I walked in to this expecting Ghost In The Shell: very glad I got something different, from what I can still remember of GITS. From the minute I saw the MC - a cute but serious, "average" girl char. with trademark brown hair - who looked like she was laced up and ready to continuously get ravaged by the world around her, I could tell this show was going to focus on the world at hand in detail.
Didn't disappoint.
The character crew feels a little big, if not lanky at first, but everyone makes their stake and settles in pretty nicely, pretty fast. Their growth throughout isn't terribly shocking, but their authenticity as the show progressed keeps the light in their eyes, so to speak. Rest assured the pieces on the board are moving: it's not a terribly static show, but you get who "The dog, the owner, and the cat they're chasing" are pretty quick.
Still had me between curious and edge of my seat though, coming in hard towards the finish!
The animation is 50/50 of 3D and anime, but applied where appropriate so you never feel jarred or uncanny between the two. I loved it, really: sharp characters, that smooth feeling of motion, and highly detailed city scenery porn lol.
Nothing explicitly memorable conceptually despite some a few great scenes, but retains it's integrity till the end for sure!
The only negatives were the VA work at some odd occasions.
I watched this on Netflix, switching from English to Japanese and vice versa with subs on the whole time, listening particularly for both critical scenes and any scenes that interested me: where I saw the characters could come alive, you know?
For English gotta give more leeway, but surprisingly there were a some scenes where both the Japanese and the English couldn't hold up to the tone, physical animations like shuddering or even just char emphasis.
I may just be being shrewd though, or awakened new faculties--this prob wouldn't throw others off in watching :).
All in all show gets a 8, maaaybe 9/10 for me after just finishing it now. Had me hooked, had me intrigued with all it has to learn, and good pacing. Not completely mind blowing, but when you factor in this just being the first season you're golden.
