So, to start it off, the story. Right away, you are thrown into a utopian society with highly advanced technology. Autoreives, the machines manufactured by humans, run pretty much everything. They look and act like humans but are devoid of any emotion. The Cogito virus gives them something like a soul, and they find emotions. Autoreives infected with this virus often try to find out why they were created or why they serve their masters, but these emotions are not to be allowed and they are destroyed. The people in this society are driven to become model citizens, that serve the city and its people perfectly. If you ask me, they all act like robots themselves. I'd go deeper into that, but I don't want this to be too much of a philosophical discussion. This is just one of many philosophical questions posed here.
Re-l Mayer is our heroine, and right away she seems a bit different, with her strange eyeshadow. She is the granddaughter of the administrator, kind of like the head of a council in the city, and also an investigator. She is investigating the Cogito virus and comes across some sort of monster, and her journey to find the truth begins.
Vincent Law works on autoreives and is an acquaintance of Re-l's that seems to have a bit of a crush on our heroine. He is an immigrant and is working toward citizenship in this utopian society. But he keeps popping up where the trouble is, like it's following him around. Re-l and eventually he himself begin to wonder why all of this trouble seems to spring up around him.
In the first few episodes, a large part of the story, the character introductions, and just an overwhelming amount of information is just dropped on you. It's very fast paced and very little of the literally hundreds of questions you have are answered. After that, bits and pieces of what's going on are revealed and the pace of the show slows down. I can understand why some people might give up on this, because it gets pretty confusing and most of the time you will just be wondering what is going on. But, most of the questions are eventually answered, and I don't think there are any major parts they leave out. Well, maybe one in the last episode, but I think they meant to leave that open. For someone watching it for the first time, I'd like to say that there is a weird kind of game-show episode in the middle. Pay attention!!!! Answers to a lot of questions will be here. Other than that, there are a lot of places that don't really seem important, but they are. It may take a second watch to pick up on some of those though.
I'll go ahead and say a bit about the characters next, since I already introduced Re-l and Vincent. The other main character in the story is Pino, and autoreiv infected with the Cogito virus, so she is a lot like a real little girl. I can't say too much about any of the characters though cause I think I'd probably give away too much, and may start to rant about philosophy again. I will say that all of the major characters show significant development throughout the series. And it is done very well.
The art is excellent. The animation is very smooth, from simple scenes to action scenes and everything in between. The art is gorgeous. The character designs are a bit different, but fitting with the show, and are also done very well. The backgrounds are rich in detail and are just beautiful. Everything is really top notch here.
Sound is good. The opening and endings are good, I liked the songs in both. There wasn't much music in the show, but the sounds were done pretty well.
I guess that would bring me to the enjoyment factor. It's really hard to rate. For most of the series I was plainly frustrated with how little information was revealed for how many questions the show posed. Even so, I couldn't stop watching it. Even after one episode of just asking "what the hell is going on?" I just wanted to watch the next one. It just kind of draws you in. I think this is mostly due to the excellent characters, but you also want to know more about what is going on in this world. As I said at the beginning, it was frustrating but at the same time it was a masterpiece that can really only be seen for what it is once you have finished it. While I was watching the show, I probably would've given a 5 or 6 for enjoyment because of the frustration, but I'd end up giving it an 8 or 9 in the end. After all, it kept me wanting for more.
To conclude, everything about this show was really pretty incredible. The characters especially shine. There is a great amount of philosophy there and it really makes you think about a great many things. It is difficult to rate. As frustrated as I was through the show, after I finished it, I looked back and was simply amazed by the sheer mass of the show. I'm giving it a 9, but I may watch the show again and upgrade it to a 10. Even now, I'm not sure it doesn't deserve a 10, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as some shows, so I don't think I can give it a perfect score. So, it's a 9.
PS I have to apologize since this review may be a bit confusing itself. I was trying really hard to put the show into words with out giving away too much of the show or ending up on a huge rant on philosophy. And I like huge rants on philosophy. Hopefully I was able to stay on track fairly well.
