Much can be said about its story and its contents, but at heart it's a big metaphor of growing up, from the utopian-seeming setting in the beginning to the more nuanced view we're treated to later - not as a result of the world changing but as the result of the viewer - and the main characters - simply finding out more about the world and how it works, and adapting accordingly. It doesn't just settle with "children growing up", however, at every point and turn there's dark revelations and disturbing implications, some of which are never answered but deftly left for the viewer to contemplate, and right up to - and including - the ending, you always feel that something is just... out of place. The setting feels off, but in a good, "this is disturbingly cool" kind of way, so while maybe a little uncomfortable, it amplifies the overall mood of the series. Dread is, perhaps, a good word for the sensation.
The characters are treated to a lot of interesting hurdles and obstacles, and it's interesting to see them interact with the world and each other, even if some characters take an unfortunate role as vassals of the story or infodumpers. Even so, the series' focus on karmic elements, the evil of the subconscious and the gnawing effects on those humans left isolated from their peers all serve to further define and contribute to the character dynamic. The latter half, where the pace really picks up, also brings about themes of oppression and supremacy and skillfully manages to instill a sensation of moral gray rather than good and evil. Conflicts are abound, simply put, and challenges the characters in intriguing and often unexpected ways.
Aesthetically there is little to hold against the series. The colour palette is lush and the animation fluid. It rarely fails to deliver excellent character designs and animations, and likewise its special effects are lovely indeed. On the auditory side, it delivers a soundtrack that contributes strongly to the perturbing mood of the series. The opening theme is as harrowing as it is good, and the ending theme wrote itself swiftly into my favorite list. The voice acting is overall good, I am especially impressed with newcomers
To sum up Shinsekai Yori is hard, but its essence is a dark story about a world where few things are as they seem, that deals with a large host of themes - many more (and no less important) than the ones already mentioned -, set in an aesthetically wonderful world. It adheres to few of the clichés and stereotypes of the day, and is that anime that comes along once in a while with a really refreshing concept and story and executes it well. Characterization could have been done a little better, initial pacing maybe too, and some story elements were a little hard to accept, and so on and so forth. Regardless, I can only finish with this: Give Shinsekai a try!
