Red Garden

It's funny that when I first started watching I thought the characters looked ridiculous and now I find it much more 'natural' than purple-haired, bug eyed smurf-sized lolitas. Maybe it's the fantastic characterization and development that has made me warm to them. Either way the glamorous look Red Garden is given really enriches my understanding of the very unglamorous conflicts, emotions and changes the characters endure. At times I feel that they could've made it just a little bit more filthy. In fact I get thirsty during the fight scenes for some unnerving material. The first couple of episodes where Rachel's nail is cracked, really ... sold it for me. I love that sort of imagery, where it's such a noticeable detail that makes a vein character feel so ugly.

I've never been to New York or a city as large but I definitely get the feeling in Red Garden of the girls being alone in a place packed with people. I love this element and I think it's portrayed so well through each of the girls reaching out to people they love and dealing with the social problems their condition creates. The relationships present in RG are so intricate and developed that they rival with Honey and Clover. The series really spends a lot of time encouraging the viewer to empathize with the girls and really understand all the realistic problems; socially, financially, academically and physically, they go through.
There has not been one moment in the series where I've wanted to see more action, or wanted a plot twist. Everything is timed perfectly and I believe that pacing in a series makes a very big difference to the enjoyment. Each character cries for just enough time before they get annoying. We go through a cycle of the four girls and switch from problem to problem between them and not once have I hated one of them even though they have obvious weaknesses. This is because I understand their situations so well thanks to the magnificent characterization.

The music is great too. I even liked the singing at the end of a few episodes, though unfortunately it stopped. I thought it was a little bit embarrassing and I still can't really figure out why they were singing but it was a little rest from all the emotional stress we had gone through in the first few episodes. The OP song is good, it's glamorous and does sound a bit 1920s American jazz-like. I think it suits the series well. I like the OP animation, it's subtleness is admirable and I prefer it to slow moving shots of the characters' naked silhouettes.

Finally I think the most obvious strength in Red Garden is it's reason, it's restraint and it's sensible realism. Four girls given super-human powers and a chance to kill crazed cannibals sounds like a girl-kick-butt action packed saga. Instead Red Garden has realistically depicted it's characters being challenged instead of automatically displaying masterful martial arts skills. No leather-clad voluptuous cyborg vampire slayers here. These are emotional and quite normal teenage girls with different backgrounds. It's very impressive stuff and the ending didn't disappoint.

Red Garden is a show full of weird little quirks, but there's nothing particularly quirky about its premise: four girls are forced to fight supernatural forces. Each evening, at any time before midnight, a team of female students from a prestigious school in New York may be summoned by a mysterious woman named Lula to engage in a deathmatch against fast, vicious, zombie-like monsters. Surrender and nonparticipation are not valid options. The girls know nothing about why they've been chosen or who they're really working for, but they hope to find out before it's too late.

Studio Gonzo's artistic work here is wholly different from the ... norm. Red Garden's characters are tall and lanky, distinctly European-looking, mostly pale and thin, as if to emphasize their fragility and their proximity to death. Their hair and their hard, angular faces are rendered with an attention to detail that borders on obsessive. The backgrounds do a competent job displaying the ins and outs of a big city, from elegant party halls and bustling streets to half-vacant, slummy apartments; none of them draw the eye in quite the same way as the characters, but the effort is nonetheless appreciable. Shortcuts are taken in the animation here and there, but for the most part they're at least placed in such a way as to not be obtrusive, neither adding to nor detracting from the visual experience. The fight scenes are more about the emotional element than the actual combat, so I'll look past what could generously be described as uninspired choreography on that front. Red Garden is at its visual best during moments of calm, when its uniquely stylized character designs can draw a breath and do their job.

The soundtrack is orchestral, almost exclusively low and atmospheric, sometimes rising with a subtle and foreboding crescendo during developing scenes of action. On its own two legs, it's humble, not what you're likely to remember as an awesome musical score, but it blends seamlessly into the show, quietly touching the right notes and enhancing the mood from its place in the background. That merits a certain amount of praise. It does its job, and does it well.

Red Garden's biggest strength lies in its characters, who are drawn from different backgrounds and social circles to fight for their lives. We meet Rose, a shy and caring everygirl; Rachel, a rebellious partygoer; Kate, the daughter of a wealthy family who is held to high expectations in school; and Claire, a tough loner with few friends. In the past, they've all been passing classmates at best, and they have no common ground. They simply don't like each other. Their personalities don't mix. Two are meek and timid, two are strong and overly confrontational. They bicker, judge, and throw insults without considering the consequences, as teenagers are apt to do. Combat only amplifies these difficulties—how can you entrust your life to (or risk your life for) someone you don't even respect, someone who talked down to you earlier that same day? The end result, curiously, is that all of the girls are too hesitant. No one makes a move during a fight, out of fear that none of the others will come to their aid.

But necessity's hand is at work. The girls soon realize that the choice between cooperating and dying is really no choice at all, and they begin to work as a team, slaying their opponents with newfound proficiency. In the process, they find their common ground: a strong desire to live. Trust in battle leads the group to new highs, and eventually the stilted pseudo-friendship turns into the genuine article. Interactions under the moon and those under the sun bleed together. The team meets in everyday life, and its members warmly help each other work through personal problems. The girls are well-written, well-developed, and believably frayed. Red Garden's drama can sometimes seem over-the-top, but it's usually justified. After all, its characters live each day on edge, trying to get through school while dreading the summons of Lula, never knowing what might happen at night, frequently haunted by what happened the night before. Anyone would be a nervous, screaming wreck in that situation.

If only the story were handled so gracefully. Early in the series, the girls reach the realization that they're being forced to fight because of two ancient families who cursed each other, and the series takes it from there, delving deeper and deeper into a labyrinthine backstory about the two families and the set of rules by which the curses can be removed or applied. Now, that's a neat (if somewhat trite) idea in its own right, and it could have lead to something rather slick; it has a certain sort of dark, modern folklore appeal to it. But suffice to say that no matter how many ways I look at the dozens of details piled upon this story, they simply don't add up to anything coherent. Every time something is revealed, more inconsistencies and unanswered questions are revealed along with it. At almost any point, they could have (and should have) stopped adding to the top of the structure, and reinforced its base instead. But they don't, they keep stacking and stacking until the house of cards falls. It is a brute-force approach to storytelling which relies on the incorrect assumption that the sheer number of elements is what makes a story intricate and involving. It is dense but ultimately nonsensical, and it ends up serving as a vehicle to carry the infinitely more interesting character drama to us rather than serving as a strong addition to the show.

