The art is great. You might be skeptical at first, but the style flows very nicely in the show. The character designs are from the same person behind Escaflowne. There are some very well-animated scenes throughout the show, and never do you see signs of lazy animation throughout. There is also some well integrated CG, that remains exclusive to more complex buildings and vehicles.
The sound was good. Nothing spectacular, but certainly not bad. Some of the songs may seem tacky at first, but the show reuses them in all of the right situations, to tie feelings into newer scenes, and you'll like the soundtrack more by the end of the show than you did in the beginning.
The story is fantastic. It starts out relatively small, as explained in the synopsis, but continually grows to be greater than you'd expect.
The characters are what make this series shine, however. Daisuke Aurora has easily weaseled his way into my top 5 protagonists. He creates fantastic relationships with many unlikely characters throughout the show. Deep themes of friendship and seeing the good in people are present throughout the entire series, right down to the epic conclusion, and those themes are what will leave a lasting impact on you after completing this series.
I highly recommend this to anyone with a slight interest. The show reminds me a bit of Gungrave and Cowboy Bebop, as it involves a large, rather corrupt city, with some amazing protagonists. Give the show a chance, and I guarantee you'll be hooked with the first episode. If not, well, this probably wasn't your cup of tea to begin with.
