Whether or not you've read the manga, you'll be extremely disappointed by this mess of an adaptation. As someone who's been with :re from chapter one, I'm actually appalled by how horrible this anime is.
The story, although enjoyable in this part of the anime, is extremely rushed. I've heard a lot of complaints about the pacing, and at first I excused it, thinking they'd fix it by episode two, since the first episode tends to have weird pacing. But no, we're at episode five now and nothing has changed. Nothing is fleshed out, the interactions are rushed, and because of this, the relationships between characters seem forced and fake.
The animation is what you'd come to expect by a Tokyo Ghoul anime. I didn't mind the original's animation as much, but I have to point out that the animation is as boring and tasteless as A1 Pictures's. No fluid movement, rushed, boring, and so many frames look dumb and wonky, I can't help but rush.
I enjoy the ending song a lot, considering I'm already a huge Queen Bee fan, and have mixed feelings about the opening. The music in the show is nothing to write home about- mostly just some weird synth beats that were made with no inspiration. It feels lackluster and boring and it really is. I feel like the performances of the voice actors are amongst the worst they've done, especially Natsuki Hanae's portrayal of Haise, which sounds stiff and really forced. I'm also extremely angry they decided to use a higher-pitched female voice actor for Mutsuki.
Characters are the same as the manga, but are, as mentioned before, much less fleshed out. Can't say much here.
I've been with :re since the beginning of its serialization, and what a shitfest it's been. These first three books are my favorite, and have a special place within my heart (yes, the anime got through volumes one through three in five episodes). But I can't say I enjoy this anime at all. I love Haise, so I enjoy seeing him, but other than that, I can't find myself looking forward to the episodes every week.
Overall, a three out of a ten. I'll most likely lower it.
