Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution

I really enjoyed watching Aquarian Age. It provided a clever spin on the entertainment industry in Japan as well as the mysterious feeling that something else is going on under it all. Even though this anime series is tagged mainly as an action, there are very few times that actual physical fighting occurs,well...let me restate that. There are very few times that physical fighting occurs that you can SEE. Most of the fights take place in the blink of an eye...literally, or maybe the flash of a light. However the fighting did not draw me in, it was the struggle between Kyota and Yoko, and ... their love that could not be. The plot is filled with several twists and remains mysterious throughout.

Story: 9/10 Lots of romantic twists.
Art: 7/10 The art is pretty good, but doesn't really set itself apart from any other anime.

Sound: 6/10 If you're into Japanese love songs, you'll love this.
Character: 8/10 Each character had their own likable traits as well as problems.
Enjoyment: 9/10 I just couldn't stop watching after the 3rd episode.
Overall: 8/10 I recommend watching this!

Ok I would first like to say that this anime is NOT for everyone. If you are the type to analyze the plot, logically find the character development and connect the pieces you will not enjoy this. Parts of the story and background dont make any sense, and have no explanation. On that note...

To start this anime is very slow paced. Nothing altogether plot related even happens until halfway through it, and there are constant flashes of background plot that are altogether confusing. This is the first 6 episodes in a nutshell.

The next portion is spent with actual development, things are explained and you ... finally begin to understand the scope of the story (if you are not still caught up in the confusion from before that is) it actually takes some piecing together before things finally start to make sense plot-wise, and several of the scenes are not explained until the last episode, which i had completely forgotten about by then, which made it more awesome.

This makes it seem bad so far, as its mostly confusing, but from here is where it picks up. Episode 9 exploded for me, I was so absolutely hooked i watched the rest at 6am when i had to work soon, no sleep. Everything finally made sense, all of the past episodes finally clicked as a buildup for the finale, and the character development comes crashing down.

By this point most everyone has negative views on this show, and lack the interest to actually follow through with the close. The ending is not logical, absolutely not at all. Its not the battle of massive powers fighting for dominance, which I feel left a lot of people disappointed because of the synopsis. Instead its an emotional conflict with the characters acceptance of themselves. In a quick comparison think Soul Eater's ending, but on a personal level with the characters.

The art was amazingly perfect for the series, but people are getting to used to CG now to enjoy the previous art style. If you like tradition its for you. The music was amazing, but it got kind of repetitive towards the end, just in time for it to match the tone of the climax. Characters started off boring, as it was mostly a non-comedic slice of life to introduce everyone, which they did very well, you are forced to watch them on their average lives so much that its sickening before it gets good. I fully enjoyed the ending, but again the first few episodes were slow. I find it totally worth the wait though.

Overall, a 9/10. They could have added a bit more flare to the beginning to get the viewer hyped up, but it fits with the overall flow of the story.