KnK definitely exceeded my expectations, but it still did not come out on top for me. This anime is very enjoyable, containing lots of action and an interesting plot, but there were a few different routes that I wish would have been taken.
Story: 7/10
The story isn't completely original. There are "Spirit World Warriors" that fight yokai, collect the stone they receive from defeating each one, then cash them in to make a living. The Nase family, a prominent family in the anime, became wealthy through this, or so I gathered. Akihito, the main character, is best friends with two siblings from the Nase family. Akihito is an immortal half-human half-yokai being that the Nase family keeps a close eye on. Akihito's friends are ordered to kill him if his yokai self surfaces, but gets out of control (Apparently he can be killed if his powers are weakened. So does that really make him immortal...?)
One day, Akihito meets a girl named Mirai Kuriyama, who basically introduces herself by stabbing him in the stomach, and Akihito kindly asks her to remove it from him. She tries to kill him several times, but is obviously unsuccessful. Mirai is a member of a "cursed" clan of Spirit World Warriors that use blood manipulation to defeat yokai.
The main problem I had with the plot is how they chose to reveal everything about Mirai. For example, how did she know Akihito was immortal in the first place? We don't find this out until an episode or two before the final episode. She had been meeting with a member of the Nase family frequently because help was needed to kill Akihito, but Mirai was almost never shown speaking to her. The Nase family had tried to kill him once before when he lost control, but the person in charge of taking him down nearly died. Thus, Mirai was asked to aid in the murder of Akihito, but of course, she ends up not wanting to kill him for various reasons. In my opinion, a more gradual approach to revealing what Mirai was involved with rather than all at once would have been better.
Other than the yokai themselves, there is only one other person that is considered as a villan in the anime, and man is he unlikable. I hated him from his first appearance. You could tell that he was up to something from the very beginning, and that he was going to turn on the Nase family and cause all of the Spirit World Warriors and Akihito to be involved in quite a mess.
Art: 9/10
The animation is good for the time that the anime came out. It is aesthetically pleasing to look at with its smooth animation and its overall nice color palette. The fighting scenes were nice; the characters had a variety of movement in their attacks that wasn't completely rehashed throughout the series. I don't give it a 10/10 simply because I think there were some scenes that could have been animated better and that were a bit rushed, but overall it was some beautiful animation.
Sound: 8/10
To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the sound at points, but from I can remember, it was good. Obviously, it wasn't all that memorable, but I enjoyed the opening a lot and the ending was decent.
Character: 7/10
The characters weren't completely unique. Akihito and Hiroomi, one of Akihito's friends in the anime, are the usual perverts with specific likes. Akihito loves girls in glasses, and Hiroomi has a little sister complex, which his sister Mitsuki detests. Other than that, most of the characters have fairly likeable traits. All the characters truly care about each other (aside from all of the teasing) and want to protect each other as much as possible. Mirai, too, is pretty likeable, though she may be a bit bland, but I had a soft spot for her throughout the anime for my own silly reasons.
Enjoyment:10/10
The reason I'm giving this a 10/10 is that I did not get bored. I was left confused at times, but I was engaged the whole time. It was interesting enough to hold my attention and watch it when I had the chance.
Overall: 8/10
This anime is very likeable despite a few things that I had to pick at. The action scenes and the story, although not original, kept me watching. The characters were likable and so was the animation. I enjoyed the banter the characters had back and forth at each other. It made for some good comedic relief, although it was a bit inappropriately inserted at times.
A few other minor things that I'd like to mention:
-The fact that Sakura and Mirai made up rather quickly bothered me. Mirai murdered Sakura's sister Yui, and Sakura was after Mirai for half of the anime, but they made up so quickly after one of their fights that I found it odd.
-Akihito's mom is just plain weird. Enough said.
