So, what went wrong? Well, my primary complaint was the over-abundance of fanservice at the expense of plot. After the exciting, action-packed first two episodes, Kampfer bombarded us with FOUR EPISODES of fanservice, mixed with a bit of romance. Our reward for sitting through this? A measly THREE MINUTE LONG fight scene, and a badly animated one at that. This trend continued throughout the entire series, and there was nary a decent action sequence in sight until the final episode. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the skimpy clothes and boob gags as much as the next heterosexual male. However, when a show claims to be action-oriented then pulls this kind of bait-and-switch, I can't help but feel disappointed.

Another of Kampfer's weaknesses was the story. It had always been a bit derivative, but the final episode indulged in a level of cliche I haven't seen in years. Stop me if you've heard this before: the intrepid hero is brainwashed by the big bad, then sent to attack his allies. Cue an emotionally charged scene in which the hero's love interests, who are about to be blasted into oblivion, make an emotional appeal to the hero, coupled with a precious memento from a previous episode. Somehow, this reverses the brainwashing. The hero turns the tables on the big bad, who swears revenge and flees. Finally, the hero opts out of any sort of resolution of the love triangle by declaring "I love you all!" Roll credits.

My reaction to that scene?

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Kampfer's positive aspects. As always, the gags (especially the voice actor ones) were consistently funny. The art (if not the animation) was great. However, the biggest highlight for me was Shizuku, and her hilarious and heartwarming attempts to win Natsuru's heart. Despite being seductive and sexy as hell, Shizuku's love is ultimately unrequited, thanks to Natsuru's cluelessness. Hey, that means she's available, right?

*AHEM* But I digress. This nice little romantic subplot, along with the other strengths I mentioned above, manages to partially redeem Kampfer in my opinion. The end result is a flawed but enjoyable brainless fanservice series.  If you're looking for some light fluff to pass the time, you'll enjoy this show. Otherwise, you're better off skipping it.

What I liked:

• SHIZUKU!
• Enjoyable comedy, including some tongue-in-cheek otaku humor
• Great art and character designs

What I didn't like:

• WAY too much fanservice, not enough story
• Decline in animation quality
• Incredibly cliche ending