One other thing: the characters sing. Much as I wish that were a joke, an exaggeration, or just a bad dream that I had, it really happens. Red Garden's characters sometimes burst into song at the drop of a hat, and it is every bit as awkward as it sounds. Where this idea came from, the world may never know; there is nothing else in the show that hints at it being a musical, and the songs occur once per episode at most, sprouting spontaneously out of normal dialogue like tonally-challenged tumors. The singing itself is mediocre (in both Japanese and English) and the lyrics are cringeworthy. I wish I could pass this off as just another little quirk in a series that's full of little quirks, and some might choose to look at it that way, but the truth is that even without this element Red Garden would be a bit of a confused experience, and the moments of song produce an even more heightened sense of unreality, as if begging the viewer to ask: am I really watching this right now? In fairness, they appear to have scrapped this idea about eight episodes in, and the last two-thirds of Red Garden are blissfully singing-free, but the “what were they thinking” damage is pretty well done by that point, and it's not easily forgotten.

I don't see any of these as fatal shortcomings, though combined, they might come close. When Red Garden works, it works surprisingly well, with a unique artistic presence, fitting music, and a group of interesting characters serving as the high points of the series. It's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but if it sounds like it might be yours, giving it a try couldn't hurt. I can't sing its praises, but I'll give it a soft recommendation.

Title: Red Garden

Manga, Anime: The manga of Red Garden started running just under a week before the show started airing on Japanese television in Gentosha Comics' magazine Comic Birz, with story by Gonzo and art by Kirihito Ayamura. It is still running in Japan, and has two volumes to its name. It has yet to be licensed Stateside.

The anime itself ran on Japanese television from October 3rd, 2006 to March 13th, 2007, and was directed by Kou Matsuo (well-known for directing the Rozen Maiden project) and animated by Studio Gonzo (well-known for Gankutsuou and Saikano). ADV has licensed the show Stateside, and ... the third volume will be released on the twenty-second of this month.

Story: Red Garden's focuses in on four girls -- Kate (the one who's rich and is on the student disciplinary council Grace), Rachel (the bitchy queen bee of her clique, you know the type), Rose (the sweet, quiet one with the little siblings) and Claire (the punk) -- who go to the same school (Roosevelt Academy, which is strangely Japanese-esque for being in the middle of New York) and, for whatever reason, can't remember the night before. As the day goes on, they find out that a girl they all knew, Lise, was found dead that day. After being let out for the day, each of the girls sees a bunch of red butterflies, and mysteriously wind up in the same place. A creepy lady and her male partner show up, inform the girl that they're their instructors, and before telling them to kill a man who turns into a freaky wolf-demon thingy with their bare hands, that they're all dead.

Quite the first episode, huh?

The rest of the series focuses on how the girls deal with the fact that they're dead and all and the fact that they now have to fight and kill these monsters in order to stay alive, and the mysteries behind all this unfolding bit by bit.

One of the most frequent complaints that you will hear about Red Garden is that it's slow. And I won't deny it; the series does overall focus more on the personal lives of the girls and how what's going on now affects that more than the actual how and why of what's going on, and it makes things seem painfully slow. However, the latter does come into play, and when it does, it hits hard. The first ten or so episodes lays the groundwork for what's going on, the next six develop the situation as things are revealed and the stakes are raised, and the final six shows all the cards and lays everything on the line.

By the end of the series, you know everything that's going on in these girls' lives, and you feel like you've known them your entire life. They did really well, developing them. And even most of the bad guys and minor characters get some development, so they seem more human and less like cardboard cutouts.

Oddly enough, there are a lot of references to American pop culture, which makes sense, as it's set in NYC, but it still throws you for a loop at first.

It's not perfect, though. The how and why of what's going on is never fully explained, which is mildly annoying, but not unexpected, seeing as this is the guy who directed Rozen Maiden (and could've resolved it quite nicely in Traumend, but NO!). And there are random bits of song that are thrown in in the first half that many will find painful, but they're quickly abandoned by the second half, which was a good call. And the ending and its vagueness (another hallmark from Rozen Maiden) will probably piss some people off, but know that there is an OVA called Dead Girls that is available raw, but not subbed, and some group should really pick it up.

Art: Red Garden has an interesting style in how they design their characters -- more like the Korean style that I've seen in manga, really, than what I consider manga. The necks are unrealistically thin, the noses are really weird, and the lips are huge. But you get used to this by the third episode or so, and it grows on you after a while. And they use gradient shading here and there, and it really looks nice, but only because it's not overused. They also had the budget for outfit changes at least once every episode, which is nice, but the fashion sense was a bit lacking at times, and resulted in painful outfits.

Otherwise, fairly decent animation.

Music: The background music for this is very heavy on strings and piano, and it's really done well. It does seem a bit overdramatic at times, but those times are few and far between, and for the most part, it adds to the scenes quite nicely.

JiLL-Decoy Association does the OP, "Jolly Jolly", which is a lighthearted bit of J-Jazz, and seems a bit out of place with how dark the rest of the series is, but is still pretty nice. LM.C does the two EDs; "Rock the LM.C" for the first half of the show, which is a blend of hard rock and rap, and "Oh My Juliet" for the second half, which is more rock-oriented and a bit more of a love song.

Seiyuu: Red Garden is unusual in that the dialogue was recorded before the animation was created (when it's usually the other way around), and you can tell the difference in the quality of the acting, which is top-tier. They've also got three of my favorite seiyuu (Rie Tanaka, aka Suigin Tou; Takehito Koyasu, aka Ilpalazzo and Hotohori; and Daisuke Ono, aka Koizumi), which just adds to the awesomeness.

Voice Actors: However, as normal, the awesomeness of the seiyuu does not translate to the VAs for the English version. Most of the VAs perform their lines like robots, and/or are painfully fake-sounding/high-pitched where they shouldn't be.

Acting like this is the reason I've gone to subs and never looked back. Also, this is why America should just stick to subs. Fail, ADV. FAIL.

Length: 22 episodes is just the right length for this series. Yes, it drags a bit in places and probably could have used more development in others, but any shorter and it would've gotten the shaft, and any longer and it would've gotten painful.

Overall: An excellent series with an unusual art style, beautiful music, and excellent story and seiyuu. Yeah, it has some problems (most notably with VAs), but it could be far worse.

Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 9/10
Seiyuu: 10/10
Voice Actors: 5/10
Length: 9/10

Overall: 51/60; 85% (B )

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Action Shojo, slightly confusing

I really enjoyed watching Red Garden – the storyline was interesting and unique, but unfortunately it wasn’t perfect.

Truth be told I was having a hard time understanding the plot. At first, I thought it was too complex, but then again, not really. Everything was pretty much explained during the last episodes, except for the butterflies. I think “weird” is a more fitting word to describe the story of Red Garden. You know what’s weird? The girls’ enemies. Why did they have to move like rabid dogs? I also thought the plot was moving really slow. During the ... first episode, Rachel seemed to have gained a new ability, but they didn’t talk about that again until the second half.

