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If you were to travel back in time and get a chance to change history, would you do it? Would you abuse your superior technology and help your nation, or would you try to save lives?
These are just some of the question crew aboard Mirai cruiser come up with after they're sent (through never explained anomaly) back in time to WW2.

Story [9]:
-> Perfect, unique and intriguing. What I liked the most is that the story isn't only centered on the crew of Mirai, it also shows how that small cruiser affects the lives of others, how it affects the course of war. Lots of sudden ... plot twists and events in this show. Really good. Strongest part of the show.

Art [6]:
-> Just as story is the strongest, art is weakest point in the show. Blocky faces make characters often very hard to recognize, and that's not good. However, beyond that lies beautiful art of both sea and sky. If you can get past really not so well drawn faces, there lies a sea of beautiful screenshots.

Sound [7]:
-> I could go on and on about story and art, but sound is quite a mystery. It's almost unnoticed. Things happening on the screen make sound really secondary, and unfortunately, sometimes during emotional scenes, where sound should "carry" events happening, you won't even notice it's there. Pity, because when you actually decide to listen it, it's great. Bad directing I guess.

Character [7]:
-> Could have been done way better. They're sometimes well explained, but past the two "main" characters nobody gets almost any development. Mark here would have been even worse if not for the variety of characters appearing. They're numerous and act different and "real", and kudos for that, but development is again, almost non existent.

Enjoyment [8]:
-> Most of the time the premise of the show is enough to carry this show really high and make it enjoyable, but sometimes there's nothing happening for a while, and those parts were boring, TO ME! This category is subjective.

Overall [7]:
-> Really fine and quite interesting show which lacked in some areas, but did very well in others. Unfortunately ending left a lot to be desired, but that's not so bad. 7 for this show is just. I can't really recommend this show to everyone, but I can say I'm not sorry I watched it, if for nothing else than for its story.

If someone asked me what is this show about, I'm pretty sure there's only one word I would use to describe it. That word wouldn't be action, or romance, or horror. It would be one word, often underused, feelings.
This show, at least in my opinion, is all about feelings. By the end of the show (took me 2 days to finish it) I didn't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. I just know what I felt about them. I felt sad for the losses of the "good guys", but in the same time, I felt sad over the sh?t ... that happened to the "bad guys".
But, one topic at a time.

Story [9]:
-> Brilliant. That would be short version of it. Story didn't follow one or two characters (although anime description said there are 2 main characters) but it followed them all. It's not really original story to have mysterious murders in a far, secluded village, but what is original is how they presented it, how well explained the background of things is and how well the characters are presented. All that made quite a unique story which didn't really falter at any moment, it kept going. My only issue overall with this anime is that it starts with a boom (so to say), it starts extremely fast (but not missing anything) and than it somewhat slows down towards the end.

Art [8]:
-> Well, it's not bad, but again, it's not anything special either. Characters are really well drawn and "background" are always lively, so there's no complain there. However, problem here is that, while great, it sometimes wanted to be artistic where artistic wasn't needed. Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful scenes where only black and white techniques were used, but sometimes they were just out of context and not really needed or appropriate.

Sound [10]:
-> This is one area where I have zero complains. Everything, starting from opening and ending songs to voice acting is great. Character voices are numerous, never hard to recognize or bland. There are "feelings" in those voices, their pain and suffering is heard. Music in the background never interferes with what's happening in foreground and yet it's almost impossible to ignore it since it presents things happening with great passion. Great soundtrack, great voice acting.

Character [9]:
-> I wanted to rate this with 10, but some minor complains popped up on my mind. The show starts off strong, presenting character traits, their strong and weak points, but somehow, by the end, those traits are forgotten and they become the usual cliché types of characters. Again, don't get me wrong, there're no real "good" or "bad" guys in this show, it's just that some characters which started off strong get VERY little screen time later on, never really explaining their role in all the things happening. Pitty.

