Story
The highlight of the story was the relationships that develop between the main cast, mainly the relationships that occur from both the female leads towards the male lead, I found this to be very interesting as they were both complex yet quite different relationships.
Unfortunately, likely due to the strength of the main relationships, the interactions regarding the remaining characters were simply underwhelming.
The story was quite dark and confronting at times, touching on strong themes such as struggling with personal identity and some decisions that really did shock me morally.
A time skip also occurs which adds another level of depth to the series, seeing the changes that occurred with each character was another highlight of the series. As the changes were quite significant, and came about not only by each characters individual choices, but also due to the combined effect of the surrounding cast choices.
Overall the story was great, with its numerous plot twists, even though I didn't fully agree with the scenarios that occurred towards the end of the series, it still kept me hooked till the very end.
This is also one of the few series that I have looked back on after finishing, and thought about how significant a minor change of events would have altered the entire series.
Art
Firstly let me say this series has probably the best cinematography I have ever seen in Anime to date, resulting in some really great looking scenes.
Some low quality/errors in the animation do occur, but they are very rare and weren't enough to distract me from enjoying the series.
The lighting was very good, and considering the tone of the anime this was quite important, also the colour scheme and art style was very crisp and clean.
The art style for each of the characters, had both their clothing and appearance reflect their personality well.
Sound
Voice acting was solid all-round, but was exceptional from the two lead females of the series.
The music was very well done, including quite a wide range, from dramatic opera pieces to new age techno beats, which seem to kick in at just the right moments during action/dramatic scenes.
Both the opening/ending themes are well made, and even reflect the journey of the main cast throughout the series of trying to escape to a brighter life but still being trapped by their past.
Characters
The main cast was outstanding, with each character grabbing my attention, in particular one of the female leads, who would have to be one of the best female characters I have seen in Anime so far.
Unfortunately the side cast simply are not fleshed out enough, and I found it hard to care about their own personal ideals.
Enjoyment
Most of anime I have seen so far tend to have slow starts, this on the other hand grabbed my attention from the very first episode. Unfortunately I didn't quite enjoy the series as much towards the end of the time skip, mainly due to some choices and scenarios I found hard to believe, as previously mentioned. However overall I really enjoyed the series, and am very glad I decided to watch it.
Overall
An exceptional series, something a bit different from anything I have watched so far. I recommend anyone who is considering watching this series to just do it! You won't regret it!
