Fantastic Children

Story:
The beginning of the story is part mystery and part adventure, focusing on a group of half a dozen white haired kids making an appearance through out centuries seemingly without aging and the other time focusing on a kid called Thoma who meets some anti-social girl called Helga and a energetic boy called Chitto. I admit the story was a bit underwhelming at first but once the story unfolds in later episode, you'll be hooked straight away, it turns into something quite epic and unique, there's so many twist and turns and you'd just watch episode after episode and without even noticing it's already over.

Animation:
The ... art style can be a bit of a turn off for some people, they might even think this is a kids show but fear not this is quite mature even if the first few episodes are light-hearted they're nothing compared to what happens next.

Anyway, as you get used to the art, it becomes more apparent that it's done quite well, lots of attractive looking backgrounds and pretty solid animations.

Sound:
The background music can really manipulate the emotions of certain scenes, they really help make pivotal moments in the story have more impact. The OP fit the series perfectly too bad I had to skip on occasion since I just really wanted to get on with the story, While the ED is sang by ORIGA the same singer who lent her voice for the majority of the GITS soundtrack.

Character:
How they made the connections with each character was great, most of the characters had a certain connection to the main plot, the importance of characters become unpredictable that you'd be shocked when the story finally reveals what their purpose are. Honestly every character was interesting and it was nice to see that they all had a part to play they weren't just some random people thrown in together to make episodes last longer.

Overall:
A lot of people would probably just ignore it after looking at the front picture alone, which is too bad because it's a pretty damn good show with a unique and interesting plot along with a great cast and a solid OST, you might not like it as much as I did but I guarantee it's definitely worth watching, it's only real flaw is how lame the name is.

STORY

At first glance, this looks like some weird story about kids, targeted at kids. But don't be fooled by the simple character design or the title. This series is actually quite intense, with a memorable and complex plot and good storytelling that will draw older viewers waiting with bated breath for what happens next. It is definitely not a series just for children.

The story revolves around a group of mysterious children who appear every once in a while throughout Europe. Who are they, where are they from, and why do they keep on reappearing? These are some of the questions that are being answered bit ... by bit throughout the series. At the same time, the story also follows another group of children who have run away from the local orphanage, and are searching for a place they want to go. At first, it seems that these two main plots have nothing to do with each other, but at the middle of the series, the two plots converge, and the viewer discovers that they are closely connected after all.

There are also a couple of sidestories with a few adults involving something almost supernatural. Although these sidestories seem off-track, they are related to the main plot in one way or another, and are tied together in the last few episodes.

The plot is fairly complex and quite involved, but not to a point where it's confusing. The story is told in a way that it's pretty understandable if you pay attention to it. The story is full of surprises, twists, and secrets that will keep the viewer guessing and wondering what happens next.

The tone of the series is mostly serious. But there is room for some bits of humour and lighthearted fun. There are also a few philosophical questions subtlely being looked at, such as what makes us who we are as humans, is it our souls or our current selves? In terms of love, there are many types being explored: romantic, family, friendships, unrequited, and broken.


CHARACTERS

Even though it doesn't look like it at first, each character is connected to one another in one way or another, and that connection is revealed piece by piece throughout the series.

The Children of Belfort: This is the name given to seven mysterious white-haired, blue-eyed children who have appeared for 21 times in the last couple of centuries. They'd gather and run away from their homes when they turn 5, and never live past the age of 11. They search desperately for something before their time is up. The way they talk and act make them more like adults than children. At first, they seem cold and distant, and even perhaps malevonant. But as their stories and pasts are revealed, the viewer comes to feel compassion for them, and their mission. Each person has their own stories and own unique personalities that will touch the viewers' hearts.

Dumas: The mysterious white-haired boy who appears a few times at the beginning of the series. Appearance-wise, he seems to be one of the Children of Belfort, but he doesn't seem to be working with them. Who he is and his background story will be revealed later in the series.

Helga: She is an orphan who is kind, but seems to be always lonely. She keeps on drawing pictures of a mysterious place that she wants to go, and she would run away from the orphanage to search for the place in her memory. Her friend Chitto is determined to help her get there. At first she seems meek and timid and always in a daze, but as the series progresses, her inner strength is slowly unveiled.

Thoma: He grew up around the Islands, and knows them well. He meets Chitto and Helga by chance, and is drawn to help Helga get to the place she wants to go. He is a determined young boy who is open and shows emotions easily. Little does he know, he's more closely connected to the Children of Belfort and Helga than he realises.

Dr. Gherta: She is the director and doctor of the mysterious and suspicious organization Ged Group. A brilliant scientist, she's somewhat single-minded and almost obsessive with her project, which, for most of the series, is unclear and even almost malicious. But the viewer gradually sympathizes with her plight, especially towards the end when she has a few secrets of her own to unravel.

Detective Cooks: A detective who has been investigating the disappearance of these children, he got interested in them because his grandfather was involved with the children during his lifetime, and Cooks became curious of his grandfather's findings. As more of a spectator, his sidestory gives the viewer some background information and history to the Children of Belfort.

All of the characters are pretty human, and although they main characters are only children, the circumstances that they're involved in and how they react make them seem older, and thus even an older audience can relate to them. By the end of the series, the viewer is able to sympathize with all of the characters, even if at first they may seem unlikable or malicious.


ART

The character design and art style is certainly unique, though not the prettiest; in fact, the designs could be said to be boring and quite simple. The children are designed more or less short and a bit stubby, and not a lot of details is given in the eye or hair area. The clothing design is also a bit boring, though it has a country-style flavour to it. However, the expressions for the characters are mostly well-done.

