DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL ComedyDate A Live
ANIME ActionDate A Live IV

REVIEWS

• 

  JustInCaseD

  80/100
  Despite its many problems, DAL 5 has a lot going for it - and a finale worth seeing through to the end

  Tensions were high among the fanbase going into Season 5. Season 4 did fix a lot of the problems left by J.C Staff, but Geek Toys also brought along a new set of different problems that upset many DAL fans arguably more. The reception was overall positive, but even among the fans who enjoyed it there was concern for how the next season would be adapted. So how did Date a Live fare this time? The answer... mixed.

  

  Buckle up because you are in for a LONG one. I am very attached to Date a Live and have a lot to say.
  There will not be any hard spoilers, except in the characters section. So you don't have to worry about being spoiled reading this bar that section, which will also have a 2nd warning as a reminder.

  Now lets get this breakdown started.

  __Story: __

  We're finally here: the height of DAL'S story. This section of the novels that the anime covers this season is regarded as the series' selling point. When you read reviews for the DAL light novel people praise TF out of the direction the series goes in the late game. And even among the negative reviews from people who completed the series, the common theme you see is "the series is a slog until volume 16, but from that point it becomes genuinely interesting". We're at that stages fellas, buckle up.

  The war with DEM truly begins and its pure chaos. Shido has his long awaited showdown with Isaac Westcott, Origami squares off with Artemisia Ashcroft, Ellen Mather finally engages Elliot Woodman, Reine's betrayal is realized, and the true boss of the entire series spawns: The Spirit of Origin, Mio Takamiya. Her reign of carnage begins and well... quite a few bodies are left behind in her wake.
  The story is a chaotic tragedy that hinges on the complicated backstory of Shido, which is finally revealed this season. The fate of everything depends on what he does with that information and how he will go about trying to stop Mio.

  This season covers volumes 17-19 of the novels, which is a surprising slow-down in adaptation pacing given the series' average across the first 4 season was 4 volumes a season. But I'm not complaining - this is just what the doctor ordered. It seems like they learned their lesson from their previous seasons, and especially season 4 where one of the big complaints is how rushed the Mukuro's arc was and felt. It was and still doesn't feel good even on rewatch.
  They gave this season far more breathing room to adapt everything essential to the story. Not every detail or scene made it in, but far less was trimmed and unlike the previous seasons - nothing felt overly rushed, in regards to the plot and storytelling. And just the right time too: because this arc... needs and deserves all the attention she gets.

  I don't want to go any further into details about the story, because quite frankly its extremely intriguing and the selling point of the anime. You don't spoil it for yourself looking it up, you need to experience it for yourself.

  There's only a few negative things I can say about the story. The biggest one is the noticeable change in pacing and in form of storytelling this season: The majority of this season is very scattershot. It constantly cuts between different parties every episode which makes it a bit of pain to follow at times and really breaks the immersion of several key scenes. In its defense, it is loyal to the LNs which were also written in an even more disjointed manner. So they are doing their best to stay true to the source material while trying to make it not as difficult to follow (which I think they did a good job with). It also fits into the chaotic nature of a war, so I give them credit for staying true to the theme and trying something different with a (mostly) positive result. It wasn't always perfect, but they did a good job.

  There's an episode dedicated to introducing a backstory and including a worldbuilding element that some people complain about being "unnecessary" and just thrown in for no reason, but that isn't the case and for details I'll explain in the characters section for specifically Karen and Ellen why (although fair warning, there will spoilers).

  Also the way the season ends is not quite how the LN does. The final scene cuts out a critical moment that directly causes and leads into the final arc/final 3 light novels. Which means, as it stands, it is technically an anime original ending. Now it would not be hard for them to rectify this, as all they'd have to do is start the next season with slightly going back and starting slightly before where it ended with that particular scene. Which if they do, the loose end will be wrapped up. But there's no guarantee of this, especially after the news of the animation studio's financial troubles reaching the public.

  Update: Brief tangent to adressing the Geek Toys Bankruptcy claims/controversy:
  This section has been added as in months later because this "conspiracy" hasn't died out despite the fact it was disproven with public record, proper translations, and a new project announcement months ago. I'm adding it to the review because I want to help put out the fires and dispel the rumor mills for people who either haven't been informed on the update information, haven't heard yet and get you informed, and ultimately stopping people from mindlessly parroting this piece of misinformation.

  As of the writing/editing of this review (September 2024): No, Geek Toys has not officially gone bankrupt like many of the claims alleged. This all stemmed from someone on Twitter who made a poor translation of the merger announcement which made it sound like they had gone under. And that piece of misinformation spread like wildfire. Geek Toys (now going by Geek Pictures post-merger) is not gone, they are still in business and are still producing/co-producing anime. But they have/are undergoing a massive restructure and merger due to financial issues and have dialed back their projects for the foreseeable future. They have only 1 co-production in the works at the moment set to come out next year, and that's it.

  Long story short: they are not gone, but they are in no position to make another season of Date a Live anytime soon... if ever, given that the rights to the show have allegedly been returned to Kadokawa in exchange for more funding admist season 5's production. Which if true, means the ball now is entirely in Kadokawa's court and out of Geek Toys hands; meaning Geek Toys may never get a say in it ever again. Only time will tell if we get another season, and by which studio (if any).
  End of update

  Now If this is the last we get from DAL as a anime it's not a dealbreaker. The ending is still quite a good - honestly great in a vacuum (when not compared to its source material) properly climatic and incredibly emotional ending as is. I genuinely cried watching it, despite knowing what was coming.
  But in spite of it's best efforts to tie things up, as it stands it doesn't feel... fully resolved. The anime has several plot holes afloat, multiple big questions unanswered, subplots unresolved, and just a general feel of being unfinished. You could argue thats the point, since you could still make minor adjustments/recton and have 1 more season. But since the odds of that are looking slim as of this time, we have to assess the piece in front of us as it as: a (currently) anime original ending.