The whole plot wasn’t confusing though. I love how there are dramatic parts in between the episodes, those that are about the four main girls’ relationships with the men they encounter in their life. I especially love it when the focus is on Rachel and Rook’s relationship. That’s why I call Red Garden action shojo.

The four main characters were great. They all had different dynamics, but they were great with each other. I liked every single one of them. I liked Claire’s independent personality, how Rachel isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Kate’s gracefulness, and Rose’s cute pout. I also like how they’re made to live to kill, or vice-versa. The supporting characters were great too. The boys were really dashing, and the villains were horrific. I didn’t get Paula though, the leader of Grace. She seemed like she was in love with Kate. I also didn’t get the two policemen who kept following them around – were they even necessary to plot development? I kept thinking those two were some sort of filler characters.

I wasn’t really a fan of the voice acting. Sometimes I felt that the characters didn’t have any emotions in their words, and sometimes they sounded like they were eating their words. They all seemed to have weird accents. Out of the four main characters, Rose’s voice actor, Ayumi Tsuji, is probably the best. I loved her cute voice and it really brought out Rose’s moe personality. Other notable names on the cast list are Rie Tanaka as Lula, Takehito Kowasu as Herve, and Daisuke Ono as Nick.

Gonzo really did a good job in animating Red Garden. The colors were really great and vibrant. Normally, what I notice in most of the series I watch is that the colors are of the same hues. What I mean is it’s usually all pastel, or all the colors have to be really loud. It wasn’t like that in Red Garden – the color coordination had a nice contrast. The character designs didn’t look like the usual designs you’d find in anime. I’d say it was American influenced, and I would say the same for the clothes that the characters wore. I would love to have Rachel or Claire’s clothes in real life. Also, everything was detailed, which made good eye candy.

I really loved the music. All the opening and ending themes were really catchy and contemporary. I don’t have a favorite among the three, because I like them all equally. Background music was also good. What I had a problem with was the creepy random singing of the four girls. Thank God they only did that for the first few episodes.

Another good thing to note about Red Garden is the mixture of different story telling elements that you will witness in watching the series. Of course there’s some action, some drama, some horror, some mystery and even some comedy. That’s why it’s interesting and definitely a must-see.

Mystery, Action, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, and...Necromancy? An unusual combination in creating a show, however, it is one that manages to pay off. Red Garden manages to take each one of these genre's and mix them together for a highly original anime experience.

Red Garden thrusts you right into a story about our four main female protagonist and their struggles with trying to adapt to there new lives and as recently deceased high school girls living on borrowed time. You might think this show would take a very straight forward action oriented path. Given the shows premise and the fact that the girls are ordered ... to fight to stay alive, but this is far from the case. There is action, but it's not the main focus of the show in any way, shape, or form. Instead we follow our girls as they try to balance there new lives while solving the mystery around there death. The show, because of this has a very sophisticated feel to it.

Red Garden is an anime about survival, but about mentally surviving. It's about trying to get your life back together when everything you have ever known is flipped upside down. You will follow these girls as they try to adapt to there new life, and because of it change, grow and in some cases become completely different people. Which is what makes this show so enjoyable, is watching these girls go through just a tremendous amount of growth. Each character learns more about themselves then they could every had previously hoped for. As they become acquainted with one another, as there view on the world opens up from there previous narrow view point, as they learn the truth about there lives and there future, all of it leads to some of the best character growth in anime television, ever.

You will hate some characters in the beginning because of how the act and grow to love them as they change. Which, to the show's credit is something they handle very well. The writers of this show know how to make the viewer feel compassion and sympathy for each character. Rose, Claire, Kate, and Rachel all end up changing in some way, and it's damn powerful. How much these characters grow will just leave you speechless. You even end up feel sorry for Herve, while at the same time hating it. It's a show that isn't black and white, it's Grey, everything they deal with is Grey. The overarching plot does have some problems and unanswered questions, but at the end of the day they are forgivable. A series such a Red Garden is not about the mysteries surrounding these girls, rather it's the girls handling these mysteries and growing upon them.

I hated the art style of Red Garden, and I still kind of don't like it, but it has grown on me. I definitely prefer the character models, and setting of Red Garden then most anime. The characters and backgrounds look incredibly realistic, but the character mannerisms always annoyed me, right up to the end. They are on the brink of being realistic, but at the same time not being quite there, leaving me in a somewhat confused state. It's pretty then 90% of the generic anime that comes out today, but it is still rough around the edges.

I, for one, never really like the musical aspect that Red Garden tried to approach in the beginning of the series, which is why I was glad when they dropped it. I think trying to add a musical layer into a show is a good idea and has the potential to really add to a show, but I feel as if it hindered this series. It was like the creators of this show were going for some type of realism where each of the girls was just a horrible singer. Which, in real life they probably would, but it isn't real life, it's fiction. I don't really like listening to off-pitch singers, it annoys me, and it annoyed me hear. Maybe if they had gotten some voice actors that could also sing then it might have worked out, but sadly they didn't. Which, again I am glad they dropped it for the second half of the series(Somewhere around episode 9).

It's a highly mature anime that will leave the viewer in a very sombre state as they pray for the safety for the main characters. You will become attached as each character grows as people, you will feel sympathy for those you once hated and hate those you once liked. It's a complex anime of mixed feelings and genre's. It's a slice of life show through and through, you will follow these girls on there daily life as they simply try to survive, as they adapt to there new lives while trying to cling to what they know as reality. So please enjoy as you embark on this very sophisticated journey.

This anime was pretty different from what I expected based on its synopsis and in this case it wasn't in a good way. There actually isn't a whole lot of combat or mystery or drama. The anime is actually probably closer to a slice of life than anything else. The main characters, a group of four girls, die very early on in the anime and one would think this would be a pretty monumental, life-changing event but instead, upon the girl's "revival" if you will, almost nothing changes. They go to school, work their jobs, go on dates, worry about bills and do all the ... normal things they were doing before as if they'd never died. It is extremely difficult to believe and it makes their death seem almost inconsequential, which is just silly.

Perhaps this was done intentionally, as it could be how Japanese animators perceive Americans, but I didn't care for the art style at all. I found the show outright ugly sometimes and the character models, in particular, left a lot to be desired. There were a couple of characters that looked as if they'd undergone seriously botched plastic surgery.

The show also lacked cohesion. Randomly in a few of the early episodes the girls would break out into song. The anime suddenly becomes a musical without warning. But then, just as abruptly and without warning as these things began they then stop and they never happen again. Why? What was the point? I have no idea why this decision was made, but it felt very random and out of place.

The ending felt very rushed too. If you're going to just have an us versus them winner take all battle royale, why wait until the final episode? This could have happened at any time during the two side's longstanding, ongoing feud. It waited until the final episode to happen because the plot wanted it to, period.

The one strength of the show is probably the character development, because we spend the large majority of the show following around the four girls as they live their day to day lives as if they hadn't died and we get to see their interpersonal relationships and individual life circumstances. That's fine, but it doesn't fit with the whole "Oh by the way I'm dead" thing.

