I really want to like Agents of the Four Seasons but...
Note: Repost since the previous one was removed due to being posted on the same day as the general discussion.
Violet Evergarden is in my top 5 anime of all time, so when I heard about Agents of the Four Seasons, which is written by the same author, I was super excited. Now, 8 episodes later, I think the show has been alright, which is a bummer since I thought I would enjoy it way more.
Let's start with the good. The production quality is amazing. It's unfortunately not a KyoAni production, but Wit definitely brought their A-game and the show is visually stunning. Also, I'm a huge fan of Kensuke Ushio (particularly A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird, and Journal with Witch), and he's made an amazing OST for the show. I have no complaints about the production itself.
What has really stopped me from enjoying the show is the world-building. A lot of things are not explained yet or just break my suspension of disbelief. Spoilers for anyone who has not watched up to episode 7 yet.
[Agents of the Four Seasons] >!The lack of security for agents doesn't make sense to me. For people who literally control the seasons, which seems more important than the role of a country's leader, how are people seemingly able to break into their residences all the time? I get that this conflict is supposed to drive the plot and emotional scenes, but it seems unbelievable.!<
[Agents of the Four Seasons] >!How did no one die from a bomb being dropped on the agent of autumn's residence? The retainer especially was close to the blast and was injured but could walk immediately afterwards. Speaking of bombs, how did this unknown terrorist group get one?!<
[Agents of the Four Seasons] >!Why do people want to kill the agents? This is probably something that is explained later, but we are 8 episodes in and I still don't understand the goal of the group trying to kill the agents. When an agent dies, another one in the lineage immediately gains powers and takes their place, so it would seem that killing one wouldn't have a huge impact, although there is some required training and the new agent wouldn't be able to fill the role immediately. Even still, it's not clear why a group would want to kill an agent and what they get out of a season not existing.!<
[Agents of the Four Seasons] >!This brings me to my last issue with the whole setup of the story. The agent of spring was kidnapped for many years, and the lack of spring seems to have not had a huge impact on the world. This makes me wonder why people want to kill the agents in the first place. Furthermore, why did the spring group stop looking for Hinagiku? The reason stated was that they were waiting for her to die, but many years went by without her death. Shouldn't they have figured out that her kidnappers probably were keeping her alive and literally holding the season of spring hostage? They just sat there for years, waiting for her to die. If Hinagiku didn't escape herself, they literally could have ended up waiting for an entire human lifespan.!<
I feel like a lot of the mysteries and the reasons behind the antagonists' actions will be explained later in the story, but the fact that it's been 8 episodes and I still don't really have a clear picture of their motivations is not good writing IMO. And a lot of these issues have made the emotional beats hit significantly less hard than I expected them to because the reason behind the trauma is iffy.
Sorry for the rant. I've really wanted to enjoy this show more than I have been. Am I missing something, or do other people have these issues with the show as well?