Okay, so the story. I honestly have no words. If you're into philosophy and the question of human morality when it comes to not only us, but other species.. well, honestly this anime beats them all. Every episode made me "wow"... It's not so much because the ideas are unique, but rather beautifully executed. It felt like each episode inspired me in my own writing imagination. It has a somewhat Gulliver's travels idea to it in a morality sense (but I won't spoil it more than that). Other than that, everything about the time-period was executed beautifully.. and in 25 episodes you somehow got an amazing story with so many different layers, that never felt like there were holes in the plot. Each episode felt like it lasted 3 minutes, and I couldn't wait to see the next one. It was jam packed, yet flowed evenly, and managed to never feel rushed.
Art. So some people might dislike the art, but I think that the way it's drawn is necessary for the type of anime it is. I loved it, and it had a lot of really beautiful backgrounds and scenes.. and the way the characters moved was very free and loose.
Sound. Soundtrack was amazing.
Character: While some characters didn't get as much spotlight, the show wasn't trying to fool you. You knew who the main characters were, and you knew which characters influenced them and why. You really saw them grow in the time skips.. and spoiler: there were points where you felt like you knew why THEY were the main characters when seeing other characters in certain later episodes. Every character had a really different personality. Also, idk if anyone else noticed their resemblance to the original group in digimon, but I did. haha.. Either way, you really felt for the characters and didn't feel like the writers were lying.
Overall, this anime had everything I've ever wanted in an anime. It would have made a great book too, I'm sure. It had action and romance and tragedy and some scenes that made you happy. It definitely wasn't a fun loving anime, but there were definitely points that touched me.. in a way that made me smile. This anime definitely isn't for anyone looking for just entertainment, because there is WAY more to it. If you're into animes that make you think, and wonder, while keeping you on the edge of your seat and guessing different outcomes... this is it. Also, it wasn't always so obvious who you were routing for, which made the relationships and viewpoints realistic. I wouldn't say it ends "Happy" but it ends how it's meant to end in the best of possible ways. Definitely not a sad outcome though depending on how it could have ended.
10/10 would recommend.