  Story section conclusion:
  As far as the story goes: it is fantastic. A bit scattershot at times but it was kept almost entirely intact from the source material and remains fantastic. Unlike season 4, never was I bored while watching this season. It's a major step up over the previous entry whose middle section was just a ho-hum to get through. Asides from its pacing and storytelling being a bit unbalanced and I guess the debate over whether or not the ending should be considered anime-original, I have no major complaints on the story itself. It remains one of DALs strongest elements - if not THE strongest element this season specifically.

  I wish the rest of the qualities could've been on par with the story, especially the animation. Which... oh man, where do I start?..

  __Animation/Art:__

  Alright, fun time's over. Because as good as the story is, it can't always make up for bad visuals. Now we gotta face the sad reality that it is, unfortunately, Geek Toys animating this series again. And you know what that means? CGI-a-Live is back. Last season it was unfortunate but wasn't as much of a constant problem because there was only 2 episodes where CG came into play due to season 4's lesser focus on action. Whereas this season it is an unavoidable constant. There is so much action throughout this season that it was inevitable that it was gonna be a consistent problem.

  Again I want to make the same reminder I gave in my review of season 4 two years ago - I'm not CGI-phobic, but it needs to be supporting the animation instead intruding on it and being an eyesore instead. It should be an asset, not a detriment. And Geek Toys CG is exactly the latter the majority of the time. It's 1 thing when CG is being used on background elements and/or inhuman creatures; They're rarely centerstage, have solid reasoning to be CG and thus aren't as much of or are simply an acceptable eyesore. It's another entirely when the CG models are human and main characters who are the center of attention and the main focus. The margin for error becomes much higher and Geek Toys is a studio that has proven time and time again that they do not know what they're doing with their CG elements. Not just in DAL, but their other works too.

  But I will say this: while most of the CG may be ugly, at least the majority of it is in non-critical moments or short shots that doesn't distract the viewer too much. There's a lot to nitpick across each episode, but the majority of them were not "ruined" by it. It did not derail the majority of episodes. 10/12 episodes ranged from passable to even 1 genuinely good case. But 2 were... controversial to say the least. Though for different reasons, so lets dissect these 2 - and then the 1 standout good episode.

  The details I will be divulging will not have any critical spoilers, so you can read through them without issue.

  Episode 3: Attack of the (CG) Clones
  I lowkey wish it was in episode 2 to help solidify this bad Star War joke, but no matter. I'm stuck with this as unfortunately so were we all with this mess of an episode

  Episode 3 opens with the very start of the war, and what do we get for the opening moments? A poor shot of static airships with simple dots around them indicating a fight, and then a flurry of mass-teleporting puppets appearing on the screen of all the spirits which then proceed to clunkily fling themselves forward into the battle. Their bodies, movements and facial expressions wooden and stiff. And that's just how the episode is for the most part. Artemesia vs Origami is not great to watch. Origami's model is fine and looks good, but Artemsia ruins the fight because she looks so plastic. Her stiff long hair and features make it look like Origami is fighting a Barbie doll. Pretty much every CG element in this episode is awful, to the point where it is not an exaggeration to call it comparable to Ex-Arm... f*cking Ex-Arm. And people did, this episode sparked outrage among DAL fans and sent morale spiraling.

  While I was among one of said fans who also made that comparison, I don't think I'd 100% stand by it now, in regards to the entire episode. It has a lot of visual issues with some genuine "Ex-Arm" level quality moments, like all the ones I laid out. But upon rewatch (because I watched this specific episode 4, yes, 4 times just to dissect its elements) its not completely terrible. Shido's "date" with Nibelcole was well done and looked good. Origami looked fantastic in action (it's unfortunately just bogged down by the fact her opponent is a Barbie doll). The other spirits looked alright (besides their battlefield entrance). Ellen looked good flying into action and Elliot's grand entrance was also nice. And of course, the final moments of the episode is a shocking reveal that sets up what is to come with the rest of the season.

  The 1 other thing that kinda works to the benefit of the bad CG is Kurumi and Nibelcole's commentary and banter. While it was in the novels, the situational irony is way too well placed. It feels so self-aware and on brand for Date a Live. People tend to forget that DAL is a psuedo-parody at it core, so this might've been a fun way for them making light in a rough situation the animators clearly were in here.

  

  This episode is also salvaged by the fact the following week we got one of the most impactful, well-made, and arguably one of the best episode in the entire DAL series. It was the most perfectly timed rebound one could ask for that helped people overlook/forget how terrible the previous week was. Which is also, ironically enough, a similar saving grace the other controversial episode has.

  Episode 7: How to Fumble your Boss Fight

  This episode is a really divisive, mixed bag. Half of the episode is genuinely amazing, but the other half is unbelievably awful. The parts involving Fraxinus, Origami, Tohka, and especially Kotori are amazing (except that one filler bit involving Kannazuki and middle school girls). The racing airship visuals are incredible and the final scene aboard Fraxinus genuinely almost brought me to tears. Rare Geek Toys visual W.

  But then we get to Shido vs Westcott, a fight that has been anticipated for years and was building up for 2 episodes straight. But instead we get blue balled by the writers. Who decide that between the end of episode 5, where they tease the showdown to come next episode, they insert a rushed backstory episode for half the episode and then cut away to the spirits fight against Mio. Both of which are pretty good, but... they kill the momentum of this fight.

  Then we get to the fight itself, which... was just disappointment. There was exactly 3 actions taken throughout this fight and was a stiff, lifeless and just... mundane. How do you screw up a confrontation this impactful with years of anticipation and episodes of build up this badly?

