Yuki Yuna is a Hero is a 2014 magical girl Japanese anime created by Project 2H. The story  follows Yūna, Mimori, Fū, Itsuki, and Karin are all members of the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club who dedicate themselves to helping those that request help. One day, the Hero Club members are suddenly caught in a explosion of light and transported to a strange forest, where they use special phones to transform into “heroes” with magical powers so to protect their world from imminent destruction by the mysterious monsters known as Vertexes.

Positives:

• Good characters
• Good voice performances
• Good soundtrack
• Good animation-style
• Interesting plot
• Good action
• Good humor

Negatives:

• Certain story elements lack exposition

Plot: The overall story is really interesting though there is a serious lack of exposition when it comes to the Shinju, the Taisha, and the Vertexes. There is a total change of pace when the group defeat the twelve Vertexes which slides the story from being an intriguing fantasy adventure down to the everyday lives of five young women.  The third act of the story definitely changes the pace and tone of the story as well as cast a really dark shadow. (3 out of 5)

Characters: The characters are actually pretty good and the focus on all the characters rather than just one fleshes them all out. The main characters are Yuna Yuki, Mimori Togo, Fu Inubozaki, Itsuki Inubozaki and Karin Miyoshi Yuki has that optimistic, fun personality that makes her immediately likable. Togo has that timid, reserved personality and she does work as a good counter to Yuki’s personality. Itsuki is probably the weakest among the characters though she does become more prominent as the story unravels. Karin was come off as a trope but she definitely shows a strong developing arc and the chemistry she develops with the other characters is definitely impressive. (4 out of 5)

Animation Style: The animation-style has a good high budget look with more vibrant colors. There is this thing where the characters’ pupils and irises are the same color which in other anime normally signifies a glazed, emotionless, or empty look. Not really a fan of the whole transformation sequences but they aren’t overly sexual nor are they shoved down viewers throats. The characters’ transformed outfits look cool. The Vertex designs look plain stupid with nothing unique about them, they just feel completely random. The 3D animation-style looks good and the blend does mix well. (3 out of 5)

Score: The English dubbing is good with great voice performances; Xanthe Huynh (Yuna Yuki), Erika Harlacher (Mimori Togo), Erica Mendez (Fu Inubozaki), Brianna Knickerbocker (Itsuki Inubozaki), and Sarah Anne Williams (Karin Miyoshi). The music is definitely on point. When things are ridiculous the music helps to get the humor going. Also, there are those dramatic ones that are filled with emotion. Great opening theme “Hoshi to Hana” as well as ending theme “Aurora Days”, both which are performed by Sanshu Chugaku Yusha-bu. (4 out of 5)

Writing: There is a lot of great comedy as well as action and drama. The slice of life elements do help to give the story more depth, especially when it comes to the characters’ lives. Another element of the writing is that the characters are written as preteens and actually feel like preteens. They all have their moments when they’re goofy, when they’re emotional, and when they’re serious.  The pacing of the series does slow down during the second act and does lack enough exposition when it comes to the overall story. The dialogue is fair with a lot of great humor. (4 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Yuki Yuna is a Hero is a pretty cool anime. This’ll definitely be a great anime to watch and will appeal to fans of the magical girl genre as well as those who generally like great characters. Despite the lack of the exposition when it comes to some elements of the story the anime does feature great music, good characters, good animation style, good writing, and an interesting story. Yuki Yuna is a Hero definitely deserves 4 out of 5.