Now I'm probably being very generous with my rating for this show, and of course my idea of an outstanding show is going to be the complete opposite for someone else. With that said, I extremely enjoyed this show. First off the artwork and character design is gorgeous. The characters portray a range of emotions and none of the set pieces clash or stand out, pretty much just your typical rendition of a city in Japan, still top notch stuff though. The music is very memorable. I've caught myself tearing up when the ending credit song came on and still occasionally do when I hear it. Not ashamed in the bit least!
As for the story, this is where it gets a little tricky. Im sure there are those out there who will claim that the subject or idea of the show presents itself pretty obviously, which is true in a sense. The main focus, in my opinion, is the basis of the human self. What it means to be human, to feel, to learn, to experience. The other theme that is brought up is our held strong belief of being on top. To dominate those who would oppose us and establish our foothold on determining what should be here and what shouldn't. I don't want to say to much because I feel as though the viewer should determine the themes for themselves and dissect what the they think it all means. I felt the show really probed at my brain and brought up some really interesting questions.
Character progression on the other hand is a little all over the place. You'll have some characters thrown in and they will have hardly any screen time but be expected to have huge impacts on the show later on. It didn't really hinder me from the enjoying the show but I would have liked to have seen some of the characters get fleshed out more. One thing is for sure, this show can be an emotional rollercoaster...quit a lot. You're going to want to do something fun and nice after a little while from watching it. All in all, I thought this show was thought provoking and very well played out. It can seem to drag on and then kind of rush itself at points but it till goes at a decent pace. I hope you all enjoy it and it might not be your cup of tea but give it a shot and prepare for emotional distraught!
