Story- My opinion on the story is heavily biased, i was instantly drawn into it through the main character Koyuki (Yukio) and his feeling of emptiness at the beginning about how he didn't see his place in the world, and then finding it by being introduced to a well known bandand falling in love with music. Ruyuuske is the average underground musician in the beginning with his experience. The story is about Ruyuuske creating a new band out of nothing after his old one falls apart and starts a rivalry between him and the other guitarist, which always happens betweens underground musicians. upon the 2 of them meeting they have a rocky friendship which in the end works out as they both complete the new band together and set off to try and make it in scene.
Art- the dark tones and colors really put you in the mood for whats happening. You can see the cold and somewhat dampness to the streets and alleyways. the darkened clubs and bright school atmosphere perfectly give the feel of the true life. Although some people have complained about the art being a little bad, i enjoyed the nice change up. And seeing places named after famous American clubs and other places added a type of comic relief of sorts.
Sound- Sound is a big one, especially for a music anime. I watched both versions, sub and dub, and i prefer the dub solely because of the music. The accents isn't what got to me about the sub it was the tone of voice. During supposed "in your face" songs the Japanese singer seemed lacking. Both versions had the acting done great, and the music quality pushed my rating up to 10.
Character- This is the part that seemed the most realistic to me. The band members being different from one another especially, never have ai seen a band with all the members listening to the same music. You have Chiba as the punk and Rap influenced singer, Koyuki Classic Rock Guitarist, Saku the Hard Rock Drummer, Tyra a New Wave bassist, and Ryuuske the Blues and rock lead Guitarist. Each one brings their own sound and feel and they combine them all for the bands sound. How the characters had their flaws, got on your nerves, and excited you seemed natural, like real people.
Enjoyment- Once again, I'm heavily biased. I enjoyed this anime a lot, I was drawn in and just couldn't stop watching. towards the end it just got better and better as the reality of the scene comes into play even more. The last couple of episodes could be seen as unexpected or a bummer of sorts, but hey, it happens people, take it from an underground musician. lol
Overall- This anime wont be enjoyed by everyone, not even every music fan. It's one of my favorites and its ranked that high because of how I felt wile watching it, as if I saw myself. I doubt anyone will make the connection I made to this anime, but its worth a shot to try and see. You don't have to know anything about music in roder to enjoy the drama that unfolds in this show.
