I love yokai shows.  Almost every season, sandwiched between your generic isekai and the high school drama, you’ll find some spooky yokai and poor humans who have to navigate the two worlds.  This season, In/Spectre filled that niche, as something of a cross between Bakemonogatari and Natsume’s Book of Friends. 

(I’m also part of the movement to make 50 the new average score, not 70.)

My grading criteria: each show has 50 points to earn and 50 points to lose.  Points are earned by going above and beyond, showing me something I hadn’t seen before or making me feel something unexpected – generally something that makes me applaud. Points are lost when I feel a part of the show was below average or less than acceptable in terms of animation, storyline, etc.  Let’s take a look!

Positives

Where did In/Spectre score points?  

Premise (+10)	Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, In/Spectre was always about what is true and what can be created from a lie.  This is a very dialogue heavy premise, but I think exploration of this premise certainly has a place in anime.
Main Girl (Iwanaga) (+10)	Iwanaga is simply the definition of a great character.  Dynamic, unexpected, has unique physical attributes, doesn’t fall under any major stereotype – a clear win in my book.
Main Villain (Rikka) (+3)	I think Rikka was a very slight positive for me.  Despite being present primarily in flashbacks, I think she was still interesting enough and powerful enough to be a worthy foe.  Add in Kuro’s emotional attachment, and this is a good villain.

Good: +23%

Neutral

What parts of In/Spectre were neither good enough to win points, but not bad enough to be penalized?

Side Characters (Saki)

Saki, Saki, Saki – I love her characters’ visuals, and the use of her as a parallel for the viewer reacting to the introduction of supernatural forces.  Where she falls flat for me is her response to her colleague’s death and other situational reactions. The only time I think her character had interesting emotional depth was the jealousy and threat she felt from Rikka….in conjunction with the complete lack of threat from Iwanaga.

Supporting Cast (Police, Yokai, etc)

The side characters, from the murdered policeman to the giant serpent were…passable.  None really stood out, but none really detracted majorly from the story. I think they did their job and nothing more.

Negatives

What missed the mark?

Kuro (-5)	Starting out my complaints is Kuro.  Kuro is an absolute bore for 11 of the 12 episodes, then suddenly develops misguided smoothness in episode 12?  Nah. For such an overpowered person, Kuro is closer to a brick wall than One True Tatsuya. While being overshadowed by the women of the show, Kuro is still the vital piece and the most overpowered – at least have some personality.
Kuro vs Steel Lady (-5)	The main, climactic fight felt…required.  There wasn’t really any tension between a made up ghost and someone who can’t die.  I guess the gruesome aspects were supposed to help heighten that, but really the whole affair felt pretty mundane.
Overall Pacing (-3)	I felt taking 9 episodes for Steel Lady Nanase was too much.  There could have been 2-3 more filler episodes as we got to know our characters more.  At least 3 of the Steel Lady Nanase episodes could have been condensed into 1, maybe 1.5.  It’s rare for me to complain about a show going too slowly, but that was a real issue in In/Spectre.  While not my biggest complaint, it was still a noticeable issue, and I personally blame staff direction for that.

Bad: -13%

Final Thoughts

In/Spectre started well. The serpent, introduction of Saki, setting up Iwanaga and Kuro – nicely done. Unfortunately, the pacing in the middle got stretched out after the time skip, and the ending fight really didn’t live up to expectations.

However, Iwanaga really was the highlight of this show, and In/Spectre showcased her character perfectly. With a premise that at least wasn’t completely cliche, In/Spectre falls into my category of shows that didn’t quite live up to their potential – but were still enjoyable nonetheless.

Total: 60/100

(GOOD)

84% if using 70 as average