I'll start out by writing about the positive aspects of this anime, which is obviously the art and animation quality. Fantastic fluidity to motions. Very active scenes and active bodies. The color usage is bold and nothing to overlook, however, I did start to find the experimental color gradient to be a little bit of an eyesore at times. Yet, at other times it was definitely effective in setting the mood. The characters were cleanly drawn with slim, delicate figures. Smaller details such as clothing design and the cityscape are fun.
Character: 6
The show is similar to Durarara! in that it incorporates a medley of characters in a crowded city with some magical powers sprinkled in. When I saw the plethora of characters, I didn't expect to get a character driven story. And it wasn't. Unlike Durarara!, which was given 24 eps to tell its story, K-Project only got 13. The characters weren't given enough time to truly shine individually, but that is not to say that they weren't able to shine in conjunction with other characters. The relationships between Shiro and Kuroh, Mikoto and Reisi, and Misaki and Fushimi were good enough to add a little complexity to the characters and story. But the number of characters did leave me a bit overwhelmed.
Sound: 7
I am not a fan of the soundtrack, OP, or ED. But I can't say the music was bad. It was average for an anime like this.
Story: 4
Now we get to the part that explains why this anime failed. The story, in short, is too messy and poorly developed. Even though it's supposed to be a mystery about Shiro trying to understand his identity and amnesia, I found myself more drawn to the gang war between the red and blue teams. Yet, that part of the story was never fully developed enough and left me in the dark as to why they were fighting so much. Part of the mythology of the anime revolves around the colors and the powers that come with them. I would have liked to get a crash course on the history and involvement of these powers in their reality. When the mystery is revealed, the resolution is unsatisfying. You couldn't get a strong feel as to why the main antagonist is the way he is, because they spent so little time developing him. There are many subplots, which would have been okay, except that this is a 13 episode anime. Most of the subplots were let to ease to an end instead of approached and dealt with properly. This left me feeling a bit bereft and questioning the whole point of building this whole maze of story.
Enjoyment: 5
I got bored with it halfway through but kept going because it's not bad enough for me to drop. It took me a while to complete it because I got involved with other animes. Despite the incredible visuals, the poorly written story and flat characters failed to enthuse me. The cluttered storyline and mythology kept me confused most of the time as I was trying to play keep up with all the little subplots and characters.
Overall: 6
It's not a bad anime, but it is an example of an anime trying to take on too much at the same time and failing miserably. I would say that maybe if it was given 24 or more episodes, it might have been able to rescue itself. But its biggest flaw was trying to fit a 24 eps story into 13 eps.