It wasn't sleep-inducing, but it often felt slow and on the boring side. The entertainment value here isn't all that high.

Overall I found this anime pretty disappointing. It wasn't awful, but it didn't do much for me. I'd advise those of you on the fence about watching this to know what you're getting into. It's slow, it's character focused, it has underwhelming and infrequent action and it's about the girls and their personal lives first, everything else a distant second. I didn't dislike it enough to regret watching it once but I have zero interest in watching it again.

OBJECTIVE RATING- 6
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 5.5-6

I usually refrain from writing reviews, but I feel this is an underrated anime, which doesn't get the amount of publicity that it should. It is also been a while since I watched this anime, but I'll try to remember certain aspects of the anime worth mentioning.

Story: It centers around four girls, who all go to Roosevelt Academy in New York and all four girls have very little common with each other except they were all friends with a girl called Lise, who is now dead. They also realise that they can't remember the day before, which was the day Lise died and also the ... day they died. The series continues how they deal with this and other problems which arise from their new found undead-ness.

What I liked about Red Garden in particular and I think which made it all the difference is that it was set in New York. The main cast was nearly all female, and there was something feminist about it, in my opinion, they weren't looking for a male to solve all their problems or save them or whatever else, they got on with it.

But to be completely honest, I didn't really like the story, it was interesting up to a certain point, but after a while I just didn't care, especially since they rushed at the end with the last four episodes.

Art: I loved the art! It suited the anime really well. It was unusual and not typically manga style, no big eyes, tiny nose or nose and it had a sort of American comic-ness about it, which I liked. I also liked the change in outfits between episodes, since I like fashion and it was nice to look at, although at times questionable....
The setting were drawn very well, giving it a feel that it was really taking place in New York. I was in New York once, four years ago for a couple of days and I felt, especially if the animators themselves have never been in New York.

Sound: The opening and ending suited the anime unlike some others *cough*Satashi Kon*cough*. The music was nice, nothing all too memorable, but nice. The only thing that really irked me was the break out in song by the characters, I hope the seiyuus don't ever think about embarking in singing careers.

Character: I stated beforehand how the story didn't really intrigue me, what made me want to watch this show is the character development. The girls were realistic, you felt that you may have known people like them back when you were in school ( or if you're still in school.) They didn't just agree with what was happening with them and each of them deal with their problems each in their personal way, nor was becoming friends an easy thing for them and they didn't already isolate their existing friends (when people get super powers they seem to like doing that). The other minor characters were also fleshed out, but not as much as they could be and could have been developed earlier in the show.

Enjoyment: I enjoyed watching this anime, and like I said the character development really made it for me and all the trials and tribulations I went through.

Overall: All in all, a series with a drawing style I really liked and wonderful character style, but a story which I didn't find all that intriguing (this really is completely personal taste, the story was not weak just not of my taste.) I think you should give it a try, although people may say it's a shoujo anime, but I think the way they executed it make it accessible for both men and women. So give it a try, alone for the character development and in my opinion a lovely and different art style.

Red Garden was an anime that I had seen many years ago. Being a fan of Seinen animes, I decided to rewatch the series. It's fairly underrated and obsure, but I had recalled that it was somewhat intriguing. Having gone back to rewatch the series, I realised I did not remember anything of it. So this review is from a fresh mindset.

This is the first I have ever written a review on anything, so I am not going to spoil the series or say anything negative about it.

The series revolves around four high school girls. Normally, I don't like high school animes, but this ... takes place in New York, rather Japan, so I found the setting and characters far more relatable. Also, much of the series take place outside of high school life and I found the characters to be mature adults, rather than reckless teenagers.

The first half of the anime was well paced, though it is a little slow in the way of character development, the protagonists do grow on you. The anime does a good job of making you empathetic to the characters and wishing for them to resolve the mysteries surrounding them. This anime does a great job in creating an aura of mystery surrounding characters and plot. And does nearly as well in making the characters somewhat unpredictable. This was different experience for myself and I thoroughly enjoyed the unpredictable nature of the characters and their progression.

The second half of the anime is fairly different though. Much of story starts to come together and the mystery begins to fade as we begin to understand the whole story. Unfortunately, for myself, the mystery was the best part of the anime and what kept me watching. The later half became difficult to watch and I found emotionally enthralling and actually somewhat depressing. I could be the only person, but be that this anime touches on serious topics and can be fairly disturbing in how blunt it is.

Overall, it's a unique anime. Far different the other anime I have seen. This is an anime, that I may rewatch in the future, but it was not without its difficulties. For myself, I found the later half far too depressing and consuming, but I believe others will come to enjoy this series. For myself, it has become one that I cannot forget.

If you can find it, I highly recommend Red Garden, whether dubbed or subbed.

Beautifully animated and strongly character driven.

PLOT: It's very difficult to write about Red Garden as its got so many elements. Part high school drama, part supernatural thriller and part musical, it deals with four very different young women who find themselves with superpowers, forced to work together to survive, thrown into a centuries old conflict and dead into the bargain! However for the majority of the time there isn't much action, Red Garden takes its time fleshing out the four girls, watching them attempt to adjust to their new predicament and at the same time solve their own private problems with their families/friends/love lives etc. ... Its slow paced for the most part and then kicks into high gear for the finale where all the underlying mystery element surrounding the whole ancient conflict aspect and Herve’s (the main antagonist) true motivations come out of the woodwork.

But for the majority of the time its all character development and this, for me, is a very good thing. We get to know Kate, Rose, Rachel and Claire extremely well – we know what motivates them, see their backgrounds and watch them struggle to maintain the balance of their everyday lives and their nocturnal battles with the Awakened. The fact that the four are all from very different social circles and that they don't even like each other to start with is also very realistic given we're dealing with teenage girls.

It's satisfying to get so much character development in a series, but the draw back to this is that the early episodes can seem fairly dull. The limited action scenes aren't overly impressive as the girls do not have instant control over their powers – much of their time is spent attempting to figure out how they do things, and the action is therefore chaotic, clumsy and repetitive. They do get their act together for the finale though and its much more impressive.

I don't want to go too much into the technicalities of the plot because that spoils the mystery element of the show – but I will say that the conclusion isn't entirely satisfying to all as its very open ended (avoid the OVA Dead Girls BTW – its complete and utter rubbish). We don’t get a lot of answers to all the questions in the fallout of the final confrontation – everything is left very up in the air, but since this series has always concentrated on the experiences of the four main girls I didn't mind all that much. Kate, Rose, Rachel and Claire don't get all the answers they were seeking and neither do we – Red Garden is all about the characters drama rather than the ancient struggle they get embroiled in.

