Before I start, let me say that this anime is not everyone's cup of tea. Some people love it, some hate it and some are in between. As for me, I love it to bits so if my review seems a bit biased, I apologise right off the bat.
First off, the storyline, I'm sure there are a few anime out there featuring parallel worlds or dimensions but I really enjoyed the way it's portrayed in this anime. The main reason for this being that, with such a grim and mature-ish beginning to the anime that gave it such a depth to storyline, the anime does also get lighter by mixing it with some other elements as well and I enjoy these lighter moments as much as the more intense parts of the anime. And mind you, this anime does seem to make the world around the main protagonist, Yuji, to seem hopeless at the start but it grows to become more light-hearted while still maintaining its original premise.
The artwork is rather good in my honest opinion. The characters are reasonably well drawn, although they are of the large-eyed variety as seen in many anime, they are still pretty decent to look at. In my opinion, the artwork shines the most during the fight scenes. The fight scenes never seem to leave you disoriented since it is laid out in such a way that makes it simple and yet, an enjoyment to watch.
For the sound of the anime, I have found nothing I am particularly unhappy about when it comes to the overall sound of the anime. Basically, everything sounds alright, with no flaws or anything that I have found. The voice acting was also pretty decent, and I know some people would beg to differ right here but I liked the way that Rie Kugimiya voiced Shana to be very child-like to mirror Shana's original age and her true child-like self. I did also really enjoy the opening and ending themes of the series. The animations during these are pretty decent as well.
Now for my favourite part, the characters. The characters really do grow on you in this anime. They also really do have some growth, even the less important ones do have some development to a certain degree. The most of development however must happen to the main characters and this series does not disappoint. First off, the main male protagonist, Yuji Sakai, there is a good deal of development especially at the early stages of the series when he is thrust headlong into a reality that seems so hopeless for him, and yet, he grows to understand and accept his situation. Second, there's Shana, the main female protagonist. Being a tsundere(wiki it if you're wondering what this means) character, she does have a lot of development as a character in the story throughout the series as she grows less cold toward Yuji, as she originally viewed him as little more than an object, and instead begins to grow more fond of him and these feelings really confuse her as she still has to maintain her duty as a Flame Haze.
Now for the enjoyment factor, I really did enjoy it. Especially in the later parts of the anime, the plot and the characters did leave me feeling more and more attached to the anime. Most of all, I enjoyed watching the development of Yuji and Shana's relationship together since it's not your typical boy likes girl, girl likes boy drama, it's a lot more complicated than it appears.
Overall, this is a great anime to watch with characters that begin to grow on you after a while. I definitely would recommend watching it. And it's also a must watch for any tsundere fan out there as well.
