[b]Story: 9/10[/b]
The story itself is excellently paced and its transition from present to past in terms of time travel is natural and never jarring. There are no monsters of the week or problems of the week, the plot is perfectly integrated and timed so that there are no abrupt transitions between events. As a long time fan of the time travel show Doctor Who I was surprised how fluidly the transitions were made, however fans of hard scifi beware, there are no detailed explanations of how the travelling works, the time travel is a vehicle for the plot to unfold and is NOT the mystery of the plot.
The story does not keep the identity of the murderer secret, however I constantly doubted whether or not he'd ever be caught. The anime is a delight to watch because Satoru's strategies in the murderer have to increase in complexity to match the constantly changing scenario. The plot is driven entirely by Satoru's decisions and the decisions of those around him, there are no contrivances and there is no guarantee at all that his actions will actually have the desired outcome as he finds out to his horror.
The story is also excellent at maintaining suspense and will leave the reader doubtful of the character's safety at every turn, especially through tasteful cliffhangers that are never reused and maintain perfect continuity between each episode.
This otherwise 10/10 show loses 1 point in conclusion due to the appearance of a certain character who I am also not too fond of, but all in all the conclusion was befitting of this beautiful anime.
[b]Characterisation: 10/10 [/b]
You can see the humanity shine out of characters such as Satoru's mother in her love for her son through small subtle actions such as her making of food to greater actions. Small actions of kindness such as the giving of gloves between Satoru and Kayu allows the author to establish their relationship gradually.
Characterisation is also never in black and white. As one of many examples, Satoru is on one characterisation the shaken and disturbed boy who is horrified by the crimes that he has witnessed, but on the other side he displays his courageous side to his friends. But which side displays his true self and which the lie? Kenya comments that he finds Satoru deeply changed.
Throughout each of the many timelines, characters inhabit changing worlds but despite this they hold onto their sense of self, their flaws and their deepest desires.
[b]Art and sound: 10/10 [/b]
The anime uses tasteful colouration and lovely linework with no obvious examples of dropped quality. The animation, especially the panning and the movements of characters are astoundingly fluid and beautiful as aspects such as the framerate have also been taken into consideration. The backgrounds and landscapes are detailed and impressive works of art in their own right.
There is nothing much to comment on the soundtrack. Yuki Kaijura's melancholic and at times tear jerking music fits the mood - despairing yet never without hope perfectly. There is also great soundtrack range - the reverebrating tones of the murderer about to claim his latest victim, the tense soundtrack of a boy being chased, the sinister setting which should be ordinary and yet frightening and the soft beautiful piano music of a farewell spoken underneath falling snow.
[b]Overall: 10/10 [/b]
To reiterate: the main points here are excellent soundtrack, stunning visuals and animation, excellent characterisation, excellent let down only by part of the conclusion which I don't think is substantial to make this anything less than 10/10.