  The most notable thing about this fight is that it is the first time I've been disappointed by Geek Toys 2D elements. One of the selling points of Geek Toys taking over and the reasoning people use to offset help offset people's feeling of the bad CG they use is that the 2D elements look pretty consistently great. This... is the first time they really dropped the ball. When Shido pull out Sandalphon and reenacts Tohka's scene of slicing the throne and summoning Halvanhelev... it looks awful, cheap and just goofy instead of epic.

  

  comparison to season 1

  

  I get Geek Toys has really made it a point that they want to recreate scenes from previous seasons in their own art style for flashbacks and such instead of inserting clips in from previous seasons, and prior to this I hadn't had a problem with it. But man... for this scene they absolutely should've just re-used the visuals from the previous seasons for it. What they made looks so cartoonish, washed out in color, and bad. Shido swinging it also looked hilariously off. The iconic Kamehameha reference and finisher was very well done (that's not a real spoiler, you've seen Shido do it before in season 3), but it does not make up for the rest of this lackluster fight.

  Now all that being said, I want to remind you that these 2 episodes were the exceptions; the 2 truly mixed/bad episodes amongst the pack that attempt to drag down an otherwise fairly passable season animation-wise. While Geek Toys animation is not stellar, besides these 2 episodes its not used in a way that it becomes a hinderance. But after all that trashing, its time to talk about the 1 miracle of this season.

  Episode 8: A True Miracle
  
  I almost couldn't believe it. Geek Toys made actually good looking CG for a fight scene? And it mixes well with the 2D elements? And it looks... AMAZING? WTf!? I almost can't believe Geek Toys made this. Where the heck has this quality been?

  Episode 8 was by far the episode most fans were anticipating and concerned about. This episode houses what is arguably the highest climax or most iconic moment of the entire series. We were very anxious to see how Geek Toys would deliver it. And somehow... they managed it. Geek Toys delivered a genuine W of an episode that is on the par with how impactful and amazing it is in the novels.

  

  Sure there is some very minor things you can nitpick with this episode, like a couple of poor shots or the track selection and placement feeling a bit off at times. But those tiny non-essential issues aside, they knocked it out of the park. Episode 8 is among the best, if not a candidate for THE best episode in the entire Date a Live series. It is a Godsend and miracle that it came out of Geek Toys.

  On the topic of Geek Toys...

  In regards to criticizing Geek Toys work:
  I've seen and had enough with the people telling folks that you aren't allowed to criticize Geek Toys animation solely off the fact that they're a smaller studio or you're "not a real fan". This season has really brought these basement dwellers outta the woodwork and I've gotten pretty fed up with this crud. Yes, we all get they're a smaller studio. We never expected it to be Mappa level animation. All we wanted was just decent animation on par with the first 2 seasons - that's it. That wasn't a high bar of expectations. I also already give them leeway for being a small studio. For example, I don't like the fact the we lost the spirits hybrid armor outfit that we've had for the first 3 seasons because Geek Toys can only afford to make 1 model for each character. It negatively impacts the anime and definitely hinders my enjoyment quite a bit. But notice I haven't complained about it. Because I get it, they don't have the time or investment to make and animate all these different models. And thats a fine excuse that we can live with, so long as they do the minimum of making sure the models they do have look good. But more often than not they didn't, which is why many fans like myself are upset with the quality.

  I can give them room for grace in some areas on account for being a smaller studio, but that absolutely does not give them a free card to for being immune to all of it. Trying to gatekeep criticism never ends well, just ask the RWBY community.

  Animation/art conclusion:
  Geek Toys does continue to struggle with in the visual department. The CG as a whole is not great and they do slip up with the 2D in some crucial scenes as well. But for the most part, its not bad enough to be intrusive for the majority of episodes. The 2 I mentioned are exceptions, they are truly bad in the visual department and are solely salvaged by the strength of the story. And while I still don't hold Geek Toys in high esteem, I give them credit for at least trying to learn how to make better visuals (for the most part). Bar the mentioned 2 they don't fall back into the trappings made in season 4 and they definitely are improving. Slowly and not nearly quick enough progress to be happy with it, but they are making progress. I lamented in the past how Geek Toys is "incapable" of making good animation. And while I still hold a strong sentiment that they are not capable of being consistent, Episode 8 proves they can do it - if they try hard enough.

  I'm not thrilled with what we got in the visual department, but it wasn't unpassable. Once you get over the hump that is episode 3 the CG becomes a lot more bearable and not that hard to adjust to. It certainly could've been much better, but it also could've been worse. I think I've said more than enough about the visuals, moving on.

  Sound:
  

  

  Music continues to be one of Date a Live's strong suites. The tracks have always been amazing, and the few new ones we got this season continue to add to collection. The remastered ending music is so beautifully epic, tense and awesome - the perfect track to lead into each new episode - and as it turns out, the final climax too.

  While taste in music is subjective, in my opinion - Paradoxes was a phenomenal OP that fits the core of DAL and this season especially. Do I still miss Sweet ARMs on the OPs? Oh yes, I still think all 3 of their OPs are better than Miyu Tomita's. But again, taste in music is subjective so take my word with a grain of salt.

  We at least had Sweet ARMs on the ED, and it was also a fitting song. Probably DALs best ED, but tbf most of DALs ED's are not that good imo - so the bar isn't as high or as contentious as rating the OPs.

  This season does suffer a bit of "final season syndrome" where they get a bit carried away stuffing a bunch of old tracks into the season to try and recapture nostalgia despite whether they fit the occasion or not. It does impact and hurt few scenes. But for every 1 they did wrong they get at least 2-3 right.

  Voice acting:
  The JP cast was on point, as usual. Aya Endou absolutely killed it as Mio. Not really much to say about this, I have 0 problems with the voice cast.

  English dub:

  

  I have not seen any of the English this season, yet. Partly because I want and will use it as an excuse to rewatch the season as a binge next round to see if it affects any of my opinions, but also... the mess that was the season 4 English dub did a number on me, and I was not eager to have any feelings about what I was watching ruined by another botched job again (for anyone out of the loop or needs reminding can read through the sound section of my S4 review from 2 years ago here).

