Ranked #1697

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

This anime is definitely a gem, but like any gem in the rough, it's not without its flaws. A lot of them, unfortunately.

Story

The story is quite interesting, and fairly original. The quality of its presentation varies throughout the series, however - foreshadowing, for example, is plentiful and very well intertwined into the story, so that little details that you might notice but not think much of turn out to be intricate plot points later on. On the other hand, there're the cheesy "OMG! The sky is falling!" bits usually associated with fantasy series surfacing all around the second half of the series which definitely hurts the suspense of disbelief. Another flaw is the climax being stretched into the last 3 episodes which could've easily fit in a single one.

Art

Not bad, but nothing to write home about. It's detailed and fairly pretty, but the sudden switches from ultra-contrasting (butterfly clouds, Hikari's hair and dreams) to ultra-pale colours (most secondary characters, slice of life sections) that happen every few minutes are annoying. The deformed butterfly logo is a definite plus though - very memorable.

Sound

The opening/ending songs are quite generic, but the last episode's ED is nice if only for the fact that it's meaningful in the context, which is a rare occurrence in anime. Background audio is hardly noticeable, but it completes the atmosphere well enough so that's good.

Characters

I'm a bit torn on this point. On one hand, the four main characters are very likeable and by the end I definitely cared about their fate. On the other, however, apart from Akari, all of the characters bring on a sense of deja vu; a reckless protagonist with a funky hairstyle, a troubled past and superpowers - check; a jealous childhood friend - check; a calm and popular big brother - check; a busty foreign drunkard who is actually wise and "cool" - check as well, and those 4 is just the icing.

Enjoyment / Overall

I've enjoyed the series, personally, but it felt like I had to go through all the silly action segments, plain stupid fan service, boring showcases of jealousy and unfunny jokes to get to the few excellent romantic scenes here and there. On the whole it was worth it, but it could've been much better if they didn't try to put in a little of every genre and concentrated on getting just one or two right. read more

I gave mostly 10's because I really enjoyed watching this anime even though I read multiple reviews saying it was a failure as Gainax's anniversary anime, but I decided to try it for myself and if you leave the title of "Gainax's anniversary" out of it you'll love it, although I personally think it was a good choice for the anniversary.

The story is short but enjoyful as it combines some "Shojo" style character drama inbetween the excerpts of action scenes as it shows the characters getting closer together wile the overall story continues to progress towards its climax. the series has an ending some might love, some might hate, but all should appreciate in their own way. The story is one that many people will be thinking "I've seen this before" but it does differ from the similar types. read more