If I was to rate this show purely on the quality of the animation, I would have rated it an 8, a 9? Maybe. As the quality of animation goes, it is pretty solid and doesn't give any reason to complain. That said, it is not surreal or anything. It is good. Solid.

The stars have been docked for several reasons which I am going to succinctly list.

1. Long previews of previous episode, plus an extra long opening and end credits. These take away almost 5 minutes of a 25 minutes show, and after a few episodes, they are grating.

2. Too many asides. The story relies heavily on lines spoken by characters to the audience, and they are not succinct. They are repetitive, tedious, and verbose.

3. Lacks a strong story line. The story is pedestrian and predictable and once again, very repetitive. There is barely anything that will make you wait for the next episode.

4. The characters are flat and you absolutely do not connect or feel for them even towards the end.

If you want to watch an anime that you do not have to pay attention to while you are doing something else, this is great.

If you are expecting something like Avatar: The Last Airbender or even Korra, which I rate much lower than ATLA, stay away.