Aug 31 2011 04:43 PM Dog Days is based off the work by the same author as Triangle Hearts and Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Masaki Tsuzuki...or rather it's the other way around since both the manga and light novel began serialization in the same month the series aired.
To start with the negatives in this show, there are a lot of plot holes, and not just ordinary plot holes, but rather large and potentially contradictory ones. To name the two that really stood out: 1) the prophecy said that Cinque and Millhiore would die in 30 days, so unless the translation was incorrect, I'm pretty sure 30 days had not passed. It was pretty misleading, especially given that Cinque only had 16 days to stay. 2) In episode 10 when Cinque was attempting to chase the demon with Eclair, he somehow was able to summon weapons despite not having Paladoin with him (recall that Millhiore took both to duel with Leo). The story was also not very focused for the most part and ended up being very jumpy.
On the upside, the story, while straightforward, was not entirely bland and uninteresting. Sure the scenario has been used in a similar fashion like in Tsuzuki's previous works as well as other titles like Inukami, but the show presented itself in a simple manner illustrating that such a form of presentation still does work in this industry. The idea of a "cutesy no body gets killed war" idea is also a clever one if you ask me despite how silly it is.
Animation was good except in episode 11 where there was a huge dip in quality after spending the budget on the CG concert effects in the same episode. The special effects from the attacks could have been better done but for the purpose of this show I guess it was fine. Nothing special and typical Seven Arcs. There were, however, a bunch of far away shots, which I thought was cheap. Whether or not the budget for this show was low to begin with still doesn't give it an excuse for that many of those kind of shots.
Seiyuu was great for this show. From Cinque and Godwin to Ricotta and Millhiore the cast was great across the board. BGM was also quite solid for this show. The OP and ED were decent and when compared to rest of this past season, it was probably one of the better ones too.
Character development was shallow sadly. Probably the weakest part of the show where there were short flashbacks and glimpses of a few characters' pasts, but nothing substantial that really added much to the characters.
Enjoyment? It wasn't an exceptional show but likely on the better side of last season. Generally speaking, it was a good watch and it's hard to find simple shows nowadays.
Overall, a good watch. Not necessarily worth one's time nor a priority show, but if one has time, it's a good way to kill it.
Preliminary Score: 6/10
Final Score: 6/10 though it's more of a 6.5/10 
