Gi(a)rlish Number - Come for the art-style, stay for the characters.

Disclaimer: First off, this is my first ever Anime "review" so please bare with me while I hone my skills. Secondly these are merely my thoughts and opinions based on my tastes in regards to Anime and others may have different thoughts in regards to this series.

The first thing that drew me to this series was the colourful artstyle, the cute cover artwork and the overall character design. I have to say that I'm a sucker for anything bright, cute and colourful and this show definitely fit with that and made me want to continue watching it, even if the first episode didn't grip me as much as others have done in the past.

As a Slice of Life anime centred around the lives of five young women breaking into the voice acting industry it may not appeal to some. Generally if you're the sort of person who wants all out action, this is likely to be a series you'll skip for something more fast paced. However if you're looking for something easy going with characters that you'll generally warm to and feel involved in then this one is something you'll definitely want to pick up.

Without giving too much away in terms of spoilers, the character development throughout the show is believable. You can clearly see the growth of the girls and their relationships with one another. I found myself warming to many of the character, particularly Shibasaki Kazuha - who incidentally turned out to be my favourite and the character with whom I most relate - but even the more annoying main character, Karasuma Chitose, had qualities that made her annoying traits endearing. Even side-characters such as the writers and directors had their own personality, conflicts and motivations which made for a rich story-telling experience from all angles.

The relationships between the characters were believeable, especially when looking at the brother-sister relationship between Karasuma Chitose and Karasuma Gojou. I felt that the relationship between these two was believable for siblings, particularly when faced with the complications of him being her manager/agent.

The artwork, as I stated in the first part, was amazingly pleasing to me. The vivid colours and character design (can anyone say Katakura Koto's hair?!) was beautiful. The whole look and presentation of the Anime was totally my jam and the type of artstyle and character design that I look for when choosing an anime to watch. Yes a judge on looks to begin with when it comes to Anime, so sue me, I want something I enjoy looking at.

The soundtrack was good. It wasn't the most amazing soundtrack of any Anime by far, but the OST was catchy and upbeat and I didn't mind sitting through it each episode. I didn't feel the need to fast forward even when I was binge-watching half the season in one sitting.

The story was slow, but it was a story I wanted to continue on with and know the outcome of. I feel though that Slice of Life anime is generally like this anyway, though no major action or drama is jumping right out at you, the characters and their development through the story is what keeps you involved and wanting more.

Without giving away too much, the most disappointing thing about this anime was the ending, though it wasn't bad or completely unsatisfying. I felt it was a little lacklustre, nothing was really concluded, and I felt like it was most certainly a sequel bait ending. Although I would definitely watch a second season, I feel like more could have been concluded in the end and was left with a sense of lack of accomplishment.

TL;DR If you like Slice of Life anime, want to watch something that has characters you feel you can relate to, believable relationships and moments that you feel involved in topped with a cute artstyle and vivid colour pallet then I would recommend this series whole heartedly.