  I haven't heard anyone complaining about the dub this season, so I'm going to assume no news=good news and we aren't suffering from the same problems as last season. But even if it is, it's not going to hurt what I grade this season. Even prior to season 4 DAL was not a show defined by its dub.
  Come back to this review/section in 2-3 weeks and I'll have something to say about it, but it won't be a factor that changes my grade unless its exceptionally good.

  Sound conclusion:
  DAL remains solid in the music and voice department. Not really much else to say, it's the 1 category that this series is consistent in (bar the S4 English dub). They didn't drop the ball and should be proud of it.

  Characters:

  I have a lot to say about specific characters, both positive and negative.

  Fair warning: this will be the 1 section that has hard spoilers. If you are trying to avoid spoilers, please scroll to the Final Thoughts section to avoid them. But I want to share my full thoughts on these characters and how they impacted the season so I will not be sparing details for the sake of watch preservation here. Skip over this section if this applies to you, you've been warned.

  Now for the dissections

  Westcott:

  

  I have mixed feelings on Westcott this season. He had such a high ceiling and potential as a villain, but I don't think he ever truly lived up to it. His final boss fight at the end is intense and awesome, but after the underwhelming and more disappointing personal showdown between him and Shido that was by far more anticipated and built up - I can't help but feel like I was scammed.

  Yes Geek Toys' lacking visuals contributed to it, as I mentioned earlier when I broke down this episode. But the other, bigger problem was the pacing. The scattershot nature of this season really hurts what was supposed to be this big, climatic fight. Having his duel get ready to start, but then to be interrupted by a half episode cutaway of his backstory - just to then cut away to the other spirits vs Mio till the end of the episode. Then the next episode we have more of Mio vs the spirits, comedic relief aboard Fraxinus with Kotori and Kannazuki, back into the action of Mio vs the spirits, only to THEN - get back to Shido vs Westcott. And of course that fight is an absolute joke that composes of only 3 actions happening before Shido ends it. It feels so robbed of momentum on top of being amplified by the fight's short length that I feel scammed. Your big bad boss encounter that was being hyped up for seasons should feel hefty and impactful; not like a boxing match where the fight is over after 3 punches.

  Some people have complained about Beelzebub being a stupid power for Westcott, but I do like that he has it. It fixes one of the common problems with any story that utilizes time travel - a logical reason why the hero cannot just keep going back in time until he wins. Beelzebub gives Westcott knowledge of any changes that happens between different realities which makes him a continuously evolving threat. Every time Shido might jump back in time to reset gives Westcott more information and greater means to win. I think its great. Yes he could've utilized it more and better, but I will defend Beelzebub's existence. Its powers suite Westcott's nature and help give the story more urgency. While also providing an out to 1 of the common trappings and plot holes that crop up with so many time travel centric plot lines.

  But the big thing a lot of people have complained about Westcott is his motivation being stupid, generic and boring. And I mean; it kinda is and isn't... Lemme explain:

  It's revealed that he's pretty much a nihilistic monster whose sole pleasure is watching people suffer. He just wants to kill and end lives because everything else is meaningless to him. The motivation he pretends to use is that he wants to create a new world soley for true wizards like him and Ellen as revenge for burning down their village. But in actuality, he revels in the death of his village. He just wants to kill everyone. He reveals that to Shido after putting on his sales pitch and then immediately 180ing, facial expresion, tone and all - and basically says "lol nah, my grandeur is just a flimsy excuse and I can't believe everyone buys it. The truth is I just want to kill people because I like it".

  Is it basic and simple? Yea, there's not much more to it which is certainly unexpected. After all this time I truly expected Westcott to have some complicated backstory and motivation that hinges on spirits themselves. But nah, he's a simple man of simple tastes, and the spirits powers are just a means to that end. On one hand, it's so stupid. But on the other hand, it does fit Westcotts nature perfectly. Manipulative psychopath who wants what he wants and does what he does on almost pure whim. And enjoys setting elaborate plans that will deliberately causes others (including his allies) pain just because? Such a petty lil' b*tch.

  I feel like I should hate this, but honestly: I love it. It would probably be terrible in other generic storylines, but for Date a Live? It fits this series so well. The batsh*t insane premise of extremely subverted expecations for a villain that seems setup to have very complicated and high-mind motivations given the amount of dedicated mystery, inteligence and intrigue he's brought to this series over the years. The 180 degree twist on the reveal, and overall just the general sense of self awareness is simply fantastic. Westcott is DAL taking the piss out of the generic fantasy villain tropes while still maintaining him as an intimidating, terrifying threat.

  Finally, some people think that Westcott being irredeemable was bad writing. But in my opinion: it think it was necessary. Date a Live as a series is basically comprised of a bunch "redeemable" antagonists that eventually get saved. Miku, Origami, Kurumi, and Mio all fall into this category. Westcott being "saved" would've made the series a completely straight track with no deviation and given no consquences to a character who had gleefully committed numerous crimes against humanity. Quite frankly: he needed to die. I don't what we got was the most optimal ending for him (it could've been written better) but finding a reason to save him would've been cheap and even worse writing.

  Many people may take issue with him, but I'll defend Westcott's character in regards to this: He is a well designed and plotted out villain in concept, origin, and motivation. But his overall execution is a bit off. But regardless of the problems, he is arguably the most layered and interesting character from this season - even more than Mio imo - and Westcott continues being one of the best part of this series.

  Elliot Woodman:

  

  I'm sorry, but Elliot is just so underdeveloped in the anime. He's given no screentime to do anything over the seasons. We barely learn or know anything about him besides his wizard past, nor does he really do anything of significance as the leader of Ratataskr. I have a hard time buying the whole romantic affection he supposedly has towards Mio. We only get to see them interact with each other once, and the only other time they're on screen together is when Mio spawns and he's just blushing lightly. There's no thoughts, words or other context clues that would strengthen or indicate why Elliot would feel such strong attachment to Mio in any way. Their brief and only interaction is kinda interesting, but that alone that doesn't provide anything. It still feels like a convenient, shallow plot device instead of a genuine build up.

