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Before I get into any of the details I'd like to say that this anime runs through a great plot in a very very short time. Compressing a story that could have easily ran 2 seasons into 13 episodes is a choice made, and after watching is, I think that is a valuable thing, even though the plot, the characters, really most things suffer from it. But I'll get back to that at the end.

The story itself is not a simple one, but adresses issues that come more and more into view into view as the 21st century progresses. What is artificial life and how ... do you value things? Unfortunately, due to it's short framing, there is very limited room to go into ethics and therefore it is only shortly touched upon that artifical life is seen by different people as different things, artificial or life. The message brought however through the story, of making the best of what you're given and treasuring moments is really good. Again due to short timeframe, this message had to be forced on with several harsh plotdevices that don't really make sense as well as hard curves in the story. The good thing about how that is handled, is that it is forced on by the side characters, who, more than anyone, understand the reason to hurry, which does justify many of the choices.

The art is wonderful, though I will admit to not being adapt at seeing quality. There are some lovely recurring themes in the imaging and setting. In particular I appreciate the night settings. Additionally, design choices for many of the futuristic contraptions, are really good, staying not too close to current trends, but also not veering too far off.

Sound was minimal, except for a few dramatic songs where absolutely necessary, but so very suitable and often soothing. I honestly have very little I can say about it. It is not the reason you should watch it, but once you do, you'll definitely find some enjoyment from it.

Now characters is where this anime really falls apart. There is so little time to show them, that instead of an expanded personality beyond a type, they are given a message. In case of the two leads, there is some more, but again, though they have a decent personality, it is their message that captivates as there is too little time to really delve into their personality. Usually I'm very critical of that, but again, for some reason it doesn't bother me in this anime. What messages they carry are carefully chosing, interlinking and integral and that makes them valuable enough.

Now, the reason I enjoyed it so much comes down to answering that fundamental question that I posed at the start. What makes me say that this story being compressed into 13 episodes is a valuable thing? This is a love story about coming together with a deadline hanging overhead. The instant the series started I realised what was going to happen, as it was outright stated by the protagonist, and immediately I got worried. From the third episode on I kept on checking how much time they had left. How many more episodes they had before time was up. I was getting swept up in the exact same thing that all side characters were getting swept up in, the race against the clock. The story twisted and turned really weirdly occassionally, but I didn't mind, because it forced progress in this short time that I had. I cried throughout the entire last episode and then it ended. As it should. As the message of this anime was all the time.

I write this review only 15 minutes after having watched it, and maybe I'm not objective, but I think that is okay. This anime is not meant that way. It's supposed to sweep you up and plant a seed of thought. Life is beautiful in its shortness, in its finality, and so is this anime. Yes, it is not perfect, and there are things I'd like to have seen different, but that would have taken more time and there wasn't. For once, that doesn't make it bad, it makes its message just a little bit stronger.

PS. I don't think I'd watch it a second time, because it might lose some of its charm... Just once, and then it ends. That's enough.

This manga romanticises a classical emotionally abusive relationship and pretends like it's the most normal thing in the world.

The flimsy story covers the undying devotion of Konomi towards her boyfriend Hiro who seems to respond by rejecting her over and over again, while she only has mild moments of sanity in which she lets it get to her. I won't spoil the ending, but I presume you already know how it's going to end.

The manga doesn't look bad visually, although there is often a lot through each other on the page. But it feels like it's trying to sell you on a really ... lousy product, by just flashing bright lights and popping party streamers, so you don't actually pay attention to the thing they're trying to sell.

The characters are mediocre ripoffs of humans who seem to have no actual character traits aside from their relationship to the other few characters that appear. The main character is by far the worst in this respect.

The story doesn't touch anything in you, and honestly, by chapter two I was so annoyed with the characters that I wanted to put it down. Fortunately it was very short because I wanted to read the whole thing before writing this review, because I was well and thoroughly done with this after just five chapters.

Had it been a oneshot, I would have been able to forgive many of the flaws, but in particular the empty characters and weak plot cannot support this series. Maybe find another manga to read.

Finally, a warning. Should you ever find yourself in a similar situation/relationship as the heroine. Talk to someone, them, your friends, maybe even a psychologist, because this is not normal!

A lot of people write this off in the first few chapters, which is perfectly reasonable. You don't like the first 20, you're not going to like the rest of it. The reason for this is that it's not innocent enough for a shoujo manga, but too meek for a josei.

Right now I'm really enjoying this manga. It's fast paced, slightly different from standard shoujo, but still with many of the common to find in those stories such as love rivals, overly protective parents and tragic backstories. Yes, it's a bit over the top and pervy at times, but I kinda like that about ... it as it's not necessarily ecchi because of this and still holds a story with it.

Honestly I understand those who hate this manga and I understand those who love it. There are days that I would rate this far higher than the score added to my review, there are days I don't feel like reading this at all. It's a very peculiar taste, but there is absolutely no shame in enjoying it from time to time.