Levius

This review is spoiler free!
A while back, I saw the trailer when it was first released on Netflix. The trailer didn't hook me at all. Part of it was due to the CGI style, which isn't my thing. To each their own, and I know that CGI helps a lot in animating action and fight sequences, so I don't hold it against the show itself.

My poor rating for the anime is due to me forgetting it existed and later picking up the Deluxe manga (has all three volumes in it) and finding the manga to be absolutely amazing. Note that at this time I still ... have not remembered seeing/hearing about the anime and it was vaguely familiar upon stumbling upon the manga in the bookstore.

There are a lot of style changes between the manga and anime, giving it a poor representation of the grit and grime of the actual story. Within the first 7 minutes of watching the first episode, I was able to point out many differences. And much of these differences I found were the reason why the anime adaptation seemed to be lacking in catching attention and traction for me when I first saw the trailer.

To me, it is very generic and boring. Even my one of my favorite characters, Levius, seemed "dead" in my eyes. While in the manga he is on the quiet side of things, it was quite clear that his character had "life" to it.

To add, the fight scenes in the anime lack weight, every hit and punch just looks and feels like it is air brushing the opponents. While I understand that this can be a downfall of CGI, it is still possible to stylize it to make it have the weight it needs.

Overall, everything just seemed unnatural and bland for such an incredible story. A poor adaptation of an amazing dirty, sad, and gut-wrenching story.

I can see, however, why some may absolutely love it. But again, to each their own and I'm glad that some do like it, it's just not for me. I much prefer the manga and it's incredible attention to detail for everything.