The background art is very beautiful, with lots of lush forests and unexplored islands. The setting has a sort of semi-tropical or Central/South American feel to it (the ruins of temples and statues remind me of the Aztec or Mayan ruins, but also has a sort of exotic island feel), or maybe with a dash of exotic Asian feeling too (with some of the statues looking a bit like Buddhist statues, and the colourful and busy marketplace of Middle East). The cities though, take on a more 19th century European flavour (even though the story is set in 2012), with cobble-stone streets and stocky buildings.

In general, the art is just different, and may take some getting used to. Instead of following the latest trend of shiny backgrounds, brightly coloured and detailed character designs, this series is going against the grain by looking back to the style of the older animes. The general colour palette of the series is kind of dark, with mostly grays and greens and blues, with a lot of scenes taking place during storms or at night; it's not neccessarily drab, but it's certainly not brightly coloured. There are a few exceptions with the scenes taking place in the forest on the islands, where the colours are contrasted sharply with the darker scences, using lots of bright greens and yellows. But I think this lack of shiny backgrounds and special effects, and simple character design does add to the sadness and longing feeling of the story. And rather focusing on the character designs (and fanservice), the simple art makes the viewer able to pay more attention to the story and character development.



VOICES

The voices for this series is okay. It doesn't really stand out anywhere, but it is mostly ear-pleasing and suitable for the characters. And most of the actors do a good enough job bringing out the emotions, especially towards the end, the viewers can almost feel the characters sorrow or joy.

MUSIC

The music is one of the strengths of this series. The opening song "Voyage" by Inori, is dramatic and uplifting, but also gentle and calming, a perfect opening for the series. It is also used as an insert song for one of the episodes, but with a slightly different arrangement, it's slower, with piano and cello in the background, and adds a sense of sadness to the scene. The ending song, "Mizu no Madoromi" by ORIGA (who sang both of GiTS openings) is sad and nostalgic, as if longing for something, and very fitting to the theme of the series. I would definately recommend getting the opening and ending singles (it's one of the best I've heard).

The background music uses a combination of piano, cello, and a bit of flute. The theme for the Belfort Children is very memorable (with piano and cello), and a bit sad, like the fate of these children. The only downside is that this theme is a bit overused, being played in almost every episode. Helga's theme (which is mostly flute and cello) is also gentle and pretty, and suits her character well. The background music is mostly soft and sad, with a few upbeat songs for the tenser scenes. It uses raw traditional instrumental sounds rather then edited sound effects, which works well. And I'd recommend getting the OST "Memory of Greecia" as well.


PRESENTATION

The first half of the series takes place in the current world at the current time, mostly following the adventures of Helga, Thoma, and Chitto, as well as that of the Children of Belfort and the people around them. Then the next couple of episodes focus on the background story and history of the series. Then that last ten or so episodes brings the characters and sidestories from the beginning of the series and tie everything together.

The pace may seem a bit slow for those who are used to action right away and in every episode. Many of the episodes are used to tell the story and advance the plot, or explain the history and background rather than pure action. And because of the complex plot and how everything is weaved together, some parts of the plot may take some time to develop. But I found it interesting enough that it's not a boring explaination, and it does help to understand the plot much better. And worry not, there are plenty of action interspersed throughout. Personally, I find the pace okay, it's just that there's so much to take in and explain that it takes time. I find the plot to be interesting, and not too confusing to understand, and it did leave me wanting to know more after every episode. And in the end, all of the questions that I wanted to ask have been answered, so I find the ending to be satisfying.

Overall, it is an enjoyable series, and I'd recommend it. In fact, I think this series needs more love and attention.

Things go pretty slowly for a while, but if you're watching and wondering if things eventually pick up, well, yes, they do, around ep. 11, and most of what happens is explained, although it's not really anything as complex and sophisticated as Stand Alone Complex and there are certainly a few loose ends and deus ex machinii. (Not as complex as Stand Alone Complex? Just call me Unrealistic Expectations Man.) Normally I drop a show 2 eps in if it doesn't catch my interest, but this is a favorite of one of my friends here, so I kept watching.

What do I think? I think it ... could have used a bigger animation budget and could have been cut down from 26 to 22 or even 20 episodes.

Animation is kind of low budget. Fantastic Children looks and feels like it was made in the '80s. The color palette should have at least been more vibrant. I mean, sure, you have only so much money for your budget. But if you look at, say, Noir, or Requiem from the Darkness, they managed to have some interesting animation without spending a ton of money on it. What if everything looked like the paintings in the ED? OK, maybe that's impractical, but it's still possible to look interesting on a budget.

There is way too much time spent on shots of people just standing around, or extended close-ups of people looking surprised. There are a few things where a situation is first explained, then shown. It would have been better if it had just been shown. And, in general, the pacing is just a bit too slow for me. It's not that I don't appreciate Mushishi or Kino's, but that's not the style of this series. You can almost but not quite just skip a couple of the early episodes. Just don't watch eps 1-10 when you feel like watching something where lots of stuff is happening.

There are a few pretty silly things. The guys with hats, for example. It's also a bit disappointing how not all of the characters that a lot of time is spent with get to actually do much.

Voice acting is good. (The characters get intense towards the end, which is tough to do.) Some of the music, like in the last parts of ep 18, is alright too. (Yes I like the ep 18 Russian version of the ED better. So sue me.) The ED is mizu no madoromi, sung by Origa, by the way. But why oh why did they have to have some of the characters try to sing?