ANIMATION: Another GONZO production and it is an absolutely gorgeous anime. The art-style is wonderful! Red Garden is set in New York city and the characters are drawn in a different style – slightly taller with more defined noses; a bit more realistic rather than the traditional stylistic anime style. Each episode is like a fashion parade – the girls wardrobes are varied and unique, reflecting their personalities backgrounds and the social circles they move in – very little is recycled. Each character is highly individual – no two look alike and you can tell that a lot of attention has been paid to detailing. As I mentioned the action scenes are few and far between, but there are two memorable and excellently choreographed action sequences that stand above the rest. The background animation is also something special – fabulously rendered depictions of actual NYC locations and lots of attention to detail – overall I think GONZO did quite a good job at giving Red Garden a very unique feel.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I mentioned there was a ‘musical’ aspect to the show – it shows itself when the director decided it would be a good idea to have the girls break out into song at particularly emotional times…….I personally don't think this was a good idea. The seiyuu are not professional singers by any stretch of the imagination and these spontaneous musical moments are just uncomfortable to listen to. Thankfully they are very occasional. On the whole the music is very good though – quite liked the OP and the EDs in particular. The seiyuu are excellent (when they are not singing ) – the dialogue was recorded prior to the animation so the actors had more freedom with their interpretation of the script – it comes across very well and the four main characters have excellent chemistry.

I personally really liked Red Garden – it has its flaws and may not be to everyone’s taste; but I love character based drama and this show has it in spades. The plot may not be completely solid, if it was paced a bit better Red Garden would have been a masterpiece – as it stands its still a very good series.

I have just finished this series and although there were many a times where I wanted to just quit watching, I'm glad that I stuck it through. Admittedly, when I first started watching the series, the music, the art, the story, and the voices freaked me out a bit (I can't take horror one bit), but if I could get over it, so will you. The story develops slowly in the beginning but picks up pace somewhere around episode 12.

For a good background on the story and brief episode summaries, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Garden

If you do plan on watching this series (which I recommend you do!), ... be prepared for several things:

1. The Crying - this will not go away. Get used to it or skip ahead like I did. Especially Rose...omg...just thinking about it is grating on my nerves...

2. The Bitchiness - Claire and Rachel have a bit of a mean streak in them. You'll grow to love them, but they have moments where they are so cruel to the boys that love them and other girls. But, as you'll see when you're watching the anime...they have a very good reason to act the way they do!

3. Creepy Random Singing - So, I don't remember what episode it started in...maybe even episode 1...but I found myself confused when the anime turned into a musical...albeit a few minutes...but all the girls just started singing. Then in later episodes other people sing too! And the singing is downright creepy! But also kind of pretty.

It's hard for me to understand why Red Garden is only rated 7.12 right now. Its characterization, art, and music are phenomenal, so the main reason people may not like it is because the plot and lore aren’t well thought-out. And the singing isn’t very good.

Red Garden works by juxtaposing supernatural horror elements and life or death stakes alongside the realistic everyday struggles of four girls, who have to go to school by day and fight zombies by night. Normally, I am highly adverse to high school slice of life melodrama, but in this case the infusion of the outlandish elements enhances the dramatic ... aspects.

Even by itself, though, the drama is well written, propped up by three-dimensional, sympathetic, and realistic characters in a grounded New York City setting. We follow Kate, Claire, Rachel, and Rose as they struggle with issues like negligent fathers, financial troubles, academic duties, and social pressure--- all staple tropes of slice of life/drama stories. The girls themselves also follow well-worn character archetypes--- Claire is a tomboy, Rachel is a vain popular girl, Rose is spineless, and Lisa is reserved. This could easily have fallen into a pile of trash like all the other teen melodramas, but the tender care with which the girls’ struggles are rendered makes their stories incredibly endearing.

One way Red Garden accomplishes this is making some of the most visceral fight scenes I’ve seen in animation. The fight scenes are notable not because of any well choreographed action, but precisely because they capture the messiness, desperation, and paralyzing fear of having to fight for your life against a monstrous creature. The girls’ individual reactions in these fights are realistically understood by the writers and poignantly conveyed by the animators. The fight scenes not only succeed in immediately grounding us in the world and making us feel for the characters, but also in precisely conveying the personalities of each of the four girls.

What’s really interesting to me, is how those personalities then play out in regular everyday life as the girls face more mundane yet equally compelling problems. During the first fight scene, we all root for Claire because she’s the bravest and strongest of the four--- the only one not reduced to a whimpering mess frozen in fear before the zombie. Rose is easily the most unlikable in the fight scenes because she’s so scared she can’t even hit a zombie that the others are holding down for her. Yet, later we see how Claire’s bravery under duress is also the same quality that makes her confrontational, irritable, and stubborn with those around her, which causes problems with her boyfriend, employer, and family. Conversely, Rose enjoys the best relationship with her family and is an excellent caregiver to her elementary school age siblings in place of her hospitalized mom.

If Claire and Rose are the two extremes, then Kate is the middle, the glue that keeps the group stable. She functions as a reprieve from the more turbulent storylines of the other three. As such, she is the least dynamic of the group, but just because her reactions to her struggles are more subdued doesn’t make her arc any less interesting to watch.

Lastly, Rachel starts out as the typical peacocky popular girl plucked from her clique. Her initial conversations with her friends expectedly sound like, “Totally… Oh my god did you hear what Ashley said to Josh at the party? I am SO jealous of those nails…”--- typical airheaded high school girl talk. Her storyline has a Gossip Girl feel to it, which would normally make me turn the channel, but I got the sense that Red Garden was self-aware of how superficial Rachel’s life was.

Rachel’s arc exemplifies the role of the supernatural elements in this story. Because if you wanted to tell a story about the mundane struggles of four high school girls, why not just make it any other high school slice of life? Why not make something like the Breakfast Club, where these teens come together from opposite ends?

The supernatural elements are important for presenting life-or-death stakes into the otherwise ordinary lives of four students. This tackles the primary reason why I avoid all high school dramas and dramas in general--- I usually don’t care about the problems faced by the characters. The high school experience is just overdramatized and overemphasized to no end. They play up those happy endings where the student supposedly achieves self-actualization after smoothing over his relationships and/or accomplishing some club achievement like it’s a happily ever after, complete with falling cherry blossoms and all. On one level it might be because I don’t find any of that shit important at all, not the social life, not the clubs, and not the achievements. But the root of the matter is that the way it’s portrayed is idealized, commercialized, and plasticky. It’s looking at life through a TV, like conceptualizing romance through rom-coms (yes, all media is looking at life through a screen, technically, but the best art is supposed to force us to look at life).

