a) this anime doesn't have too many reviews
b) everybody's gushing way too much over it.
As a casual yaoi fan, I can see why this anime would excite fujoshis - it's everything they would want, without the smut and cheap tactics animators often stoop to using to please their fan base. I went in completely blind, not knowing what the anime was and it pleasantly surprised me. I would suggest you to go in blind as well; that's the best way to enjoy it.
But if you're still interested in knowing what it's about, here it is (without spoilers):
Set in late 19th C Japan, the stories revolve around Hybrid Children (neither human nor machine) who look, walk, talk, grow and feel exactly like humans, except for the fact that they aren't really human. They're owned by their respective masters, who inevitably forge strong bonds with them. The first 2 stories focus on two different masters, their bonds with their Hybrid Children, their circumstances etc. The third story focuses on the creator of these Hybrids, his background and the reason he chose to create these dolls.
Much like most of these reviews mentioned, I didn't expect the stories to be so, well, dark. Yaoi is not something you associate with death and destruction, you know. So that was something that made me appreciate the anime a little. Some of the scenes were beautifully done, esp in ep 4; they conveyed the mood of the protagonist's mind beautifully without putting it into words. The dialogues, even though fanmade subs, were pretty moving and I imagine they sounded even more beautiful in Japanese. The music too added beautifully to the entire atmosphere of the anime.
The biggest gripe with this anime was its art form. First off, not a fan of the Junjou Romantic style of art. Second, pretty much every face in this anime was the same. Sometimes the hair and eye colours of different characters were the same, which ended up making me wonder if I was watching a continuation of the previous eps, or if this really was a new character. Poor animation on part of the animators. Apart from that, I found that story of ep 2 lacking a little. It focused more on emotions, while the plot moved very, very slowly. Another issue with the anime was how the jokes or funny moments were incorporated with chibi art forms. Really? When you're making an anime with such serious topics (or at least, non-frivolous topics) this chibi style of art form only takes *away* from the seriousness of the entire setting you've painstakingly built. They were jarring and completely unnecessary.
Even so, at the end of the day, if you're a casual yaoi fan like me or a hardcore fujoshi - you'll like this anime because it really is something different that you seldom get to see in the yaoi genre!
PS. Eps 1, 2 and 4 have after credit scenes. Don't forget to watch them!