So is it worth watching? Does the ending deliver? Overall I'd give it a 7, which means worth watching but not worth buying, and I'd say it's better than or but worse than or . The drama and action pick up continuously towards the end, so the second half is better than the first. If you haven't seen, say, Gankutsuou, I'd suggest watching that before this, but Fantastic Children isn't *bad* and I don't regret watching it. The characters aren't cardboard cutouts, and there's not anything else like that to make me *dislike* it. There are just better series out there. I guess I'd suggest watching it if you like puzzle series and Final Fantasy. Especially Final Fantasy. I'd say it reminds me most of El Hazard the Magnificent World, minus comedy and with somewhat better characters and somewhat slower paced and a bit less coherent and most importantly minus the awesomeness of cat-based armor technology.

Well, I hope this review can help someone decide whether to watch Fantastic Children, but I somewhat doubt it.

Just... wow. I just finished it and I'm blown away. I haven't cried this hard at an anime since I was on the last episodes of Clannad After - FC hit strings I didn't even know I have. From the moment Gretha remembered she was Mel, to Helga and Duma's little bonding session - and Thoma, oh god, Thoma. Just - I was sobbing and still feel like crying when I think about it.

Sakamoto Maaya as Mel was fantastic. This is the second time I've ever cried for a side character - the first time was Shiroe from Terra e, and even Shiroe was set ... up as a main character for two episodes. Her voice brought so many feelings to life in her. I've never held her as the voice acting goddess her reputation holds her, but now suddenly I'm not sure anymore.

But the biggest star in this anime was Junko Minagawa as Thoma. When Thoma started bawling, it was impossible not to be pulled in along with him. Crying is often annoying, agonized tearful screams mostly unremarkable after a few hundred anime, but that - that-

...

The theme songs, those beautiful, heatwrenching theme-songs, they couldn't have chosen better ones. Having Aghi sing the ending in some of the episodes was also a stroke of genius - especially because he had no singing voice to speak of.

Of course, this anime had bad sides too. Heaps of them. The directing was almost amateur and the script was somewhat cheesy. Unsurprisingly, the director wrote the script too, along with one other guy, and also unsurprisingly neither of them had anything remarkable on their resume - except for this.

I was never sure what the series composition guys were for what exactly animation directors are for, but after watching this, I think I understand. This anime is their work alone. Checking their resumes on ANN, it becomes even more evident - only one of the three series composition guys doesn't have several good series listed; the other two, Hiroshi Fukutomi - storyboard on LoGH and Law of Ueki, and Katsumi Terahigashi, who worked on seven episodes of Durarara and several of Cardcaptor Sakura and Umineko (which again had script trouble). I want to say more here, but I don't know how to explain it - something about the series, something they must have done, because you can feel it strongly, saved it from the bad directing, and so well that you just stop caring about it and just enjoy.

The script is salvaged by the excellent use of music. I'm planning to hunt down the OST after I write this, but it wasn't the music itself that did the trick (some parts of Kara no Kyoukai still bored me out despite Kajiura Yuki's score) - it was the use of the music; it underlined every single line spoken and made it jump out and grab you, pulling you in. In some places it was overpowering, reminiscent of .hack//SIGN, in others it was rather subtle, but it always felt perfect.

Also, on the art: it's not perfect, but it's wonderfully haunting after it grows on you. Greecia is just plain beautiful. Still, it's not the best ever seen and the series could have benefited possibly from more budget here - to compensate, it has a definite character.

I'm not sure whether I can even give the director points for the original story, since it's eerily reminiscent of Please Save My Earth. It lacked some of the dilemmas that made PSME worth reading, but, on the other hand, at least it handled the ones it had very well. I'm glad Soran wasn't an abusive ass, I'm glad Love Rival #1 for once wasn't a dick towards everyone and that his bottled up emotions erupted realistically, and furthermore I'm glad that they didn't spend much screentime angsting over the local Yamato Nadeshiko and made her have a personality beyond that. And it was sher genius to have Thoma not be [X], but [Y]. (Spoiler?)

And nobody had tragic pasts beyond what the plot required them to! Ok, Soran did, for, like, half a minute.

Fantastic Children is what I wanted Please Save My Earth to be, but I wasn't expecting that when I started watching (I was seriously expecting a vampire series), and it went above and beyond that.

I gave this one of my rare (maybe not so much these days that I have an idea of what to seek out) 10 ratings. In spite of its misgivings, it deserves it, in heaps.

A group of white-haired children in early 20th century Europe. The discoverer of radioactivity. A girl on a tropical island who draws pictures of alien landscapes.

It's honestly very difficult to write a review for "Fantastic Children." Firstly because it's a mystery, and if I go into too much detail, I might ruin the experience. Secondly, because it really is one of the strangest series I've seen.

Humans are attracted to that something we can't quite reach. That thing we don't know. Somewhere, out there, is something. We can almost taste it, and if we reach a little ... further, or go around one more corner, we just might find it. That's the best way I can describe the overall feeling this show gave me. And if you like to be intrigued, strung along, and then have your heart wrung out, read on.

This series is not so much about the story, or characters. It's about moods and feelings.

And it did an excellent job at that. Even though the series has fairly mild themes, it did an unparalleled job at conveying strong moods and emotions. For instance, it had some of the most successful horror I've seen in an anime. After all, which is scarier: some monster you see on TV, or a dark corner in your room, where you can't quite tell if something is hiding there? It's those kinds of simple fears that this show plays on. For the dark corner scene, and others like it, the tension would build for several minutes, until I was throughly convinced that something WAS hiding there, and wanted to scream, and wriggle away and hide my head. And the "monsters" here are quivering shadows. These simple black outlines really scared the heck out of me.

But it's not a horror series. It covers all sorts of things from hope, despair, love, longing, jealousy, resignation….so be ready to go with the emotional flow.

I'll give an introductory synopsis, to show why it's difficult to explain the storyline:

- A man calls the children of Befort "Monsters."
- A boy in a city has a nightmare, and the next day he meets a group of white-haired, black-cloaked children. They want him to go with them, but he says he's "tired...."
- These children go to a sanitorium, to meet with an old woman. They are dismayed to find her dead. One of their number is kidnapped by a white-haired boy with glasses.
- An orphanage director punishes a girl by ripping up her drawings in front of her face.