Enjoyment [10]:
-> As per usual, not going to comment on this one too much. Each person has its own tastes. For me, this show was great, I loved every second of it, even though I felt disappointed by the ending.

Overall [8]:
-> Yes, even I can't find too strong a reason why I gave this show such strong marks in all the fields and rated it with 8. I guess biggest problem with this show is that it ended abruptly and without really finishing many "arcs". So many things remain open and so many characters remain unfinished it's a huge shame.

This show is a must-see as it is, and it could have been so much more if only 1 more episode came out. That still doesn't change the fact it's a great show.

This is one of those shows which just had potential for more.
Unfortunately, it failed in almost everything it tried to do.
What a wasted opportunity.


STORY[6]:
-> So generic it hurts. Story follows ex-vampire killer(vampire himself), a hero of a war which is shown in first episode and his attempts to protect his little brother, all that while dealing with various bits from his past. While it had a lot of potential because it was presented somewhat in a new way, it failed miserably due to the fact many things are just not explained. I dunno if there's manga which is supposed to be read before/after watching the ... show, but from anime only point of view, too many things are not explained during this 12 episodes.


ART[6]:
-> I wouldn't call art bad. Some effects are flashy and fights sometimes look good. However, most of the fights are just soldiers shooting at empty space with like thousands of bullets while vampires cut them down. The, how I like to call it, "atmosphere art" (trees, sky, etc.), is done really bad. And this is a big shame. Show has a lot of scenes in nature or on the river, and the scenery is just...bland. It just isn't "alive".


SOUND[7]:
-> OP song is really good. Unlike soundtrack, which is rather bad for a show with many emotional scenes, voice acting is done superbly. It's really easy to recognize characters by their voice, and emotions exist when they are talking. Too bad soundtrack doesn't follow.


CHARACTER[6]:
-> I feel bad for giving this one a 6. But the fact is, this show maybe doesn't even deserve that much. Characters start off strong. Main character, Jirou, is presented as super-strong, but caring and gentle person. And while he's explained a lot in the beginning, any character development is nonexistent later on. Many characters just aren't developed at all. Cassa, probably main villain, but the way she acted, more of a nuisance than a villain, is completely forgotten when it comes to character development. This is category which could have been pure 10, but since the show is only 12 episodes and it rushed through many dialogs, it simply failed to deliver any real development, not only for secondary, but for main characters as well.


ENJOYMENT[6]:
-> As always, this category won't be explained too much. I did enjoy it, especially first few episodes, but it just has too many flaws to really love it.


OVERALL[6]:
->Just a 6 for a really good show. It really, really, really should have been 24 episodes long. Too many things unanswered, too many characters un(der)developed/unexplained, too many things rushed. A real shame.
I'll be honest, I did hope to find out there is season 2, but there isn't.
It may be great manga(if there's one), but as anime, it failed.
Pitty.

War is a terrible thing. One should never even wish for it to fell upon him or others. This show portraits the horrors of war in a really good manner. People lose ones they love, and the ending is not always happy.
Unlike many other shows, this one does have the courage to show likeable characters die, and unlike sooo many shows it actually does tell you "You don't forget the ones that died".

Wow, huge intro to this review, but I really felt that many shows just shrug off the ones that die, and that so many shows have characters that in the end just forget ... all those they loved and lost. Luckily this is not one of those.


Story [7]

I wouldn't mind giving story a higher grade than 7, but I can't force myself to do so. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends how you look at it) the story is pretty generic. It has been said million times so far. A story about two ninja clans in war, two people in love and their followers is nothing new, and if you've seen one of them, you know what this one is like. The difference is how it is played. Luckily, this one doesn't go generic way of killing all but main characters. You will see characters you came to like die in a second, and the ones you expected to live through die next second. There is no safe character in this war/love story.


Art [8]

Meh. I can't say it's bad. But I can't say it's good either. While fighting is nicely done most of the time, characters are just out of proportions and unlike themselves (art meaning) at other times. The colors, the reflections of sun, the colors of the trees and overall "atmosphere" art is really done great.


