This was one of the shows I’ve been excited about since its announcement earlier this year and the premiere did not disappoint me! This is an original Bones production with a very interesting combination of staff members that also includes the prolific Mari Okada who has been described in the past as a ‘hit-or-miss’ writer, so I’m curious to see how it’ll go this time around. I’ve only watched a couple shows that she’s been involved with and Kiznaiver was not very impressive, but on the other hand I thought Iron-Blooded Orphans was amazing, so I’m hoping this will have more in common with the former than with the latter.
Hisone decides to go into employment right after high school and she chooses the Air Self-Defense Force. As a rookie, she soon finds out something that has been kept secret from the rest of the population: Japan is one of the countries with an ‘OTF’ or Organic Transformed Flyer, which is basically a dragon.The Air Self-Defense Force is now in charge of keeping it hidden and also taking care of it. Hisone accidentally finds out about the dragon and she ends up being chosen to pilot it. This is basically the premise of the show and it’s quite a simple and straightforward one that’s laid out quickly for the viewer. I don’t think the show is trying to put a lot of emphasis on the details of the setting, but instead it’s obvious they’re trying to focus more on the characters and their relationships.
The characters are quite quirky and memorable, particularly Hisone. She really seems different from what I expected when we first see her and it seems this was what they were going for, since even the characters in-universe comment on the fact that she’s not exactly what they expected. She seems like the usual quiet, good-natured, go-along-with-everything kind of weak-willed female protagonist at first, but then she ends up being actually outspoken, passionate, a little rude and more well-rounded than other female characters in this role.
The art style in this one is quite different from what you usually see in anime, so in that sense I found it refreshing and interesting to look at. The strong lines mesh really well with the CGI that’s used at times for the planes and so on, too. I thought the music gave the mood a nice touch as well. The dragon was really cool and it was interesting to see the technicalities of having to fly it. 
There was a humorous component in how she has to ride it and the squick factor was pretty funny. I was a bit in awe of how the dragon looked while turning into a plane with that cute little armor, it was quite original, like a backwards mecha transformation! I’m interested in seeing these two will develop a rapport and I’m wondering what the rest of the relevant cast will be like as Okada-sensei likes to work with big casts.
Overall I was impressed and I’m really looking forward to what this has in store for viewers, I’m definitely sticking around!
Possibility of blogging: Guaranteed!
Possibility of watching: 100% happening while the subs permit it.