In a world where almost all humans have been wiped out by robotic invaders, a small group of girls have managed to survive. They live day by day and don’t seem to be very intimidated by these dangerous creatures. One contributing factor to their lack of concern is that each of them possesses incredible power. On their own, it would be difficult to survive, but together, they manage to fend off any threat. After a successful battle, they meet a girl named Renge, who seems to be a bit overwhelmed to meet new people. The girls are very welcoming though, and they seem to get on well together. At first, the group seems to think that Renge is a silly and helpless girl whom they should protect; however, could there be more to this girl who managed to survive all on her own?

This first episode of Momentary Lily stood out for me for two reasons: the first is the high production value and the second its the remarkably negative reception. That is an interesting combination, which I can’t fully explain, but there is a lot to talk about in terms of objective elements. The art and animation are of very high quality. The character designs look appealing and are memorable, while both the character animation and the action sequences are top quality. However, there are some issues here as well. There are constant lens flares, practically in every shot, which look cool at first, but become annoying once it becomes clear they are there to stay for the whole episode. Another complaint is that there is constant movement in every shot, especially hair animation. Personally, I don’t think this is too much of a problem, but it could definitely be toned down a little. When it comes to choreography, the first action scene is mediocre, but they get better in the second half of the episode. The fast pacing makes it difficult to get used to the setting and characters, but the excellent voice acting partly makes up for this. In terms of story, it’s a bit difficult to understand what the show is going for. I’d say the characters are interesting enough for it to go in a slice-of-life direction, but I think they’ll go for a dark turn instead. I don’t think it’s setting this up very well though, because it looks like we’ll keep seeing all six characters together, which I imagine will make it difficult to add depth to the characters, although there is a chance they’ll get on track in the next few episodes. I’m not a big fan of the genre, so I probably won’t be watching the entire season. However, I wouldn’t mind watching more because there were enough positive elements, especially visually, to keep my interest for a little while. If you haven’t watched this one yet, I’d say the first episode is worth a shot purely for the art and animation. If you have watched it, let me know your thoughts!

Momentary Lily is streaming on Crunchyroll.