Sound [9]

Soundtrack for this one goes almost completely non-vocal style (I think only exception being op). And it hits top marks with it. Music never interferes with character talks, it never interrupts fights or bothers. It is there almost all the time, you can hear it and enjoy in it, but it's not going to distract you from watching the show. I gave it 9 just because of the fact many, and I mean many characters sounded so similar it was really hard to voice-recognize them. If you don't mind not recognizing characters by their voice, put 10 here.


Character [9]

To start off, huge cast. I see many people mention underdeveloped characters. But I disagree with that. I actually think characters are very well developed. The fact that I cared more for secondary characters than for the main ones tells a lot considering main characters have most of the screen time. 20 characters here in total (some minor ones in background). They go from harmless sexual maniacs to crazy old man. These characters have their emotions, they have their loves and their fears. One of my favorite characters in this shows acts all tough most of the time, but when shown with the one he loved in flashback, it is obvious even he enjoys peace when with loved one. Most of the characters in this show are like that. They are all strong and powerful, but they are also caring and gentle.
When it comes to characters, this is closest to reality I've seen so far. They are doing their duties flawlessly, but they are still people touched and hurt by the horrors of the war.


Enjoyment [9]

As always, I won't comment this one. Those who read this review probably noticed a lot of "I this...", "I that...". Enjoyment is different from person to person, the fact I enjoyed it doesn't mean others will too.


Overall [8]

With some art flaws, not so good voice acting and generic story, this show gets "only" 8. That in no way means I didn't like it. I did, and a lot. It is a really great show, and a definite recommendation.
There is a if you liked this you'll like that.
I say, if you didn't like shows which just write off characters and horrors of war (for me it was valkyrie chronicles), you'll definitively like this one.

First of all, let me point to one thing I find important. This show is underrated.
Being ranked #1600+, it really deserves better spot.
That's not saying this show is greatest show ever, but it is really good at what it does.


STORY
When show first started I was kinda confused with happenings. It's about area 88, a base for mercenary pilots fighting in some war. Which war it is is never told. Some might find that stupid, but the whole war is only second to true story, which is about a pilot Shin Kazama and photographer Shinjou.


ART
Well, show is aired in 2004, means graphics could have been better. ... They are still awesome at some moments, when portraiting the sun, the deset and the emotions. Dogfights could have used more polishing though. Every fight seemed the same. There are few different scenes, but mostly repetition of the same.


Sound
If you like action-techno stuff, you will love this show. Show had great opening, and mediocre ending song. Soundtrack was mostly good, but suffered from same problem art has. Repetition. Also, I must point out to one problem with soundtrack. Sometimes it was completely out of place.


Character
Strongest part of the show in my opinion. Shin is portraited just as he should be: strong, smart, yet somewhat sad person. And art does its job on him perfectly. Other bigger and smaller characters grow more and more as show progresses. There are no sudden changes or unexpected turns from them. They are the same people they were from beginning to the end, with only their life experience changing them. There are no one-time speaches in this show to turn someone around. There are speaches, but nothing that would change a person. Much more like a real world situations.


Enjoyment
I enjoyed in this show most of the time. As always, I'll leave this category without saying much because each person has different tastes and enjoys in different things.


Overall
Great show with only some flaws such as repetitiveness, not so good art and missing story parts. If you like dog fights, not really realistic, but still, with characters which are great pilots but still need help when faced 1vs3, so they're not Gods, than this show is for you.
If you like main characters which are badass in what they're doing, but are still both nice, gentle and caring, this show is for you.

Give this show a try, you might find yourselves pleasantly surprised.

Ok, to start off, I would like to point out I am not fond of writing reviews, but I just felt like it for this one, mainly because I sat through whole show with only a few short breaks.


STORY:

When I first read description for this show, I thought to myself: "Just like Infinite Ryvius", and I was partially correct. But only partially. Story about young kids fighting whole kingdom on their own, being rejected again and again is nothing new, but it's the way story was told that made it enjoyable. It may not be the best story ever, but I find it to my ... liking.