Though I think Red Garden’s drama avoids doing this, it is the life-or-death stakes that knock down this entire issue. The life-or-death stakes force the girls to seriously contemplate what they really value in their lives and what they actually live for. There’s actually little on-screen fighting in the show, but the raw, non-glamorized way the fight scenes are presented are more than enough to instill a grim undercurrent throughout the story. Back to Rachel:

SPOILERS Rachel’s experiences with the zombies distances her from the superficial lives of her clique and she finds better conversation with one of her teachers instead. She begins taking an actual interest in learning things. ENDSPOILERS

It’s certainly not a new arc--- every ordinary school girl who becomes an action girl can be said to experience a similar thing. However, in this context, where the focus on how the action impacts the personal life of the character rather than the action and save-the-world plot itself, it’s a welcome piece of character growth that deconstructs popular drama tropes. At the same time, rather than take the focus away from the mundane slice of life stuff, the life-or-death stakes only reinforce their emotional weight. By forcing the girls to find what they really value in their lives and having them fight for it, it increases the viewers’ investment in their struggles.

Applying this to real life, personally I would’ve lived life differently if I had been forced with the same situation. Being locked in on doing well academically, I would’ve had to reconsider what was really important to me and what I really lived for. I know because I did. Physical problems forced me to ask these questions just like they did with the characters of Red Garden.

At the same time, it’s more than a simple “How would you live your life if you only have a month to live” situation. It’s also about the struggle of living itself, of living with pain, of living in spite of impending doom.

The struggles alone would not have been engaging if the characters didn’t have the personality to support them, but the aesthetic elements greatly contributed as well. Despite everything I said about the writing, I don’t think I would’ve given half my praise for the show if it had been drawn in the typical nauseating style of most high school anime. Red Garden's lines are drawn with such tenderness and delicacy, bringing out the sensitive, vulnerable human core from the characters.

This feeling is captured by the heart-wrenching yet lovely music (excluding the ED, a rap song which clashes sharply with the tone of the series). Yes, that includes the singing. The voice actresses in both dubs were unable to hit their notes, but the intended melodies of the songs were good. You can look up one of the songs as sung by an actual singer--- Kokia - Shiro ~ Watashi Tachi no Hibiki--- and tell me if that isn’t deeply resonant with dire moments in life when you’re struggling to keep your head above the waters of sadness.

So it’s not only the hectic, horrifying fight scenes, but also the moments of calm where the girls pour out their sentiments in song and face their individual struggles in solidarity, that provide such an immersive experience. Though some may find the singing out of place, but I think it fits both the sophisticated, curvey aesthetic and the emotional current. If only the singing was better.

The setting of New York City itself and the colorful way it’s drawn is appealing, a breath of fresh air from all the Tokyo streets. As a native I’m quite pleased with how well they captured some aspects of the city, down to the interior of the subways.

I think I’ve said enough positive things about the show. It is only rated 7.12 after all. The biggest issue is that the backstory behind the whole killing zombies thing was not well thought out or well presented, as it takes a backseat to the character drama. Combined with the ending, there are several things that don’t make sense if you think about it for more than a second. Furthermore, viewers expecting this to be a supernatural action show will be disappointed, as most of it is following how the girls cope with the aftermath of their fights rather than the fights themselves. Some may find this boring, and it can be argued that Red Garden just invokes daddy issues x2 and boyfriend issues x3 for the girls’ stories. In addition, there were some instances where Red Garden walked the line between being realistically dramatic and soap opera melodramatic.

All in all, if you can focus on Red Garden’s strengths in character over its weaknesses in plot, and the singing and art style appeal to you, you’re in for a good experience.

This supernatural drama does enough to keep you hooked on its developments thanks to its fleshed-out characters and surprising plot developments. Retaining a consistent bittersweet mood throughout its 22 episode run, Red Garden explores four American high school girls coping with the shocking fact that they are now dead and forced to fight against humans who become monsters. The show explores the psychological states of the girls as they adjust to this new experience and find themselves having difficulty mixing their everyday routines with their not-so-normal predicaments. The series does enough to flesh-out the different lifestyles and upbringings of the four girls so you get ... enough sense of how the girls learn to cope with their undead status while dealing with personal issues and strain in the relationships they had while still alive. This depth also extends to some of the antagonists confronted by the girls in the series who are fleshed out enough to be tragic villains due to their personal desires and the closeness one of them has with one of the girl's families.

In terms of plot development, the supernatural element to the series is slowly explored as focus is also put on the everyday activity of the girls. The girls come to learn that whomever brought them back from the dead is in a rivalry with another faction and learn of some shocking and tragic developments concerning those connected to the conflict, especially as some of it concerns their own fates. This flows along well with Red Garden's bittersweet mood and adds some suspense to keep one hooked on what will be unveiled next with both factions in the series.

However, the show would have been better off running for several more episodes as it lacks the time to fully flesh out its supernatural elements and the final few episodes got fairly rushed in resolving the rivalry. Much of Red Garden's pacing was fairly smooth as it took its time with building up events and exploring its major characters. But once the later episodes rolled along, the series quickly gets things heated with the mentioned factions without much background provided as to how things escalated between them and knowing more of their personal histories. As a result, I could care less about whatever happened among the characters of both factions (particularly Lula and JC) because of Red Garden being largely focused on the tragic situation facing the four high school girls and main baddie Herve. Also, I couldn't really understand what drew all four girls to their so-called close friend Lise considering all four belonged to different social cliques and the series doesn't bother focusing on how each one interacted with her. Not to mention the occasions where the girls sung felt like a waste of time to even have as the moments didn't seem to symbolize anything within the series.

The presentation of Red Garden is a mixed bag. Settings of the various New York City locales were vast and highly detailed being quite a sight to see. Character designs are a bit unconventionally drawn as facial designs are seemingly simple yet clothing designs have a good amount of detail applied to them. Animation is clearly Red Garden's weakest area as action sequences tend to get a bit sloppy and I could spot some apparent shortcuts. As for the show's soundtrack, Red Garden makes use of some dramatic musical pieces for insert music that flow well with the show's mood. However, the show's upbeat and energetic OP and ED musical choices, while unique, feel out of place with the serious and tragic developments of the series.

While Red Garden does have some glaring flaws, it is still an effective character drama focused around four girls finding themselves forced into a supernatural conflict of the unknown as they slowly come together as close friends and struggling to retain whatever normalcy they had in their lives while still alive. It's not a perfect series, but it is definitely worth watching if you crave supernatural and/or character-driven dramas.

the reason that this is one of my favorite anime is because it was the first anime that i watched so that was the main reason for me liking it too much. and then i was introduced to much better anime but to this day it is one of my favorite anime. characters were likable and it was great watching this series.

THIS IS A HIDDEN GEM! READ THIS REVIEW SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT ON WORK OF ART!

Summary: From the first episode I knew this series was something special (in the 1st episode each of the 4 girls sing part of a sad and heartfelt song, reminding me a bit of a musical). The initial look and feel comes out of a 1970's cartoon... these girls could fit in perfectly with Scooby Doo and the gang. That being said, the art was refreshing. Dark where it needed to be, bright in other instances. I really enjoyed the unique perspective. The music also enhanced the mood. One ... thing to note is the intro song and outro song are so uncharacteristic of the anime, it just added to the perfection.

