Animation The animation itself is not the best but its not the worst either. There were instances when characters would look a bit derpy or disproportionate. Nothing really to say about the animation its mediocre but at least its not as bad as the story itself. Character Design Nothing to really say. All the maidens have their own uniqueness and flavor. The children look completely nothing like I imagined. The protagonist fits the stereotypical protagonist looks. Character Development Honestly I feel like this anime or the whole story itself could have gone a bit better if the character developments were actually meaningful. The little segments each character is given with the main protagonist is too little of a time to fully develop a meaningful connection or bond with the maidens. There was too much content that could be produced in a span of only 12 episodes. Having a lot of characters for a series can be done but not in 12 episodes. The Monogatari series or Date A Live for example both series have a lot of characters and both have been successful in the anime community. There was potential for Conception it could have done so well if only the character development for each of the maidens was there. Harem/Romance Connections with the maidens feel as lousy and meaningless as a one night stand. Like I said from my previous talking point theres just not enough time in a mere 12 episode season to introduce so many characters and have a meaningful connection with them. Some of the maidens interaction with Itsuki was so abrupt and meaningless that it just cant even be called Romance. Some of the maidens fell for Itsuki with some cringe or cheesy cool guy line and off they go to have sex. They could have used that opportunity to build more of a bond with the characters but nope straight to sex they go. Story/Plot May include minor spoilers No doubt one of the worst story/plot in anime Ive seen yet. It starts off with the Itsuki and his cousin Mahiru being randomly transported into a different world. Theyre then informed about these 12 maidens that exist that can give birth to powerful children called the Star Children who can fight against Impurities. And of course the only way to produce these Star Children is by Itsuki developing a romantic bond with each of the maidens and having a love ritual also known as sex. Itsuki is given the duty to protect the world and slay the Impurities to return back home with Mahiru. From surface level it doesnt sound so bad but the sheer amount of characters introduced is too overwhelming and the whole show just goes into a downward spiral. It had its moments when the story itself was actually going smoothly and you almost completely forget that the storyline and pacing was complete garbage. Conclusion Conception had potential. I really believe it could have been a great show if the series had a lot more character development and the anime wasnt constrained into only 12 episodes. It had the ideas and ingredients for a good series but the execution just wasnt there. If you have 5 hours to waste go ahead no one is stopping you from watching it. Dont let the heavily negative reviews stop you from watching a series. One mans trash is another mans treasure and it may just be your treasure. P.S. : Mana became my favorite character at the end. Most of the time I thought Manas presence and existence was annoying but Manas presence also grew onto you slowly. It was a character development happening unexpectedly one of the only characters to actually develop a connection with the viewer a bit. Mana was a curveball that I didnt see coming.