In this edition of Anime Queue Crush, I discuss the third most popular anime series on Crunchyroll: The Asterisk War.
To be honest, the basic premise of The Asterisk War feel too familiar but this is not a condemnation of the series. If anything, it is a statement about the difficulties of developing an original or unique idea within the entertainment industry. As for The Asterisk War, it is series set in a rebuilt post-apocalyptic world in which gifted beings are divided amongst various academies and then encouraged to participate in battles amongst themselves in an exercise devised to exhibit superiority of a particular academy/multinational government conglomerate. Of course, the school-based drama features many of the common tropes associated with the genre: a new and mysterious transfer with an untapped source of power and skill, a potential harem composed of the mischievous and unabashed pursuer, the childhood friend, and the aloof tsundere that will eventually come to realize her "true" feelings for the male protagonist, gratuitous lingerie scenes, and many more overused tropes. Personally, I am not entirely sure if I will find particular satisfaction from finishing the series but my inability to simply drop a series will keep me watching. I suppose I could stand to find out more about our mysterious male and female leads as well as what the class president is scheming.
