katiesquilts

Story: Tactics is a great anime, and its plot is actually quite realistic. I boy who admires a sealed Ogre-eater and dreams of one day breaking the seal and becoming freinds with the Ogre-eater...well, it COULD happen. And at least they didn't make it so that Kantarou, the dreamer, was still TRYING to find the seal. The plot was, actually, one of the highlights if you look back on the story, and the last episode is a real shocker! I will always associate Tactics with certain episodes, and whenever I think of it a rush of slides roll through my head, and it makes mewant to watch the entire series again! Art: Most definitely the greatest part of Tactics! The artwork was BEYOND amazing! Kudos to artists who made the anime happen! Sound: Most of the sounds and songs were okay, and I always run the opening song through my head whenever I'm bored because it's fun to listen to. The only thing I had against the sound was a little 5 second song they played in the middle of some of the episodes when the did the sliding thing. It got kind of annoying, and thankfully they didn't do it every episode. Characters: Tactics surprised me with its characters, actually. You have a little bit of everybody in there, and even the usually stoic bastard can crack a smile or make a funny face. The characters were actually the reaosns for most of the times you laughed. If I had room on my favs list, I'd definitely add a good half of the Tactics cast on there. And, unlike canon couples, if you were a fanfiction author(ess) there are so many ties between each of the characters you could easily pic and choose who you wanted to be with whom. In fact, in my mind I'm trying to pair off certain people, just to see how it would all work out, and there are too many choices! Overall: Tactics is definitely a great anime to watch if you want something that'll hook you in. Unfortunately there're only 25 episodes. Which sucks. But, aparetnly, the story is continued in the manga, which you'll definitely want to read if you get the chance! So, I'm planning on adding it to my "to buy" list.

StarfleetCpt

Tactics is, summed up in two words, nothing special. A pretty average anime with a generic "monster of the week" plot with a loose overacing story that is connected by only a few episodes, lacking memorable characters, what characters there are being pretty bland, and ending as a fair piece of work that, while certainly viewers wouldn't actively want to forget, is pretty easily forgettable nonetheless. Story: 6 (Fair) The story revolves around Kantarou, a demon exorcist living in what is presumed to be Meiji-era Japan. He has an unusual ability to see and speak to demons and often communicates with them in order to discover thetruth behind hauntings and possessions. All his life he has always wanted a goblin, a very powerful type of demon that often serves as companions and servants to humans. After following a trail of rumors he finally finds the sealed away Haruko, a demon so powerful they call him the demon eater. After breaking the seal, Haruko joins Kantarou and his friend Yoko (not to be confused by that other Yoko, sadly enough), a shape-shifting ktisune demon; a young girl named Suzu also tags along as she deeply admires Haruko. Other darker forces from Haruko's past may also be stalking him as well. Although that may sound like an interesting premise, the plot mostly hold together only when necessary, and the series is for the most part just a series of loosely connected episodes about the adventures of Kintarou and Haruko as they investigate one demonic haunting to the next. If you think this sounds eerily like Inuyasha, that's because it is, and a few people have claimed that Tactics is just a blatant rip-off, with Kintarou filling in the role o Miroku, Haruko that of Inuyasha, Yoko combining Kagome and Sango with Shippou's kitsune traits, Suzu filling in for Shippou sans the magic, and the dark forces that stalk Haruko can easily be mistaken for Naraku and Kagura. Take it as you will, but at least the shorter length of Tactics allows for a more successful, filler-free formula than Inuyasha. Art: 6 (fair) The art style is rather bland and indistinctive from other anime of the same vintage. Locales are as vivid only as they need to be, and leaves little in terms of memorable impression. Character: 6 (Fair) Once again, the characters fail to make any memorable impressions, largely being stock and carrying on as viewers would expect. Perhaps, ironically enough, most memorable in how they behave like Inuyasha's cast in this regard. Enjoyment: 6 (Fair) Perhaps a bland series, but not a bad one either. If no better anime is on, it's certainly worth watching, and is fairly entertaining. There are some twists and turns (including one right out of M. Night Shaymalan's playbook, and an earlier one straight out of Silent Hill) that are just enough to keep the viewer engaged. Which brings the total score to: 6: Fair