This anime has a serious problem making me like its "heroes". WHY would I root for Leilei against her sister, when Arpeggio is clearly the underdog here? Why would I root for the perfect little sister thatīs better with magic, money and men? This is not a rethorical question, I really want to know. And it can be extrapolated to the overall story, too.

Why would I root for the JSDF, when they are portrayed as overwhelmingly powerful, having ALL the advantages on their side? When those newly appointed generals told the new king about their options for future operations, it came off so desperate that no human being with a functioning brain would watch that scene and think "oh no, you evil villains, I hope Itami and co. will ruin your plans!". Why is that so? Because we ALREADY KNOW that those plans will never work out. At best, they do as intended, have goblins murder villagers, murder villagers while themselves being clad like the JSDF soldiers. But then what? Of course, somebody will find out "oh, hey, this isnīt typical for JSDF soldiers, it cannot have been us" and itīs all back at the new king.

BORING

Fundamentally, yes, 99% of all anime have a happy end, where the good guys win. So the problem isnīt that me and any reasonable people expect the new king to win it all, to slay the JSDF soldiers and force them back through the portal. Thatīs not it. But for fucks sake, a GOOD, a well-written story demands a compentent villain, a villain the gives off a dangerous aura. Iīd say the king and bunny bitch arenīt that bad of a a pair of villains ... but thatīs useless when every single one of our heroes has plot armor and plot weapon as if everybody is Kirito from SAO. Theyīre all TOO perfect. And that was highlighted in the fight between the sisters. Leilei, one of our heroes, is SO perfect that the author couldnīt even grant the loser elder sister a victory in at least that meaningless battle. That is how perfect Leilei is. How perfect Itami is. How perfect Tuka, Rory and the dark elf girl are. Theyīre untouchable and it its gravely apparent.

In a hope for the story to actually become more interesting, more exciting, Iīm trying to come up with an idea for what could happen. First, I hope that the generalsī plan works out after all. Even if the JSDF can confirm for themselves that none of their people committed any crime, hopefully they have no means to prove that to the Empireīs civilians. From there, weīd have a situation where the common folks of the Empire, not just the king and soldiers, would stand against the JSDF. So unless the JSDF intends to slaughter innocent civilians, they cannot progress in their shady plan of conquering the fantasy realm.
Whatīs important is that the king gains some wit. It wouldnīt be believable if he suddenly turned into a strategy mastermind, but my hope is that he realizes that bunny bitch is doing all sorts of elaborate plans behind his back and reveals that knowledge to her face. This is where it gets difficult: Is revenge against the king the only thing she wants, or can the king smooth-talk her into becoming his true ally, maybe offering her to become his wife, become the queen of the Empire.
You can badtalk the king all you want, but what he said and what he did wasnīt all wrong. Unlike his dead father, unlike his yaoi-loving sister, and unlike his treacherous brother, Zolzal attempts to protect the kingdom from an outside force, and overwhelmingly powerful one at that. Killing some of his own people to trap the JSDF isnīt morally okay, but as he said, itīs the only option they have left against an enemy they canīt face head-on. Itīs what Lelouch or Light would have done, too. Well, maybe they could have done something where innocent people didnīt have to die, but Zolzal isnīt such a mastermind, so what can he do?

As I see it, the only option for an exciting story lies in Zolzal and Tyuule teaming up, understanding each otherīs worth, and working a real sweat to throw all their ability against the JSDF and its perfect heroes. And I hope they can achieve that, because for the longest time, this anime had no excitement at all, just watching how a group of Charizard, Mewtwo and Zapdos kill some Pidgeons, Rattatas and Safcons.