  Also "world's strongest wizard" my a$$. You know what great "action" he did during the battle this season? He came out, did a barrel roll, deflected a lone strike, then talked with Ellen in a static default idle pose before launching a single projectile which we see later causes her to fall to the ground defeated. And then he makes a Rengoku pose and dies on his knees... and all of these short actions take course over the span of 3... episodes... Really?! That's what we get to see from the "World's strongest wizard"? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

  But I grant that its not Geek Toys fault that Elliot was this underdeveloped. The fault mostly lies with Keitarou Motonaga - the director of DAL seasons 1-3 (who got fired after season 3). He didn't prioritize DAL being a long-running anime who'd make it to this point so he didn't bother giving Elliot the attention he needed. And unfortunately, this far from the only thing butchered by him - so this will not be the last I'll be talking about Motonaga and his decisions that caused a lot of damage to Date a Live in the long-term...

  Back to Elliot: his failure as a character is the product of a slow, trickling buildup of missed opportunities across the seasons that was cast aside in favor of the short term vision. But now that we've reached the endgame, all we've got left here is a shallow skeleton of a character that he was supposed to be. Truly unfortunate.

  Ellen/Karen:

  

  I truly don't have much to say about either tbqh. Ellen's role continues to become more insignificant with each passing season, which is unfortunate. And Karen, like Elliot, doesn't get any true devlopment beyond the basics. She's just a close friend of his who is passionately in love with him and will follow him everywhere. She's just a far more passive version and equivalent of Ellen, much like how Elliot is to Issac.

  Though the reason I want to talk about these 2 is mostly because I couldn't organically fit this into the story section without spoilers and have spent long enough talking about Westcott and Elliot. I wanna address the whole "Wizard" subplot that came up this season. A lot of people have criticized it for being an a$$pull and making no-sense. But even as an anime only, I get it and I like it. DEM created the magic-powered realizers using actual magic under the guise/combination of science and then gradually introduced it to the world until it become normalized and nobody suspected a thing about its origins. It think its genuinely interesting and kinda wish that they worked with this more. But tbf the season was already tight as it is. And if they went overboard it could've turned into the Irregular at Magic High School problem where they overexplain all their science/magic tech for no reason, so I'm fine with it as is.

  Artemisia Ashcroft:

  

  I hate her, I hate her so much. She actively makes the anime worse by existing. Her CG model is the worst of every named character in this show and she's an eyesore nearly every time she's on screen. Like I said in the animation section, she's a plastic Barbie doll who looks like child is just picking her up and bashing her around most of the time. They hardly, if ever, tried with her.

  Her backstory is basically non-existent/just doesn't matter. She has no character in the anime. "Oh, she's being mind controlled? How unfortunate, I can hardly tell since we've never seen how she is without the mind control influencing her." >:(

  They could've given us a brief moment where we get to see her memories pour back after Mukuro unlocks her mind, but no - she's just used as a plot device and simple roadblock for 1 episode. After that she's irrelevant. They also seem to forget to free her in the other timeline too, so her plot line remains unresolved. She doesn't even appear in the credits scene, so WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HER EXISTANCE?!

  Artemsia Ashcroft (in the anime) makes me so angry. She was alluded to and built up as this important character just to do nothing with her. The DEM villainess we got for just half of season 2, Jessica Bailey, was more developed and a better character than her. I've been told so much of her backstory and antics with Ellen were cut and you can feel it. They left nothing for her. If you're a fan of Artemisia Ashcroft from the novels I truly feel sorry you. The anime screwed you all over.

  Mio:

  

  Now for a pleasant change of pace, a character I loved! Mio is a true yandere, the last piece of the harem puzzle this show was missing. While Mukuro kinda acted like one during her arc, she definitely isn't a true yandere. Mio is. Her character motivation is completely obsessive, in true yandere fashion, but is absolutely not generic. The fact she went as far to try and give birth to her lover to reincarnate him is insane. The episode where it becomes clear what happened is one of the biggest "oh sh*t" moments I've ever felt. It's absurd, creepy, and yet feels entirely in line with her character. Everything about Mio is mysterious, intriguing, and fantastic. It kept me on the edge of my seating wanting to know about this absolutely insane spirit.

  There is 3 complaints/plot holes I have regarding Mio.
  The first is the whole Sephira crystal refinement stick. Like, nobody's gonna address the monsters that appeared in season 4 that Kurumi was tasked with killing? When did Mio realize that on top of splitting her power she needed to "refine" this crystals too? Did Ratataskr or DEM never notice these monsters? It just doesn't make sense. I gotta feeling a LN reader can probably answer that question for me, but the anime sure as heck can't.
  The 2nd is that I personally think the anime should've did what the novels did and start alluding earlier on that Reine was Phantom/Mio so that her betrayal and realization by the Fraxinus crew would've had more build up, impact and meaning. They cut so many key hints that the novel dropped for its reader, leaving only a few loose pieces from season 1 and Mayuri Judgement being the only time she ever gave any indication of being tied to the deeper plot.
  Lastly... the whole incest debate. It's a messy, complicated rabbit hole that I don't feel like trying to break down and instead will sum it up with this meme:

  

  Other than that I really like Mio. She was the perfect final boss for this series that feels both fitting and planned out.

  The spirits:

  

  I'm just gonna lump them all in here because they don't really get much development, besides getting turned into donuts throughout the season... cough.