And that's just the first episode. As the series progresses, the clues and befuddling facts build up higher and higher.

Probably the thing that makes most people drop the series is: it takes a long time before any questions are answered. We aren't told what the heck is going on until exactly halfway through the series. Up till then, we are fed seemingly disconnected clues, and we fry our brains trying to figure out how they are related. Past and present, science and myth, runaway children and journalists, detectives and orphans, stone cities and lush forests, a dying woman and a painting. And why were all the children of Befort cast with obviously adult voices?

If you like the series after the first few episodes, I encourage you to at least keep watching until the middle of the series. Even if it feels like the story isn't progressing, and is going nowhere, just wait until then. And if you aren't intrigued by the "big reveal," you can go ahead and drop it.

After I reached the midpoint, and everything was explained, the stakes were raised. And things got into gear as the series careened onward to the conclusion. Several times, things happened that emotionally tore me up. But in a way that made me love the series even more. The characters' anguish was mine, and I wanted to scream with them. I wanted to cry with them (and I sometimes did). The ending was perfect for this story (be sure to watch the "extra" at the end, which helps resolve "what happens after the ending").

What demographic is this series aimed at? The simple character design and overall mild themes seem to imply it's targeted to young viewers. (People are drawn very simply; faces are simple ovals, and the colors are very plain.) However, the complex mystery and occasional strong tension and bloody violence imply it's meant for older viewers. I guess you could call it a seinen, but only for lack of a better classification.

I can't really remember the music. I don't think it was bad, but it evidently wasn't very memorable. (However, I LOVED the ending theme, "Mizu no Madoromi," by Origa.)

This rather unconventional series doesn't have the shiny things that a lot of people want in an anime: there's little violence, no comedy, very mild romance, simplistic art, slow-paced plot setup, and brain-rattling mystery. But the emotional and mood factor were really incredible. So if that sounds appealing, give it a try.

I haven't explained the story below because you can see in the above reviews. This is purely my thinking. Please do tell what do you think about it and do read this till the end because this is one of the greatest Anime I have ever seen.

At first I neglected this Anime, as I saw in the middle and I quite didn't understand it. But when it was aired on Animax in January 2009, I was drawn towards it.

As the story continues, it makes a connection with your heart. Although everything is explained in the series through scientific manner, but it still lacks a ... few thing according to pure science. Although it is obvious but there are still many minor details that the writer seemed to have forgot. Atlthough it is showed as happy ending they forgot about the main part. The concequence. If you dare to violate such a law of nature, the nature won't forgive you.

If you are wondering why a have dragged this so much, its mainly because of author's involvement. It isn't just for enjoyment. The ending in this was something I had never seen before. Althought it was a happy ending, it had tragedy far more than happiness. That I can't describe.

"If no one has written your favourite book, write it yourself", I heard this proverb somewhere. I am thinking about the future to this anime. I simply can't seem to accept the ending. Although the anime I come with, what would it be like, I have a small hunch but I will try to match the author's level of involvement in this. It may take some time, but I will reveal it, because such masterpieces can never be allowed to die.

Thanks for reading.

Straight off the bat, this anime is definitely worth watching. Read the synopsis, look at the cover image, your first impression and amount of interest in both is probably pretty close to what you'll get.

But if you're uncertain onwards we go--!

I have a silly rule when it comes to finding new shows to watch. If there is at least one person passionate enough to write a glowing "10" review my likelihood to watch it is like, 50x more than it would be otherwise. That was the case for this show.

And I'm giving it a "10" myself for that reason, because I ended up passionately falling ... in love with this anime. On a technical level, it probably falls more at a 7-8-ish. Mainly because of the presentation. The character designs are great, the writing is great, and the soundtrack is great. However, it is not animated in any impressive manner, the directing is pretty basic on a technical level, I have no idea what demographic this is aimed at, and the sound effects can be lacking. Which, given this is 2004, much of that makes sense; the early 2000s were a pretty tumultuous time for anime production- still transitioning to an all-digital format, tools for working as such being pretty limited, and people working with it likely being inexperienced. I'd imagine especially so for a long-standing institution like Nippon Animation. But really, there are some ugly moments.

I said at the start that this show is the sort that you'll probably be able to gauge whether you'll enjoy from the synopsis. A mystery with a long and historical past, classic-style design choices, your mature and likely very charming (indeed so) adolescent characters, with just that hint of sci-fi. And of course, everyone will want their taste of these traits in different amounts. For me, this show perfectly balances these traits.

I'm a history nerd- the historical aspect, while not super accurate, added a wonderful air of mystery and depth to the characters' pasts. The characters were fun and had immediate chemistry, it has that wonderful episode 1 moment where you just go "damn that was a charming-ass interaction I gotta see more of that shit" and you get to see some really cute and childish interactions even from the mature characters. It's refreshing. It's absolutely lovely. But I'm also a Tezuka cocksucker so sillyXmature is my bread and butter. Adding on: I don't like sci-fi much, this keeps it simple and blends some whimsical fantasy into the mix- it was never overbearing.

And the mystery itself is so well-woven! Admittedly, I'm easy to please but there was not a single moment where I was bored or didn't desperately want to find out what was next and what was behind it all. Well paced, giving you just the right amount of info to make your own inferences and throwing you some well done misleading hints. All wrapping up in an unvindictive, and satisfying ending. I mean there are some silly things throughout; like at one point a character says their "body was made smaller and smaller" and I guess we're just gonna ignore that this fella was shrunk somehow?? But most everything else was so well done that I was just like, "Okay show, you've answered my other questions I'll give you a pass this time." And I will also admit writing-wise that there are some hokey or pretentious moments, especially early on. I remember in like episode 2 or so Aghi, one of the children, narrates this one quote and it just sounds incredibly silly at that point.

