It’s pretty average as far as Chinese cartoons go: nothing really stands out and nothing looks that bad either.
Sound (7/10):
The OST fits well. The opening and ending themes are also nice. The Indian caricature who had a white voice actor and the British dude who had an American voice actor was a nice meme. Although the guy who portrayed the Indian dude was far more skilled in expressing his emotions convincingly.
Plot (3/10):
It’s like Darker than Black. Except in China. In the 1930s. Look, it’s pretty interesting actually. But, some of the events do feel a bit wonky. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. It's the kind of shit that makes you say to yourself "I'm fully aware I'm watching a cartoon and it characters don't feel realistic (in terms of actions and responses)." But it’s not that bad. Read the synopsis or something.
-spoilers-
The ending was shit. If you think otherwise, think about the character's actions and the time of those actions during the last episode. It's fucking retarded.
-end spooilers-
Setting (10/10):
This anime takes place in the early 1930s – an interesting period in Japan’s history. During this time, Japan is already a world power, occupying Korea and “leasing” parts of Manchuria. However, we can witness the imperialistic mindset of the Japanese developing aggressively, leading to the autonomous Kwantung Army of Japan to stage the Mukden Incident and initiate the invasion of Manchuria. Also they add a bit of a supernatural twist in, which is kind of cool.
I find Japan’s place in this time period to be one of the greatest yet saddest ironies I can think of. By defeating the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japan was seen a shining beacon of freedom, a liberator so to speak, by many Asian nations at the time who were devastated by Western colonization. However, Japan didn’t share such a perspective. Japan sought to gain power by emulating the West, doing so by invading, colonizing, massacring, and raping the populaces of many other Asian nations in the years following. And it’s interesting to think that the Japanese encouraged modernization out of a fear of being dominated by Western powers, but by their own efforts, they became just like the colonizers they once feared. It’s kinda like the ending to Animal Farm.
The anime doesn't go into all this detail, but you really should know this stuff before watching it.
Characterization (6/10):
A good amount of the characterization is done through flashbacks without much context, but it’s not too difficult to figure out what’s going on. It also feels a bit clumsy, as if the writers weren’t too sure of how to portray these scenes well. Also, that episode with the cat and the bag felt ridiculous and out-of-place compared to the rest of the episodes. But if you appreciate it as some form of comic relief, be my guest.
I do enjoy the conflicting ideologies between Aoi and Kazura and also the conflict between Isao and Yukina as well. In the case of Aoi and Kazura, Aoi is quite critical of his country’s imperialistic attitude while Kazura responds defensively out of his sense of nationalism. This kind of conflict gives life to these characters, as it shows that they are clearly responding to their setting in a meaningful way. As for Yukina and Isao, Yukina is torn from having to fight against her brother, who is fighting for what he believes is right, even though he is radically misguided. Who is truly morally correct in this situation (in terms of ideology)? Also, sibling fighting is cute, isn’t it? ^^
My verdict: meh
