However, I've changed over time, and merely being experimental isn't always enough. It's artsy and stylish without being pretentious, and it's easy to sympathize with our lead female, who has a sweet romance with the male lead but struggles to constrain her inner monster, usually brought about whenever she drinks or gets intimate with him. It's basically a twisted love story where both partners must abandon and risk everything in order to be together; where neither temptation nor past responsibilities will keep them separated for long.
Despite the rather odd artstyle, the direction has a lot of flair, with creative and artistic flourishes. It's rounded out by a jazzy soundtrack which helps draw you into its unorthodox atmosphere, which tends to jump from one odd scenario to the next with wild abandon.
I'm also reminded of all those trashy late 80s to mid 90s OVAs; you know, the ones filled with ultra-violence, copious amounts of nudity, underdeveloped settings full of ambition, and storylines often told so poorly they often bordered on incomprehensible. Fortunately, this is better executed than many of those, which reveled in shock value with little else to back them up, aside from maybe some nice visuals (If you were lucky) and catchy music. Here the offbeat story at least remained coherent albeit somewhat tricky to follow at times.
Anime humor usually does little for me but its constantly used here in attempt to offset the bleaker aspects. Perhaps this was meant to be satirical in nature? There are certainly plenty of scenes which lead credence to that, such as the end of a boxing match where the loser eats his opponent, a television announcement by a cyborg who gets gunned down before a cut to his body in the newspaper, cutaway gags to live action, etc. It straddles the line between art and schlock. Recommended to those who are looking for a unique experience.
