Story: 3/10 (poor)
The plot of Togainu no Chi might not have appeared so pathetic had it been held up by better writing, characters, and art. I mean, fair enough, Japan is divided, run by drug lords who find it entertaining to watch people kill eachother. In itself, it's not anything appalling, but not anything original or particularly fantastic either. What made it embarrassing was the way the plot progressed, and the way the writers were clearly busting a bollock to make it seem deep and symbolic. I found myself crying inside at the cringeworthy monologues that started off the episodes that turned out to come from a character that was so clearly intended to be all-knowing and mysterious it was obnoxious. The way the character of Arbitro was written and the role he played in the story was incredibly irritating also. His 'pets' seemed an entirely unnecessary part of the story, simply there to make everything seem a bit more disturbing or messed up.
Art: 4/10 (decent)
This series was not difficult to look at. It was, however, nothing spectacular, and there was nothing really unique about each different character. The way the blood was practically neon was an eyebrow-raiser. Coupled with the desperate, pathetic attempt at colours appearing symbolic in the story, this was irritating and not subtle whatsoever. There wasn't really anything to praise in the art.
Sound: 3/10 (poor)
The OST for this series was nothing particularly evocative or tactful. The voice acting was also quite unspectacular.
Character: 1/10 (pathetic)
In the end, the plot of any anime, film, book, etc. can be as action packed or mild as you like - the most important element to keep a viewer interested is the characters and their personal conflicts and the way they relate to eachother. If the premise was the only thing that mattered, Slice of Life anime wouldn't exist. I think I could have forgiven the other elements of this anime for being so uninspiring had the characters grabbed my attention. They were all one-dimensional. The infinitesimally small amount of character development, dare I even call it that, felt forced and sudden, yet completely predictable. I didn't find that I cared about or rooted for the characters at all. I find it difficult to see how it successfully creates a believable relationship between characters whatsoever, and in an anime that is listed as a shounen-ai, this is confusing. The relationship between Keisuke and Akira just seems arbitrary and unexciting and barely develops whatsoever in the 9 episodes I've seen. Unless I have dropped the series before any real romantic development - though I fail to see how a convincing romantic relationship can be shown in 3 episodes out of 12.
Enjoyment: 5/10 (mediocre)
There is nothing special about this anime in my opinion, but somehow, I stuck through it for 9 episodes. It's really more of a time killer. It wasn't like I couldn't stand to watch 30 seconds of it, but I wasn't hooked on it either.
Overall: 3/10 (poor)
There is no real point in watching this anime in my opinion. If you want to kill time, there are plenty of less embarrassing anime in this world.