  Anyways, they're all the same characters. They do collective share roughly same amount of screentime this season, except for Tohka and Kurumi obviously. But this time they were actively a part of the plot and doing more than just being background characters. Nia particularly gets more time, probably as an apology for how little she got outside her arc during S4. I love her antics and her commentary gives me so much joy. Whereas Mukuro on the other hand is reduced to being plot device.exe and spends most of the season just opening portals so that the characters can get where ever the plot needs them to be.

  There really isn't much else to say here; they generally did a better job with them here than in season 4. Not great still, after all they're still a more than overgrown group fighting for limited screentime in a season that does not have much to spare. And anyone not named Kotori, Tohka, Kurumi, or Reine/Mio has to make due with what little moments they get. But it was improvement.

  Tohka:

  

  As expected of the main girl, Tohka continues to get special treatment. I do appreciate how they build off the idea/revelation that Nia explained from the previous season to explain why Tohka is so special compared to the other spirits - and that idea is further confirmed by Mio herself. Tohka's conversation with her other self/Tenka is interesting yet cute and her sacrifice in the same episode hits hard. She doesn't really do much after that, but given that this wasn't really intended to be her true climax as a character that shouldn't be surprising. Will we ever get to see that someday? Hopefully, but not guaranteed. But even in the case that she doesn't, Tohka serves her purpose and is still the 2nd/3rd best spirit in terms of development (since Mio is now in the mix.

  But you already know who the best is...

  Kurumi:

  

  Once again, Kurumi is the star that steals the entire show. Until the final episode she is the most captivating thing whenever she's on screen doing anything. I love how in this season we really get to see her guile at work. How she was able to make an emergency continency on the fly to save Shido from Mio. How she was able to come up with a way to warn herself with Shido's information without tipping off Mio and coming up with a plan to escape death. And I love her combined spirit armor with Raziel, it aesthetically looks amazing. It is quite telling that she is the only spirit Shido kisses, besides Tohka, of his own free will after sealing her. I truly do wish that it was her that ended up with him in the end. But unfortunately, we all know who does/will.

  She continues to be a great character that never disappoints whenever she's on screen (unless you count the CG clones from episode 3, but that's not the bad CG element most people are upset about).

  Shido:

  

  Finally, we get to Shido; playboy extraordinaire. I really loved Shido's development these past 3 seasons. In season 1 he's mostly a generic harem protag with generic development, but even then he has a very distinct, snarky and sarcastic personality with a self-awareness unlike any other harem character out there. And beginning with the season 2 with the Yamai sisters arc we get to see him beginning to move the plot forward by own accord. Then in season 3 with the Origami arc, Shido really come into his own. He went from being a pushover to being THE primary driver of the plot whose actions directly effect everyone else and the story. He is the catalyst of the series. He's not just being dragged around by Kotori and crew anymore, nor by "convenient" random events you see constantly in other harems just as an excuse to make things happen. And that continues to evolve and really comes to a peak this season. I truly do like him as a character now.

  Some people do criticize him for being a wimp or crybaby and to that I have mixed opinions on. I mean yeah, he has the usual harem-protag trope of being overly evasive of anything sexual. That's pretty generic and par for the course, not much to say or disagree on that. However for the other, if you're complaining that he's crying during the darkest part of the story where he's lost all of his friends and an absolute monster of a yandere is trying to convince him that wiping his memories of it all will be a good thing - bruh, no. I'd be upset if he wasn't crying, that's the most realistic reaction there could be.

  Really the biggest criticism with Shido is that so much of his backstory was trimmed out from the earlier seasons that when it comes up now it feels like an a$$pull or convenient lie he tells to garner sympathy in order to woo the spirits instead of feeling like a genuine character moment/connection that it's supposed to be. Like in season 4 with the Mukuro resolution, he stops her from inverting by talking about his anxiety and irrational fears about his adopted family abandoining him... which is kinda unbelieveable since Shido never once speaks or even hints at this in the anime. Its very well noted in the novels from the very beginning, but the anime completely cut it because director Keitarou Motonaga elected to focus series on the comedic, self-aware aspect and cut a lot of characterization early on of several characters. Not just Shido, Kurumi's motivation had to be explained in the first episode of season 2 because they "oops'd" and forgot to include it when they were supposed to in season 1. Which worked fine at the time, making DAL season 1 extremely enjoyable, unique, and good in a vacuum. But it caused a lot of damage down the road as the series progressed and those important early details that should've been introduced never were. Even the extended cut versions of seasons 1 and 2 don't fix this particular problem - because its the 1 thing they just never covered in the anime at any point. Seasons 3, and especially 4+5 suffer greatly for this problem.

  Shido is absolutely not a standout protagonist in the general comparison sense, he's in the middle of the pack all things considered which would make him incredibly forgettable in most circumstances. But amongst harem protagonists: a genre known for its protagonists being the most basic, bland, predictable, virtually indistinct and practically disposable characters in all of anime - he is exceptional. Date a Live would not even work anywhere near as well, if at all, with your average harem protagonist. Shido's self-awareness is fun and different, and the writing which gradually makes HIM drive the plot forward as opposed to being dragged along by it is the key that seperates him from the vast pool of throwaway harem MCs.

  Even with the problems I laid out earlier regarding his character development taken into account, Shido is a definite candidate for the best harem protagonist of all time.

  ---

  That's all the characters I have any strong opinions on enough to talk about. Anyone else not mentioned I could answer if you wanted to ask me, but I don't feel like going through the entire roster of DAL and extended this review into an even longer essay than it already. Some things aren't worth dying for.

  You are now past: The Spoiler Zone. The rest of this review will be spoiler free, you read below this point without worry if thats your intention.

  Characters conclusion:
  I have some strong opinions on many of the characters. Many positive and many negative. Westcott is a mixed bag in his execution as a villain. Elliot is poorly developed and feels like he doesn't contributes as anywhere near as much as he should towards the story. Artemisia was better off not existing. The spirit are handled better this season in terms of attention and actively being part of the plot. Mio is a fantastic final boss. Tohka and especially Kurumi are still this series golden children. And Shido has finally come into his own as his own character. While he and by extension the story does suffer from his backstory being neglected in the earlier seasons, he still manages to become a genuinely likeable character who has a distinct personality to him and drives the plot forward of his own accord, which is good writing (especially for a harem protagonist).