The music is also really great, perfectly fits the emotions of the characters, and adding suspense when it needed to. The sad music is not just sad, there are many feelings in it just like our real emotions. Ueno Kouji, I hope you can be satisfied in knowing that you made a truly phenomenal soundtrack. The ending is also drop-dead gorgeous, the singer's voice is beautiful and the opening- although it took a while to grow on me- became something that I looked forward to understanding more of and listening to as the story went on.

Just a fun additional thing, since this is Nippon animation I assumed it would probably be similar to their World Masterpiece Theater shows. Aimed at a family or younger audience with some intense stuff for the sensitive people but nothing too heavy. Yeah, I wouldn't say that now... If I would have watched this as a kid there are a lot of moments I am confident would have traumatized me. Just- some really unexpectedly violent imagery and very terrifying unforgettable situations for some characters. That may be one of later NA's banes, confused target demographics. I think this was probably a passion project of Nakamura Takashi more than anything, and as that I think he should be proud to call this his masterpiece.

This was my first review, it was probably a bit pretentious but I sincerely loved this anime and it has become one of my all-time favorites despite its flaws. I hope other people will watch and love this anime too. If it sounds interesting to you don't hesitate to watch it!

As a start am going to say this , I am immature when it comes to writing reviews , neither do I have any long weird hard to understand descriptions to point out am a smart-ass so this will be a very short review , purely because I love this anime and I feel like writing about it , not that it doesn't have high voted reviews already , This Anime is a masterpiece , a real hidden gem of the world of anime , so far so good aren't we ?

It gets a 10 out of 10 easily , because its unique , from ... every aspect there is to it , if you are into unique different types of animes/plots/graphics , then by all means ignore every prolonged low-voted reviews by some members here and watch it

Story 10/10 : starts as a slow-pace story with lots of mysteries , and I didn't mind the changed flashbacks every now and then , just proves that this anime is different in a way than other ones , no need to stick to one freakin way to develop a story in an anime , The story is the major huge gigantic factor that made me fall deep in love with this anime , The ones who wait will have a very good experience that they will never have with any other anime , and I mean it there might be some "recommended" animes down there but they are never like FC , No anime is like FC.

Art 9/10 : Some might find it hard to get addicted to the Art , and I blame other animes for that , most animes set weird retarded standards of huge eyes and super cute characters , or super cool super awesome spiked headed retards in shounen animes no ? That's not the case here , its a classic way of drawing animes , and the more episodes u consume the more addicted you will be to this Art and anime , graphics are nice , backgrounds are great , character design is simple and realistic , no need for eyes that takes up 3l4 of the face ok ? if you are mature enough to try this and not care about how small/huge the freakin eyes are , then congrats , your not a kid , and I wouldn't imagine this anime with another way of Art , it just adds to its unique points.

Sound 10/10 : one word , Beautiful , so fitting , soothing . soundtracks for each situation and literally gives you an emotional ride with the situations , No need to repeat that it has an outstanding ED song too.

Character 9/10 : I personally liked some characters , and didnt like others , but there was none I hated [ and thats rare in my case ] , Characters interactions with each other is so overwhelming at some points , and a bit shallow in some others , I think the time factor had a role in this , like I really wish it was a 50 - 52 episodes series , then it would have given the characters their right to develop more and have more interactions with each other , but what I seen was enough to make me consider it one of the best and most unique animes of all times.

Enjoyment 8/10 : I wont lie here , the worst factor [ notice that the worst factor here is 8 out of 10 , thats high and no I do have a hard taste I wont give that to any anime I watch ok ? ] I am not saying its "bad" its just not as amazing as the rest of the elements BUT ONLY regarding the first 5 - 8 episodes , but thats the case with every slow-pace anime right ? as soon as those episodes finish and we get in the real thing , you wont ever imagine how much I enjoyed it , so do not drop this anime at all , unless you had no taste of course.

Overall 10/10 : As I said before and I repeat , a masterpiece and a hidden gem of the anime world that must be seen , because from my point of view [ that is always correct ] its the one and only of its kind , you wont get the feeling you have when you watch this while watching anything else , Mysteries will pull you in and in , the more you know the more you will indugle and want to watch and know more , with every detail there will be a shock and with every episode you will make sure that no anime will ever be like it.

I have been meaning to watch this whole series since it aired on television when I was a kid. Despite how old it is as it came out in 2004, it has all the good stuff, I mean adventure, mystery, romance, fantasy and sci-fi? Yeah, sign me up. But have you know, you are signing up for a shipwreck of feelings. Seriously, I guarantee you. Don't believe how kiddy it looks, its actually quite heavy and personally suitable for older generations.

Story: I'm a sucker for mystery, such that I have to know what's the big deal is. The plot is intriguing and as the story ... unfolds, everything becomes clear. I will separate the entire series into two; the first part introduced the main characters alongside the supporting characters. The first part of the story tells you what the characters are searching for, and you don't really know what's going on. But I promise you, the latter part of the story is intense that you would definitely wouldn't want to miss. Basically, I love the plot, the story, it is entirely brilliant. It plays with reincarnation, and past life elements, and at the latter part of the story, most of the questions in my head had been answered.

Art: The art, well seeing as it came out in 2004, not much to be swoon upon, but the animation is quite fluid actually. The action parts are nicely done, and the expression of the characters are very unique, subtle almost and animation flows very neatly. The colors are nice, and the atmosphere of the overall story especially in the flashback scene is wonderful.

