*There will be some minor spoilers in this next section, but I will try to keep them to a minimum*
The reason I only rated this show an 8, is perhaps a result not of the show's quality, but of my own uneasiness. Character is important to me in any story. The main character of the show, Saki, is excellent. Perhaps one of my favorite characters of any show I've watched. But several of the other characters don't come across well to me (which may be intentional). It can be hard to understand the motivations of the "adults" in the story; however I'm willing to give that a pass because of the dystopian world in which they live and were raised in. However Satoru poses a bit of a problem for me, though only at the end of the story. By the end of the story I was in agreement with the antagonists of the story. Saki seemed to share the same misgivings I did every step of the way. But Satoru...after everything Satoru endured with Saki, he seemed to be stuck in an old way of thinking. The story ended on a positive note, but it took a major revelation for Satoru's character to reach a point that I felt he should've reached even without the major revelation.
Shinsekai Yori is a wonderful story, but I wouldn't say it is a happy story. The plot and the questions contained within, are not something you can find in many anime. The story is meant for a more mature audience, and if you want something that's a little more than mindless fun then Shinsekai Yori is probably for you.
