Animation quality? Low budget?

Sorry if it's been asked before, but I didn't want to look very closely in order to avoid any subject line spoilers.

I've heard people say that the animation in this show is great, but after watching 5 or so episodes I was struck by how many extended still shots/pans were used (not even the classic anime loop, just flat stills). It seemed excessive even by anime standards, and I was surprised to see something that gets talked about so much and praised so highly using a technique like this so heavily. It suggests an extremely tight budget.

Anyone else notice this? Does it improve later in the series?

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