The story is dark, no doubt about it. It has death, murder, violence and "monsters". That said, unless you are strongly against that, I suggest watching it. Despite being dark, it is touching and heartwarming that each character is given deep development (most of which amount to understand the meaning of life only after death and what each girl really treasures and what friendship really means). Each of the girls comes from an extremely different background and coming together to relate to each other is something really special. Since the only common link between them is a friendship with the dead girl Lise, they have little to tie them together and thus there is internal turmoil that adds to the plot. There are twists and turns, and you are given glimpses of an overall dark plot slowly enough so that you want to keep pushing forward. Really, what is funny is the murder, mystery and sci-fi fighting elements of this anime are just drops in the bucket of what this anime really is: a deep and thoughtful character study.

The one fault with the anime is that there are several plot points that aren't really explained. A lot of the super natural elements are glossed over and the ending is ambiguous. That said, I didn't care at all. Unlike tons of other anime where that was a glaring problem, I didn't notice or care at all because I was too busy engulfed in the characters. In fact, normally I would complain and say that background information that comes at the price of character development and a strong conclusion isn't worth it; this is a prime example.

In summary, this is a murder/mystery anime that is extremely unique and thought provoking. It will put you on an emotional roller coaster that will leave you feeling satisfied and questioning what is important in your own life. This is a MUST SEE for anyone who doesn't have strong objections of some violence and gore.

Story 10 / Art 8 / Sound 9 / Character 10 / Enjoyment 9 / Overall 10

Red Garden is one of those animes that isnt highy popular. Its a shame. This show is a very good one. While some people might be thrown off because of the art the story completly makes up for it. You are thrown into their world where as the four main characters, you have no idea what is going on or why its happening to the girls who seems perfectly normal and dont not share anything simlilar nor are they in the same social pool, but yet they are all drawn together by something dark and by a friend that each of the girls knew that ... mysteriously dies...
As the story progesses so does the bonds these girls make together and so does the mysteries of their friends death that leads to everything bizzare happening to them.

Dont pass this show up! Its a good one!

Well, I'm a fan of Seinen type anime, and this one looked great, only for the first half of the series. What I found very weak was the character development. The series delves into progression of the lead female characters and how being dead changes their perspective and how they mature. But then it stops, and you see the vice-versa in the Hervey Character. In the end- it doesn't matter which side wins or loses, and the 4 girls knew that, regardless, they had no problem eliminating the other faction. In the end, the most suffered person was Hervey, watching all people he cared for ... turning into monster. So instead of giving him a victim persona, Kate was victimized and Hervey was demonized! After watching this show for 22 episodes, you don't see any "real" character development, and only side drama stuff!

Red Garden starts off with an intriguing premise that screams mystery. Yet while its initial setup is what draws viewers in, the general plot doesn’t carry on at a particularly fast pace. It takes some time for the main four girls of the series to figure out their situation entirely, along with what they must do and the consequences of the burdens they bear. While some people may consider the anime too much of a slow burn, important character moments are interspersed among the main story; and honestly it’s the characters that are the big focus here.

Each member of the main cast, which consists of ... Kate, Claire, Rachel, and Rose, gets a great amount of time in the spotlight throughout the show’s runtime. Much emphasis is put on their personal struggles alongside their coming to grips with their roles in the story. Moments of denials, rejections, and acceptances are present within each of their narratives, and each girl has a series of character arcs which they progress through at a steady rate. You could consider this to be like a mini ensemble cast in regard to the main characters. However even the side characters get some time in the limelight as well, whether it be a solo focus or supporting the main girls as a group or individually.

The character writing itself is also something to be admired. In addition to dealing with their ongoing situation, the main four also face the obstacles present in their daily lives in ways that are very grounded and relatable. For just one example of how the character writing is handled, there’s one scene where two characters get into a big argument over family matters. They repeatedly talk over each other as things escalate, which is something you would often see in a heated argument in real life, but not so much in the average anime. It made me curious about who was in charge of the writing, and I found it was none other than the famed Mari Okada, who has done scriptwriting work for series such as AnoHana, Toradora, and Nagi no Asukara, among others; now it’s not so surprising to me as to why the characters of Red Garden are so good.

Before I digress too much, I just wanted to reinforce the point that none of the characters feel flat, and because of this each character moment was gripping; this made me really care about each scene whether it directly pushed the plot forward or not. Going back to the main plot, it isn’t anything truly amazing, but put simply it works. At first I was hoping certain plot points would be more fleshed out, or others made more apparently clear, but later I realized this story especially was more of a vehicle to drive the characters forward. The way that the story pushes the characters to deal with their problems and progress their arcs was done so in a suitable way. If the overarching story beats had been a much bigger focus here, it may have taken away from the development of the characters in other areas. So for those reasons I can’t fault the story itself.

Now as for the soundtrack, it may be a bit of a mixed bag depending on who you ask. I feel that the opening is great and matches the series perfectly. The theme is very jazzy and lyrics encapsulate the tone of the show. Endings-wise, the songs performed by visual kei band LM.C are a bit harder to consider fit for the show. But I personally enjoy these songs and they do (lyrically) match the themes of the show to an extent. The rest of the music I would say fits the show appropriately, and the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about it is “classy”. One point I didn’t mention earlier is that the characters occasionally break out into song at certain points in the anime. Some may consider this jarring and breaking the pace of the story, but I personally didn’t mind it. At any rate these “singalongs” are mostly in the beginning episodes and not a constant presence. Another thing in particular I really liked is the intermissions at the halfway point of each episode, complete with the classy tunes and nice intermission frames featuring artwork similar to that found in the opening.

Speaking of art, the art style of Red Garden is quite unique among anime. The character designs in particular are far more grounded in realism compared to the standard anime look. This made each character unique and their appearance memorable. Overall it may take some getting used to but I found the character designs very pleasant to look at. Admittedly the art itself can look a bit muddied especially in far off shots, so not everything is perfect. But as this is a Studio Gonzo anime I can forgive this, since they’re not exactly known for peak production values. I can say similar about the animation, which I feel is fine even when it comes to the action scenes; it is acceptable in that it doesn’t affect enjoyment or the quality of the other elements.

With all that said I greatly enjoyed Red Garden and found it engaging all the way through. It isn’t among the most technically impressive in the anime medium, and it may not win any awards for story (although it isn’t a bad one). However, the characters and their writing in general is phenomenal. Along with this the style, tone, and overall feel of the show is unlike anything else I’ve seen in anime. With this in mind I’d give Red Garden a 9/10 for being so different yet also succeeding incredibly in its strengths.