ART:

Another show I noticed similarities with is one of my favorite shows "Crest of the stars". Now, what I expected from this show was something similar in terms of graphics and style. What I got pleasantly surprised me. From the first shots of Amaterasu to nicely done space battles, this show had it done really good. However, biggest flaw was when there were people on screen. As fan of GBA games, I couldn't help but notice how some characters act like they're from video games, moving only image, but no visible movement of arms, legs or anything else. It just felt funny :) Other than that, it was good.


SOUND:

Whereas I prefer a little "faster" music, I must admit, I was once again surprised how well music was composed into all the action and emotions. However, I did get slightly annoyed by music sometimes, when it was playing, and there was no need for music whatsoever. But, putting that aside, great soundtrack.


CHARACTER:

Well, I don't really know how to describe characters in this show. They are consistent, but than again, they are so hard to understand sometimes. Not that that's bad, but it's just silly. One moment a person is doing something one way, other moment that same person is doing the same thing completely different way without any explanation whatsoever. Where this show did shine was love/romance part. There is enough of that in this show for emotional ones, and still not too much for those of us who like to see some emotions and love, but not to get annoyed by those things.


ENJOYMENT:

Well, I did say I watched it with almost no pause at all. However, that doesn't mean I enjoyed in it as much as I wanted to see how it ends. It's a good show, quite enjoyable, with quite a few flaws here and there, but not a bad not nevertheless. If you like space drama, something where you get to see both emotions and action, but not too much of either, look no further, you will find both here. If you look for one or other, look somewhere else. This isn't a show for you.


So OVERALL:

Yeah, even though grades for this show vary in my opinion, I felt like a 6 would be fair. As I said before, this is clearly not for everyone. Some will find it boring, some will find it lacking action. I find it to be rather good while it lasts. And don't take it wrong, me giving 6 to a show is in no way telling this is a bad show. It just didn't have THAT something other shows had, that have greater marks in my book.

But, if you're asking yourself should I watch this or not, my answer would be simple. Give it a shot, you won't feel sorry for that.

Why did I give 7 to Death note and placed it under my favorite anime?
Simple...

episodes 1-25 = rate 10, episode 25-37 = rate 6, average = 8, but due to extreme rate failure, extremely boring and unimaginative episode, it doesn't deserve 8.
Therefore, its 7.

Story

Its great, really. Anyone watching this anime can clearly see it has one great story with lots of upsets and wonderfully made events. Its never boring to watch it, because something happens all the time. And episodes 5-24, and constant "conflicts" between L and Light are so good I couldn't stop watching those episodes.

... Art

Nothing much to say. Nothing special, not bad, not awesome. Death scenes are somehow repetitive. Not too much blood, I like it, its heart attack as #1 death reason in here after all.

Sound

To be honest, I didn't pay that much attention to sound. I did like the soundtrack for first 20 episodes, at least the intro song, didn't like the later song at all.

Character (possible spoiler)

This is where it gets really fun. L is one of the greatest characters ever, and even though I hated him for his methods, I really missed him in later episodes. It simply wasn't as fun without him. Misa is standard woman in love, kinda confusing, but nicely done overall. Light is my favorite character in this anime, and for many reasons: 1. He is smart 2. He understand that sacrifices are required sometimes 3. Did I say he is really smart?

Enjoyment

I will not comment this one. Every person has its own sense of enjoyment. As I said in the beginning, I loved episode 1-25, and really didn't like 25-37.

Overall

It is a great tv show. Definitively a must see. Some late episodes just ruined it for me, it just wasn't it in the end, it was boring and it didn't keep me begging for more like first episodes. Once again, it is important to know this is my own opinion, so many people will disagree with this, that's normal.
If this was split into 2 parts instead of one with 1-25 being first season, and 25-37 second season, it would be great original with bad sequel, this way it is just another great anime ruined by late episodes.