Sound: I love all the soundtracks used in the anime especially the opening and ending. The ending, Mizu no Madoromi is so rich, and it completely portrays the feelings of story which is melancholic and endearing.

Character: The main characters, especially Helga and Thoma had perfectly developed their character at the end of the anime. The Befort's Children, I had a hard time to understand as they seem to be expressionless. However, as the story progresses, they showed an immense character development and feelings. Every actions they did had a reason and not just there for show. I feel very strongly for Thoma, who is actually (yeah not going to spoil anything but if you think he's the other guy like what I originally think, then he's actually the other guy). Another character that I didn't expect to love was Dumas, or Damian. If you stick until the end, you'll know why. The feelings the characters had (especially Seth), are all portrayed powerfully and will definitely deal a blow to your heart.

Enjoyment: I hugely enjoyed the anime, as I think the story is a gem and I am very attached to some of the characters. It was a joy to watch their adventure and rooting for them to find what they are looking for despite all the hardships along the way. There isn't any other word to describe, because it is so different from all the other cliche animes. The only thing I regret is that I wish it had ended with my favorite ship. It is still amazing and 100% worth watching, nonetheless. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a ride in the ship of feelings.

A surprisingly disappointing show. It is impossible to do a meaningful review of this show without spoilers, so I will keep this bare bones.

Story 3/10:
The story is incredibly convoluted. I don't mean that it was hard to understand, because they did give relatively clear explanations for the events. The problem is just the sheer complexity of the plot, while managing to lack in substance. The story attempted to tell a lot, but many of the plot points were unnecessary, anti-climatic, and gimmicky.

Characters 3/10:
I had a huge complaint about multiple characters (in-fact, my biggest complaint about the show), but I cannot even brush on the reason ... why without huge spoilers.

Tone 7/10:
I did like the tone throughout much of the show. They didn't try to force comedy, romance, etc. in places that didn't call for it. They let the serious scenes be serious and the lighthearted scenes lighthearted. It wasn't fantastic, but it refrained from significant faults.

Setting:
At times I liked it, at others I didn't. That's as much as I am willing to say in fear of spoilers.

Art 6/10:
The art style itself is nothing to behold. The animation is fine but in no way superb. There are a select few scenes that stood out particularly well though. Not in the details or fantastic action scenes, but instead in capturing significant meaning in a single shot with well placed and scaled objects and 'camera' (so to speak).

Sound 6/10:
Not much to say one way or the other. Fairly repetitive soundtrack, but usually fitting. The voice acting was fine, but was hurt by annoying dialogue (specifically, the large amount of times they screamed each other's names during higher action scenes. It's nitpicky, but got to me in a couple of episodes).

Enjoyment 5/10:
As I said with the art section, there where a few particular scenes that were done wonderfully. So much so, that despite being bored for a majority of the show, I'm still glad I watched it.

Overall 5/10:
I think my reasoning is clear. There isn't a single aspect this show excels in, and it undoubtedly has it's flaws. To be entertained by this show, you need to enjoy lots of plot turns. I don't mean plot twists (where they take what you thought you knew and change it), but pure turns. The plot likes to stop at certain points, and just move on to something utterly new with no relation to previous events. These plots do not get intertwined, instead they simply get mashed together. Sometimes, they altogether annihilate the importance of previous plot-lines.

It's a pass for anyone who does not care for a fantasy/sci-fi for complexity of plot alone.

This. Anime. Is. Underrated.

TLDR this anime is like Ghibli vibes, Akira level sci-fi, and Monster plot twists in one show. One of the best mystery themed anime I've seen my whole life. Its hard to explain once I've started writing this review now that I think of it, but like I said, it draws similarities from Akira where the world is set up so absurdly it manages to make the illogical become logical. It is absolutely genius.

Let's start with the story. This show is an epic opera. The story starts off with several parallel story lines of Thoma and the gang, the Children of Befort, ... and Detective Cooks. Like all mystery stories, elements in each story line interact with other one by one. But in Fantastic Children, each discovery just ends up in another twists revealing more secrets and mysteries. The story keeps you second guessing about what is truly going on behind the scenes. The only downside is during the later episodes the pace starts to go a bit too slow almost as if its a soap opera. But the mysteries uncovered in each episode is just too good to miss out you wouldn't notice how many episodes have gone by.

I think a big point of why this anime is underrated comes from its simplistic style of animation and character design. Fun fact, the creator of this anime was Akira's character designer. So if there was a reason why all the characters looked flat and simple then that is why. It does seem that this show was on a budget and its clear by how the animation production became but I think the animators did a good job on correctly animating character expressions even with its flat face like characters. I was always immersed in each frame and never felt that the animation hindered that.

The soundtrack is also super underrated. The opening "Voyage" is one of the best orchestra soundtracks in anime I've ever heard. The ending "Mizu no Madoromi" was equally beautiful and had a Russian version that played in a few episodes which I thought was unique. The overall OST was very beautiful yet melancholic and fit the narrative really well.

The characters are written well and each had differing personalities which played off each other nicely. A lot of people disliked Helga's dead quiet personality but I think it served her aura as this mysterious "chosen one" girl well. The supporting cast were all memorable including all seven of Befort's Children.

I absolutely enjoyed this anime and will definitely recommend this to anyone of my anime friends. If they think the childlike characters and simple animations made this anime suck then screw that. Because everything else in this anime is absolutely genius. 10/10

After watching anime for around 25 years, I can tell you with all the confidence of this world that this is BAD, this is so bad that it is cringe bad. I am not going to go into all of the details and all of the reasons because I could make full essays just single episode based let alone for the whole anime. I am just going to point out the worst things and the biggest flaws.

