Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle is a whole lotta anime. Across a dozen episodes it manages to cram in mecha battles into medieval fantasy, balancing an overly convoluted storyline involving royal coups and insurgent nobles with familiar high school harem tropes. There’s cross-dressing, shameless fanservice and twists galore.

It’s also not really for me. I think it comes down to personal preference – I like my ecchi anime light and inconsequential, and I like my dramatic anime grounded in real characters rather than cliché. By mashing up the two, Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle lacks sufficiently engaging characters to sell the intricacies of its narrative while being altogether too serious to succeed as a light-hearted romp.

I suspect the series will appeal to people looking for a genuine middle ground between fanservice series more interested in breasts than storylines (notably, this series has a tonne of innuendo but no actual nudity – despite beginning with the main character accidentally stumbling into a ladies’ bathhouse!) and archly serious shows like Death Note. If that sounds like it’ll float your boat, I wouldn’t guide you away from Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle, especially given its gorgeously rendered animation throughout. But, personally, I’d prefer something at either extreme of that continuum.