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There is a saying about every kick in the butt being a step forward. Taken literally, it sums up for what I felt like while watching the first episode: I've got a kick and I just couldn't stop going forward. It was love at first sight, I know I wouldl enjoy it right from the first 10 seconds. I really can't praise this anime enough.

FIrst of all I have to say this is no yaoi. And it hardly is a shounen-ai so don't expect romantic moments between the two male characters, despite of what people say. No.6 is a story about contrasts and decadence ... of humankind which sometimes goes both ways. The fact that there are a couple of scenes where the two guys seem tender toward each other, from my point of view, was just another way of highlighting the contrasts between them, putting one of them in the dominant (male) side while the other is the weaker (female) side. For a better explanation I could also refer you to the myth of the androgyne, if you really need another explanation regarding male/female sides of one person :))

I love the fact that it starts abruptly, it just kicks you in the middle of everything where you are just left to contemplate everything around you, having dozens of questions in your mind. I've experienced this kind of "adrenaline beginning" only in first episode of Gundam SEED (not that they have anything else in common other than thrills... and maybe friendship torn between two worlds). I just have to say it again: the first episode is genius, it perfectly reflects the contrast between the two main characters and by the way the scenery is put together, you get a very close and personal insight to the life of each of them.

So we have two different characters and two different worlds: Sion and Rat, No.6 and... the outside. If by any means of chance some of you had read George Orwell's "1984", you probably have a very good idea about what this No.6 city is: a perfectly controlled and monitored society that suppresses freedom under the cover of a beautiful and safe glass jar. A very hi-tech city, with a community that promotes strict ranking among civilians and assures everyone is given a role in serving and honoring the city. This is supposedly a new postwar organization.

Outside this glass jar, there is the "real world", Nezumi's (Rat) world. Again, I don't have enough words to praise the way this real world contrasts with No.6. In the beginning, I was sort of puzzled by the course of some characters here, their behavior seems odd and unnatural. And it is, because the real world has created another set of human values and reference systems that differ a lot from our normal "moral" points of view. For example, a dead body isn't too odd of a view but that doesn't mean the streets are filled of some sort of panic. The people learnt not to fear, at the cost of not getting attached to anything and anyone. Without any burdens and caring only for themselves, people became trully free, in contrast with the so dependable population of No.6

I found the graphics, backgrounds and weather effects to have a stunning effect over creating key moments in this anime. Can you imagine actually start feeling cold just by watching the storm in this anime? It simply catches the right feelings. In this matter, I can really relate to Garden of Sinners which also does an incredible job about creating atmosphere.

The character have a few of very very intelligent moments that highlight human nature aspects. The moment Shion opens the window and gets out in the storm in his white socks and screams from the bottom of his lungs along with the storm sirens it's his call for freedom. This kind of scenes make the characters look more human and less like dry creations of an uninspired writer.

Although not all the questions might find an answer along the 11 episodes, overall this was one of if not the most impressive things i've watched, without being a tear jerking production and without having too obviously forced psychological of philosophical references.

While still watching this anime I was tempted to give it a 10 just because other people have rated it so poorly.
Now I know I am right to give it a 10.
The first episode wasn't too convincing, I wasn't too sure what was happening. Ep 1 is also the reason why I rate the art with 9. The backgrounds look nice and I've nothing to complain about those but the characters really needed more details. They look like they are cut-out from some other anime. Or they just don't blend in. other than that, they are okay and look quite pleasant.

I'm not going to ... make a summary since I consider MyAnimeList already did that, I'm just gonna give some reasons to watch it.

The idea is absolutely original and personally I enjoyed it a lot: the whole series is a metaphor for the market and economy; the market is a battleground, the rich people always win while the poor struggle for their lives.. In this case, the battleground is the Financial District, a sort of parallel reality to the real world, where the Entrepreneurs (our characters) fight against each other, helped by their Assets (cute fairies with superpowers). Theor money, future and present life is at stake. This is why I think they done a great job setting motivation for the characters in this anime. I mean we've seen a lot of war/military/SF series where people just fight against each other just because they are "enemies", they take sides, they hate each other. Well in [C] things aren't really like that, while in appearance they fight just for money and they don't really die, if they lose, depending on the amount they lost in battle, things do happen in their real lives. They are driven in duels because of greed. And I guess that is a very nice parallel between FInancial District and real world: greedy people get blinded, risk everything and lose. They sell their soul basically and the need to make more and more money enslaves them to a system that they can't afford to let go of.

I suppose not all age ranges can be entertained by such a theme as money and economy. You do need to take your time watching this and try to see behind scenes. The characters don't really develop but that is not really necessary here: I think the idea still is that of a metaphor, every character represents something.

Regarding this, I have to say that this time, picking an average ollege student as main character is not really a cliche, it's simply the best choice there is if you want to picture the situation: he doesn't yet have a future, he needs to pick a side, to decide what he wants to do further in life. He has to be the aggressive one because he must find his path.

Everything is related.The relation between Kimimaro and Msyu reflects upon what the asset actually has to be to an entrepreneur: taking care of your resources is the best way to fight your way to the top. Financial District is the place where is better to be safe than sorry. Every character, in this respect, has its own way of fighting and I think that is great: I've never actually seen different fighting strategies developed for characters depending on their pattern anywhere else. It's a good action anime but if you don't take the time to read behind the lines I guess this is not for you.