Story (9/10)
Shuuichi comes off as your average "smart highschool boy". He does give us his thoughts about being like that and you set off on the idea of him being like that. Meeting Clair was the reason his life went downhill and brought us a masterpiece which is Gleipnir. We follow this two on their investigation with the appearance of monsters and the disappearance of something (or someone) Clair holds dear.
The "mystery" they try to solve actually gets them nowhere and the things they find out only lead to more questions unanswered. The world they gotten themselves into has no place for mercy or rest. What will these two seemingly normal highschool kids, give up for the truth? What will they give up for their lives?
The story was hard to follow. I couldn't put my head around it, but something just felt distant. It sort of felt like something had already happened and the viewers got dropped in the middle of things without any context or background. To be honest, it was quite irritating. They also did this with the characters and all the more made the show hard for me to continue on.
So why did I give it a 9? The first few episodes didn't have much to go with. You would know too little to ever fathom what in the hell was going on. However, I shouldn't have been quick too judge. The show completely redeemed itself (story-wise). The story was already there and how they told the story made it even better. Our protagonist is surrounded with mystery and unanswered questions, the show very well tries to put the audience in the same trance. It worked. It almost felt interactive in way that what the MC knew is what we should also know. This is how the story connected to the viewers, or for myself. The story-telling was also careful when telling things from an all-seeing perspective. The concept of this show being a mystery-thriller sticks through the first episode to the last.
Art (9/10):
The art style was really smooth. The fight scenes was really well choreographed and executed. They were also sure to capture the character's emotions quite expressively. Though the background could use some improvement or a little bit more details but, that's just a personal preference.
Sound (10/10):
This show blasts us with its opening song on the very first episode. I wouldn't recommend watching it at first, because OPs do give off somewhat of a spoiler. When I did watch the opening song, hell it was quite upbeat and catchy. Their background music was also quite notable. They played a wide range of music, for fight scenes you'd get this sick EDM beat and for thrillers you'd get this sound that would creep you out and fill in some ominous vibes. The random choices of the sounds they played, worked out and contributed the shows mood and story telling.
Character (8/10):
Despite the great story, I felt like there were gaps or holes in characters that could have been told and the mystery or thrill would still have been there. There was also some inconsistencies with character behavior that made me question if something happened in between scenes that was not shown.
Enjoyment (8/10):
Overall (9/10):
My enjoyment with this anime started in later half of the series. It did redeem itself with its story and character development in the later half, but I just can't seem to feel satisfied with how things started. Other than that, the show for me ended on a high note.
I think when this show came out, I dropped it at first because not being able to watch the 13 episodes continuously would actually be a turn-off. Especially how the show was brought about in its first half of episodes, I didn't really have much of a reason to go on with it. This anime is quite edgy and "dark" that would not make it ideal to be watched out in public. There are various sub themes that are not quite tackled but it is still there and it is not really public appropriate. I would recommend this anime to anyone who could sit through the first few episodes and also to anyone who has a taste for edgy ecchi.
