Story: The concept of the story isn't very original; but the way they took on the concept was. the hole concept of killing someone while at the same time you cant get caught by others hasn't really been done like this before. the whole trial system was good too but felt like it was a little rushed but for me rushing it wasn't as bad of a thing as other say; it kept me watching and because of the fast pace i wasn't bored at all; the down side to this is i wasn't as surprised either when a "twist" happened.
Character: This is where the series fell short because you don't really learn much about the characters in this anime. The information you do get on the background of the characters if you actually get some is very little and doesn't contribute much to the story. They do focus on the characters but not the same way (or should i say not in the way the should) compared to other anime. They focus more on the character at the present moment and how they act towards things then actually getting to know them and telling about there past which really brings the rating down.
Art: i don't know why people where so angry about the art it felt very fitting for this type of anime. Its was bright and colorful while at the same time eerie and sinister which kept me glued to the screen. Also it made each character very individual and very easy two spot what kind of person they where gonna be and made me more surprised when some characters had more to them than expected.
Sound: The soundtrack was enjoyable for me. not as much to say about it though. if you like the sound track to persona 2 your gonna like the soundtrack for this (weird and obscure i know)
I played the game after i watched the anime so i don't know if that's the reason why i like the anime more than others. either way i don't care the game and the anime are two different things with a similar story that take on the story in two completely different ways. This is why is why its a bad idea to compare these two and i hope future reviewers see this and think about how different they are before making a review.
