 2 points.

Character: Cute characters which are each archtypes, not necessarily badly designed, just fairly flat in execution. I enjoyed the boar and perverted cow characters, but the snake character did not get much time onscreen in spite of being a great character. Tsundere is a staple of shows, and if you like staples, you will be stapled in this show. 4 points for characters, and without real character development (even the final episode does not set up or sell the final reveal) you are not going to get a higher score from this reviewer.

Enjoyment and Value: I think I enjoyed the series but I am deleting it because it's not worth retaining. It is a fun watch, but not worth collecting because of the weaknesses in story and character development. Story is more than half of any series, and this one is less than half full. 4 for enjoyment, 3 for value, because I am not keeping this series.

Conclusion: This is a series that resides in that middle ground between bad and passable. It was fun to watch but I never found myself running to watch it each week, watching everything else before it. At the end, I dont feel the series went anywhere, so it's a black hole in time that gives little back for the effort. But it is a fun series to watch, as long as you aren't expecting much from it.