Story

They try to make it seem like this story is very mysterious, very dark, very complicated and edgy but all they do is spit in their own mouth when ... it is actually revealed what is going on.

It's a very simple story that could have been said and shown in 12 episodes at best and even then it probably wouldn't have been good. With their stretching things and prolonging each reaction of a character to take at least 30 seconds when you already start praying for it to just move along and start pulling your hair out they stretch out the runtime in all the worst ways possible.

I am not going to give you any spoilers but just from the summary alone you know that there exists a group of children who are spotted throughout history and when they are there are supposed to be some calamities this world goes through and seeing them is a bad thing. No, no it isn't. All of that means almost nothing in this story yet it takes half an anime for something to actually start happening. Almost nothing of importance happens in this anime until the final few episodes and even then it is laughably bad.

Also, the amount of giant plot holes as big and vacuum filled like the black hole are innumerable in this anime. Almost every single thing you have mentioned in the summary reeks of plot holes. Why are those kids not ageing? Why do they lose their memories when they turn 12? Why some of them decide to live their lives here because they cannot take it anymore instead of just not returning back here? How the hell is Wanda here on Earth? How did that thing end up here and why wasn't it established in the story? Why did the princess' father decide to put that weapon in? Why is Dumas so obsessed with a sister he never even met? How does Dumas know all about the scientists when he was on a space ship practically since birth? Why does his father not care about his only son? What was the point of Crooks apart from the filler parts that had absolutely no impact on the story? Why would a princess choose to stay as Helga when Helga is as empty as it gets because all of Helga's life was spent on wishing to be the princess (getting to that place I know, but meaning of it is the same)? And so many more questions that I just cannot put all of them here because there isn't enough space. None of those questions get answered. It's like they are saying: ˝Just don't think about it!˝

Art

Art is the 'best' part of this whole mess and since it is quite bad, that says a lot. And do not tell me I just don't like the look of the older anime. Quite the contrary, that is what I prefer. Like His and Her Circumstances, old Fruits Basket, old Sailor Moon, old Dragon Ball, Bleach, Ghost in the Shell... all of them I love. But when something is bad it needs to be pointed out. And this is... cringe. The colour palette is dark and broody but for no bloody reason. They insist on telling this story in a broody kind of way but it makes no sense. Cringe factor is through the roof. They are cutting corners on animation everywhere. You have the universe, 'Enma', guys who are just big black blocks of darkness, you have facial features that do not move, but kind of just twitch as if frozen in space and time and set on repetition and it can make you claw your eyes out. Here and there you will have a nice scenery shot and that is why it is a level higher than the rest.

Sound

The opening song is there for all of the 26 episodes and it is soooo bloody annoying that I had nightmares about it. I truly hate that opening song. Sound throughout the series is really on a bad level especially when you start to notice how when they are holding a shot on a character for a reaction to something (and they do each character with the same expression each time something happens) then you hear the exact same sound for each of them, like 'ah', and you can hear them inserting that reaction and the way they paste it in is extremely unnatural. Also, the Helga character has one of the most annoying voice acting I have ever come across. They repeat the same music over and over and over again that you already feel like you are losing your mind.

Character

What to say that I didn't already mention in the story. Characters are cliches, they do not have a personality, they have no interests apart from what is needed to get the story going. They are one-thing-oriented characters. There are no layers and no subtlety and no depth. How you see Helga the first time that is how she is going to be the last time. Character growth is almost non-existent.

Enjoyment

Laughable. There was none. Apart from one single thing and that is unintentional hilarity. Which happens throughout almost one whole episode and here and there sporadically. In one episode where the weapon is activated somewhere and there are people trying to get to it to stop it there are so many moments of unintentional hilarity that I simply wish the whole anime was that stupid so I could at least laugh at how ridiculous it all is.

Overall

Overall I urge you to avoid this one. Do not even watch it for those brief moments of unintentional hilarity. It is bad, it is terribly bad. If you try to watch it on Fast Forward option you will notice that only then it will seem like it is happening in the actual time. This anime is a convoluted boring and uninspiring mess. I do not know why it is rated so high nor why there aren't other more negative opinions written about it but you can see a couple of the first episodes for yourself and judge the anime based on that because it only gets worse from there.

I am sorry for all the time I wasted on this. I could have watched something at least mildly entertaining instead.

Epic storytelling and extremely well paced.

PLOT: Its a complete joy to find such a well told story. Fantastic Children has so many different plot threads that at the beginning it's hard to imagine that they’re all related – but they are and its so satisfying to watch all the threads come together. This anime goes through so many changes over its 26 episode run as every plot development adds new threads to the rich tapestry that makes up the plot. So many different elements are on display – mystery, sci-fi, historical, action, drama, adventure, but above all Fantastic Children at its heart is a ... romance story spanning space and time. It checked all the boxes for me and its conclusion almost reduced me to tears!

A minor criticism is that not all the characters were fully developed, including some of the Befort Children themselves – not all of them were adequately fleshed out and their motives and lives are still a mystery by the end. But its natural that some character development would be sacrificed for the greater good of the epic plotline and the central characters where quite well developed. I really liked Tohma’s character as he probably goes through the most changes and just when I thought I had him figured out a well placed plot twist pulled the carpet out from under me, Helga on the other hand was a bit dull for the majority of the show as she was the picture child for ‘emotionless girl’ most the time

ANIMATION: One of the things that was putting me off starting this series for so long was the character designs as they are extremely plain and quite childishly drawn. However once you get into the series I found that these simplistic designs were the best choice for this show as they do not distract the viewer from the plot and display all the emotion you really need from the characters realistically. The backgrounds were beautiful and the attention to detail in the period scenes of old Europe was quite impressive. All the action scenes were well choreographed and exciting to watch and I was also impressed by the large number of locations covered over the course of the series.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: The music was absolutely wonderful. I adored the ED theme in particular and have it downloaded – the style of the song puts me in mind of Clannad (the Irish group not the anime ) and its really lovely on the ear. Midway through the series its also sung in Russian which is also lovely. The OP was nice too and very fitting for the series. The score is excellent in its own right – grand orchestral pieces and melancholic piano really enhance the viewing experience. The voice acting is of a very high standard. Again Tohma stands out for me due to the sheer range of emotions displayed – Junko Minagawa (Cornelia – Code Geass, Joshua – Chrno Crusade) really did a fantastic job voicing him.