On one last note: the Red Garden: Dead Girls OVA is a bit of a curveball. You may love it or hate it depending on how you perceive the series proper. I personally really liked its concept and approach!

I rewatched this anime recently when it was added to Crunchyroll and remembered having the same thoughts when I first saw it a decade ago. It’s like... a zombie musical?

STORY: Such a mish-mash of themes, like the writers and producers couldn’t decide what feel they wanted it to have. There’s typical high school drama while the characters try to deal with being undead, as well as the permanent death of a friend, and they’re all from different high school cliques. Interesting enough, I guess. When you watch it, don’t forget the epilogue OVA. It changes the character personalities completely (reminded me of Mnemosyne).

CHARACTERS: ... This is one of the only anime that I feel is a good representation of American characters. They’re all very different, none of them over the top “Hullo, I am from Texas and am super rude, tall, busty, and love basuball!”

ANIMATION: Well. There were good intentions had, I’m sure. The character design is great, if not exaggerated. Do all Americans really look like this to non-Americans? Besides that, at least there is variety in the character design. But beyond that, it’s one of those anime that has coloring issues. The sky is a big, flat, neon blue with zero dimension (think Ouran Host Club). There’s a weird gradient over most things, including our characters’ hair, like the sun is just so damn bright that it is fading them from the top down.

SOUND: Like I said: zombie musical. Sad? Sing a song. Dead? Sing a song. Really confused about this plot? Hey, let’s sing a song. Other than that, the characters’ voices can be grating, especially when they freak out (which is often).

When I write my reviews I like to keep them short and straight to the point, without any spoilers.

The story line was definitely something that gets your attention. The concept of life after death is something that people really think about. I LOVED that all the main characters were girls. Nonetheless their are certain flaws that I noticed. Questions like why did these girls die in the first place? This question was never answered in the first place. Also certain times I felt like the story was being dragged out and slowly became bored with it.

Art- The art was modern with a pinch of ... vintage. It was nice how the illustrators blended these colors together.

Sound- The sound was also modern.

Character- There was some character developments within the story. As viewers we noticed certain personality traits within each main that any person could relate to. I believe that each character really compliments the other with the certain aspect of their personality. Nonetheless, I did not become attached to any particular character.

Enjoyment- Overall I really did enjoy this anime. Some moments were filled with laughter and others with despair and drama. There were concepts of romance, drama, comedy, gore, horror and thriller in this anime. I liked how no one concept over shadowed the rest.

Even tho this review is very late, I'll just give out my thoughts anyway. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

~Story:
This is kinda tricky. At first I thought the anime was gonna tell it's story and let you observe and think, but around the end it ends up explaining certain topics of what the heck is going on. Which would make the story feel incomplete because there are so many questions unanswered and some stuff not explored enough. Though, the story itself and how it's presented is very interesting, but not much is explored which made me feel kinda empty and unsatisified around the end.

~Art:
I really love ... the art style in Red Garden. The use of colors and gradient is very pleasing and the art itself gives a mature feel. I love how defined or detailed the features of some of the character's face is. Such as different nose shape.

Sound:
Just like the art, I loved the soundtrack in this anime. It matches the tone of the anime well enough. The opening is so nice to listen to along with the visuals. The endings I enjoyed a bit, but felt a bit out of place for the anime, in my opinion.


~Character:
The characters are a mixed bunch for me, both side and main, but I will discuss the main characters first: Kate, Rachel, Claire, and Rose. If I had to rate them it would go Rose->Claire->Kate->Rachel. The reason why Rose is top for me, despite being not very useful in battle and shown crying most of the time, is because I enjoyed her development and Rose herself. She is shown to be timid and shy. But other times she has shown to be hardworking, determined, puts her family first, and does get angry at times. Like I mentioned, most episodes Rose cowers in fear, but she does get called out for it (tho a little late) and she does try to improve herself after that. I did wish the anime showed more of her fighting in confidence because the only time we see her kicking some ass is around the very few episodes. Which is such a letdown. Rose being very family oriented is very nice to see, I found it admirable to see her look for her father despite him leaving the family.

Now Claire is second because there are times where she is a jerk towards her guy freind, Yuane, when he's shown to try to be there for her most of the time. But she does show to be regretful of her actions and does try to make it up for him at least. The moments of Claire and her boss and family was so nice to see. Especially that small argument between her and her dad. Which makes it a bit satisfying and sad to see her finally reconnect with them again. Though, not much is explained about her dead mother. But her character development is one of the better ones. Kate is not the most interesting one tbh, but she's not a bad protagonist. I just can't think of anything that makes her stand out to me. The scenes of her and Herve does show a different side to Kate which I liked to see more of because she does not interact with other characters like the other three girls do. Despite there being some kind of history between her and Paula, another Grace member, yet they don't hang out much. Like seriously Paula is shown to be either this big sister figure or in love with Kate.

Rachel is fourth because of how much she frustrated me lol. Though, I do not hate her, I did like her at first. What made her last is because of her unfair treatment towards Luke, her bf then ex. The scenes between her and Luke was just hard to watch. Every time Luke wants to do something with her, she just seems so unwilling and somehow can't think of an excuse which makes her look even more suspicious. Even on a date they went to she doesn't seem like she's his girlfriend. Yet she's shown to hang out with the teacher for some reason, who is married thank GOD the anime didn't go the love triangle route, which gives Luke misunderstandings. And rightfully so cause she seems like she doesn't want to clear anything and just leave him in the dust. To the point I'm glad they broke up. YET Rachel is shown to have feelings for Luke which makes everything so confusing because of her actions. Funny how she explains what she'll be doing to a guy friend we barely see, but not Luke :/

The side characters will be short because the anime does not give much time for them lmao. There is a lot of side characters yet not a lot stick out to me cause some are either pointless (The Cops and Nick the teacher) or don't get proper development. The most interesting one would have to be Herve. Just like Rose, he's family oriented and would do anything for his family even though he ended up failing at the end. Lise was the least interesting one despite being an important one in the anime lol. We just don't get much out of her except she was well loved but I never cared about her because we don't get much.


~Enjoyment:
My enjoyment was mixed. Some episodes I really enjoyed, but most episodes were so slow and not the good kind because it's not like they were showing much. Which made watching some epiosdes feel like a chore because not much is happening even though the anime could've explored something else that isn't the main plot. Such as Kate and Paula, Lise herself, Rachel's mom, the other girls involved, and so on.


~Overall:
I would recommend this anime. But more like if you're looking for something different to watch and got nothing. The action is decent, the main characters aren't bad, the soundtrack is great, and the art is so nice to look at. The story is interesting but might make you feel empty after finishing if you wanted answers on certain things. Since the anime ends up explaining some of the plot at the end anyway. Red Garden would have been a 9 or 10 for me if most of the epiosdes didn't feel so slow or used better time such as showing character development. But I rated it a 7, thanks to the art and soundtrack, without those it would be a 5.