Language: moderate
Nudity/Sexuality: minor (bath scene, no actual nudity.)
Innuendo: moderate
Kazuki Muto is just an ordinary high school student, when one night on his way back to the dorms he sees a light at the abandoned factory behind the school. Upon investigation, he sees a fantastic serpent-like creature stalking a schoolgirl. In the moment that the monster strikes, Kazuki leaps in and knocks the girl aside, saving her life but also dying instantly as the serpent's spined tail pierces his heart.
The next thing Kazuki knows is that he has gained consciousness atop the school building, where the mysterious schoolgirl, Tokiko, has brought him back to life by joining his life force to the power of a mystical artifact known as a Kakugane. Tokiko is an achemist warrior, protecting the world from the cannibalistic creatures known as Homunculi by using the powers of her Kakugane weapon, and Kazuki has just been drawn into her fight. The world of alchemy and the continuous battle between alchemist warriors and homunculi is now Kazuki's world as well.
This anime strikes a good balance between lighthearted humor and more serious themes as Kazuki balances his new life as an alchemist warrior with the everyday concerns of education and dorm life. The pacing of the story is quite good and has both action and drama throughout. There seem to be two main story arcs in this anime, the first being the extermination of the LXE, the evil League of Extraordinary Elites, and the second arc concerning the rise of the being known as Victor and the struggle to bring him down. Other minor themes are woven into the mix as well, including the developing relationship between Kazuki and Tokiko, Kazuki's training within the Alchemist Army, and Kazuki's interaction with his nemesis, the fabulous mastermind Papillon.
There is a fair amount of objectionable content in this anime; I would give it about a PG-13 rating. Most notable is the violence, of which there is quite a lot, with limbs being sliced off and blood (red and other colors) splattering around everywhere during battle scenes. Generally the only fatalities during these battles are the monsters, however, and no grievous injuries are sustained by human characters due to the regenerative powers of the Kakugane weapons which heal even extraordinary wounds fairly quickly. From what I can tell, there is a bit of language in the Japanese version with subtitles, nothing major really and such language is not frequent at all. In the English dub, most of the profanity has been replaced with less objectionable language.
As in most anime, there are a few bath scenes and a character does have his clothes vaporized in one battle scene, leaving his immortal body inact. During these scenes, however, nothing much is ever shown; in the bath scene, for example, everyone is in the bath, or fog covers all the naughty bits, etc. There is a bit of sexual innuendo at places however; at one point all the guys compare the relative sizes of their manhood while in the bath, resulting in general despair and disillusionment. One of the diabolical characters, Papillon, a male homunculus, wears a rather revealing leotard-like uniform and a mask (which leads other characters to refer to him as a "masked pervert"). At other times, Papillon wears only a thong or a rather awful suspender-type swimsuit (keep in mind this is a male character). Given Papillon's obsession with Kazuki (although not in a romantic manner), his flair for melodrama, and his "fabulous" sense of style and taste in clothing, it is implied that he may be gay, though such an assertion is never explicitly declared. There is very little female fanservice in this anime (if any). Refreshingly, this is not a "harem"-style anime where tons of girls are all interested in the main character.
What really makes this anime shine is the interesting characters; some of them are kinda stereotypical, but there are also some that are a little different from the usual. I really like Tokiko's cool, mature, level-headed vibe. Then there is the ultra-macho Captain Bravo, who never introduces himself by his real name because "it's just cooler that way." Kazuki Muto is kind of a cookie-cutter hero-type who will sacrifice himself for others and "wants to get stronger," but he is still a likeable enough character despite being generic. My personal favorite is Kazuki's nemesis Papillon, a diabolical genius student dying of a rare disease who seeks the power of alchemy in order to gain immortality. Papillon's transformation from an unsightly caterpillar to devious butterfly master is quite entertaining and Pappy's violent and flamboyant personality makes things interesting.
All in all, this is a well-balanced anime with interesting characters and a decent storyline. If you like anime with lots of action, cool powers, and not too much ecchi content, this anime might be for you. Also, it has a happy ending. I give this anime a hearty thumbs up.
