Ever start watching a show, and as you do you keep remembering a different show that you watched in the past. In this case a show that did those themes so much better, that just sticks with you. Well this is one of those shows for me. I can see the direction this show was attempting to go really clearly, or at least what I think the plan was. It just did not get executed well at all, and in the end falls rather flat.

So what is that plan that I figure they had. Well to me it seems to be the naive and innocent kid who ends up entering this much darker world somehow. And as the story progresses you see him grow and change, from this naive kid to an adult who is capable of so much more and things you never would expect him to be able to in the beginning. The issue this show has, is it doesn’t execute this plan properly at all, and doesn’t develop this character growth over the course of the season in a satisfactory way.

They decided to go with a rather structured show with obvious arcs that got pulled right from the Light Novel it is based on. Each one is focused on a different character and their personal progression. And with these arcs you are supposed to see Narumi grow and change as events in these arcs occurred. But for me it largely felt like he didn’t change that much. And definitely didn’t change enough to follow through with the events that happen in the final arc of the season. It had potential with these arcs and possible growth, I’ve seen other shows do the same thing. But this just was not executed well at all.

Contributing this to odd feeling is the main cast of the show. You are trying to have the main character enter this darker world that is completely opposite the world he inhabited previously. But the characters you are introduced to don’t give off the correct feeling for this at all. And don’t do the things you would expect at all, and instead spend a considerable amount of time doing very little. Even the name of their group doesn’t work well for this, NEETs. The leader is the oddest, being a little girl who is good with computers and solves mysteries using it. Honestly of all the groups, the only one that works well is the gang you are introduced to. And eventually Narumi gets directly involved with the gang and helps them out, but he never goes deep enough to feel like he is changing from it. Mostly because the gang doesn’t do anything evil or dangerous for most of the show, and never involving Narumi like they are protecting him.

Really though, just in general none of this works well. It doesn’t feel like this environment is a place that would lead to the changes in Narumi that he suddenly has by the end of the show. Not enough time was dedicated to weaving a dark story that is pushing Narumi to change from innocent to violent at all. Lots of potential, but nothing in execution.

Outside of this, the visuals in the show aren’t anything special at all. Nothing ever stood out to me at all or made me really pay extra attention to it. The music and OP and ED are just fine, didn’t really play a major point for me at all. That side of things are just fine, nothing special.

By the end, I would say go ahead and watch something that did the idea better. Like say Durarara!!, it is one of my favorite shows. And by the end of this I kept getting reminded of that show, that actually came out in a similar time span. Just not much in here that I could recommend, unless you have really ran out of stuff to watch, and want to see a mediocre LN adaption. Hmm, wonder if the Light Novel or Manga are any better?