  Final Thoughts: What grade does it deserve and why?

  I won't waste anymore time since this review is unbelievably long as is (Jesus Christ, how did I manage to write this?) so lets just cut to the chase.

  No chance is this a 10 or 9. 10 is reserved for the highest of esteemed, truly magnificent works with flaws that are very insignificant. And I think I've covered more than enough flaws to not explain further. That also knocks it out from being a 9 - if it were just the animation that was the problem this season, then you could've justified it. But its not just that, you've also got several serious issues in the character department, pacing, and a few holes in the plot courtesy of the anime-only ending (as it stands right now).

  I absolutely think its story really propels it up to well past a 6 at minimum. It's far from generic and takes the series in a truly interesting direction. Not entirely unique admittedly, there's definitely shared elements to found this season and especially its climax that shows like Madoka Magica and Guilty Crown have already done. Though DAL definitely does it own thing its own way and does not feel a rip-off of either. And while the characters are flawed, they feel uniquely their own and not knock-offs of other, better characters from other series. They sure as heck aren't perfect, but besides Barbie doll Ashcroft I like every character in DAL.

  Comparing it to season 4

  

  You'd think the easiest way would be to directly compare my notes and opinions on season 5 to season 4, which I gave a 7.5 to 2 years ago. You'd then think that I'd feel more inclined to give an 8, since I did enjoy more about this season than 4. But then you have a few things that must be taken into acocunt. Season 4 had it issues in the visual department, but they weren't as consistently recurring as season 5. Season 4 did butcher its one big fight, but that fight wasn't nearly as important as the boss fight season 5 screwed up.

  But although in comparison there was also much more I disliked about this season stronger than 4, giving it much lower lows - Season 5 also had far higher highs than season 4. Both in execution of the plot and production. And to be honest, despite its problems I still prefer the experience we got this season than we did in the previous season with 4. I absolutely prefer a show that can make me feel immense feelings of any kind more than a show that makes me feel nothing at all.

  Season 4 wasn't a 'nothing' experience, but it was very flat and boring at quite a few points. Several episodes were basically filler and it has its share of production problems. I remember coming out some weeks watching 4 feeling bored, and even on rewatch I felt it too - if not a little stronger. The lows weren't quite as low as in season 5, mostly because there was not much action in 4 so we didn't have to suffer through much of Geek Toys bad CG. But that same vein, the highs never got as high as we got this season. I may have felt some strong, negative emotions watching certain episodes of season 5 - but the 1 thing I never felt was bored. To me, that's a huge difference between seasons 4 and 5.

  After writing this review I'm genuinely considering editing my review of season 4 to change my score a bit, because now I feel it's no longer a middle to high 7. It would now probably be put in the lower end of 7's, as it's a 6/10 anime for the most part that gets largely carried by Nia's eccentric personality at the beginning and especially the Kurumi Refrain arc in the final few episodes.

  So the question is: 7 or 8 out of 10?

  Without bias I would probably give this season a high 7. But since I score only in either half or whole grades, and I'm extremely biased toward this series - I will be rounding up and giving it an 8.

  Make no mistake; it's production is very messy, unpolished and flawed. And I do have a real bone to pick with the writers who really dropped the ball adapting some of the characters - especially Elliot and Shido. But damnit, the story carries this season HARD. It is genuinely fun and interesting, yet dark and captivating in the direction it goes in and had so many different ways this anime could've gone. And while they've left it at a point where the anime could end here if it wanted to, with its mostly anime original ending - it's still poised to potentially be picked back up and make that last push to finish the final 3 novels. And give this series the True Route ending we'd all want to see.

  

  If you choose to give it a 7 I honestly wouldn't bat an eye, thats probably the more accurate score for this season tbqh given its laundry list of noteable problems. But for every problem it had another element match it scale for scale, if not a bit more imo. And by my own admission, I am very biased towards this series. As Date a Live was - and still is - my favorite guilty pleasure series of all time. I will never forget this fantastic ride of laughs, action and suspense this series has given me all these years. As well as the tears I cried from this powerhouse of an ending.
  8/10

  Tldr in the likely case you just went to the bottom of the page to judge it solely base on the grade I gave it.

  Pros:
  -Fantastic story
  -Many great characters and fantastic character designs
  -Phenomenal music, great OP/ED and several new standout tracks
  -Shido evolves into a respectably good protagonist
  -Continues to be a fun, self-aware, psuedo-parody of harem
  -Genuinely fantastic new villain/final boss
  -Amazing climax
  -Kurumi Tokisaki

  Cons:
  -Storytelling and pacing is very scattershot this season
  -CG quality is generally awful and frequently occurs
  -Some characters are fumbled, including the main villain to some extent
  -Incest (kinda/sorta)
  -Technically an anime original ending

  Continue on AniList
• 

  NarcReal

  82/100
  The most conclusive end to the (almost) everyone's favourite: The Queen of Harem series which captivates its audience.

  Alternative Title: THE MOST CONCLUSIVE END TO A SERIES THAT GETS SINGLE-CARRIED BY THEIR BEST WAIFU BEST HEROINE SPIRIT EVER.