All in all Fantastic Children is a wonderfully crafted anime, I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good solid plot driven series.

Fantastic Children

Wow, this was quite a ride. 26 amazing episodes and damn were they good.

A story that's not just complex, but if talked about in the slightest of ways, could be considered a spoiler, it's incredible. From 26 episodes, only one was a filler or rather, retelling of the events thus far, every other single episode had fantastic direction and purpose. We follow Thoma, Chitto and Helga for a large portion of the story. With the three kids, we also have a pack of children looking for someone very important; white haired, blue eyed kids. The story revolves around these two groups of ... people and the way the story opens up; it's always done deliberately. The lore behind what's going on is just as interesting as everything else about Fantastic Children; it's weird, it's very sci-fi and odds are, you won't really know what's going on until halfway through the show where things really pick up pace, though believe me, the show starts off quite quickly and almost never slows down.

The animation and artstyle used in Fantastic Children, almost reminds me of Akira Toriyama's art style. The faces and especially the eyes of most children and cast, shouted Akira Toriyama inspired to me; not that anything is wrong with that either, since it works pretty well in Fantastic Children. The colors used too, are pretty diluted and muddy, compared to what I've been watching lately. Animation though, is pretty good, most things come off as fluid and smooth with enough detail where it needs to be, so nice job. The way it's all drawn though, is what makes Fantastic Children look so..well... fantastic! I never thought it was boring or dull at all.

The only problem I had was, Fantastic Children loved to have the eyes shake or rather vibrate at intense speeds.... A lot of shock and awe happens in the show, so every time someone is shocked, their eyes start shaking, honestly, after seeing it happen 5+ times, I was a little annoyed of the effect and it almost made me mad.

One of the best things about Fantastic Children however, is the use of music. My goodness, I don't believe there was a single episode that didn't use an arrangement of music at all. The orchestrated sounds that came into effect when a story element was being exposed was flawless. The piano arrangements were superb and a delight to listen to as well. In-fact, all the music that I heard whilst watching Fantastic Children was remarkable, well timed and just perfect for the emotions and feelings they (creators and what-not) tried to get across. Absolutely adore the music used.

The cast of characters and the seiyu that went along with them was pretty good too. I didn't really like Chitto much and I hated having to listen to all the short "ah's" and "oh's" and breaths. There would be like 5 minute long expositions for story elements where characters would watch in terror at what was happening "ah'ing" and taking breaths in fear. Honestly was a little annoying. The worst thing about it all though, was having to listen to Thoma scream. I absolutely hated that; even if it didn't happen often or much at all, the screams he did was just so... obnoxious almost. Aside from those few things, everyone did a great job and just listening to the cast/seiyu was really nice.

I think one of the absolute best things about Fantastic Children is that it takes itself very seriously. It's a serious story about serious interactions that take place on a series of islands. In-fact, the combination of how the story is presented and the way the music is played during episodes, I swear I must have had goosebumps on me for atleast 18 of the episodes; not because they're scary, but because the overall effect given was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies!

If you're looking for something different, with a nice sci-fi element to the show, with a story that is very wild, take a look at Fantastic Children. Try and watch an episode or two, I feel like most would get sucked in for sure.

The anime is as horrible as its animation. It looks like the producers watched some better anime, then took what they found good as ingredients for this one. They chose to make a “centuries-long mystery” as a mystery apparently means the viewer doesn’t need to know much details. Also limit the dialogue and add repetition to the recipe to cut the costs even more, and you get their business plan to get wealthy with minimal effort.
This is probably the reason that fear emotions have to be shown on every face of every character and in sequence because a total group reaction would make the ... episode shorter. In the beginning it does make you wonder what terrible event is happening, but it gets boring quick.
And as the anime continues you find out that there is actually no reason for fear or it gives even more questions. Repetitions of fearful events is the strategy, and it is stalling the viewer with as little information as possible.
Also the characters are on the move a lot, again slowing down the flow of the story. Especially if you see another long chase ending by someone teleporting away, why didn’t that happen immediately… Ah yes it is as logical as having soldiers fight with swords, while having also laser weapons, some ingredients don’t mix well.
There are so many repetitive events, combined with characters that are totally not necessary to the story (like the detective and the woman that is following him). A waste of time that could have been used better to give details for certain decisions. No wonder the story is full of plot holes.
The only way they make the story flow is to have someone appear at the right spot or at the right time listening in when someone else is telling some secret or information. It gives you a world with so much unused space and open doors everywhere as people need to be able to hide in it.

All the characters are so very very empty, they just do something because the plot demands it. You could be positive and say that the story is about love that survives through space and time. But in the anime this apparently applies only for the 2 main characters, others experiencing similar events abandon their loved ones quite easily.
But even those 2 main characters offer nothing else. Being their friend doesn’t keep them from flying away, leaving you heavily wounded behind. All that while knowing those wounds came from trying to save them. It all just happens to get some form of a story, but with scripted characters.
The only fun I had was jokingly predict the worst choice that the royal mother could make, and then seeing it actually happen.
Conclusion: It is not worth watching.