  Paradox - Miyu Tomita (DAL V OP)

  DISCLAIMER: REVIEW (ALWAYS) CONTAINS SPOILERS

  Date A Live, or much more known as DAL, is a series that always forever brings us to a certain specific question: Is harem genre really meritorious enough to watch? Such a question always drowns the audience into the pitfall, and this has been what makes Date A Live is a heartwarming series: The unique storytelling combined with the entertainment aspect for the plot that unexpectedly has quite some of well-written scenes, world-building, and characters. And the idea of which show that is being applied happens to be the prototype for all other harem series who strive to reach its success. Nevertheless, it also has its flaws overall, meaning that there needs to be a lot of things to address for this much beloved show that has captivated its audience with a lot of 'options' to choose, not just characters-wise, but also genres to pick. Therefore, without any further ado, let's begin with unveiling the conclusive end to this series, Date A Live V.

  

  "EVEN IF EVERYONE REJECTS YOU, IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I ACCEPT YOU AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE!"

  First of all, let's begin with the characters first despite I'm not even sure where to begin with this if I were to be honest. In spite of that, we shall talk about our ~~best waifu Shiori~~ harem protagonist Shidou Itsuka, or much known as Shinji Takamiya according to his past. I honestly was rather fond of his previous character growth and development, but this time it's a little too serious for him. However, it's okay. Regardless what path he took to change himself, he remains to be the most ~~tedious~~ memorable protagonist you would ever see that despite having the characteristic of a shounen protagonist, he also has a playful side that may make everyone blushes, including Kurumi without any exception. His cheerful, playful, an empathetic side is what grows out of the blue more than any others, as despite often falling into the hollow of sadness, he was able to sustain the feelings of blue, thus later overcome such obstacles all by himself. Yes, all by himself despite he was mostly helped by arguably the ~~single-carry waifu~~ best heroine spirit Kurumi Tokisaki. Now, let's talk about the relation between both - it's evident that they need each other, especially as it was explained during the previous seasons. Kurumi needs his power to change the world and kill the Spirit of Origin while he needs her power to objectively save every single of his beloved harem, regardless what it takes. In other words, both are selfish on their own. This means these characters have great arcs development on their own, whereas they will do anything to reach the objectives they made. Such a relationship is what makes it conclusive, as they finally encountered the Spirit of Origin, they would realize how powerless they would have been against her, Mio Takamiya: Date A Live V, summarized To be fair, other than him and Kurumi, Reine and Mio definitely have stolen the spotlight by becoming the ~~MILFs we always root for~~ new heroines that livened up the show as soon as they appeared, with Touka still brings a crucial development along with Mana and Kotori, whereas these other characters end up being endless banters, (Origami, Nia, Mukuru, and Miku) with the rest of them becoming those walking NPCs (the rest of them except a few). Or else, they will get a little portion of development but that alone is not enough to cover their NPC-ness against the others (Yuzuru, Kaguya, and Natsumi) which cannot cover the entirety of LN, but we aren't going to talk about that original material. Another thing to talk about the overall plot and scenes: At best, it's mid or average. At worst, it has some unnecessary scenes apart from the great fans service given. And yes, I enjoyed every bit of those. Meanwhile, the villains suck. Isaac Westcott's motivation of "being villain for the sake of villain" is the most scum-worthy development background I have ever seen, including the "I just enjoyed to make them cry" sadistic character was enough to wish him getting rotten into hell for many times. While Nibelcole, despite doing its job as a materialized-paper spirit ~~and the most legal waifu ever~~ that is hand-made, they still fall into the trope of being a goofy villain, it's exactly like seeing Meowth trying to sound villainous while end up being goofy because his master can't even do shit. However, apart from those, Artemisia Ashcroft actually has something to explore, along with Ellen, whose relationship with Woodman and Karen as the wizards were revealed to have an in-depth background, ~~unlike Isaaco Raye Peyramu Wescotto~~ considering their dreadened past as wizards. However, what turns out to be a shamble is that there were no definite explanations regarding the ranking system for wizards - I believe this was explained in the LN, so you might as well read it. Enough with the entire shithouse that is called as characters, let's do the other aspects next, which are audio and visual. Speaking of the audio, it genuinely has its potentials, if only they never decided to muffle those on the background with unfruitful dialogues among these characters... but well, what-ifs are useless. The fact is that the audio/sound aspect is quite mid, apart from Kurumi theme which seems to be well-fitting for her, or else the part where Mio and Reine appear also has a glance of spectacle to it. Meanwhile, for the OP, it's possibly the best you could get out of this, so well done for Miyu Tomita to actually pull yet another banger after Date A Live IV with yet another captivating and emotional Opening with a lot of undecipherable meanings when you only listen to it once. However, as for visual, it was ugh, I'm not sure how to tell this but I have been never quite fond of Geek Toys studio, including their drastic approach to get rid of any LN artstyle for the sake of making their own, not to mention that this vivid approach of coloring doesn't really get me - are we watching a shoujo romance anime or what? It looks like Houseki No Kuni being adapted to a show. Otherwise, it never makes any sense, to me IMS always holds dearly along with S2 animation, while JC being mid as always and thus AIS hardly delivers that much, but GeekToys... it's just awful at best, not to mention the CG... you can tell it is one by just looking at the design, it honestly feels like watching Saint Seiya The Movie that relies on 3D and again, this makes the battle looks horrid, which is a downgrade compared to its predecessors to say the least. But still, thanks to the voice actors/actresses, this show survives to be at least not the worst ever. Kurumi has the greatest dub, as always along with Shidou, Mio, and Reine etc. which objectively bring out the amusement when it comes to the sound aspect once more. Alright, that's all. Now, let's go back to the question: Is harem genre really meritorious to watch? The answer is yes, if you want to fulfill your entire dream by self-inserting yourself to a character that probably has never existed, or it does but it's rare along with notable fans service of harem that are ready to submit with the protagonist's desire no matter how carnal. Or no, if you don't prefer any of these but a much more serious despite trashy and half-baked isekai that doesn't even belong to the list of greats due to its perplexed direction and butchered character. Or else, you may prefer the balance of both, so might as well watch isekai harem if that's the case. Well, no matter your choice in the end, it's up to you to decide - all yours, that's it.
  Continue on AniList

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